The Linguist
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THE LINGUIST THE New York city issue Letter from the Editors: We are very excited to present the second issue of The Linguist, a magazine dedicated to showcasing the linguistic and cultural diversity at Horace Mann and worldwide. This year, we are doing a spotlight on New York City and its surrounding area, the melting pot in which hundreds of languages are spoken. Students have written on various ethnic neighborhoods, the history of the city, personal experiences, and more. All pieces were written in foreign languages and are accompanied by an English translation. We hope the issue will create a greater appreciation for the multitude of languages and the cultural richness of the area in which we live. Sincerely, Isaac and Joanna Editors in Chief: Isaac Grafstein & Joanna Cho Creative Director & Photography: Andie Fialkoff Faculty Advisor: Susan Carnochan 2 2013-2014 | Volume II, Issue I Table of Contents: La Toulousaine Bakery Gina Yu 4 Spotlight on Washington Heights 8 Benjamin Fink Being Polish in NYC 10 Kasia Kalinowska Dutch Legacy in New York 14 Noa Meerschwam Moroccan Jews in the City 16 Tali Benchimol Spotlight on Williamsburg 18 Sabrina Lautin A Review of Kunjip Restaurant 22 Seunghyun Chung A City of Immigrants 24 Libby Smilovici Spotlight on Little Italy 28 Isaac Grafstein 3 La Toulousaine Bakery French: Mon amour avec la langue Française a commencé quand j’avais 5 ans. En habitant à New York, c’était facile de nourrir cette volonté de savoir la langue. Tout simplement, j’avais la chance. Et moi, je travaille à une petite boulangerie, qui s’appelle La Toulousaine. Le jour commence avec les huit premiers sons de « Alors on Danse. » Je quitte ma maison et le soleil brille, l’or jette par le bleu de matin. Quand j’arrive à la boulangerie, l’air est épais et plein de la pâte des croissants et baguettes. Le tranquille sourire de Nabou et la grande voix de Jean-Francois me saluent. Le calme de 6h30 de matin attire peu de gens, sauf ceux qui commandent leurs simples cafés noirs et leurs croissants pour em- porter. Les pâtisseries exsudent une chaleur et je me mets un grand café noir et je fonds au goût du pain au chocolat. Je le chasse avec le jus brun et amer de New York. Les gens qui entrent sont un ensemble étrange, de ceux qui sont vraiment ennuyeux jusqu’à ceux qui sont incroyablement bizarres. Parfois, quand je travaille, je pense à son authenticité, que ça c’est le vrai New York. C’est les clients parlant en anglais, français, espagnol, portugais, coréen et allemand. C’est une petite opération, avec une équipe de 10 personnes qui servent toute Manhattan. Il y a un truc spécial et irremplaçable de travaillant à New York, parce que même dans une boulangerie, les lignes culturelles disparais- sent et ils deviennent une collection homogène. Plein de soupe à l’oi- gnon. 4 2013-2014 | Volume II, Issue I La Toulousaine Bakery Gina Yu My love of the French Language started when I was 5 years old. Liv- ing in New York, it was easy to nourish this love- I was and am lucky. I get to work at a small bakery called La Toulousaine. !e day starts with the "rst eight notes of Stromae’s “Alors on Danse” rising to a crescendo. I leave my house and the sun leaks through the morning sky’s thin blue screen, the gold dripping with new warmth, ooz- ing through the caustic yet stagnant early air. When I arrive, the whirling baguette and croissant laden air is thrust into my olfactory glands. Na- bou’s easy smile and either Jean-Francois’ booming voice and intimidating stature or Nora’s petite frame and large heart bid me good morning. !e hush of 6:30AM draws few people, save those who order their no-frills large co#ees and croissants in to-go bags. !e pastries ooze heat, the still air thick and doughy. I fashion for myself a large cup of iced black co#ee and melt at the taste of the Dijon and Swiss Cheese Croissant en- veloping my mouth and savor each bite, chasing it with sips of the bitter brown juice of New York. Time is momentarily suspended and I exhale. !e people who enter are an amalgam of characters, ranging from stunningly monotonous to bizarre beyond belief. Sometimes, as I am working, I think about the authenticity of it all- that this is the real New York. It is having customers speak in English, French, Spanish, Portu- guese, Korean and German. It is having French customers that stop by just to say hello to the owner, who just so happens to be the main chef. It is having a small-scale operation, and a daily team of 10 people serves what can sometimes feel like the entirety of Manhattan. !ere is something special and irreplaceable about working in New York, because even in a French bakery, the cultural lines blur and they become the quintessential melting pot. Full of French Onion soup. 5 WASHINGTON 6 2013-2014 | Volume II, Issue I HEIGHTS 7 Spotlight on... Spanish: Washington Heights El barrio de Nueva York que está más al norte de la ciudad es Washington Heights. Esta zona se llama Washington Heights por dos razones: para recordar Fort Washington, que sirvió de fortaleza durante la Guerra Civil Americana y para desta- car que la elevación natural más alta de la ciudad de Nueva York está aquí. El área, que originalmente sirvió de terreno para las haciendas de la aristoc- racia de Nueva York, entre ellos el señor John James Audobon (de la Sociedad Au- dobon), tiene como perímetro la calle 115 al sur, la Calle Dykman al norte, y el Río Hudson al oeste. Cuando el metro, un sistema de transporte público, llegó al área, varios grupos de inmigrantes y otros neyorquinos se mudaron al área. Llegaron los irlandeses, los judíos europeos, los afroamericanos, los griegos y los cubanos. A lo largo de los últi- mos treinta años, fueron los dominicanos los que lo habitaron y hoy en día, Washing- ton Heights tiene la población dominicana más grande fuera de la República Domini- cana. Recientemente, los inmigrantes de Ecuador también han empezado a vivir en el barrio. Un diario local, el “Manhattan Times,” está publicado en inglés y español. Fue en Washington Heights donde el famoso activista, Malcolm X fue asesina- do. Otros residentes antiguos de este barrio incluyen al músico de jazz, Count Basie, el beisbolista Lou Gehrig, y Pedro Álvarez, ex-alumno de Horace Mann y actual beis- bolista de los Pittsburgh Pirates. Muchos profesores de Horace Mann también actual- mente viven en Washington Heights. En los años 80, Washington Heights tuvo que enfrentar a varios ma"osos que tra"caron drogas. Desde principios del Siglo XXI, ha habido una nueva urbanización y hoy en día, además de vistas hermosas, los turistas, tanto como los residentes dis- frutan de la arquitectura de la época, los parques y los museos. Algunos atractivos importantes son: los Cloisters, una parte del Museo Metropolitano de Arte, todo en Fort Tryon Park, Audobon Terrace, con sus mansiones de la época de Beaux Artts, y el museo de la Sociedad Hispanoamericana, además de la casa más antigua de Man- hattan, la mansión de Morris-Jumel. Cada primavera el barrio tiene el Uptown Arts Stroll, un festival de un mes de duración que destaca la diversidad de idiomas y que celebra la cultura de Washington Heights. Otro atractivo que llegará pronto a Washington Heights es el High Bridge, el puente más antiguo de Nueva York, que se está renovando como paseo para ciclistas y peatones en 2014. 8 2013-2014 | Volume II, Issue I Washington Heights Benjamin Fink !e northernmost neighborhood in New York City is Washington Heights. !is area is named for two facts: to commemorate Fort Washington, a fort used in the American Revolutionary War and to highlight the fact that this place is the highest natural elevation in all of New York City. Also, because of the steep ter- rain, there are many “step streets,” with the longest totaling 130 steps, but people can take a series of three elevators instead of walking up the many steps. Bounded on the south by 115th Street, to the north by Dykman Street, to the west by the Hudson River and stretching to the East, Washington Heights was originally settled by wealthy New Yorkers for their country estates, including John James Audubon (of the Audubon Society). !en, when the City’s public subway system reached the area, various groups of immigrants and upwardly mobile New Yorkers moved in. !e waves were the Irish, European Jews, African Americans, Greeks, and Cubans. How- ever, for the last thirty years, Dominicans have immigrated to the area and to- day, Washington Heights is the place that has the largest Dominican population outside of the Dominican Republic. Recently, immigrants from Ecuador have moved into the neighborhood, too. A community newspaper called “!e Man- hattan Times” is the local bilingual newspaper, written in Spanish and English. Notoriously, Malcolm X was assassinated in Washington Heights. Fa- mously, past residents of Washington Heights include jazz musician Count Basie, baseball hall-of-famer Lou Gehrig, and Horace Mann’s own Pedro Alvarez who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Currently, many HM teachers call Washington Heights their home. In the 1980s, Washington Heights faced gangster rule with a large, illegal drug trade. However, since the early 2000s, there has been a lot of urban renewal. Today, in addition to the beautiful views, visitors and residents enjoy the histor- ic architecture, parks, and museums.