09/10/09

The City that never sleeps, surely is not allowing me much shut eye right now. I woke bolt upright this morning at 4:45am in the Alga all alone (a minor miscommunication put my friend in his bed at his apartment instead of on the lovely hotel couch where I thought he was going to be). After a few (read 25) minutes of panic I decided to be super-brave and plan my day by myself. After taking that much needed all-body wash shower and getting primped and ready, I began exploring the color-coded insanity that is the MTA online transit map. It looks strikingly similar to the art my two year olds used to produce when I taught preschool.
After several minutes and a few quick Rosetta Stone classes I was able to decipher the Manhattan Transit Authorities secret language and figure out where I needed to go to get back to where I started yesterday and get me a phone charger! I was all ready to go out and conquer Manhattan, like the street-savvy city slicker Holland, MI had prepared me to be.
Luckily, Ini picked that moment to show up and save me from my own delusions. Y'all might think I am gutsy for moving out here alone; but tackling NY subways without a Masters Degree in city-living is truly crazy!
With the help of my personal guide/bodyguard, I got a phone charger, ate the first real meal I had eaten since leaving my parents place in Michigan (I subsisted on granola bars, raw almonds and freeze-dried fruit on the train), inquired about a PO Box, explored a multi-story 99-cent store, took the subway and bus (after acquiring an unlimited Metra Card for me), wandered up and down Broadway St to familiarize myself with my new neighborhood and got me a room in an apartment! Yay for not being homeless!!
I am now renting a HUGE (even by Michigan standards) room from a lovely family that consists of a dad, a mom, a twelve year old daughter and a 6 month old baby boy. I live on 164th Avenue between Broadway and St. Nicholas in the area known as Washington Heights. I LOVE IT! My street is reasonably quiet (for NY standards), Broadway is full of amazing shopping and food places and local stores. The area is mostly Hispanic and everywhere you walk (including the inside of my building) the air smells so good your mouth waters.
People here are also generally nice. I have already found a nice corner Pharmacy to get my necessary supplies and the prices are pretty reasonable. I've met a couple people from my building and they seem pretty nice as well.
It's true people dont go out of their way to say hello, or even to make eye-contact, but if you are polite first (without looking all bug-eyed touristy) they are polite back... Sometimes they even smile ;)
Before I left Michigan, my brother and his wife gave me a good-bye card. In her message to me, my sister-in-law told me to remember that God was going before me on this journey. I have most definitely seen evidence of that in these first few days of what looks to be a most excellent adventure!!