I am lost: Day 1

Day 1 proved to be more overwhelming than I could possibly have imagined. New York is huge. And the subways are an awful maze. I hope I can learn the system in the next couple weeks. Luckily, a longtime best friend, Maria Alexia, was able to guide me and Tiffany (my travel buddy in the same program) around the city with our enormous suitcases. While I really do need the contents of these suitcases, I do not think I will return with both. Perhaps I will just ... ship them. 

After arriving into JFK early, we sat on the tarmac for a good 30 minutes while the airport sought a way to get us to the actual terminal without being docked at a gate. Then we had to walk one terminal over to find our luggage. And maneuver the air train to the subway station. Holy moly. 


The I-House (Columbia's International House) off 125th Street is really lovely. I had heard that it could be dirty and not that great. But I have no idea what those people were talking about. Yes, my room is quite warm. (Why do they think they don't need air conditioning?) I'll post pictures later of the I-House and my quaint room.

As soon as we dropped off our bags at our new home, we hurried to the Harlem Church building for FHE. (Maria is a co-chair.) We passed the Apollo on the way to the building. I can't wait to go to an amateur night. Tiffany and I stopped at Sylvia's Soul Food for dinner since we both had only eaten breakfast (and it was 8 p.m.) 

Sylvia's is a popular restaurant in Harlem serving their famous chicken and waffles. It was delicious. Because we stopped for food, we missed most of fhe, but we did get the chance to meet several people in the ward. 

Well Toto, we're not in Utah anymore. New York couldn't be more different. I hope I will love it here. And the Bronx.