Between New York & Charlotte

My cousin Carla, upon stepping out of the Penn Station and into the busy 34th St, exclaimed out loud, "Now, this is America," which was pretty funny since Carla arrived in the US six months ago and has been living in Charlotte, North Carolina. "I think I'm going to cry," she continued. I think many would share the same sentiment. New York after all is the state that's most associated to America. It is the beacon of the American dream, and the setting to many well-loved films, series, and stories.

We are placestruck by it.

New York was in the itinerary of our first US trip ten years ago so I wasn't as excited as Carla was, but I was still looking forward to it. I looked forward to seeing the Ground Zero and to see how New York would seem to the dreamy 24 yr old me.

Would it still be about looking up at the Statue of Liberty and guessing where the MTV building is, like it was 10 years ago when I was 15? (Answer: Nope, I didn't mind at all that we only saw the Statue from the Staten Island Ferry port. And when Karen pointed out the MTV building for me at Times Square, I just went, "Oh yeah.")

Would New York be that tug in the heart, pumping it faster, producing a new inspiration? (Answer: Yep.) Would I get sucked into its fast-paced, always-on-the-go, dream-and-achieve-it-fast culture, wanting to be part of it? (Yep, though I want to make clear that the new inspiration doesn't draw me necessarily towards New York, but to any place with the self-employed "make it happen!" spirit)

I was not only placestruck by New York; I actually wanted to get to know it.

We were in Charlotte before taking the 13-hr train ride to New York. Our host tito Mike would joke, "You're going to New York after Charlotte. Oh boy, will you be culture shocked." Oh boy was he right. While Charlotte's roads and highways abound with trees in deep-autumn colors, glass and concrete practically mushroom in New York City. Not to mention, the crowds on the streets, the city's natural feel of hurry, the vicious drivers, the lights, the congestion. In the contrary, Charlotte looks and feels like it has all the time and space in the world. There's always a patch of trees, bushes, plants that separate one establishment from another, and so much air between people. To New York's feisty, Public School-grown blonde, Charlotte is like a reserved, boarding school-bred brunette. Though they sit close to each other in the American map, they are worlds apart.

While New York inspires the heart to get going, Charlotte convinces it that it is already home.