Three Times New York

Is it just me or is it something quite normal that when you visit a place, your perception of it changes according to your mood? And your mood is predetermined by the person joining you in this trip and by the pressure their very own presence automatically puts on you? If you're happy, you're gonna love even the stinky fish markets where they gut-... Read Moreopen those damn cods right in front of you. If you're sad or angry, then not even the funniest caricature of yourself, done by the best artist on the streets of New York, won't put a smile on your face.
I can honestly say that I've had some great experiences but also some really bad ones as I visited the Big Apple. Even to this day I remember all too clearly how I danced and danced in the clubs of New York City ("AVALON"- God Bless!) One night I ended up with a shoe malfunction after too much "house music" and...Anyway, Malou, my soulmate, decided we should go into this deli at 4am because she took pity at my poor frozen feet.

I must have walked barefoot in the cold snow for 2-3 blocks, because I decided to be brave and spite the broken high heel. So we walked into this deli and asked if they sold socks there by any chance. Don't ask why we would assume such a thing. After all, who cared what made sense at such a late (or early?) hour:) I probably looked desperate and in pain, cuz this Pakistani dude from behind the counter offered me his socks for 9 dollars! We all laughed histerically! Malou and I at the guy. And he at us. But no, for the record, the Pakistani socks were not purchased! We decided to courageously spite the fate and get a cab, even though all we had in our purses were tissues, make-up, tampons, some coins and obviously the ticket stubs from the clubs. There was much bargaining with the cab driver along with the usual European je ne sais quoi that all guys fall for at the glimpse of a blonde and a brunette on the streets of New York. One being barefoot.

With the few bucks we had, we managed to get to the apartment of our friend on Lexington Avenue. We probably went to bed at 6-7 in the morning, surrendering eventually to fatigue, but only so we could start all over again at 12pm with a great lunch, an awesome walk in the Central Park and then, of course, more dancing. Many more things happened but they remain dear secrets of times gone by, not to be mentioned here, for Malou and I want to be respectable grandmas one day and we certainly don't want our children to find anything disturbing in the Archives of Facebook:)))
The City was nothing but a sweet adventure whenever I went there with my friend.
It did taste bitter however when I first took my brother there. I was stressing out to make him happy, pleased with everything he'd see. That pressure that I told you about before? Hell yea, plenty of it! We just couldn't communicate with each other at all. And when we did, it was with harsh words and yelling.

It would've probably been smarter and better of me to try to put myself in his shoes and see how overwhelming and frustrating everything could be when you come from such a different place like Romania. I know how scared and confused I was when I got into the City for the first time: such a big mass of such different people in such a complex place. I did see how out of his own element Radu felt. It is a strange feeling when you're used to control things and then suddenly you're in a situation where things control you. You're used to know every street and every alley. Then you're in a new world where you need maps and you even have to ask for directions to make it to your destination. All these factors and my stress about making him happy and bringing him that "wow" , they actually all turned the New York experience into a nightmare. Literally. Those days I just didn't like being there.

Today I saw the City through new eyes once again. I was some sort of chaperone, but my onle role really was to accompany my brother (now at his 3rd visit) and his fiance (at her 1st). She is a stranger to me and the little time we spent together here didn't move things much towards friendlier grounds. We are quite opposite in many ways. But on May 16th she will become part of my family. My decision for today was to step back a little and let my brother experience that pressure that I had once dealt with. He was going to choose what was to be seen and visited. And she was the aim of his attempts to impress and to surprise. He lost his temper a couple of times only to express his regrets later on; here and there he almost started little arguments with people he disliked for various reasons. And then there was her, frowning a little at his discontent. Tiny as a lady bug hanging on to the only strong leaf she knows.

She may be a stranger to me, but looking at her big blue eyes, full of wonder and scare at the same time, I understood. And I saw actually how one could be entirely swept away by everything that New York City brings along. It is as if you have never kissed anyone before and you have always hidden away from any chance at love, shying from such nonsense:) But then, when you least expect it, the stranger comes into your life. It tiptoed behind your back, grabbed the rug you were standing on and then swoosh! swept it away! but you didn't fall on your back, because the stranger was right there to catch you. New York City is the lover you are amazed by in the beginning and scared of at times. It may seem menacing, yet it is such a fun place to be in. It all depends on what eyes you choose to see it with. When you have your rendes-vous with it, expect nothing. And welcome everything.