The Contrast

Dedicated to my dearest friends in New York, you know who you are. Written on July 6, 2013

It is inevitable to think about the life I am leaving behind and the one I am about to live- it’s only 6 weeks, my friend Shashwat would say- but it is more than that. After 5 years of living in New York this is the first time when I have been sad about leaving, even for a short time. It simply is different.

Diego is currently in Boston so I stayed with him for my last week in the US and during my morning travel I met Ricardo and Alberto on the bus Boston-New York. They are chemical engineers. It is hard to believe, but for the past few weeks I have only met either engineers or people from, guess where: Kumasi, Ghana, where I am going. It’s incredible, the power of our minds and beings. I guess I exude to the universe that I am very passionate and currently immersed in this sanitation world.  Even my partner on the plane is an environmental engineer from Cameroon.

But anyways, the conversation immediately got terribly technical until we had exhausted any geeky topic of conversation you can imagine, yes, we even talked about how Tesla is the geekiest scientist to haveever lived. But then we talked about

Latinamerican politics and a bit of art, I even read one of the monologues from the vagina monologues for them- they had never seen the show and well, since I directed it, I have been obsessed.

As we arrived to NY, I left to the lab and met up with Shashwat, had Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch, walked back to the lab, did some computer modeling and then showed Ricardo around the area, including Saint John the divine and the peace fountain. Followed by that I went to see my friends from Ryan Cole and the Paper souls play in a sketchy bar in midtown; I had to dance away and got some of my friends from Mailman to dance with me; the music ranged from some funky ass jams to waltz.

From sketchiness we moved to glamorous - drinks at the View from the Marriot Marquis Hotel, this bar rotates so you can actually see the whole city as you have food or drinks. It’s quite a mesmerizing view of this city I never thought I’d love so much, best described by a single facebook post I recently made about my favorite facebook page (by far):

“This song brought me to tears. 8 years ago I jinxed it, saying I wouldn't ever live in New York. 5 years ago I got to New York and was ready to leave by the first winter. Now, living in New York has shaped me and I am afraid of what will become of me once I leave. Humans of New York, I have become one of you."

Today before I left, I went for pizza at Lombardi’s in the middle of Little Italy/Soho and then walked up to the Strand to grab some books for my trip. Then I ran around like a chicken without a head getting my luggage together et al until I had to take the subway to the airport. (Couldn't have done without the help of Suma, Elyse and Shashwat)

For this first time I feel grounded in New York because I have found the eclectic in New York finally recognized in myself. But really, it is the people with whom I have been building relationships what has made this city finally my home. Although this could happen anywhere, all my great times with friends have also been accompanied by walks in the Highline, amazing dim sum in Chinatown, taking in views from the top of the Met and feeling like the work I am doing matters, both from my work in the lab as well as AC4.

Once I was saying good bye to those friends who have shaped NY in me, I felt that deep sadness with a mix of bliss that fills me only when I am leaving a place I got to call home: Ecuador and the MV explorer- but it was really because there are people who had made me feel loved and appreciated and afraid that I won’t see them again in the same circumstances because they will never be replicated.

But about the contrast, well, as far as I hear from the people I have been meeting recently, it is certainly a place to visit. This is especially important because my first impulse to blog arose from my return from Kenya, the first time I step foot in the African continent. May be one day I will actually post my journal from that trip here. 

I have a lot to give to Ghana through the work I'll be doing and I know Ghana has a lot to teach me; I'm giving myself away and just passing by.