stories from my year in new york city

as my time in new york has wound down, i've thought about what i've written about the city and what i haven't.  what is missing from my account of this year?

these are some stories that i don't think i've shared before; they say more about new york than they say about me.

here's a little portrait of new york city, through my eyes:

i helped a little old lady cross the street.  this boy scout cliche happened after our big snow storm in february.  the streets had been plowed, but walking was messy: as you crossed a street you had to go over the piles of snow that had been pushed off the road by the plows.  i was crossing a street behind an older lady with a cane, and ahead of us was packed, slippery snow before we could get onto the clear sidewalk.  i pulled out my earphones; "can i help you?"  "yes...can you put out your arm like this?" she held my forearm and inched across the snow.  "thank you."  "it's not a problem!"

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old people and disabled people in this city make me so SAD.  i imagine their existence is hard, having to walk a lot to get groceries or fill prescriptions or go to their job.  it makes my heart hurt watching an old man with a cane struggle across the street or a hunched over old woman push her walker down the sidewalk, both things that i see every day.  a friend in my program believes the opposite: that it must be empowering for the elderly to be able to walk places, to not have to rely on a car that you might not be able to drive as you age, to have everything you need very close by.  maybe it's a matter of perspective - those who grew up in a city want to grow old there?  me, no.  please no.

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to get to JFK airport by public transportation you have to take the subway to its second-to-last stop in queens.  on my way to JFK this fall the train car emptied out gradually until it was just me and a big burly man across the car from me.  this must be rule #1 of subway safety: don't be alone on a car with someone.  he was sort of sleeping but also sort of looking at me, and i trained one eye on him as i nervously pulled my bag closer and hoped the last few stops would bring more people onto our car.  they didn't.  when we arrived at my stop and i stood up to get off he smiled at me and said "have a good flight!"  oh, the assumptions we make about people.  let it be noted that no one talks to strangers on the subway, so his kind words were even more unexpected.  i hope he didn't guess the assumptions i was making about him.

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that's the thing about new york: there are people everywhere.  that's what made the subway ride to the airport so weird.  there is safety in groups; walking with (female) friends through a deserted street in charleston late one night this spring was more nerve-wracking that new york city at the same time of night.  when i moved to new york i asked some friends, "okay: how late is TOO late to safely ride the subway?"  they sort of thought about it and gave an answer of around midnight or 1am.  let me say, though: there are just as many people on the subway at midnight as there are at 10 in the morning.  other than the time the guy sitting next to me fell asleep and graaaaaaadually slumped onto my shoulder - and no amount of shifting woke him up, so i let him sleep there for the couple stops until i got off - nothing weird has happened to me on the subway at night.  i love that.  i love this civilized city.

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this is a city where people (myself included) will wait 15 minutes in line to check out at trader joe's.  in atlanta, if a line had more than two or three people in it, i thought it was long.  the trader joe's i go to on the upper west side has 29 (!) cashiers and routinely there are probably 100 people in line when i arrive.  people stretch around from the check out area through the store in line, so i do about half my shopping from the line.  we pass the prepared foods, the vegetables, the fruits, the sweets...all while standing in line.  trader joe's, i learned, sells everything at the same price in every trader joe's in the country.  i thought they were reasonably priced in atlanta; here it is like getting food for free.  for cheap, delicious food with no preservatives, i will stand in line for 15 minutes and then schlep my food on the subway almost 50 blocks.  my second favorite thing (after the price) is how nice the cashiers are.  you've waited in line for a while and then you get to a nice, friendly cashier, who takes the time to say hi and chat with you a little while they bag your groceries.  it is calmness amidst chaos.  i love it.

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i will not miss the trash truck picking up trash outside my window six days a week at 7am.  i will not miss my 109 square foot room with a shared kitchen and bathroom.  i will not miss the trash on the sidewalk, the rats on the subway tracks, the homeless people who ask for money.  i will not miss walking through the city in the rain.

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i will miss the reliability of public transportation, a system that goes everywhere you want it to go.  i will miss catching glimpses of the statue of liberty at unexpected times (from a plane, from the high line, from the brooklyn bridge, from the car ride back from coney island).  i will miss the ease with which my program allowed me to make friends, and the many wine and board games nights with those friends.  the food: i will very much miss the food.

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i am sure i will truly miss being a student, but for now i am so excited to be a teacher again.