Things I Noticed & Things I Learned This Time Around

3rd time in New York, some things still stand out to me.....

• The gaps between the bathroom doors. Usually less than a centimetre wide but still rather unnerving, you can see people washing their hands and hope to God that you don't catch someone's eye.
• The traffic light system. There's no such thing as a 'filter light' for drivers to turn and even when the pedestrian light says 'walk', it is still perfectly legal for cars to turn in your path. They're not trying to kill you as such but it kinda feels like they are.
• In a city of over 8 million people, it still amazes me how easy it is to bump into other Irish people and establish random connections.
• Despite people thinking that New Yorkers are rude, I still find them to be among the most delightful people that I have ever met. Brash and I love it.
• As per my last blog entry. I still haven't been to a single museum or gallery. You could spend 4 months straight only doing tourist activities and still not see everything that there is to see. Always an excuse to go back though!!

I also learned some really interesting things this time around;

• In Central Park, the reason why all the pathways (and the 4 roads that pass through) are so convoluted is because the architect and designers wanted to give people something different to the block-like grids on the rest of the island of Manhattan.
• There are more sweet potatoes grown on one farm in North Carolina than in the entire country of Australia (this was courtesy of one of the girls in my dorm room who had spent 3 weeks leading some sweet potato farmers around to different farms in America).
• You will not fall asleep on the trains after a few drinks if you stand up instead of sitting down. You can also get security to let you out for a cigarette when you've realised that the train isn't for another half an hour or so by claiming you're trying to put a phone call through to Ireland.
• American Football is officially the worst game in the world. I might even hate it more than cricket. Those of you that know me, will know the emphasis of this statement. I hate cricket more than I hate Linda Martin. 

Moral of the Story - I think it's fairly self explanatory from the above don't you? I love New York. I love New Jersey , well, Hoboken.