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> the black people there seem so positively surprised and very kind when you ask them something as a white dude In ~1999 I was in New York, walking around with

> the black people there seem so positively surprised and very kind when you ask them something as a white dude In ~1999 I was in New York, walking around with a sizeable backpack and asked around in Harlem where to find the Sugar Hill hostel. I'd asked two men about where to find it when I was approached by two young women who advised me not to ask these questions here as that would not be safe. I was rather surprised by this since I thought that time was past. Maybe it was the location, maybe it was the backpack but it was not what I'd expected. I found the hostel by myself and came to no harm in any way or shape. I'm "white" (more of a shade of tan, really), everyone else in this narrative is "black" (more of a shade of brown, really).

armitron 4y ago
I wouldn't try the same thing today.
- nemothekid 4y ago
  Odd comment given how that area of Harlem is much much safer today than it was in the 90s
guenthert 4y ago
Funny, I (as white as it gets, melanin deficit disorder) stayed at the Sugar Hill Hostel for a couple of days (around labour day -- found it difficult then to leave the city on bus or train) in '98. An African American man walked me to the hostel in an apparent effort to ensure my safety. He pointed out that there are different shades of black skin, which I found a bit sad (the pointing out part). The area seemed actually fairly safe, but the fellow was nice enough to chat with. The Hostel itself was not all that remarkable (other than the lack of air conditioning at that time of the year), but the crowd there was interesting, quite an experience. Thanks for jogging my memories ;-)
- the_third_wave 4y ago
  After my stay in the hostel I went for a long hike in the Catskills - where a porcupine ate my candles during a night in a lean-to - after which I returned there to pick up a friend from JFK with whom I proceeded to hike around and over Mt. Washington - where a squirrel found the bag of food which I hung in a tree to keep it from the bears, it ripped my sleeping bag stuffing bag to shreds - to return to NYC. From the long night conversations with an 19yo Israeli girl who I managed to talk out of hitch-hiking solo through the US through staying in a rather rickety apartment in the Bronx (large cockroaches in the sink in the morning, etc) with a Brazilian, an Irishman, an American woman and (another) Dutchman, it was an interesting trip. I've staid there on other trips as well, it being (at least back then) an affordable and relatively central location. Never missed the AC, maybe 'cause I'm not used to it being present?

armitron 4y ago

I wouldn't try the same thing today.

nemothekid 4y ago
Odd comment given how that area of Harlem is much much safer today than it was in the 90s

guenthert 4y ago

Funny, I (as white as it gets, melanin deficit disorder) stayed at the Sugar Hill Hostel for a couple of days (around labour day -- found it difficult then to leave the city on bus or train) in '98. An African American man walked me to the hostel in an apparent effort to ensure my safety. He pointed out that there are different shades of black skin, which I found a bit sad (the pointing out part). The area seemed actually fairly safe, but the fellow was nice enough to chat with. The Hostel itself was not all that remarkable (other than the lack of air conditioning at that time of the year), but the crowd there was interesting, quite an experience. Thanks for jogging my memories ;-)

the_third_wave 4y ago
After my stay in the hostel I went for a long hike in the Catskills - where a porcupine ate my candles during a night in a lean-to - after which I returned there to pick up a friend from JFK with whom I proceeded to hike around and over Mt. Washington - where a squirrel found the bag of food which I hung in a tree to keep it from the bears, it ripped my sleeping bag stuffing bag to shreds - to return to NYC. From the long night conversations with an 19yo Israeli girl who I managed to talk out of hitch-hiking solo through the US through staying in a rather rickety apartment in the Bronx (large cockroaches in the sink in the morning, etc) with a Brazilian, an Irishman, an American woman and (another) Dutchman, it was an interesting trip. I've staid there on other trips as well, it being (at least back then) an affordable and relatively central location. Never missed the AC, maybe 'cause I'm not used to it being present?