"New York! There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York"
"Empire State of Mind" Jay-z and Alicia Keys
Here I am in the big city! I have only been here for three days but everyday seems like a week. So many new experiences. Something always to look at and do. Over stimulation to the max, but the truth is I LOVE IT HERE! Everything is exciting. There is an energy about this place that I have never felt before. It's contagious, it's exciting, it's everywhere. So for those interested I am going to be posting about all the awesome stuff that has happened and will happen.
From the beginning, Tuesday.
I left Salt Lake at 12 p.m. and arrived in NY at 1 a.m. Luckily I flew with another intern from BYU. My first taxi driver was Indian and was wearing a turban. He drove exactly like I expected a NY taxi driver to drive: crazy!
We were dropped off around 2 a.m. on the wrong side of the street so we, two blond girls with two suitcases each, walked around the block at 2 a.m. Did I mention that Harlem is a block away?
Wednesday: The quest for food
I spent most of the day on a quest for gluten-free food. I finally ate some real GF food around 7 p.m. The only things I could find before that was candy bars. Yummy. All day I was pretty frustrated with feeling incapable of feeding myself; so I decided I would branch out from the neighborhood, and take the subway to a whole foods store by the Lincoln Center (also where my office is located in the Manhattan Temple building). I figured out how to use the subway all by myself, thank you. I am pretty proud. It was exactly like the movies portray it to be. Dirty, noisy and packed. Caucasians are the minority. For once in my life I was the minority. The best part is listening to the many languages being spoken. I am pretty sure I saw more culturally diverse people in one day here than I have seen in my whole life.
I finally found some food in a store a few blocks away from the temple. It took me 20 min to figure out where Bed Bath and Beyond was, even though it was right down the block. When I got back on the subway, headed for home, I was full of grocery bags. Little did I know it was rush hour and the subways were packed. I got a lot of disgruntled looks in my direction. After that I went to Institute at the temple with some new friends I made at the Ihouse. We then went on a little adventure to find the Shake Shack. Good shakes, obviously. I finally got to be around 1 a.m.
Thursday:The first day of my internship!
It was pretty regular, except for all of the funny little accidents I kept having throughout the day. Things that would have made me freak out if my internship would have been anywhere but with the church. To put it shortly I ripped a huge hole in my stockings, spilled my soup all over the place and came back from lunch soaking wet because I got caught in a down pour two blocks from the temple. Haha, so comical! Even with the mishaps it was still a great first day. I think I am really going to enjoy it!
Later that day I went exploring the neighborhood around Ihouse. About a block away is the Hudson River with Jersey on the other side, Grant’s Tomb and the Riverside Cathedral (the largest cathedral in the US). After seeing the river I went to Grant’s Tomb but it was closed, so I went and explored the cathedral.
I went inside and the security guard told me it was closed, but then he decided he would give me a peek inside the chapel anyway. This security guard was so cool; he was from some Caribbean country so he had a sweet accent. He had a complete gold grill for his top teeth and four teeth for the bottom. He not only let me take a peek in but he let me walk all the way in to see the balcony. It was beautiful! The balcony has a giant gold statue of Christ with his arms out. It was a mini spiritual experience, standing in that huge cathedral alone.
