City reflections

Two newbies in the midst of so many. The journey is breathtaking. The diversity here is everything we'd hoped it would be. We both smile knowingly at each other as we quietly count the different languages surrounding us on the subway. Our last ride? Six. Six beautiful languages filling the subway like sweet music. So good for our souls. I am constantly reminded of and moved by Emma Lazarus' New Colossus:

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles...

yeah, I'm a nerd. So sue me.

We are settling in to our little corner of the world quite nicely; we cannot wait to put our own personality to work in decorating it. When I say little corner, I mean it. 200 sq. ft. to be exact. We adore it. We are learning to make use of every single, tiny space available; our mantra for this year will be multi-purpose, to say the least. It is a beautiful time of re-evaluating what we have, what we [absolutely] need, and what we can [most definitely] do without. Mostly, we are simply happy and peaceful. Married life suits me; I am absolutely and utterly enjoying every minute.

New Yorkers are really just beautifully diverse and pleasant people. (Of course, I realize that positive stereotypes are just as pointless as negative ones) I cannot quite put my finger on what it is exactly, but many of them have this....way about them. Of course we've met some of the jerk-ish variety--they are everywhere--but many, many people here have this sarcastic, friendly edge about them, they love to connect with others, and they really do look out for one another. They are edgy and honest. You don't have to wonder what they are thinking--they're about to tell you. I am loving the human interaction experiences; they are priceless.

Now that we are settled and not spending every waking moment focused on finding a place, we will get to know our city a little better. Are we happy we made the move? Yep. We wish you all peace and happiness. Namaste.