An Inconvenient Truth

I’ve been told before that people like to fly with me because I’m not intimidated by traveling. I’ve had my fair share: Long weekends in Europe, over night stays in India…

ON TANGENT: Yes, you read that correctly. I stayed in India overnight. Actually the plan was to spend three weeks there studying in about a dozen cities, but unfortunately I arrived in New Delhi the same day as the attacks on Mumbai, and due to the nature of the attacks, my group was quickly sent home. Though we were devastated to leave early, our short twenty hours there were far more educational than an entire term I spent prior learning about it. And we had plans to go to Mumbai literally days after our arrival, so our departure was for the best.

Because I grew up in Scarsdale, the gossip capital of the world, word got out about my trip to India, and the rumors were laughable. When someone approached me a week after I got home, asking how I could be mentally stable enough to be out shopping, because the trauma of “being held captive” in the basement of the Taj Hotel must have been “traumatizing”, I realized there might be some truth to this “Ignorant American” concept. Yeah, I’m going to go out on a limb here and agree that such an experience would be traumatizing, probably fatal, even. But I’m just speculating. Considering the distance between New Delhi to Mumbai is further than that of New York to Miami, it dawned on me that perhaps Americans were targeted in those attacks because outside the US, we don’t know or really give a shit. So if from my experience in India, this woman didn’t learn that she shouldn’t listen to outrageous hearsay when there is blatant evidence to the contrary, she definitely learned a little soemthing about geography.

OFF TANGENT: People think that my travel track record is what gives me confidence when I take a trip. The truth is that New York City has a way of thickening one’s skin. The unpredictability of New York has toughened me up, and consequently I’ve learned to strive through difficult situations. For this, I owe New York my firstborn.

People have said that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. And that was often the retort I whipped out when others questioned why I would even think of leaving the city. I knew that I would succeed in London, because time and time again I had succeeded in New York.

After spending a few weeks here in Europe, I can confidently say that the above statement is false. In fact I would say that if you can make it in New York, you should probably just stay there. Here is why:

New York is the city that never sleeps. And, we forget, is quite small. Thusly, New York is a town that is thoroughly convenient. I can order take out on a Sunday at midnight; I can get to Soho in twenty minutes, tops; Hell, I get cell service on the subway. New York operates like a machine, come rain, shine, snow and sleet.

Cities in Europe do not. More specifically, London does not. Your local pub closes at 11, the tube (which has no air conditioning) (you’re probably thinking why that matters over here but, trust me, it does) stops running at midnight, and the city is freaking huge! It takes me an hour just to get to the good bars on the other side of town! The transition, as you can see, has been challenging.

If we examine the issue more closely, the truth rears its ugly head and we just have to admit that (sigh) I’ve been spoiled. I’ve said it, I’m spoiled (happy, Mom?). I’m not used to having to plan how I am getting home, or limit my evening based on the parameters set by some higher authority. Most of all, I am used to things being available and immediate… And that is just not the case here.

But like all learning experiences, there is a lesson here. I’ve taken New York and all its amenities for granted and since coming to London, I’ve become more patient. I’ve even learned how to budget my time better, and I am proud to announce that my chronic tardiness of 10 minutes has shrunk to 5. New York has been the greatest tough-love teacher I’ve ever had, but London taught me lenience (and for that I owe London my second born).