Hello New York

Most of you already know that I’m homeless…

Not in the traditional way, of course (at least not until Duke is done with me) but in the sense that after twenty odd years on this planet, I still don’t know how to answer the question, “So where are you from, again?” The best I usually come up with is a blank stare and a something about “moving around a lot” as a kid. Few people know that I was born in New York City and this is because with half of NYC nestled right there on Duke’s campus, even a simple claim such as being born in their home city is met with one of those “oh-this-girl-aint-really-from-the-city” eye rolls. Lol. That in addition to the fact that getting out of Durham for a semester was a necessity, meant that someone said “Duke in New York” and I said sign me up—don’t pass go. Do what you need to do. I’m there.

According to recent sources (Stafford) not showing up to Durham in August makes people question whether I did in fact live up to my word of either transferring to Central or selling my body on the streets (hey, after six hours in Perkins ANYTHING seems like a better life choice) but no, I am not doing either of these things. I opted for NYC over prostitution—altho if my funds start getting tight, I will look into making this trip a double venture! Lol

So far I have not been disappointed. Usually coming into the city means an extended stay at grandma’s house in Queens. Now, I’m usually all for home cooked meals 24/7 and someone else doing my laundry but I can’t complain about staying directly in the heart of things. The New Yorker is right across the street from Penn Station (which of course was fabulously convenient when I was trying to lug my 50 lbs suitcases through midtown). Walking into the hotel, I was greeted with marble flooring, huge glass chandeliers, and an, if not exactly polite, than at least informative security guard.

Educational Housing Services, the company who bought several floors of the hotel and transformed them into dorm like living def can not be hated on for their choice of locations. The threadbare carpets and miniscule closets are another matter but coming from last year living in Crowell with cracked ceilings and radio-active floor tiles (those of you who have been in my room know what I’m talking about), I certainly can’t complain. It seems Duke is trying to push me as far into that homeless category as $45K a year will allow. :-)

As for the program, I haven’t been here for quite two weeks but from what I can see thus far, I am lookin at one class a day (most people end up with this or one long day and a couple free days). My classes range from an hour and fifteen minutes to two and a half hours. I’m pretty sure my attention span has been shot since 8^th grade algebra but I’ll see how these marathon lectures end up working out. Lol. So far I’ve been to two shows, taken a road trip to DC and just generally survived 10 days as a small town girl in this big ass city.

The downside? I miss you guys! Even those of you who I haven’t had the chance to talk to as often as I would like. There is something everyday in the city that reminds me of one of my Dukies. Wall Street—Anneliza. Free Concert in the park—Ade. Alvin Ailey—Arielle. Flying Delta airlines—any and all of my lovelies from Lambda Omega. Tea cups—Stafford. The list goes on and on, so put me out of my misery and come visit! Lol. And until then, just keep reading!