Eurotrip part 1: New York City

Ok, so its not exactly Europe yet, but it is the first leg of the trip.

Before I begin, I need to explain my relationship with "the City." I hate the city. I hate the smells. I hate the dirt. I hate the size. I hate the whole idea of it. New York City in my mind has three redeeming qualities. One that it is self sufficient. While I'm sure there are not many farms, or free space, New York is almost entirely self-sufficient. I believe people can live there for years, without ever leaving the island of Manhattan, let alone the other five burroughs. While that's kinda obnocious, its also quite remarkable. The second quality is the ethnic identities that different communities of people can keep. Unlike most of America that prides itself on being a melting pot, I truly believe that New York City is like a salad bowl, where nearly the whole world's population can live as they lived in their country of origin, somewhere within the city, without too much of a change of lifestyle. The third quality, is the New York City skyline. I hate the corporations that it represents, but you have to admit, it's remarkable! Other then that I'm not a fan at all. I much prefer Boston and San Francisco. Yet, somehow I've found myself in the city at least once a year, since I've had the means to travel on my own.

So In my 48 hours in downstate NY, I spent three hours in Manhattan, 5 hours in Flushing, Queens, 5 hours on Long Island(henceforth referred to as "the Island"), 5 hours in Rockland County, and more then 10 hours on public transportation. Oh, and that doesn't add up, because I didn't include sleeping.

I came down to the city an extra day or two early, to see some old friends from college and gradschool and to visit my brother in his brand new apartment in Flushing, Queens. I first saw Alicia, and we went out to dinner in Manhattan. Then I went back to see her apartment. She went to Australia with me, and went to Binghamton for undergrad, where I went to gradschool, so I actually have seen her quite a bit as she was a fairly active alumni! I then saw my brother in his new apartment. He lives in Flushing Queens, or Korea as he calls it. It was nice to spend the whole time with my brother without the parents. We had some stuff to talk about. The next morning I went to see Cath at Hofstra, where she goes to gradschool. We also went out to lunch. She was an undergrad when I was a grad student at Binghamton. Finally, my friend Stephanie picked me up and we went to Levittown. Unlike the other two, I honestly don't think I've seen Steph since she graduated a semester early(so like fall 2004) from Geneseo, where we went to college. She was my Jewish friend at Geneseo. That tells you how many Jewish people went to Geneseo.

Now, I'm in Rockland county with my "Aunt" Marcy(really, a good friend of my mom's), her family, my mom and the two dogs.

In less then 24 hours I will be en route to Heathrow airport.