I've heard it said that one belongs to New York instantly, as much in five minutes as in five years. And after seven and a half months of living there, I can say that it's absolutely true.
It's great to be back at "home" in Seoul (and I say that with quotation marks, because where is home really?) but, to tell you the truth, I find myself thinking about New York everyday. I'm not even exaggerating when I say everyday! I think about the cobblestone streets of the West Village, the little coffee shops of the East Village, the late nights I spent at St. Marks, the many, many subway trips I took to and from Morningside Heights during the school semester, Central Park in the winter, Mister Softee trucks in the summer, the smell of halal stands, the shadowy silhouettes of Manhattan's buildings as the sun sets at the end of the day. You can say that letting go of that part of my life wasn't the easiest thing I've ever had to do.
Sometimes I think I just wait for someone to ask me how my semester abroad was, just so I can talk about how amazing of a place New York is. I could just keep talking and talking until my eyes glaze over, and then I'll always feel kind of glum at the end knowing that it's actually over. I wish that I was still back there. Sigh, one day I suppose.
Here are some of my favorite moments.
.jpg)
Oh, and as for my NYC bucket list, I managed to do two and half out of the three. I went to restaurant week and it was a foodgasmic everytime *_* and instead of the TOTR, I went up the Empire State instead (and waited forever (but really, three hours)). Just in case you were wondering...
“I love New York, even though it isn't mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it.”
