I've completed over 1/3 of my summer stay in Manhattan. On one hand, that makes perfect sense. On the other, that number blows my mind. This month flew by. I can't believe it's already in the past. At the same time, I have crammed A LOT into a month, so I feel as though I've lived here much longer.
I must apologize. I feel like I might have unintentionally lead some of you to believe that New York City is a perfect wonderland of fun adventures and neverending excitement. I hate to bust up that little picture, and I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I hope you understand that truly, as in any situation, the cliche "it is what you make of it" is absolutely relevant.
I love living in Manhattan. I have had some incredible opportunities, met some fantastic people, and have created more memories than I would have ever imagined, but life isn't all sunshine and lollipops (except at Dylan's Candy Bar), so today I would like to shed light on the quirky, less glamorous aspects of life in the city.
It is hot in New York in the summer. I live on an island, so humidity is a given, but I don't know that I was expecting this. Granted, I've spent 21 summers in the sticky humidity of the Deep South, but the difference between these two regions is intense: air conditioning. Almost every room in every building I've been to back home has air conditioning- whether it be central air, or a room unit- so while it may be hot, Southerners generally stay indoors where it is nice and cool..
My apartment has one air conditioning unit. It is in the living room, and we only turn it on when it is absolutely necessary because it jacks up the electricity bill. I am so thankful for the living room AC unit because my skin would have been long since peeled off by the leather couch had we been without. Unfortunately, my bedroom is not AC equipped, and one of my windows doesn't close all the way, so the humidity has a wonderful way of sneaking in and settling. I do have an oscillating fan, but I've definitely had to adapt to a warmer sleeping climate.
There are a lot of germs in New York. Those of you who know me well know that I don't like drinking out of glasses without a straw, and I wash my hands (with soap) as often as I reasonably can. What you've heard is true: it's a dirty city. My feet are basically disgusting by the end of the evening if I wear sandals, and even though I carry hand sanitizer with me and use it every time I get off the subway, I still constantly feel kind of gross.
Public Transportation is both incredible and miserable at the same time. To get to work downtown, I have to walk uptown to catch an express train. It's also hot in the subway stops. It takes about eight minutes to walk from my apartment to the subway stop, which is about the amount of time it took me to get across Montevallo's campus. On the East Side, there is only one train - the 4,5,6. SO if I want to get to the west side, I have two options, take the green line all the way down to midtown and transfer to another train that goes across, then to another that goes uptown or downtown or wherever I need to be. The other option is the cross-town bus. Busses are slow. I have a love/hate relationship with busses.
Let's see. GROCERIES! Groceries are pretty darn expensive in Manhattan. I bought a box of Special K Fruit & Yogurt cereal a few weeks ago, and it was over six dollars! Fortunately, I have found Trader Joe's for groceries, so I can get much more reasonably priced food (even if I have to commute 30 minutes- which, if you think about it, is not terribly different from driving to Walmart in Calera from UM, except I don't have a car).
Also, they are doing some heavy-duty construction on 2nd Avenue near my apartment. It is rather a strange phenomenon to have a phonecall temporarily interrupted due to the excessive noise of a jackhammer. I'll be very glad when that is all over.
I'm sure there are other quirky things about living in the city that frustrate me; OR if they don't now, they will eventually. However, that's about everything I can think of at this moment. I hope you see that it's not ALL fun and games up here - just mostly... Kidding. But there really is something special about Manhattan. I know I'm supposed to be here right now, and I'm pretty positive I'll be here again - next time, for longer than three months.
Grace be with you,
Lindsey Shea
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