City of Strangers

This week I witnessed another example of how to make New York your own. Not only do you learn to give yourself over to the ways of the city - flowing (or fighting) with pedestrian traffic, waiting for a train, cursing the police sirens right outside your window in the middle of the night, walking past the people playing the grand piano in the park, watching the foreigners try to feed the squirrels, or passing a random famous person on the street, but you begin to realize the odd moments where you fit in as a person. You find your favorite coffee shop, the part of the neighborhood you most love walking by, the store windows you love passing, the apartment building you wish you lived in, and the clothing store you find yourself in every weekend. You revel in awe at the fact that you can get the best piece of chocolate you've had in your life for a ridiculous amount of money. You enjoy bumping into tourists and getting asked for directions. But beyond the physical atmosphere of the city, there's a small connection that only you catch glimpses of. The connection exists when you meet the eyes of another person walking down the street. Or when you're waiting in a ridiculously long line and the person behind you sends you a small, frustrated sigh that you return with a knowing look. Those moments connect you to your new companion - someone you'll likely never recognize again, but someone who bridged that gap, as if to say, "Hey. We're all in this together." And we are. Our diversity is our unity.


It snowed this weekend. It was everything I could've imagined it to be - absolutely beautiful while I gazed at it falling out my window. Then it became gross, sloppy, and wet as soon as I stepped outside. Aside from avoiding the awful weather, I had a lovely weekend. We saw Company on Saturday performed by the vocal performance program, and ate too much chocolate and watched Jekyll and Hyde (to which I fell asleep).

Remember those lovely fall apples we picked? (featured above) Well, we made some yummy things this week! Mary and I made apple sauce and apple crisp. I had never made homemade apple sauce before, but it's super easy. First you peel and core the apples. Cut them into chunks and place them in a large pot. Pour in some water or apple cider and heat up until the apples boil down into... well, into sauce... and sprinkle them with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. We didn't add sugar to ours because it definitely didn't need any. I loved the flavor we ended up with. Because we had so many kinds of apples, they made for a great mix. The apple crisp we made turned out super delicious and was really simple. We added oats and chopped pecans to the crumble topping, which gave it some great texture and flavor. It was delightful.

Lauren and I tried hot chocolate from Max Brenner's this week. It was really good. Here's the lovely weather I met - coming out of my building. Today though, it was beautiful and sunny. I spent my afternoon cozily wrapped up in a blanket and sweats, completing the huge pile of homework I have due this week. I can't wait for the Christopher Paolini book signing, which is right around the corner.

"Believe in this town, and this town will believe in you."

All my love,
Emily

Official Inheritance Count: 9 days. (SO close)