Some of the things that struck me in my first few days in NYC:
1. (Since basically the first thing I did was go to the 'restroom'): The toilet bowls are a lot more full of water which vaguely worried me, like I might fall in, like ohhh this is why bullies in films always flushed people's heads in the toilet. Then they flush automatically which surprises me even more! The cubicles in public toilets also seem to have a lot more space around them – like it would be a lot easier to climb under/over them – kind of like you're more exposed but less likely to get trapped without anyone knowing. Maybe that's a weird thing to think about while sat weeing?
2. Williamsburg, the first place I stayed in New York, is supposedly the trendy bit. I don't think the part I was staying in was trendy though. The main feature seemed to a whole lot of Hassidic Jews, curly sideburns and all. And a lot of yellow school buses.
3. It's a good idea to have an umbrella. The weather is changeable in the way it is in Cornwall – something about being surrounded by water?
4. Lots of people really do buy 'kwoffee' on their way to work (and pastries and do-nuts and pretzels...)
5. The subway is called the subway, not the metro, despite it being called the metro on signs, etc. It's trickier to navigate in the bigger stations (well, to figure out whether you're on the right platform and right side of the platform – before you realise you need to quickly brush up on your basic geography of the city... Queens that way, Coney Island this way, etc). I did spend one evening, quite late, running up and down stairs trying to decide which way I should be travelling. I went through the barriers, then changed my mind and went out. But the metro card doesn't let you in again within 18minutes (so you don't share them, I guess). So I had to do a cheeky leap over the barriers, just as the train was drawing up. I felt kind of cool until I didn't make it over on the first attempt and crashed my shins into the bar instead. Smooth.
Generally it's less crowded than the (London) Underground, and I travelled in rush hour on more than one line. The stations and trains seem 50 years old, creaky and cranky and dark. I didn't ever feel unsafe, despite what people had said before, but then I was mainly travelling in Brooklyn and Manhattan, so maybe that made a difference.
6. Skyscrapers. Everywhere. So tall. So many many. Every corner turned I am surprised and amazed. Who built them? HOW do they build them? Are there really that many people and businesses crammed onto Manhattan that they need to be that tall?
7. It feels even more multicultural than London somehow, and it's pretty easy to blend in (it was my daily mission not to look too much like a tourist or a first-timer!). In New York even my English accent isn't a big deal.
8. Heating is way more effective. I was sweating in one layer in the offices I was working in. I don't think I've sweated since Budapest in August.
9. The supermarkets seem overwhelmingly full of packets, and pretty pricey. A friend said it's often cheaper to eat out. The only things I bought – when I'd ran out of left over plane food to have for breakfast – were strawberries, pieces of coconut and a rather impressive scone!
10. People are friendlier than I expected. Every day I've had people offer me help, start chatting to me in a queue. Maybe it's because I'm a woman on my own, who cannot hide her expressions, so occasionally looks concerned/lost! Haha. I ended up showing a local guy the star-spangled ceiling of Grand Central Station for the first time, and made a friend at a poetry night. Customer service actually exists, I keep being surprised when a waitress or a shopkeeper doesn't seem annoyed by me being there, or by me getting my head around how paying by card and leaving tips works (thanks to Hannah, a friend of a friend living in Brooklyn who gave me a little tutorial!).
AND, it just made me happy, every day, being there.
Next time I think I'll write up my food experiences, since they deserve a post of their own :-)
1. (Since basically the first thing I did was go to the 'restroom'): The toilet bowls are a lot more full of water which vaguely worried me, like I might fall in, like ohhh this is why bullies in films always flushed people's heads in the toilet. Then they flush automatically which surprises me even more! The cubicles in public toilets also seem to have a lot more space around them – like it would be a lot easier to climb under/over them – kind of like you're more exposed but less likely to get trapped without anyone knowing. Maybe that's a weird thing to think about while sat weeing?
2. Williamsburg, the first place I stayed in New York, is supposedly the trendy bit. I don't think the part I was staying in was trendy though. The main feature seemed to a whole lot of Hassidic Jews, curly sideburns and all. And a lot of yellow school buses.
3. It's a good idea to have an umbrella. The weather is changeable in the way it is in Cornwall – something about being surrounded by water?
4. Lots of people really do buy 'kwoffee' on their way to work (and pastries and do-nuts and pretzels...)
5. The subway is called the subway, not the metro, despite it being called the metro on signs, etc. It's trickier to navigate in the bigger stations (well, to figure out whether you're on the right platform and right side of the platform – before you realise you need to quickly brush up on your basic geography of the city... Queens that way, Coney Island this way, etc). I did spend one evening, quite late, running up and down stairs trying to decide which way I should be travelling. I went through the barriers, then changed my mind and went out. But the metro card doesn't let you in again within 18minutes (so you don't share them, I guess). So I had to do a cheeky leap over the barriers, just as the train was drawing up. I felt kind of cool until I didn't make it over on the first attempt and crashed my shins into the bar instead. Smooth.
Generally it's less crowded than the (London) Underground, and I travelled in rush hour on more than one line. The stations and trains seem 50 years old, creaky and cranky and dark. I didn't ever feel unsafe, despite what people had said before, but then I was mainly travelling in Brooklyn and Manhattan, so maybe that made a difference.
6. Skyscrapers. Everywhere. So tall. So many many. Every corner turned I am surprised and amazed. Who built them? HOW do they build them? Are there really that many people and businesses crammed onto Manhattan that they need to be that tall?
7. It feels even more multicultural than London somehow, and it's pretty easy to blend in (it was my daily mission not to look too much like a tourist or a first-timer!). In New York even my English accent isn't a big deal.
8. Heating is way more effective. I was sweating in one layer in the offices I was working in. I don't think I've sweated since Budapest in August.
9. The supermarkets seem overwhelmingly full of packets, and pretty pricey. A friend said it's often cheaper to eat out. The only things I bought – when I'd ran out of left over plane food to have for breakfast – were strawberries, pieces of coconut and a rather impressive scone!
10. People are friendlier than I expected. Every day I've had people offer me help, start chatting to me in a queue. Maybe it's because I'm a woman on my own, who cannot hide her expressions, so occasionally looks concerned/lost! Haha. I ended up showing a local guy the star-spangled ceiling of Grand Central Station for the first time, and made a friend at a poetry night. Customer service actually exists, I keep being surprised when a waitress or a shopkeeper doesn't seem annoyed by me being there, or by me getting my head around how paying by card and leaving tips works (thanks to Hannah, a friend of a friend living in Brooklyn who gave me a little tutorial!).
AND, it just made me happy, every day, being there.
Next time I think I'll write up my food experiences, since they deserve a post of their own :-)
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| Just around the corner from where I stayed in Williamsburg |
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