how I feel about the Big Apple

I do like some things about Manhattan.  I know this is only my fifth visit to the city, so I shouldn’t form any definitive opinions quite yet….  But I have decided some things.

Here is what I like:

1. Yogurtland, with a dozen different flavors of frozen yogurt (including mango, New York cheesecake, and chocolate/vanilla), plus countless toppings (including coconut, almond slivers, Fruity Pebbles!, Lucky Charms!, chocolate chips, Oreo crumbles, peanut butter cups, etc.).  You serve yourself and put the toppings on the yogurt yourself.  Then they weigh your concoction, charging you 39¢ an ounce.  You get to control your own portions!  You get to control your own flavor mixture!  I had chocolate-n-vanilla twist with Oreo crumbles for a total of $1.96.  I’m in heaven.
2. People can be found reading on the sidewalk.  I saw a woman reading Of Human Bondage (I tried to read Of Human Bondage once!).  I saw a man reading poetry (I tried to read poetry once!).  There’s a bookstore called Strand, which boasts 18 miles of books.  It’s within walking distance of our hotel (as is Yogurtland).  I’m in heaven.
3. Everyone has dogs walking around.  Little dogs you stick in your purses, big dogs that lap up bowls of water while you eat at a restaurant, multiple dogs per person….  I love dogs.
4. There are so many restaurants to choose from.  I once read a statistic that a person living in NYC could eat out at a different restaurant every day of every month of every year of their life…and never repeat restaurants.  All within this one giant city.  Tonight we went to an Irish Pub, and I was delighted to discover our waiter was genuinely Irish!  Until we asked where he was from and he said, “Australia.”
5. People-watching can become a veritable sport.  I love seeing all these different dresses women wear.  You can see so many outfits walking, live, in front of you—not like you’re flipping through a fashion magazine, but like you have your own portable fashion show.  I never thought this would appeal to me, but it’s fascinating!  Also, I’ve discovered not all women wear bras.  You go, girlfriends!

But I still know that big-city living isn’t for me.  I am a Mid-West girl and always will be.  Here is what I don’t care for:

1. the smell of urine on the sidewalk—maybe from all the dogs walking around?
2. the way so many cars honk at other cars if the cars in front of them don’t immediately move when they can…there’s no margin of error, it seems—you have to always be on your toes
3. how everyone always seems to be in a hurry, and I feel like I’m in their way, because I don’t know where I’m going, and I just kind of stand around looking stupid
4. the prices…$5.39 for a gallon of milk, and (this one kills me) $7.59 for 24 slices of American cheese
5. where are the forests and the creeks?

I am learning a lot from the three weeks of training, but I have a feeling I’ll learn quite a bit simply from living in the Big Apple for three weeks.