The best place in the world...

"This is the best place in the world" said her eyes and her stature. I wanted to ask how she, 15 years old could know such a thing? Probably having visited about 5 states, the five closest, never seen another country. But she was sure. I could see that in her eyes as the flashed in anger at me. And even so sure that when this strange Swede she had meet in the street said that there where both good and bad things with her city she had no other tool in her tool kit but the stance so often seen in the Ricky Lake Show. Bad things with HER CITY, the best place in the world? She demanded to immediately hear what could possibly be wrong with New York? What?

I encountered a gaggle of young girls in the street when I went to buy my bike. They where open and enthusiastic like youngster but narrow-minded and ignorant like slum dwellers at the same time. Both charming in their straight forwardness and a horrific example to why the USofA does not work.

I was at first a bit surprised by her question or demand to know what I could ever critique in her most adorable NY, the greatest city on earth? I thought it more than a bit rude, but collected my self and pointed to the piece of garbage just beneath us in the street. I actually did not need to say much; I could see in her face that it had disarmed her and she looked a bit ashamed.
There was really nothing else to it, but analysing the situation afterwards I think that she at first was as surprised from my honest answer to her question as I later was from her supplementary question. Her view of the greatest city on earth probably did not hold any room for criticism. Now I was barging in to this world and demanded to put down some "bad things" in her NY. I actually did not. She was the one who asked me what I thought of my new home town? And the rudeness of her demand to know what I possibly could find bad with NY was probably completely warranted by my rudeness of answering honestly when she was just making conversation. Our ways are very different, but this meeting in the street was open and honest even though much to short.