NYC

New York is the city. The near-week we spent there was everything my idealism could have expected, plus a bit on the side. The way I see it, and as I began saying often by the end of this leg, is: ‘it’s New York City, anything is possible’.


The melting pot of cultures and foods, people and ideas, life and light amazed me. I was artistically inspired, pragmatically exhorted, and emotionally filled. The days were short and cold, but warmth extended long after the temperature pulled the finger at the freezing mark. Muses were fleeting but frequent; faces even more so. I learned how to thrive when it seems more natural to struggle and to struggle when it seems more natural to give up.

I could write about the landmarks we saw or the exciting touristy things we did, but I think just like any other major metropolis, those things are nothing compared to the people. South-East Asians mixing with Eastern Europeans in an Italian neighbourhood is something so foreign to me, but to New Yorkers it is commonplace. For them, it is less about history and more about culture, less about humans and more about humanity, and far less about stuff than it is about life. Ingenuity, dedication and motivation define this city in my mind now; each person has a job to do, people to tend to, something to give. Seeing people fight for a voice and individual personality in a sea of others doing the exact same was interesting; the bluntness of beggars was teaching me to knock until any sort of door or window or hole is opened, as the well-dressed workmen were teaching me that life is nothing until it becomes Life.
Characteristically, I attempted to pre-determine our path for each day, and in almost every instance I tried too hard (to the point where it sort of frustrated both Georgie {she denies this wholeheartedly} and Jack {doesn’t deny it}) and failed fractionally but emphatically. I ended up apologising loads and embarrassingly laughing off things loads more. I learned that humility is best, that one must add water to condensed soup while cooking it and that even things like mapped out subways have ways of surprising you.

Jack and I arrived in the city at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning - probably the one time the Big Apple rests each week. Subways were empty but for the odd haggler (who got us hooked) and groups of kids running through, in, out and around stations with zero license to do so. The underground streets had many surprises for us (rats, stale urine, fresh urine, shampoo???) yet something tells me that we only saw a fraction of the possibilities that the system has to offer those who are willing to find more. That first morning turned drowsy eyes alert and naive eyes alive. We slept well in a cute apartment in Brooklyn.

We spent that first afternoon marvelling at and around Times Square as we tried to soak up all that we could about the place we had been dreaming about for years (intensely so for months). We followed that left cross with a right uppercut across the city as we met Manhattan’s twilight hours over the East River and watched the sun close its eyes over the people who were just opening theirs. Although my description sounds idyllic, it was much more frantic than I’d like you to believe. Jack and I basically wandered with intention yet without direction, and with each passing moment we realised that we definitely should have done more research BEFORE we pitched up at one of the busiest and most iconic cities in the world. We basically spent 3 whole hours as lost little puppies trying to get to places while trying to reassure one another that, even if we don’t see all the cool New Yorky places, just being there was enough. Luckily, that was slammed down as a possibility the moment we picked up our tremendously more intelligent and insanely more talented friend (this is literally a true fact) and from that moment on we spent maybe 3 seconds wandering in aimful directionless over the 4 following days.
Our first night together as a trio (from here on I will refer to us as squad) was filled with a bit of friendly banter, some cultural misunderstandings and a whole bunch of joy. Meeting her at the airport with Jack was a moment Jack and I had collectively spoken about often as a far-fetched dream ever since we last saw Georgie 3 years ago in England; so finally meeting her in the flesh again felt ridiculously surreal to all of us. The guy-guy dynamic was flipped immediately (which was probably best for our sake and the sake of basically everyone that would have encountered us during that time) and it was exciting to be in a place where we were growing up so quickly. We stayed up LATE kinda just going on about nothing. Those sorts of honest and chilled out moments grew into becoming probably my favourite thing to do. It’s kind of funny that even in a city filled with millions of people, we can find happiness in just two of them. Lol, sorry for the soppiness.

We awoke early to the piercing shrills of 4 young boys waking and chatted with our host family for a while (they really blessed us with knowledge and love and godliness) before heading off on an open bus tour of the city. That day we experienced a full on hurricane on top of the Empire State Building (but for real the temp was sitting at around minus 14 Celcius after wind chill) and then again at Liberty Island. We lost each other for a few moments, got crappy coffee but decent food and spent tonnes of energy and effort trying to keep warm. Jack took spectacular shots throughout with his trusty Canon while we all just enjoyed the adventure of it all. The Empire State is just a work of insanely structured art, from which we were able to see miles of other forms of art. We saw natural beauty, crafted perfection and messy authenticity. Lady Liberty greeted us with shade from the setting sun and we watched her smile fade into the darkness of a chilly NYC day. By the end of that day, our hearts were content and our feet were mildly sore.

The next day was one of logistics as we moved from our homey apt in Brooklyn to New Jersey suburbia. We were blessed with a mother who treated us as her own; I immediately liked her when she suggested that we go to a vegan restaurant for lunch. My oh my, I truly wish that South African veganism will one day become as tasty and exciting as American veganism. We settled into our secluded basement room that was big enough for us to be genuinely grateful and excited but small enough to feel like we could push the bants to a new level by being in such close quarters with one another. That downstairs became a place of good music, foggy showers, terrible dancing (I take the blame for that one) and Ryan Gosling fangirling (also me). We left for the city at about 3 pm and ended up traversing the historic New York Public Library, genuinely confused but genuinely amazed. Seriously though, as a rule, NYC needs to up its signage game. We proceeded to Macy’s and oh my death that place is big. Jack spent ages finding shoes and nearly walked away without buying any (I think that was the closest point I got to genuine frustration) and I got separated from squad. The Christmas lights of Bryant Park greeted our tired feet with beauty and art as we wandered surreally through the Winter Market. We ended the night off with the Rockefeller tree (magical) and some rich hot chocolate.

That night was calm, all because of the snow. We woke to a white Winter backyard and it was at that moment that I genuinely began to believe that NYC is truly magical. We ended up missing our train into the city (lol that was once again, my fault), arriving in there 2 hours later than we hoped. Yet we trudged on unperturbed through the West Side and were welcomed by the broad shoulders and smile of Teddy Roosevelt coupled with some pretty impressive dinosaur bones. We spent an hour and a bit being blown away by the wonders of Creation and culture in the American Museum of Natural History and exited via snowy Central Park. Magical. Artsy. V v musey. We spent a large portion of that afternoon being lost and going in the wrong direction (basically being typical New York tourists). On the real though, they need to make it easier to get around for people who don’t live there. The frustration of long walking time was easily surpassed when we finally arrived at the Lasker Ice Rink, Central Park. There we became lost in our own individual minds as we floated (and fell) on ice, surrounded by Harlem buildings and gazing upon dark skies and bright skylines. We ended up kind of opening up emotionally to each other (much to my joy); it’s weird seeing how geography affects mood and dreaming affects interactions. Magical. I am literally getting goosebumps just writing about it all. I feel increasingly blessed to have been afforded this opportunity.

We spent the next morning, which was also our last morning, at a church in Brooklyn at the house that we were welcomed into earlier on in the week. There were about 10 adults present, plus us squad and then 6 or 7 children. This entire experiences deserves a whole separate dissertation and will probably stand as one of the most influential days of my entire life. I think that statement will still hold true in fifty years time. There we were met by Jesus, through the Spirit, to the glory of the Father and were encouraged immensely as we each enter a new period in our lives. It was a blessing to be intimate with God and His people and see how He uses each of us to strengthen each other to see His name made known. We reluctantly left and ended up walking Soho, getting some pretty average food (on the whole Jack was just not impressed with the price or quality of NYC food) and strolled in awe through Chelsea and then the High Line.

The entire NYC experience was filled with stress and frustration, but it feels like none of those moments even matter. The idea that I will look back on this trip and remember broken communication, crabby moods or the exceedingly high price of basically everything is literally foreign to me. I have absolutely no doubt that this week will end up being one of the most special and memorable of my life. Jack and Georgie were awesome, easy-going and encouraging. I learned a lot about my character through experiences, the world through Georgie and life through Jesus. I am so grateful that I got to experience NYC with them, and I know that we will all treasure this week forever.
Whether it is for creative drive, entrepreneurial persistence, cultural richness, sheer size or even potential - it is hard to imagine any city in the world leading this one.

If there is, I can’t wait to find it.