Awareness

A couple of days ago I read the pleasurable blog of my flatmate back home in Rotterdam. Jlo described that after nearly a year in Rotterdam here knowledge of the space around her had grown. By knowing her way around the city she was able to show foreign visitors her favorite spots in the city. While reading it I realized that I have pretty much reached the same level of knowledge and awareness here in New York. New York of course is much bigger than  Rotterdam and in many ways incomparable, but nowadays I can basically go anywhere in Manhattan without having to stare on a map first. It felt great to show all the people around that came to visit me; take them to my favorite spots and tell them things about the city that I had learned. Without really realizing it, the city has really become a part of me and I really feel blessed for the opportunity I had to come and live here. 

My last two visitors were Aleks and Laura. Aleks was visiting New York for the first time and on the second day we met in front of the UN headquarters. Unfortunately, I was not capable to show him around the building, but I did show him our office. We used to be colleagues at the Erasmus University and he was of course very much interested in visiting the UN. He finally did the organized tour and was shown all the rooms of the main bodies. He told me afterwards that it was quite impressive and that he had learned something about the seat arrangement in the General Assembly. The countries are seated alphabetically, but the country which occupies the front most left position is rotated annually by ballot and the remaining countries fall into line by alphabetical order. I did not know this and it became clear to me why the Cape Verde was on the first row. Not because of its huge importance, but just for practical reasons.

The following week Aleks went to Indianapolis for a couple of days to visit a friend and Laura arrived the next day. It was a short visit this time, but it was great to see her again. Our main purpose was to avoid all crowded places and enjoy our precious time together. Despite its busyness, Manhattan harbors many areas where you can relax. One of the places we visited was the High Line which is located in the Meatpacking district and Chelsea. The High Line used to a railway constructed in the 1930's which lifted freight trains of the Manhattan Streets. It has now been turned into a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park with naturalistic planting. The first section of the park has been completed and it is truly a beautiful sight. I have been told that a similar plan exists for the old "Hofpleinlijn" in my neighborhood in the north of Rotterdam. I really hope that this plan will come through as it would give the city a great impulse.

Aleks came back from Indianapolis on a Sunday and the three of us went out for dinner in the West Village. We ate at Laura's favorite Italian restaurant, Bar Pitti. Afterwards, we went for a walk along the Hudson River and enjoyed the New Jersey skyline with the most beautiful sunset  in the background creating intense red and orange hues in the sky. Aleks and Laura flew back on Monday and I had to move to my new apartment on the same day. Tom decided a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to move to his cousin's apartment and told me I could move with him. The apartment is located on 61 St and Lexington Ave close to Midtown and I can actually walk to work now. The apartment has only one bedroom, which Tom has given to me, but it is more spacious and has all the required utilities. The move was quite stressful and hasty, but in the end it went fine and I must say that I really like the new apartment.

I have about one month left in New York and a couple of interesting projects are awaiting me at GPF (see next blogs). Next weekend I am going to Washington to visit the mother of my good friend Taimil who I studied with in Sydney four years ago. Then I'll have one more visitor from the Netherlands, my friend Alfred. I am also making plans for a trip in the US before I go back to the Netherlands in mid July. In the meantime I will enjoy my last weeks in the Big Apple that I admire and gotten to know quite well.