When I first got there, I was scared. The thought that kept circling in my head was, why on earth had I picked myself up and moved across the country, to a city I don't even know, all by myself? I learned in the first week that what I had just done, was only the beginning. I realized that these changes I had been making is part of who I am. I will not be able to go through life without just throwing myself off the diving board and into the deep end. Sink or swim, this is who I am. Good thing too, because after a week of being in New York, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the people, who so diverse and numerous, all have their own interesting stories of how they got to this wonderful city and what it means to them. I met an Egyptian man there who said that he could no longer leave New York since he had fallen in love with it. It was like he was a fish and New York was his fish bowl. He said if he were to leave, it would be like he was a fish out of water, unable to breath. Simone and I loved this. In fact, we interviewed him in a documentary we made and I would bet that he was one of Simone's most favorite memories about New York.
I fell in love with the smells of New York also. I took some friends to New York over the holidays and I showed them all over. Their thoughts of the smells of New York did not quite match mine, but I cannot deny the smell of the subways makes me feel happy because it means that I am back home. When I was living there, we used to go to the farmer's market in Union Square and we would get fresh fruit and vegetables and little apple pies and we would see all sorts of people, celebrities included. The atmosphere of New York is so different from any other place I have been to. The rush of the cabs as they drive by, the shaking ground as the subways rumble beneath the earth, and the honking horns one can always hear at any time of the day. Some people rushing everywhere in a hurry to get on with their lives, others sitting quietly in a park reading, enjoying the feel of New York. As you wander through the streets, music of all sorts meets your ears. African, Brazilian, Spanish, German, Russian, French, Arabian, Polish and Hungarian sounds fill your ears with a beauty unlike any other. And let's not forget the food in New York. Only in New York, can you wander through the most beautiful parks in the world, dissolved in the beautiful green trees and be able to get a wimpy little hot dog, gyro and a soda for mere change. And once you have your crappy little meal, will you realize that they taste better than any gourmet meal you could get in an overpriced restaurant in California. In fact, many will find that it was the best meal in their life.
New York, so full of life, beauty, happiness, change and diversity. The love I have of New York surpasses many other feelings I have. More often than not, if you find me sitting and staring off into space unable to hear you call my name, I am most likely dreaming about my wonderful city and wondering when the time will come for me to return to it.
