Yesterday afternoon, I said goodbye to the Netherlands and I am currently in New York City. I am definitely going to write about remembering beautiful Holland, but for now.... NEW YORK!
Almost immediately after meeting up my friend, Rachel Hagadone, my good friend who lives in NYC and with whom I am staying, we rode one of the classic New York subways. Even though I now consider myself a "professional" public transportation user, the subways here are CRAZY, especially compared to the quite luxurious trains/trams/metros in Europe. In Europe every form of transportation tends to stop and go in a fairly smooth manner, but, oh no, there is nothing smooth about a New York subway. Whenever I stood up yesterday, I would quickly grab the nearest pole for safety measures. The whole subway system is exactly like you see in movies and tv shows. Dark, little creepy, all different kinds of people; I love it.
By the way, I always fall in love all over again with the diversity of our country whenever I return. New York is definitely a diverse place and it fills me with joy walking around seeing people from all different backgrounds all living in the same area. Rachel told me it's one of her favorite things about New York- being around people who are different than her. :)
For my first meal back in America, Rachel and I grabbed Chick-Fil- A. (My friend Woody, who manages a Chick-Fil-A, will be proud) Also, I had a HUGE ice cold Dr. Pepper!! It was delicious, but then I discovered that my body no longer likes fast food. It made me feel gross. Maybe, I can just stop eating fast food altogether. Ya! This Chik-Fil-A is the only one in the entire state and it is located in an NYU cafeteria. It felt interesting to be back around American students. I can't imagine going to college in New York. Wow!
After eating, we walked through Washington Square Park where people were doing the randomest things. There were about three different young acapella groups just randomly singing together. Then, there were two musicians playing together. One guy played the banjo while hitting a bass drum and tapping a tambourine tied to his foot and the other guy played stand up bass. All this was happening around a beautiful fountain and the Empire State Building glowing red in the background. haha- I'm in New York.
We ended the night by walking through Times Square. Although, Times Square is simply a bunch of flashy advertisements, it's still overwhelming to experience. Naked cowboy was there along with a large crowd waiting to take their pictures with him. I can only think of how overwhelming this city must be for people who have never even been to a large city. It's a lot to take in.
I guess I'm happy to be back in the States, but I'm already discovering certain things already feel weird. It's weird to be around English all the time again. I can plug my electronics in without a converter. I can pay without converting prices in my head. I'm able to talk to people here on the phone. The food is different. I can watch TCU football again. It's the little things that I didn't even think would feel weird.
HELLO from NEW YORK!
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