Happy One Month to Me!

I have been living in New York for just over a month now and I am beginning to really feel settled. Last time I wrote about struggling with trying to meet people and find a sense of belonging. Since then, I have been able to talk to the few friends I have made about this. We were all feeling the same way. It is nice to know that I am not alone, I am not the only one facing the challenge of meeting people in a city of over eight million. Due to the nature of an interdisciplinary program, I do not have class with any of the same people, when you pair that with only having class once a week, it makes it a little harder to get to know people in the program. However, I have found other ways to get to know people. I started attending a Christian fellowship for graduate students which meets once a week. I also found a welcoming church that like with a university student ministry. Though I have not been one to discuss my faith or participate in small groups before, I have found these groups helpful in meeting people and opening me up to bible study.

When people learn I am from Iowa, they usually comment on big change I have made. One of my responses is usually that I miss grass and trees. Sure there are parks in the city, but they feel artificial to me compared to Iowa. Sunshine is one way to lift spirits as well, so on a sunny afternoon I went and did homework in Central Park. I felt much better after spending a few hours laying in the grass and soaking up some Vitamin D.

One of the things that has made adjusting to the city hard is how much is going on. The city is a sensory overload. However, one of the reasons I wanted to attend NYU was the fact that it was in New York City and there would be so many opportunities there. I have been here a month and I feel like I have barely seen the city. What I what I am going to try to do is set aside a day once every couple of weeks to go to a museum or site or neighborhood and just experience the city and take it in. One of my friend's and I are on a couple of quest. The first is to find the best, cheapest chai near NYU. Unfortunately, I have learned to accept if I want a small chai, I am probably going to have to pay about five dollars. Our other quest is to try different dessert places. Our first stop was a cupcake ATM. You scan your card, pick a cupcake, and a machine retrieves the individually boxed treat. Though it was delicious, I am still biased for the local shop (Scratch Cupcakery) near Wartburg.

Not only is living in the city an adventure but so is living on one's own. I like to cook so I have yet to download the Seamless app to have food delivered. I am beginning to get used to the gas stove and oven, despite the flame. However, I still have some cooking skills to master, mostly frying. I tried making falafel a few weeks ago and it resulted in me setting up my smoke detector. I have made falafel a couple times before however someone else did the frying. This time round, the balls did not want to stay formed together and when I put them in the oil they would break a part. Though I could get the large bits out once fried, the small ones were harder and ended up getting burnt. This burning resulted in the smoke detector. To which I opened my windows, turned up the fan above the oven, and frantically ran upstairs to get the ladder to turn the alarm off. The con of the situation was that I set a smoke detector off for the first time ever while cooking. The pro however is that I know that my smoke detector works. Despite their appearance, the falafel still tasted delicious though.