leaving the big apple

my stay in new york (exploring manhattan by day, sleeping in long island at night) was short, but playing in the city was definitely enjoyable. rarely does a dull moment pass in the city that never sleeps.

some highlights:

- the people - need i say more? the "so many walks of life" line is trite, but it's the first thing that comes to mind when i think of all the people i've encountered over the last 3 days.

- the variety of cat calls - specifically, having chinese spoken to me by non-chinese dudes on the street. i still regret not firing back some japanese. for some reason, i'm a lot more bold, firey and confrontational after the fact. or maybe it's all just in my head.

- parks - central, union square, wash square. my favorite color is officially green. and purple - walking around nyu was fun.

- the availability of caffeine - should make sense to those of you that know me well

- getting my "city walk" down, as jovan said

- having my lucky's environmental savings bag be fashionable one minute and then a necessary reusable shopping bag the next

- cafetasia - went there with friends! the online menu was the first i saw of the place and it's quite impressive. asian fusion cuisine. (http://www.cafetasia.com)

- broadway - where boursi was working! i enjoyed seeing all the advertisements for various shows. didn't get a chance to see one, although we did listen to the entire "in the heights" cd on a morning commute from long island.

- photography at the met

- seeing friends who are living/working in manhattan

- watching basketball on the street

- bookstores and reading


my flight for bamako, mali leaves later today. i'm a bundle of excited/nervous/anxious/happy right now sitting in boursi's house typing this. i have my mali and morocco guidebooks (b/c there's a long layover in casablanca) next to me with folded page corners and pen marks in them.

8 weeks in mali. and it all begins in 2 days.


i will do my best to upload photos to my blog, but i'm not sure what the computers at the internet cafes will be like. for sure, i will put them up after my trip if i cannot post them during. friends and fam - i will be emailing you every time i post so that you have reminders to check out the blog.

peace and love,
michele