A Cultural Phenomenon

Many have come to know the city of Philadelphia as The City of Brotherly Love; I however see the city as, The City of Cultural Experience. Sharif and I toured the marvelous streets of China town, the unique and urban life style in South Street, and the authenticity of the Italian Market. The city of Philadelphia is flowing with rich cultural, and will guarantee a traveler a truly remarkable experience.

I stepped out of our small yellow bus, into the magnificent city that is Philadelphia. I possessed a backpack, filled with a cheese sandwich, a few bananas, a juice, and a water bottle. Eager to begin our journey, Sharif and I pulled out our maps, and headed toward China town. As we approached the neighborhood, there was a large entrance gate that resembled an authentic piece of Chinese decoration. It felt as though it was a greeting into their culture. It was as though we had stepped into another dimension. The aroma changed from peanuts and hot dogs, to fish. Walking down the streets, our eyes met an older man standing in an alley next to a blanket, with cards on it. We approached the man, and he quickly offered to tell us our fortune. Although the man had poor English, he was still very kind. After short negotiations with Sharif, the fortune teller agreed to tell Sharif his future, for a small fee of five dollars. The fortune teller pulled out a pile of cards and began reading Sharif his future. The cards were aged, and in poor condition. The cards read that Sharif would live a fulfilling life with a family, and a good job. He then gently grabbed Sharif’s hand and told us more about the wonderful future which Sharif would experience. After compensating him for his work, Sharif and I parted ways with the old man. The natives of China town appeared to be extremely hard workers. There seemed as though there was a strong language barrier in Chinatown, very few people we met spoke English. We discovered a gift shop and decided to look inside. Although the store contained beautiful Chinese souvenirs, it was empty. Suddenly the owner of the store came around the corner to greet us. The woman informed us that she had been in the country for twenty-three years. She also said that everything in the store had been imported from China. Finally after taking one more look at the store we left and headed towards South Street.

Prior to our trip, we had been told that South Street is the “hip spot” of Philadelphia. After walking several blocks from Chinatown, we came across the large strip of stores known as South Street. Unlike Chinatown, South Street had a very modern look. There were a variety of stores, from large franchises to small boutiques. While touring the neighborhood we saw a man sitting at a table, he was wearing a hat, and sunglasses, and he had a cardboard sign that read, “Magic show”. A son and a father passed and the boy remarked, “What's a magic show?” The father exclaimed, “That’s when someone takes all your money.” Interested by the tension between the Philadelphians and the magician, Sharif and I approached the man. We said hi, and asked the man his views on the city, and his opinion of South Street. He seemed uninterested, and offended by us. He replied to our questions, “Is this some kind of interview?” We nervously avoided his question, and quickly chose a different topic. So what do you think about the city? The man chuckled subtly and responded, “So this is an interview?” We looked at each other uneasily, and finally he said, “You’re talking to the wrong guy.” We became aware that we were not sincerely welcome in the man’s alley and fled the scene, and traveled down the strip of stores. Suddenly we spotted an interesting record store called, Record Exchange. Although the store was slightly aged, it contained a large selection of music. We entered the store and without making eye contact the clerk greeted us. He introduced himself as Mike Franklin, a lifelong native of south Philadelphia. He seemed as though he was unsatisfied with the standard of living in Philadelphia. Mike resided in South Philly and had two children. He expressed his strong dislike for the school system in Philadelphia, and he planned to move to Collingswood N.J. After a somewhat depressing visit to the Record Exchange, we left and continued on our journey. We decided to head towards the Italian village, and along the way we spotted the Philadelphia Thrift Shop. We choose to take a peak in the store, and see if we could uncover some useful information out of the employees. After browsing for a few minutes, we talked to an employee of the store. The young woman's name was Steph. She was younger, with a Mohawk and a nose ring. At first she seemed a bit frightened by our questions. She defensively remarked, "Wait, what is this for "? We informed her that we were simply travelers looking for information on the city. Relieved, she told us that she really enjoyed the urban lifestyle in South Street, and she was infatuated with the coffee shops. After thanking her for her corporation, Sharif and I left the thrift shop, and left South Street.

The Italian market was reeking with culture, filled with markets that sold items such as food, and clothing. We excitedly toured the neighborhood, and visited many of the markets. We were in search of a renowned Philadelphia restaurant, Geno’s steaks, perhaps the most famous cheese steaks in Philadelphia, and arguably the United States. Sharif and I assumed that since it was 2 o’clock on a Sunday few people would be waiting in line and we could easily get in and get out. To our surprise there was a forty five minute wait. We got in that back of line, and envisioned our cheese steaks. The exterior of the building was amazing. There were hundreds of pictures on the wall, and an array of police badges. Sharif and I were puzzled by this. Was the owner a legendary police officer? The man in front of us told us that the officers simply donate them to Geno’s, perhaps a thank you to his delicious contribution to the neighborhood. We introduced ourselves and he was Rich, from Glouster City, N.J. He educated us on the back round of the restaurant. He said that Geno’s had been around since the sixties, and each day people crowd around to get a legendary Geno’s cheese steak. There was an interesting plaque of an office that had been shot some thirty years earlier; it read his name, date of birth and death, and the man who killed him. Rich told us that this was one of the famous cop murders in Philadelphia. Finally after a long wait, Sharif and I made it to the front of the line. Unfortunately they did not accept credit cards, so I had no way of paying for my cheese steak. Sharif graciously shared his sandwich with me. It was delicious, a soft roll, fine meat, Swiss cheese, and onions. We left Geno’s, and headed to the Vietnam Memorial, where we would leave the culturally rich streets of Philadelphia, and step back onto the yellow bus.

Upon our trip back to Peddie I reflected on the trip. We concluded that the city was thriving with culture, and would we definitely enjoy a trip back to The City of Cultural Experience.