Skip to main content

The Simple Joys


Central Park
My answer to people when they ask me how I like New York is to say something diplomatic like “I’m glad it’s only for five years” or “I’ll get used to it” or “It’s the complete opposite of Turku.”

This last answer is my favorite to think about. Turku was quiet, peaceful, homogeneous, clean, easy-going. New York is loud, aggressive, diverse, dirty and rushed. I felt at home in Turku, I do not feel at home here. (Though diversity is one thing that New York has going for it over Turku)



But there are small pleasures I have discovered and so I will devote this post to those small moments of joy in my new, temporary home.



My version of coffee


1.     Coffee. This is not unique to New York— in fact, I actually make it at home so I could make it anywhere—but I have found that nothing compares to making a cup of Indian style cappuccino (hand whipped instant coffee with lots of sugar and only milk) while I read articles for class.

    2. The Teacher’s College Campus. Teacher’s College is the graduate school for education at Columbia. It is old and therefore, the architecture is beautiful and majestic. It feels like important things must happen within these walls. Also, the TC library is wonderfully cozy and my favorite place to study even late into the evenings.

3.     Architecture. While walking down a commercial street, you will suddenly notice a building that looks like it came out of the early 1900’s. It might now be a CVS but you can tell there is history in the walls. Sometimes there are plaques that give you a snippet of this history.

4. The parks. Central Park is a mile away and a very accessible place to go on a stroll. I now understand why New Yorkers are so proud of it. There are so many nooks in the park that you could spend a week exploring it and still not find all the secret spots. I love going on runs through the park or taking some readings I need to do and sitting in the grass with my aforementioned mug of coffee. There are also other parks which are also wonderful running spots.

Teacher's College
  5. The diversity. I do enjoy the many different kinds of people here.  My cohort has people from all walks of life, from teachers who have taught in New York for almost two decades to some who have been studying for longer than we have taught (like me). There is racial diversity, diversity in ages and diversity in experiences. It makes for interesting conversation and interesting class discussions.



So, in the times that I feel lonely or poor because of the exorbitant New York prices, I try to remember these small moments that make New York worth coming to. I know there are many more things the city has to offer but I have found that it is better to take my time. New York is not going anywhere and neither am I. At least for a while.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finnish Differences

Time is a funny thing. It seems to move in leaps and bounds at times and at times it moves slower than molasses. Right now it's doing both. I can't believe it's only been a week and yet I can't believe it's already been a week. Sunset in Helsinki This week I've been in Helsinki for our Fulbright orientation. We learned a lot of information and it would be impossible for me to fit all of it into a reasonable amount of space so I will leave that summary for another day. But a week has given me some time to notice some differences in how things work in Finland and how they work in the US. I thought I would highlight five here that encompass a fair variety of my experiences so far. I have to give credit to my friend Marie who helped me with this list. Many of these are her ideas. 1. Nature is Everywhere This one is first because I think it is the most important one for Finns. Finnish people love nature and it shows in the way cities are built (at least th...
5 comments
Read more

Summer (Cottage) Fun

This is a very selfish post. I am writing it purely to relive memories because, even though I have absolutely loved being at home for this week, eating my mother’s cooking, meeting friends and remembering what 30 ° (90 ° for my American friends) weather feels like, part of me misses Finland. I probably wouldn’t miss it so much if it weren’t for a weekend trip I took before leaving to a friend’s summer cottage. It was quintessentially Finnish. (And then later that week we made hernekeitto and pannukakku . You can’t get more Finnish than that.) The cottage was tucked away in the middle of woods. Though there were two other cottages not far from ours, we couldn’t see or hear anything from our neighbors, thus giving the illusion that we were completely secluded from the outside world. Cottages are generally located near a body of water, either a lake or the ocean. This cottage was by a lake. It actually belongs to my friend’s mother who spends almos...
1 comment
Read more

Finland's mark

Today in Finnish class I went up to a Nepali classmate and asked him if he knew a Nepali song that I have been obsessed with for the past two weeks. I told him that I was in love with the song but couldn’t understand a word so could he please translate it? In the middle of asking my question I realized he had no idea what I was talking about and that this was really awkward but it was too late to back out so I ploughed ahead anyway. The result was that I avoided him for the rest of class. But part of me didn’t care. Being in a new country gives you thick skin for awkward encounters. Being in a new country also shapes you and molds you into a different version of yourself. A friend of mine wisely said that “where you live leaves a mark on you.” I’m still only a couple months into my two year long stay here in Finland but it is leaving a mark already. On our way to Naantali, a town 18 km away from Turku. There are the little things. I drink coffee (well, half of it i...
Post a Comment
Read more