NYC Trip

Just got back from my trip in Manhattan to visit a friend! So thankful to have spent time with 3 sisters that I can share sweet fellowship with. As exciting as everything was about NY, my favorite thing about the trip would honestly be the conversations I had with the girls. Nothing beats a good camaraderie. I thought I would fall in love with the city and have this huge desire to move there. The city is great, don’t get me wrong. But California is home to me, and I’m content with where I am.

I already did a heavy duty FB post of the pictures I took, but here are a few things I observed about NYC:

· Some parts of the city are just really smelly. There are bags and bags of trash on every block.
· The NYers seem to wear headphones everywhere they go. Whether they’re listening to music on the subway or talking on the phone as they walk to their next destination, I saw lots of people rocking ear buds.
· Neutral colors seem to be really in right now. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my bright red pants and mustard shirt/scarves
· Drivers are a lot more aggressive and angry compared to LA. People are not shy about using their horns.
· It’s cool to see how a cityscape can include so much green & many trees. I loved the juxtaposition of the two.
· NYers eat dinner late and stay up late. The city never sleeps! I think the average dinner time is 9pm.
· There are hardly any gas stations.
· I think I saw more Dunkin’ Donuts than Starbucks.
· People are very friendly. I think the only ones that came off as angry were the bicyclists and drivers. Cat and I really enjoyed talking to the NYPD. We needed a lot of help with navigating, and every person we asked was willing to take time to give us directions.
· It’s definitely a diverse city. I’ve heard so many people with different accents and people speaking in different languages. It was mostly French and German.
· No toilet seat covers.
· Only tap water served. It tasted pretty good. When we went to McDonald’s, I asked them for a cup for water. The first worker didn’t understand what I was saying. I repeated myself multiple times, and he just stared at me. When he walked away, I thought he was going to give me cups, but he went off doing something else. I had to repeat myself a few times to the second worker. She handed me some cups, but at the soda fountain, there was no water option.
· Too much PDA.
· Pedestrians cross streets on red ligh ts. All. The. Time. They also power walk. I love the fact that people mostly walk to commute to places. Walking > driving
· People don’t really to-go their leftover food.
· A good number of girls walk around in heels like it’s nbd. That is not okay for the amount of walking you have to do.