Newbie in New York

I landed in Newark on Wednesday night, and thus my NYC journey/adventure has begun! It's been a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences over the last 5 days so far.

Day 1 - Scared shitless. What have I gotten myself into? Will I like it here in Ameeeeerica? WTF, I don't know where anything is or where I am, lol. I wondered if this is what it could feel like to be blind, not knowing where you are or where you're going... I missed my mom a lot that day. Mommy!

Day 2 - Feeling a little bit better. Phil and I went to see Inception at the movies in Battery Park City. Crazy film, I kept imagining what New York would look like if it folded over itself like Paris in the movie. We were crossing the street and saw the sweetest thing ever, a dog jumped up to kiss a police horse's nose and they were both sniffing eachother's noses. Cutest thing ever.

Day 3 - I think I can do this. Chug chug chug, I think I can, I think I can... Phil took me to the Sunset Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn. I think I could live here. Sunset Park is very latino and people were out and about with their families, men were playing cards and dominoes in the park, kids swinging on swings, Spanish being spoken everywhere, reggaeton blaring from car stereos. Sunset Park is on a hill, and from the top of the park in Sunset Park, you get a fantastic view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. We also explored the super-gentrified/baby stroller central of Park Slope. Lots of neat shops, great restaurants and lots of baby strollers.

Day 4 - We went to Jones Beach in Long Island (pronounced "Lawn-guylland") for the day with my cousin and her girlfriend. It was windy still from Hurricane Earl having passed through the day before and the water was quite wavy, a bit too cool to swim but it was plenty sunny, and my nose got plenty of sun. Later we got some "greazzy drippins" from Wendy's and then had Japanese ice cream in the East Village. Walked down St.Mark's Place and saw lots of neat vintage boutiques I'm definitely going to have to go back and check out.

Day 5 - It's Labour Day. No America, I will not give up my "u" in Labour Day :). Lol. Feeling really good about being here, excited to see some apartments, Craigslist can be a bore when people don't get back to you, but it's all good. I think it's gonna be good living here. Now, to find a place that is bedbug-free.

More to come...