What Reality Is: Coming Back to the City

I’ve been back in New York for one week. A week can be a long or a short time, depending on how much occurs in that time frame. To me, it’s flown by compared to the three weeks I had before this. And it has also rather felt like a vacation than returning back to “home” or whatever you want to call a place you have lived in for the past three years.

A week is certainly long enough to go through a variety of stages: The honeymoon phase, during which everyone and everything around you seems absurdly sweet but you respect the differences and have enough distance to clearly see how unimportant it can all be in the grand scheme of things. The angry phase, during which arrogant salespeople might piss you off or the people on the streets who hatefully glare after you because you feel absolutely great and they absolutely do not. And then the acceptance phase, during which New York sorta turns into what it was before your departure: One of the biggest opportunities in the world, not without the necessary pitfalls that reveal themselves to you.

So that’s basically how long (or short) a week can be. Since I am currently not working full-time, I’ve had more time than ever to become acquainted with countless sides of the Big Apple once again. Just like in the summer of 2010, I’ve found that there are tons and tons of stuff to do that are simply for free.
Walking the Manhattan Bridge and crossing the Hudson River, for example. Or taking in the shouting vendors in Chinatown on a Friday morning. Not to forget discovering Brooklyn all over again. Greenpoint can be so peaceful on an average noon compared to the thriving masses of a Midtown weekday. Almost forgotten were the notorious side sweepers and how people have to park in second row on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in my neighborhood.

Somewhere in between Brooklyn and Manhattan

It’s the small things that make a city out (and perhaps life in general). Running down the freshly renovated boardwalk of Coney Island at the end of April – with no one really standing in your way and no one bothering you like they would two months later during yet another crazy hot summer. I might even get the chance to check out the wild Bronx Zoo on a free Wednesday, come time, future and opportunity.

The people who live here, they just fascinate me. All the hard struggles they’ve had to go through and still burden themselves with every day. The resiliency of a single person to all of the stressors of daily life – I’ve come to see this all over again in the city of cities. Why become a cab driver in a foreign country when you have a Ph.D. in your homeland? Why wait tables here when you’ve earned your Master’s degree in Switzerland and want to make it in film? Is life in New York really worth it – giving up the “good” life you had before to move to a city that won’t appreciate you or rather your skill set the way it should?

After three weeks of being away, I’ve come to realize a couple of things. I’ve realized that, in this humongously wide world, one person can have more than one home. The home where you grew up at, where your family still resides, where your friends still might be, and where food tastes the way you are used to. And then the home you’ve chosen to be, the home where life happens, where excitement is evoked and where another friend circle has been built.

What is reality? Could it be you realizing that you have better friends abroad than where you are right now? Ouch! Cold, shallow America, with its people who like to talk to you but never call you back! Or perhaps realizing that the rent is 3 times as much as anywhere else and that, after three years, you still don’t get what you pay for? Maybe.
Realizing that with the lingering hope of a better home somewhere else, each and every place visited becomes boring after a short time.

Like my Australian roommate pointed out: Life is pretty unexciting anywhere outside of the States. I’m taking it a step further: Life is unexciting anywhere outside if New York! The curse of the city is not its rudeness, or inequality, or Karma. The curse of the city is that you cannot live a satisfying life outside of it. The feeling of becoming bored constantly. It can kill you. Or annoy you. Or make you realize that you are addicted to the rush, dirt, hustle and bustle, and the wonderful miracles that happen each and every day. So for all of the sad thoughts I’ve sometimes had on life in an 8-million-citizen madhouse, I’ve also come to think about all of the great things that have happened. Being the main shooter at a UFC event on the Thursday I came back, for example. Or being able to see the skyline almost every day, if I wanted to. Not to forget the interaction with real New Yorkers and their hard-bred opinions. The opportunities in a city so big – they are simply endless.

This is reality. This is currently life.

Try Something New in 30 Days

I found this great video through Heather Goes to Deutschland‘s blog today and thought I’d share it with you and the rest of the blogosphere!

Matt Cutts: Try something new in 30 days

Isn’t it motivating? Makes me realize that you shall not and simply cannot take life for granted! Now all I have to do is think about which one of those quazillion things on my mind I want to try for the next 30 days…

What about you, fellow bloggers? Anything particular you have in mind? Let’s be adventurous together! And please share what you will be doing!

Original Stores You Can Find in New York

Ever since I came across Ephemeral NYC, I’ve been interested in vintage joints throughout the city. One day I was searching for older post cards from the Big Apple. You know, that little something you can send to your close friends back home because they will actually appreciate the effort. Or a card you can hang on your wall and feel happy about. Well, Ephemeral referred me to this store in Chelsea called Authentiques – a cluttered place with a few hidden treasures. For some reason, I first walked by when they were closed (Monday and Tuesday, so don’t bother going then) and didn’t have the chance to check them out until this past Saturday. I was finally able to weed through their post card selection and to choose a few to my liking. My friend from abroad had asked me to send her one and I was happy to have found some good samples.

Another quaint store, although not vintage, is Greenwich Letterpress. Its merchandise is geared towards the greeting card business and you can find something pretty for almost any occasion. What’s great is that only the front side is typed on and you can add a more personalized greeting in the middle of the card. Greenwich Letterpress also has selections of diary books and other notebooks (which are a bit pricier than you intended on spending your money on). It’s fun to look through their selection and check this cute little store out. A unique trait about Greenwich Letterpress is that the store only prints in letterpress – adding an additional flair of personality to their collection.

You can find them in the heart of Greenwich Village, on Waverly Place and Christopher Street.

On Purim, Sabbath, and Hanukah: The Jewish Culture in New York

This Saturday was a big event in the lives of Jewish people: Purim was celebrated on February 23rd, a Jewish holiday revolving around the entrance of Jewish people into the old Persian Empire. Matter of fact, I was even invited to a modern version of the classic Purim out in Bushwick. The joint supposedly hosted 800 blissful party-seekers and lasted until 5:30 in the morning. A lot of dressing up was involved, in addition to drinking and dancing. Purim is only of those few Jewish traditions which have become an important part of New York life.

Most people who come to New York for only a few weeks or months underestimate the Jewish presence in the Big Apple. Sure, you always hear about Hasidic neighborhoods out in Williamsburg (which by now almost do not exist, thanks to the annoying Hipsters extending their realms all the way out into Bushwick and rich students moving into the lofty apartments off Bedford). Even guidebooks mention the Orthodox Jews living in certain parts of Brooklyn (nowhere else in New York; Brooklyn is their kingdom) but also depict them more as an oddity than anything else. Now I myself might be prejudiced in the fact that they are “rare” and nowhere else to see. Perhaps working for a classic Jewish company in Midtown has geared my selective attention towards the kippot, ringlets, and bearded men reading the Torah on the train early in the morning.

Now, guidebooks cannot always be trusted, and you will therefore find proof of Jewish culture throughout the entire City. A fact is that 1.5 million Jews or people with Jewish origin live in New York. Supposedly they make out 12 percent of the metropolitan area’s population – the highest Jewish population outside of Tel-Aviv in Israel.

A friend of mine once said: The Jews rule New York!” – but I was not entirely convinced of his words. True, some stem from rich families and live all the way out in apartments in the heart of Brooklyn with lesser costs attached to them than, say, a house in the Upper East Side of New York demands.

Then my first full-time job was with a Jewish company and, smack, all of a sudden Jews certainly ruled my life. I was working 40-hour-weeks for a non-for-profit organization which was called into existence to distribute Germany’s reparation costs towards Holocaust survivors and (as the years passed) their heirs. This might sound ironic, since you know by now that I am German and grew up in the Southwest of Deutschland. It did appear a bit awkward in the beginning and I remember a few looks here and there from fellow co-workers who were trying to check out my family’s history (and the feelings of insult I dealt with in the very beginning). Least to say that many fellow Germans, including me, had no idea that a percentage of their tax money still goes to this organization (after almost 70 years since the end of WWII).

Aside from the pure essence of its work, this non-for-profit adhered to the standards of the Jewish religion. To observe Sabbath, from late fall to early spring, Fridays always ended earlier than the usual 9 – 5 hours we were used to. Since traditionally you had to be home before candlelit hours on Sabbath, the organization had to give their employees 2 hours of time to travel before the darkness started. Sometimes we were off as early as 2 PM during mid-December days. Only a half day of work on Fridays – an arrangement most workers had lived by for years already.

Of course non-for-profits are not the only organizations who observe Sabbath. Take for example my two favorite camera stores called B & H and Adorama. Both are owned by Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, and they are also off every Friday at 1 PM already (even during the summer). Now you also know the reason as to why they are not open every Saturday: It is due to observing Sabbath, which lasts from Friday night until Saturday night.

So what exactly is Sabbath and how is it to be observed? Theories vary on this as does the degree of observance. The most striking feature of all is that traditionally it is prohibited to use any forms of electricity. My Orthodox Jewish coworkers told me stories of pre-set oven timers, alarm clocks and pre-charged cell phones. “So you don’t have a social life because you can’t reply to your friend’s messages on your cell phone?” I once asked my coworker Sally. “Of course you can, you just have to be around your cell phone when the message drops in to see when and where they want to meet!” she confirmed after pulling out her smart phone (and showing the handy feature of home screen messages). And in case the Jewish family forgets to turn off their lights or set the timers? They ask random strangers on the street, such as my Asian friend James who was once walking down Bedford Avenue. An Orthodox Jewish boy ran after him and gave him $10 to enter their house and turn off the oven. Not bad for 5 minutes of work.

Not all Jewish people adhere this strongly to their religion’s rules. But Friday night is always a big event. I was once invited to my friend’s Sabbath party out in Bushwick. Together with her Catholic roommate and her roommate’s sister we silently sat throughout the ceremony, which involved pouring red wine into glasses and offering bread to all attendants. The whole ordeal starkly reminding me of the Christian offering, which has copied this tradition from Judaism. My friend had also cooked a variety of meals and guests brought several bottles of wine so that it ended up being a modern-day party after the Sabbath ritual had ended.

And then the many days off work, because the company adhered to Jewish holidays. It hurt my paycheck since I was being paid hourly but it was still nice to have more than the average of free time (especially since America is the land of only 10 day vacations and 5 federal holidays). They gave us off for almost one entire week spread out throughout 2 weeks when Passover came along. Corporate events were always an occasion to taste some yummy (kosher) food brought to the office. Such as the annual Hannukah party which combined the almost 200 people all into one conference room. Or the hummus dips presented during Passover time.

Time at the non-for-profit has taught me many valuable things about a culture you don’t find to this extent in Germany or other (catholic) European countries devoid of Jewish traditions. Of course some oddities were also involved. Such as the Orthodox Jew who insisted on telling my Polish (Catholic) coworker on where to find good wigs at a reasonable price. All because she and her fiancé lived in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. She tried not to get offended that he thought her waist-long hair was fake… Or the fact that it is a tradition to offer a future fiancé a fancy and expensive bracelet instead of the 5-karat diamond ring most Americans expect for their engagement.

After one year of constantly dealing with Jewish coworkers I found that being Jewish is a form of culture moreover than a form of religion. It also made me forget about the quazillion other cultures this city has to offer, so my next job was a welcome change to a one-sided but nonetheless interesting deal in New York.

Traveling the World: A Dream in the Making

When I was 10 years old, my grandmother gave me a book filled with the mysteries of every single country in the world. This book described details such as each country’s currency, national language, and most outstanding sights. Back then I vowed to learn every country with its capital and to know it by heart by the time I hit puberty. Then, when I was in my beginning 20ies, I bought myself a world traveler’s map showing the entire extent of Earth with every continent and land on it. One day, I told myself, one day I’d see every single continent and I’d been to most of those countries on the map.

For those of you who know me, this post does not come out of the blue. I’ve been having this dream for a long time and ever since I came to New York it has manifested itself in many forms.

It’s a dream inspired and nourished by many fellow travelers. Starting with the Swiss guy I met 2 1/2 years ago in the Meatpacking District. He was on his second world travel and had decided to pack his bags for 6 months to see Australia, Hawaii, and the USA (Hey, that’s 2 and 1/2 continents, not bad, eh?). Then the two Dutch girls who finished up their studies in their mid-20ies and forgot about their normal life back home for 18 full months. Yes, 1 1/2 years! They literally traveled the entire world, took with every single continent and stayed in Spain for four additional months.

Meeting and hearing about these people and their fates has nourished, even fattened a dream of my own. Thanks to the Swiss guy, I have overcome my disgust of hostels and seen it as a new means to explore more of North America when you are on a tight budget (see my DC and Montreal posts on this). It has also forced me to open up to complete strangers and get to know their life stories from an angle you are not likely to see anywhere else (so different than from the work place).

I have since then drawn several assumptions: First, traveling the world is not undoable, as many fearful people might want to make us believe. Second, it might very well be cheaper than I thought it would have. Third, it is not as unusual as initially assumed, especially among my generation and with the means we have to advance globally in today’s (Western) society.

Over the course of the past few months I have run across a number of blogs from people who have done it: They have seen the entire world in a year. Sometimes they’ve seen it even longer than that, but sometimes also less.

This will be me some day – minus the hat (but I’m claiming the teddy bear!)

By now I’ve already formed an idea of what areas I want to visit and what I’d rather reserve for another time. Europe, for example, is not really what I am aiming towards. Since I grew up there, I’ve already accomplished an extensive amount of traveling. Perhaps the most important reason is also that it’s not necessarily the cheapest option. Which is why I am saving this small speck on Earth for another time. The same goes for Africa. I feel this is a lone continent that will take a travel of its own to explore culture, people, and all the amenities. One day, yes, one day I want to see the burnt soil of the deserts, I want to go on a safari, and I want to eat home-made couscous . But not this time. Another.

I therefore drew the conclusion that the most plausible way to go is flying to the remaining continents: South America, New Zealand, Australia, and Asia. In that order. Since it will be summer during our winter, I believe starting at the end of a year might be a good idea. I plan on devoting three months on each continent and reserving the remaining three months for a country I liked the most. I wouldn’t mind staying in Thailand or Indonesia for an entire month, to be honest. Some place that won’t bankrupt my cash account and still offer a great time on the beach, in nature, and for photography. Working and traveling in Australia and New Zealand is another idea that has come to mind after speaking to my German friend who has done it after college. Costs for visas and accommodations will determine where exactly I will go. I just know that a “working holiday” in Downunder will only cost me a bit more than $100 for a visa, so that sounds like a great compromise in terms of earning money and traveling the country all at the same time.

So why do I do it? I feel that I have to. That if I do not do this once- twice- thrice- in-a-lifetime travel, I will never feel fulfilled. I will never learn what the world has to offer me. Or be able to take with every single thing I can from this travel. In preparation, I am already improving my Portuguese, in case I ever make it to Brazil. And after this, I certainly want to brush up on my Spanish, as I’d feel a bit more comfortable speaking the actual mother tongue of South American countries. Hiking the Inca trail in Peru, trying out good wine in Argentina, and experiencing Carnival in Brazil – all of this sounds like good deal of fun to me. Exploring Asia, discovering hidden gems, eating a real Pad Thai – why not? Walking along the Chinese Wall, getting lost in the masses of Peking…. In the end, I do not expect much from the countries I plan to visit. This hopeless inexpectation might leave room for not being disappointed but rather awed by cultural differences and landscapes.

So how will I do it? Where will I stay? Recently, a friend of mine pointed me towards couchsurfing once again. But after reading Sherbet and Sparkles’ post on Making Friends Abroad, I might find Charlotte’s solution better. Then of course hostels and private rooms, depending on how cheap the accommodation is in each country. As for the most part, I will be traveling alone. It’s an extension of the continuous string of travels I am pretty much doing by myself already. I will certainly point my friends’ vacations towards different countries to join me for a week or two (or however long they want to spare). In the end, perhaps I won’t be alone for so long if I get enough of my friends to join me throughout this entire year (52 weeks can go by so fast).

So there it is, the rough draft of a dream in the making for a good 2 and a half years already. Perhaps it will take the same amount of time to accumulate funds, perhaps it won’t be so long. All I know is that I will hold on to this dream until it’s possible to pack my bags and say “Adieu” to whatever city I will then be living in.

If you are interested in pursuing the same, join me while I read through some helpful and cool blogs I’ve found on this topic. I will be posting interviews, backgrounds, and more helpful web sites on a page I will create on this site as time goes by.

Blogs I already recommend:

* Traveling 9 to 5
It all started when I looked up RTW ticket and stumbled across this couple’s blog. They’ve traveled the world in one year on less than $300 for a ticket per person! Yes! Admirable!

* Arty Dubs
Quite the opposite is this blog in which a couple packs their belongings rather spontaneously and decides to travel the world by buying each ticket as they go. See their list of costs and more details to get an idea of pros and cons of each country.

* the Global Trip
describes Eric’s 16-month-long journey throughout the world. Or as he rightfully states: Until money runs out!

* Let’s Go
is a site on how to travel cheaply. It has links to blogs who have done it and it offers many insights into topics you might not think of at first.

* BootsNall
can be very helpful when it comes to deciding whether you should choose an RTW ticket or jump into the adventure head first.

* Active Planet Travels
is a blog of a guy who travels the world continuously and has many tips to offer. He opened up his own business (travel) and is now on a quest to see at least six of the seven continents out there. Good luck, Ronald!

* Adventurous Kate
Frankly, I still have no idea how Kate does it. But she travels, she works, she finances her dream come true. Find more on her blog and solo travels!