The People I meet

Key -
Blue - ubiquitous
Reddish Brown - roommates
Lilac - University of Maryland
Green - NIST & Research connections
Light Brown - Random encounters

Living in Washington DC has opened me to a wide variety of people, particularly with respect to national origin. I've always been curious as to where people come from, and often have shamelessly asked people I've just met (Ice cream vendor or taxi driver or metro co-passenger), where they come from. Surprisingly, most people are happy to tell me that and many have told me how life is back in their country.

I've also been fascinated by maps. It felt nice to put all the kinds of people I've met into a colourful map.

Some observations

- I've had roommates from every continent in the world.

- I realize that being in Washington DC, being associated with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and being associated with UMD (University or Marlyand) all contribute to the diversity of the people I meet.

- Americans, Chinese, Indians, South Koreans, Russians and Mexicans (Filipinos and Brits to a lesser extent) seem everywhere.

- Broadly, I tend to meet people from developed countries through NIST (and research connections), people from developing countries through UMD, and people from other countries through random meetings.

- Amongst the most rare and exotic countries, I've met people from Togo (pop. 6.3 million), Nicaragua (pop. 5.8 million), Finland (pop. 5.2 million), Eritrea (pop. 5.5 million), New Zealand (pop. 4.3 million), Lebanon (pop. 4 million), Mongolia (pop. 2.6 million), Botswana (pop. 1.9 million).

- I've met many people from El Salvador (pop 7 million), a small country in Latin America. El Salvador had a brutal civil war (1980-1992), which may explain how there are so many immigrants here. There are so many Salvadoreans in the Wash DC metro area that there are even Salvadorean gangs (MS-13). Most of the Spanish speaking people I encounter are Salvadoreans.

- I've met a lot of Ethiopians. They speak Amhari. Sometimes, asking someone what language they are speaking (to either their family or colleague) is a better way of asking what country they come from.

- Given that I've personally met people from so many countries, I think that there are people from almost every single country here in Washington DC.

- I've met many African-Americans (so called "Blacks" or people of African origin who have lived in the US since colonial times). The African-American community is quite distinct from the rest of America and I would have liked if I could assign them another place on the map. While many people I've met don't distinguish African-Americans from Africans (I'm referring to people who've recently come from Africa), I think there is a world of difference, from appearance to accent to community. Africans come much closer to other immigrants. They have their tiny communities and look upon the US as opportunity and livelihood. African-Americans have a long history here, and form a large community amongst themselves.

- I've not met anyone who referred to him/her self as a Native American or Pacific Islander. However, according to a study in 2004, Puerto Ricans (US territory in the Carribbean) have 17.6% Native American ancestory proportion. Maybe that is the closest one can get to meeting a true American.