I finally did it. I bought a train ticket and I moved 1,500 miles away to Brooklyn, New York.
A friend of mine suggested that I keep a blog on my first two weeks here (shout out to Ryan!), so it begins - my thoughts, feelings, accomplishments, rejections, regrets, everything for you all to read about, and perhaps live vicariously through.
I don't remember what day it was, but it was just another typical day at work in the box office. Bored and illegally surfing the internet (due to Disney policy), I continued my daily check for train prices to New York. Prices had been averaging $140-180, but on this day I found a ticket from DeLand, Florida to New York Penn Station on Sunday, August 14th, for $125, $112.50 with a AAA discount. Hmm, should I think about it and perhaps change my mind or risk missing the deal? I gave it a few hours thought and then purchased the ticket and quickly began doing other things to keep my mind off of it. Had I just made a mistake? Or the best choice of my life? I figured my parents would initially think the former.
So days passed by and I began making preparations of places to stay, addicted to checking Craigslist or CouchSurfing or any other website that offered sublets. And then I had to tell my parents. My Mom knew something was up, so I ended up telling her before my Dad. She wasn't too happy. My Dad responded with, "Yeah, right," but kept his cool afterward. The flipped responses from the two of them threw me off, I wasn't used to it happening that way and didn't know how to react.
I then started cleaning out and rearranging my storage facility and packing my belongings and repacking them to get them to fit into the luggage that I was bringing. Note to self: Next time just consider buying a whole new wardrobe, it'll be easier.
The time eventually came to leave for the train station and I started feeling very sad and unsure of the decision that I had made. I love my friends, but the hardest decision that I've ever had to make was to leave my parents after 27 years and watch the look on their faces as they choked back tears and I did the same. I'm glad that the good-bye at the train station was abrupt because I almost lost it on the way to my seat. I looked out the window and said good-bye to my parents and friends Kim and Koree, not knowing when I'll get to see them again. I don't even know how people made the choice to leave each other before phones, the internet, and Skype.
I settled in my seat for a long 25 hour train ride and wrote in my Nat Geo Expedition Journal before discovering, to my excitement, that I had outlets next to my seat! I was able to use my laptop after all and listened to my iTunes and texting with Kim before fading into sleep. It took until 3 a.m. before I got comfortable and slept solid until around 6 a.m. A little while later we arrived in Raleigh, NC and I gained a seatmate from there til Philly.
For the majority of the ride I was fine. Just laid back and slept or edited photos, or went to the dining car for food. But when we pulled into Newark, New Jersey, my stomach started to tie itself in knots and panic began. How would I get all of this luggage and a box (that they had to ship some of my stuff in to make weight) out to hail a taxi? Wait, I've never hailed a taxi before, are there rules? What if the driver takes me all around the City before taking me to Brooklyn and the cost is extraordinary? I'd never know which is the quickest route. What if I get there and they don't answer their phone? What if this was a scam and now I'm 1,500 miles away from home with five pieces of luggage and nowhere to go?
Breathe.
I kept telling myself that, but all of it was too overwhelming. I received all my luggage and stood there for about 20 minutes for one of the men to come back and take my stuff out with a dolly, but no one came back. Finally I was able to flag one of them down and he brought it all up. As I walked out of Penn Station all of the lights and massive buildings were amazing. This is what I'd been dreaming of. He grabbed a taxi for me and loaded my belongings into the trunk and I got into the back of the cab. Okay, that's done. I gave the driver the address and he proceeded away from Penn Station and eventually over the Brooklyn Bridge. When we turned on the street of the apartment I called Vicky to ask her to meet me downstairs. Only the number I had for her said that it could not be completed as dialed and to hang up and try again. Uh-oh. So I tried again. Same thing. Tried adding a 1 in the front. Same thing. So by this time my stuff is on the sidewalk and I've paid the driver and he's pulled away. I call Diana. Rings twice and goes to voicemail. Try it again, same thing. And this is where I was on the brink of cardiac arrest. Okay, so perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it was difficult to breathe. It's dark, I'm standing with five large pieces of luggage, and I'm panicked. I ask the ladies sitting outside the apartment building if they knew Vicky or Diana and they politely told me that they didn't speak English. Spanish, I could have inquired again, but unfortunately I don't know a single word in Chinese =/ But they kindly asked their friend to come out and she spoke English. I asked her and she said no, she didn't know them, but she could ring the doorbell. A minute later a girl comes down the stairs and I ask if she is Vicky. She says no, she's Krystel and I finally learned how to breathe again. I've spoken with her via email and she is the 3rd roommate. So she is kind enough to help me take my stuff upstairs (I can only imagine what was going through her head, I would have had some choice thoughts myself if it would have been reversed). I settled in, called my parents, texted my friends and fell asleep. Turns out Vicky was close by and expecting my call, and I'm assuming Diana gave me the wrong number, as I checked it today. But all's well that ends well.
I woke up this morning and it was very quiet, something that threw me off, as I was expecting loud noises outside 24/7, but that's not the case. I organized some of my stuff and then took a shower and headed out to go grocery shopping. There are so many Asian markets and food places in these few blocks, and I'm anxious to learn a bit of Chinese =] Some foods are about the same price, others are more expensive, and others are cheaper. I bought the healthy bread that I usually get for only $2.50 (it was on special, though), where in Orlando it was over $4. However a big box of cereal cost me $6.50. The supermarket that is located around the corner a couple blocks is called C-Town. Small, but seems to have all the essentials.
And now comes the part that I'm not used to, and I don't feel like me right now. I've always been one to explore, even by myself, but I am having the most difficult time leaving the safe haven of this apartment and going out and exploring. I wish I knew more people up here, but friends will come with time. The two roommates are busy with school, so I don't want to bother them. It's not that I don't feel safe in this neighborhood, I don't know what it is. But I need to realize that today is the first day and to take things one step at a time. I'm going to make myself get up now and head out to get a metro card as well as find the apartment that I'll be visiting tonight that potentially may be where I'll be living after this. It's only about 20 minutes away, so I want to make sure that I can get there quickly later on. Until tomorrow, peace and blessings, peace and blessings <3
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