Transplant

When I was turning 11 I moved from Albuquerque's south valley to Santa Fe's Carlos Rey area. I had no say so, no discussion, just one summer, my mom up and moved us to Santa Fe. Then, I felt uprooted, now I realize, this fertilized my life. This removed me from the social constructs that bind most of Albuquerque's brown youth. I was removed from the peer pressures of inferiority, violence, and ignorance. Santa Fe was a haven. I remember how it reminded me of living in the mountains.
I remember exploring the arroyos as if I was on an adventure. The most significant piece of this was that I was alone. I was forced to experience being alone. I didn't have the distractions of a sibling, cousins, friends, or classmates. I spent 2 or 3 weeks depending on my creativity, intuition, and fear. I carried some street smarts with me, and I knew how to blend in. Santa Fe at the time was a rocker town. I would describe it as influenced by classic rock and heavy metal. I grew up influenced by R&B, soul, and oldies. Santa was alien to me. I don't remember this being very disruptive.
I remember the accent being new and different. I remember having to learn a whole new slang. I even remember weekend visits with cousins and having to explain all the new words I was using. I remember beginning to cuss regularly. I remember, the cholo influence was minimal.I don't remember it being a threatening culture, like Albuquerque. I do remember the drug scene being as active. I lived in between two parks with no cholos. What wasn't different was the food, church, and little league.
The city was smaller and with it came genuineness. But also an introduction into the gringo world. For some strange reason the gringo in Santa is forced to immerse themselves in a more collaborative, yet still divisive, fashion. The division is access, availability, and distribution of resources.