Trip to New York City

I went to New York City for the first time ever, and it was very interesting and different than the life I'm used to. I've been to D.C. before, as well as Guatemala City and Mexico City, but downtown Manhattan seemed much more urban.

I love public transportation and the diversity. It's nice to not be the ethnic majority but not the minority either because there are all kinds of people. We ate some amazing French and Peruvian food, navigated the subway with my awesome Mom (didn't get lost once).

We stayed with Dad's cousin's family in an apartment in Manhattan, so it felt like a very authentic experience. We went to Juilliard for a tour and Marie had two voice lessons to 'try out' the vocal teachers at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music. That was an interesting world to observe. Certainly isn't my world, but it's becoming Marie's and I want to support my sister. Plus, opera is enjoyable for me when it's her singing!

On the way back we stayed at Rich and Donna's for a night. That was fun, and nice to be out of the city! It was a great trip, but it's so hard to imagine living there for me. I like having space and elbow room from people. I could imagine commuting like Rich does to the city every day by train, but living in Manhattan? That would have to be a temporary thing for me! I am intrigued by NYU's bilingual education master's program, but I know room and board would cost a killer.

Now I'm home for a few days before taking the greyhound with Stacy to SWAP. I've missed routine and am glad to be home. Sometimes I get excited about SWAP, but it's not a constant thing. My mind is still all over the place. So many things in my future are uncertain, and they're a lot easier to think about now that I'm home from cross-cultural. Still, I'm trying not to worry. The benefit of getting older is that you start to learn what works for you to stop worrying.