Kansas City Chronicles

Ok, guys. I need help. I'm all about international exchanges these days - can't help it being in Peace Corps and volunteering in a village that has a eco-tourism thing going on - but I seem to be experiencing a loss of my OWN original culture.

Chris asked me to tell a story about KC the other day. I thought about it and mentioned the KC/ St. Louis rivalry thing, and that brought up the differences between the two cities (thoughts, Caitlin? ;)), but then also Chris asked - what makes KC unique? What sort of slang do we use, for example. What's KC known for? What did we used to do for fun?

My friends here talk about what they used to do in school, the good times they have and still have. They have their set of expressions here -"You gotta catch it, ya sight(yes ay/ ya site)?" for example- and I know we used to have ours and still do, but for the life of me, they aren't coming to mind! The best I could come up with was "What's up, chicken butt?" I'm not doing us KC'ers justice by that expression, am I?

(And this got me thinking that I have blurred boundaries of what was specifically KC -- Missouri -- the Midwest -- the US. Somethings we would do or say or watch in KC were things that were done all over - or I assumed so at least. Other things that I thought were unique to KC were shared by others. This has been something that I've become conscious of with my new roommate, Jess, too. She's from London, England, and several times, we've both assumed the other person knew the person, phrase, food or whatever else the other was talking about only to find the other confused. I guess that's a result of ethnocentrism on my part, assuming that US traditions are the norm other places, or just a result of 'not getting out much' and seeing different ways. But THEN, that takes me back to my international experiences here and adapting and seeing, but then LOSING my own stuff... whew!)

This little convo before lunch stuck with me, made me turn pensive - ok, even more pensive than usual. It's like, in an effort to affiliate into my present and future, I'm releasing holds of my past, and that's weird. What's our identity if not a our experiences and growth in the past? A sum of memories and personality quirks? (Am I losing my personality quirks in an effort to integrate? Is the fact that I can't bring to memory characteristics of back home mean I'm integrating too much into my present surroundings? And what implications does that have for my personality?)

So, calling all Kansas Citians! Please help me regain a little of ME by shedding a little light on KC for my friends here in Guyana. Please post memories of things we used to do in school, places we went to as hangouts. Our slang. Any other KC, Midwest thing. I'm tagging some KC'ers, but you don't have to have gone to Tonka, lived in KC or even Missouri to share these things. Let's see what things were strictly Tonka, strictly KC, or strictly the US.

(PCV's, I believe this would fall under Goal 2, don't you think???? ;) )