Columbia and Beyond

Orientation at university was pretty easy going. I learnt that I can have counselling for free, which I might well need if New York doesn’t stop being so damned expensive. Presumably still jet-lagged, I was longing for a coffee and a lazy seat in the sun. So, I got my cappuccino and sat on the steps of the university, gazing at the trendy students in their trendy frocks, and it was bliss.

In the evening, I forced myself out again - I needed to buy a hairdryer. I stepped outside and it was still hot. At this rate, I hardly needed a hairdryer.

I was tired, but as I crossed Columbus Avenue and looked to my right for traffic, I saw the sun setting red and orange over a classic Manhattan skyline. Wow. I walked to the Lincoln centre and was so impressed with the neighbourhood. Talk about cafe culture! It was 9pm and most shops were open and the cafes were heaving, the pavements full of dog walkers. Then I walked past the Magnolia bakery, a Starbuck’s that looked straight out of the movies with chilled Americans doing the American thing on their American apple macs, and a huge bookstore open until midnight. I suddenly felt starstruck.

My goal was Bed, Bath and Beyond, which I’d always remembered from an episode of...yes, Sex and The City. I never imagined quite how important the Beyond might be; quite literally, the shop has everything. To my horror, when I returned home, there was a giant cockroach in my bath. I attacked it with insect repellent and then flushed it down the loo. I hope this dark apartment isn’t attracting the wrong company...

Canvassing for Congress

I set off for my appointment at the Congresswoman’s field office at midday. People are generally very friendly with directions, though I find the subway quite frightening and a lot less easy to use than the London underground. I emerged downtown, 23^rd Street, right in the throng of it, and wondered which direction to take. A friendly janitor helped me. I walked to the appointment and found a huge queue of people (savour that, for soon I shall be saying line, not queue) standing to buy food at Grammercy Park; on my way back, I thought of buying whatever they were selling, but found the line was even longer, at least 100 people thick. As I walked on, I overheard a girl say enthusiastically to her pall, ‘the line’s not bad today’. As far as I could tell, they were selling burgers. Were they served with a gold slice in place of cheese, I wondered?

The Congresswoman’s office looked fairly similar to Bridget’s in Islington. That’s to say it was full of youngsters and the odd older activist, littered with posters and papers, messy. It was, however, about five times the size of Bridget’s office. I met with Michael and interviewed with him right in the middle of the room. He talked so fast, I was grateful to be a native English speaker, but even then I didn’t catch it all. I stayed on to do some data entry. Fairly standard and pretty boring, but it was interesting to see the office. I told Michael I was interested in canvassing.

Afterwards, I wondered around looking for some lunch, but found nothing good. So, I headed for Columbia and there I found a great Cantonese canteen. I felt a little nervous about Columbia, but not too much. Realising I had nothing to eat at home, I left half my curry and asked them to pack it up for me. How American.

First Day in NYC

Woke up this morning feeling relatively well rested, if a bit jetlagged. Still felt upset about scary taxidriver who scared me into allowing myself to be ripped off. 90 dollars for a taxi ride, and I even tipped the thief!

Was quite excited to see how the flat looked in the daylight; padded around opening all the blinds, only to find that opening the blinds made no difference at all. Dark as a dungeon. A very nice dungeon, but a dungeon all the same. I looked at the bed lovingly, and longed for it to be night time again. Then, it would be ok to have all the lights on full blast. Or a dark winter’s day. But the heat in the apartment suggested that it was neither dark nor wintery. I craned my neck to see the sky above the skyscrapers around me through the window and saw nothing but beautiful blue sky.