deNYal

You walk outside and end up standing in a puddle of something that looks like gray water, despite the eery sheen. You breathe in fumes from countless taxis and steaming manholes, which combine and bring on a minor headache. Then you get a whiff of salty sausage somewhere nearby and it hits you -- you're in New York City.

It's not my first time in the Big City, but this time, I come with a new perspective. Before, i was a just a kid tagging along with my parents while we perused MoMA and argued over who got us lost in Brooklyn when we were supposed to go to the Statue of Liberty.

Those are not the places I want to see in New York this time. What is it that I want to do and see? I don't quite know yet actually, and I'm already here, sitting in my sister's dorm in the Financial District, stuffed from a late dinner in Koreatown. I'm borrowing the wireless next door to search for a nice place to lunch tomorrow. Can you see how well I envisioned this trip?

Judge how you will the following statement, but I can already see myself living here. I felt the energy as soon as I got in the cab at La Guardia and the Brooklyn Bridge was speeding past me. It felt like I'd never left "home", meaning this place has got to someplace special.

So I'm going to explore all I can for the next few days and try to see where I can fit in this city. I'll attempt to live as much like a local as possible for simulation. Above all, I just want to experience MY New York City. I'll let you know what goes on!