What does New York mean?
How come you are in New York?
Are you American?
What do all of these lights and these noises mean?
Why do you live here?
What does it feel like to step on the sidewalks and find your subway in the greatest city in the world?
I was kind of overwhelmed by New York - but not in the over-sensitized type of way, but more that all of my perceptions of what New York City would be like did not quite compute with the reality. New York seemed way more American than I thought it would. On television and in people's stories it seemed like this dark, dangerous, magical city in which anything and everything happened. "Everything is available all the time" my friend told me. I don't really get the appeal of this, besides being able to stop by a place to get hair-bands at 11:30pm.
I was also expecting to be intimidated by every New Yorker I came across - their fabled wit, cynicism, fashion sense, cosmopolitan-ness, etc. The only neighborhood that made my jaw drop was SoHo. There were literally models walking down the street and a shoe boutique was having a sale that looked like a club opening.
I no longer have the 18 year old high-school graduate blind desire to move to New York and attend NYU. Maybe it's just that right now I don't want what New York offers.
What a classic Marta facial expression you have in that picture.
ReplyDeleteso is it the greatest city in the world?
ReplyDeleteI want what it offers!
ReplyDeleteWhat is offers me is the freedom of living in my own country (that is to say, dealing in my currency, not worrying about visas, etc.) - but endless variety of people, food, music, culture and TONS of opportunity to practice Spanish, esp. in my neighborhood.
Today, while out running errands, I had two lengthy and interesting conversations with people. One - a Brazilian guy at the DMV - talked to me about the economy and architecture. Then at The Cloisters, I had a conversation with a Polish girl doing an Art History Ph.D. about curating. On the subway home, the women chatting all around me where Caribbean.
I can't wrap my head around how diverse this city is.
In terms of art - it's the cream of the crop. Writers, photographers, musicians, actors, dancers, designers - all flock to New York, so I find it terribly exciting to be around hard-working and exceedingly talented people.
Also - there are the academics - innumerable super, super smart people in this city and incredible institutions of learning.
Um, THE MET! The NY Public Library!
Hmm... what else. The Cloisters. Just incredible. I spent a few hours there this afternoon totally in awe.
I could go on - want more?
The best parts of NY are NOT Times Square or any other equally tourist-clogged space. I think they're in the neighborhoods.