There are two
places that have had a profound impact in my life. One of them is New York City, where I live now,
and the other is Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, where I was born
and lived the first part of my life. When you compare them, they seem like dramatically different
places, but they have some things in common, and I love them both.
There are many reasons why New York seems like my home away from home. Both cities
are striking and distinctive. For example, each has its own nickname. Everyone
knows New York is “the Big Apple.” Quetzaltenango is known as “Xela” (pronounced shey-la), which is a lot easier to say! Second, both cities
have a “Central Park” where people like to go and walk. Although Central Park in Xela is smaller, its tropical flowers and colonial
architecture make it just as beautiful as New York’s. Furthermore, when you
walk around Xela, you find many
tourists and people from other countries, just like in New York. For me, this
means conversations in Xela are just asinteresting as conversations in New York.
Despite their similarities, these cities are different. Life in Xela is more colorful, and the pace of life is slower. For this reason, whenever I return to Xela, it is like an
escape. When I arrive, the first thing I notice is the color. In New York, many people wear
black to be stylish, but in Xela stylish clothing is the rainbow-colored clothing of the indigenous
people. And because Xela is smaller, the beautiful green mountains outside the
city are always visible. The second thing I notice is the pace of life. They
say New York never sleeps, and it must be true, because I always see people walking
and cars on the streets, even late at night. Unlike New York, my Guatemalan city definitely sleeps. A few families take a walk in the city’s Central
Park, but by ten o’clock the streets are pretty deserted. In Xela people eat their breakfast at home, and most come home from work for a
much more relaxed and longer lunch. In contrast, New Yorkersare often in such a
hurry that they don’t even stop to eat. For breakfast they buy food on the
street and eat it while they are walking or on the subway. At lunch they order
food from work and eat at their desks.
In conclusion, these are the two cities I love. For me, both are
home, both are
unique, and both are
filled with interesting people. These places represent the best of both worlds. New York is more hurried and rushed when
I need energy, and Xela gives me a slower pace
when I need to relax. Together they keep me balanced.
