Here I am in NYC. It's the first stretch of my trip, a kind of buffer zone across the country before I take off overseas. I am having an absolutely wonderful time so far. I got to stay with my childhood best friend Kayla, whom I've loved since I was 6 but hadn't seen in 7 years because we've been busy building our lives on opposite coasts. Even though it feels like it's been a lifetime since we last saw each other, we connected on a deep level as we discussed our shared past, our current realities, and our ideas for the future.
I arrived at the airport on Wednesday at sundown and took the subway out to Kayla's place, which is right in the middle of everything Manhattan. It was about an hour subway trip with a transfer, and it took me 2 hours. The amount that the subway confused me does not bode well for how I'll catch trains in foreign countries. I've already reserved my train tickets for the next two months, so I'll have to give myself plenty of time to figure out exactly which trains to take. I'm grateful in any case for technology- it is such an advantage to be able to route my way through unknown cities, keep track of my budget, and translate languages all at the touch of a button.
On Thursday afternoon I met my dear friend Inessa, who was celebrating her birthday! She invited me to make it my honorary birthday too, because I'll be solo in Sweden on my real birthday (I'm turning 26 on the 26th)! I got close to Inessa at a young adult Jewish summer camp called BCI two years ago and hadn't seen her since, so we didn't even realize that we spent four hours catching up over lunch at Max Brenner's. Max Brenner's is the most delicious chocolate restaurant that is only in Israel, Australia, and 3 in the US. We had such a decadent birthday meal, complete with singing happy birthday and blowing out candles. Afterward we went to Grace Cathedral, where we enjoyed the magnificent architecture and illustrated some coloring book pages with historically accurate details. Next we went to the Museum of the American Gangster, where we got to explore an old speakeasy and its dubious basement, and wreaked only a minor amount of havoc playing with century-old weapons.
We traipsed around Greenwich Village and East Village, then walked back to catch our subways from Union Square, where we ran into our friend Jordyn from BCI who was participating in a public eye contact experiment. After Inessa played with a pair of poi and I momentarily danced with the Hari Krishnas, she directed me on a train back toward time square to catch a play with Kayla. Kayla is an associate producer on Broadway now (color me impressed), and she took me to see a show she's been working on called "Daddy Longlegs: the Musical." It was such a sweet play that made me laugh out loud at least a few times, and I've been humming the show tunes ever since.
On Friday I walked out to Central Park. I found Strawberry fields and all of us there had a singalong with a guy playing the Beatles on his guitar. I walked past the rowboats in the lake and the model boats until I found the Alice in Wonderland sculpture, just as a Disney tour arrived. I listened to their shpiel and enjoyed the scenery before heading over to the shops at Columbus Ave. I enjoyed a knish from a street vendor for lunch (knishes are my sister's favorite, so I sent her a snapchat), then set off to meet my friend Ruben who I also know from BCI. We walked around Central Park for a while while we caught up, then headed back toward where I was staying and where he had to catch his train. I went back to relax at Kayla's place for a short bit before she got home from work and we went together to meet her friend who was celebrating a job transition, before picking out Junior's Delicatessen to enjoy a delicious dinner.
The next day I slept in very late, and got to hang out with Kayla who, to my advantage, was working from home. She and I grabbed lunch at Bare Burgers (for which I have 3 words: Om. Nom. Nom.), and then I headed out to The Paramount Hotel in Times Square where I would sleep over the weekend, thanks to the generosity of a friend who I knew in SF that now lives on the east coast. I arrived right at 4 which is check-in time, but I was told it would be an hour before my room was ready, so I checked in my backpack took a long walk around the city. When I returned to the hotel at 530, the room still wasn't ready. I was informed that it wasn't my fault, and it wasn't the hotel's fault that the room wasn't ready, because the previous guests checked out late. I gave the concierge my phone number and was assured I would receive a call when my room was ready.
I decided to meet up with a friend who had just a few hours in town, and he took me to the top of the Rockefeller center. It was a perfectly clear night with the bright crescent moon hanging right over the skyline, absolutely gorgeous. I didn't receive any call from the hotel, so I went back at 9pm when my friend had to head out, and alas- my room was ready. When I saw the tub I was excited to take a hot bath, but when I sat down in the lukewarm water (as hot as it got) I noticed chunks of soap scum floating around my body. Disgusted, I took a shower with the cold water that remained, then got in bed and stayed up until 2am (11m California time!) writing the first half of this blog entry. As it turns out, blogging my everyday adventures takes longer to write than I expected, but I will do my best to keep up.
The next day I walked to Chelsea Market. I befriended an Israeli woman walking to the same location, and we looked at the first couple of shops together before I split off. Chelsea market was adorable, all decked out for Halloween as you can see in a couple of my pictures. Next I went to High Line Park, an old railway track above the city which has been converted into a public park, complete with many impressive art installations. From there I headed back to attend the Deaf West production of Spring Awakening, for which Kayla is an associate producer. The ticket I bought put me one row from the back of the house, and as I was waiting for the play to begin someone came up to me, asked my name, and then handed me a folded note, which turned out to be signatures of the entire cast!! Then someone else came up to me and said she was happy to show me to my complimentarily upgraded seat!!!! She took me up to a seat in the aisle of the fourth row (of course, the cast goes up and down the aisles), courtesy of Kayla. I was gleefully beside myself at the celebrity treatment, and definitely felt I had one of the best seats in the house. Another three words: Uh. May. Zing. I had seen the original version of the play before, and I was impressed by the depth with which it was transformed to better address hearing and non-hearing audiences. As tragic as the play is (and believe me, it is), I left feeling super happy, grateful, and very fulfilled.
My friend Inessa (remember her?) came to meet me after the play, and we had a sleepover at the hotel. In the morning we enjoyed the hotel buffet for breakfast, which was complimentary because of the check-in disaster. Afterward we walked down to the Museum of Sex, which was both informative and hilarious. The highlight was an epic 90 seconds to ourselves to bounce in the blow-up boobie castle. As we exited the museum we met our friend Josh, who was a close confidant a few years ago at BCI. Together we went to Battery Park because I wanted a view of the Statue of Liberty, then rode on something I can only describe as a faux underwater carousel of sorts called Seaglass. We parted ways with Inessa, and Josh & I headed back to Times Square to meet our BCI friends Jordyn and Alli for dinner. We ate and caught up at Mr. Broadway (another deli, but can you blame me?) and it was great to spend that time together. Then Josh got me to the airport where I just barely made my flight, and that's where I am as I write this now- 3 hours from Stockholm. Of course, I probably won't post this for another day, and who knows when you'll read it, but that's beside the point!
I befriended the people I'm sitting with on the plane, and one of them offered to accommodate me in Oslo, Norway. Now I am thinking about changing a few plans around to make that happen. My plan as of now is to go from Stockholm to Copenhagen on Oct 28, Cph to Aarhus on Nov 5, Aarhus to Odense on Nov 9th, and Odense to Hamburg on Nov 12th. Instead, I'm thinking about going from Stockholm to Gothenburg on October 28, Gothenburg to Oslo on Nov 1, Oslo to Copenhagen on Nov 5, and Cph to Hamburg Nov 12. It looks like it will cost me the same amount of not slightly less, and probably there's more to see and do in Oslo than Aarhus and Odense, plus it would add another country to the list of places I've been! Anyway, I'll keep you all updated and make sure there's always someone who knows where I am.
In conclusion- my future updates will have to be less thorough. This took me forever to type on my iPad mini. I'm going to try to sleep the rest of this flight, and you all can expect my pictures from NYC soon. THANK YOU SO MUCH to all my wonderful friends who made the time to meet with me while I was in NYC. It really meant the world to me. To my loves back in California, I miss you already and hope all is well. Over and out!