"I always feel so overwhelmed when I'm in New York," one of my New Hampshire friends commented to me this Easter weekend. "Do you like it?" he asked as I smiled to myself. I thought back to my first week in New York. I remembered not sleeping because of the unfamiliar noises rising from the street 27 floors below and getting lost on the subway and ending up in Brooklyn. I laughed as I pictured myself strolling the streets of Manhattan, map in hand, trying to figure out which way was West and which was East. "I guess I'm just not a city person," he concluded and I asked myself, "Am I?"
In this week 10 of our sojourn in the metropolis of New York City, I find myself reflecting on our time here. My internship at ABC, the Wednesday excursions to various cultural hubs in the City, the trips to the New York Symphony, the MET and Broadway shows and even just wandering around the grid have allowed me the opportunity to discover the true New York City. No longer are Times Square and Battery Park simply images; they have smells and sounds and memories. And I have a head full of mental souvenirs labeled "Times Square 42nd Street" and "Battery Park Castle Clinton" that I will call upon when I try to define New York City for myself.
This experience changed how I look at city life. Like my friend, I too felt that I was just not cut out for life in the Big Apple. Dangers lurking around every corner, aggressive rush hour pedestrians, and cabbies who barely spoke English - the mere thought of it wore me out. But now, after three months in the City, I see it in a different light. I am now a part of that frenzied rush hour mass. I am aware of the city dangers but realize I can only do my best to avoid them. And the language barrier really isn't that big of a problem if you know where you are and where you are going. These past months have enabled me to answer the question: "Could I survive in the City?" Yes I could. And I am.
