Homogeneity makes me uncomfortable

So I'm living in the North Shore and kinda...
loving it. And not "loving it" like the honeymoon stage everyone undergoes when they're in a new situation. Not "loving it" like two week Gordon College trips to Guatemala, where exposure to Mayan weaving, art craft, the view of lake Atitlan and those cute little brown children makes students start feeling like they want an identity change; saying things rooted in transcendent feeling, "I know I'm white, but I'm Latino at heart"---Or what would be in my case: "I know I'm Latina, but I'm White at heart." Not "loving it" like I'm overjoyed and don't know what to do with myself--like when I watch "So You Think You Can Dance" and feel like my soul wants to crawl out of my body.
I'm loving it like....rest. Like sleep at the end of a hard day. Natural. Like your favorite sweater--that you may or may not get tired of in a couple of months when you go to Forever 21 and see something better.

But, I must admit, the homogeneity of the North Shore makes me feel uncomfortable. The sight of it arouses my senses. I'm aware of it--when I see too much sameness for too long a period. I work in Gloucester and I love learning about the fishermen and clamming and sea shanties and cool little local shops, but I keep thinking, "Where are the Black people?" And not just the color skin... I miss the Shante's and Shaniquas and Lonell's, to be honest. I miss trips into Dorchester on bus 23 to interrupt my "up-ity" morning in a cafe near Copley Square. I miss the realness, the rawness of it.

I miss seeing different colors, different ways of speaking. Boston accents in the North Shore make me long for some ebonics. Gloucester homes by the sea make me long for barbeque's and blasting salsa music outside. Pleasant Street Tea Company makes me long for the Harvard professors at 1369 sitting next to the homeless guy who just learned to read six months ago--I guess it must be more like a year ago by now. Difference sitting together is my culture, so much so, that homogeneity will take some getting used to.

And I guess it's not fair to say that the North Shore is entirely homogenous. In other ways, it is incredibly diverse, different and dynamic. I guess, I just have to adjust my eyes a little better and learn to see diversity in different ways. It is, however, fair to say (I think) that it's easier to see and experience sameness here than it is in Boston. And the fact that I can so easily blend into this picture also makes me uncomfortable.