A new day. A new adventure Some people thought I was insane to return to America when the economy was sinking, when I could easily get another teaching job in Asia, when I expressed such dislike over New York, and when I consistently praised the cheapness, the beauty, and the kind people of Asia.I returned to New York anyway.  I was tired of traveling and the inability to hold conversations with others.I cried a few times my first week while staying with a friend in Washington Heights.  I loathed the crowds, the filthy packed subway cars, the dirty and too numerous buildings that seemed as if they wanted to topple on me and press me into the dirty, rat poop-covered sidewalk, the noise noise noise, and the people’s ubiquitous addiction to a Blackberry, an iPhone, or some other electronic device.  What New York claimed as parks were as covered with people as Chinatown and sometimes not much cleaner.  I lost focus.  I had trouble reading, writing, thinking, breathing, and staying in the moment, a concept I found incredibly soothing and relieving in Thailand.  All I longed for were Buddhist temples, parks with waterfalls, and the casual interpretation of time that meant if people proposed meeting at 2 PM, 2:15 or even 2:30 would still be acceptable.My well-being and mentality slightly improved once I moved into my Brooklyn apartment.  I have a spacious bedroom on a tree-lined block inhabited by families.  Down the street, children play basketball in a park or have field trips to the Brooklyn Children’s museum.  There are bike paths on my cross streets, and I’m in close proximity to Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Library, and the Brooklyn Museum.Although I’ve formed a comforting routine of writing, reading, applying to jobs, meditating, and doing yoga, I still don’t know if I can or ever will call New York home.  Sometimes Portland or San Francisco whisper in my ear.  Sometimes, places farther away.  I’ve physically returned to America, but where has my mind settled?  Is this a return to the past or is this really the beginning of another adventure? - Victoria Cho (Img via I Travel East)

A new day. A new adventure

Some people thought I was insane to return to America when the economy was sinking, when I could easily get another teaching job in Asia, when I expressed such dislike over New York, and when I consistently praised the cheapness, the beauty, and the kind people of Asia.

I returned to New York anyway.  I was tired of traveling and the inability to hold conversations with others.

I cried a few times my first week while staying with a friend in Washington Heights.  I loathed the crowds, the filthy packed subway cars, the dirty and too numerous buildings that seemed as if they wanted to topple on me and press me into the dirty, rat poop-covered sidewalk, the noise noise noise, and the people’s ubiquitous addiction to a Blackberry, an iPhone, or some other electronic device.  What New York claimed as parks were as covered with people as Chinatown and sometimes not much cleaner. 

I lost focus.  I had trouble reading, writing, thinking, breathing, and staying in the moment, a concept I found incredibly soothing and relieving in Thailand.  All I longed for were Buddhist temples, parks with waterfalls, and the casual interpretation of time that meant if people proposed meeting at 2 PM, 2:15 or even 2:30 would still be acceptable.

My well-being and mentality slightly improved once I moved into my Brooklyn apartment.  I have a spacious bedroom on a tree-lined block inhabited by families.  Down the street, children play basketball in a park or have field trips to the Brooklyn Children’s museum.  There are bike paths on my cross streets, and I’m in close proximity to Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Library, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Although I’ve formed a comforting routine of writing, reading, applying to jobs, meditating, and doing yoga, I still don’t know if I can or ever will call New York home.  Sometimes Portland or San Francisco whisper in my ear.  Sometimes, places farther away.  I’ve physically returned to America, but where has my mind settled?  Is this a return to the past or is this really the beginning of another adventure?

- Victoria Cho

(Img via I Travel East)