I love the census map. My census tract is almost equally black and white, but much less hispanic than I would've guessed. (On the other hand, my immediate neighborhood -- i.e. the few blocks in each direction that my gut feeling calls "right here" -- is a much closer balance, so at least my gut feeling isn't totes crazy.)

meara- ewwww.

I was shocked to find out that the part of the city I thought was predominantly black was about 50/50 black and hispanic, and a neighborhood that I thought of as a very even mix (it is the neighborhood near the school where I want to buy a house) was about 90% black/10% white.

amych, speaking of hispanics in NC, the best Mexican food I've ever had (and closest to actual food I ate in Mexico) was in my grandfather's hometown of Troy, NC. I thought it was so weird! But the restaurant manager talked to me for quite a long time and educated me about the emigration out of Mexico up the Eastern seaboard. Fascinating. And oh my dog I still salivate thinking about that shrimp dish.

I also just realized it is 4/20 and I have to go to campus because I signed up to do costume maintenance. And my students will probably be high!

Ha. Half my friendslist is high today.

NC (along with a few other southern states) has had the fastest-growing latino population in the country (not the largest overall) for about a generation now. It's been fascinating to see in action: when I moved here, new immigrants were just starting to settle permanently after an earlier generation had primarily worked migrant jobs; now the population has become much more city-based, whole-family-based (i.e. no longer just single workers), having kids, parents naturalizing and starting a ton of businesses. Cultural and attitude shifts on the part of both the previous population and the immigrants. The whole American immigration story, basically. We've been lucky to have less of the ugliness that some states have had (which isn't to say none at all, of course).

Troy is awfully far inland for good shrimp, though.

This is the first time I've ever heard anything about 4/20 and getting high. I feel very out of it.

wrod.

my census tract is 78% white. Bah. In NYC my tract was 45% white and more than 3 time as densly populated.

Um. Because I hate the texture of mushrooms, I think it has taken me until now to realize that I'm also allergic to them?