Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

It’s so humid, it feels like I’m walking in a sauna. Again today, it’s been sprinkling periodically. I can’t tell if it’s raining or it’s just so humid that the sky is dripping. At least it’s overcast so we can walk around and enjoy the sites without roasting. While it may sound like I’m complaining (to be certain, I do that with some regularity), in this case I’m just observing the amazing difference between New York and Phoenix. There isn’t one minute of the day that I don’t feel like a STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. Some of the more remarkable differences …

“DOMESTICS” … there are so many people who seem to be looking after other people. Often, they’re women from Asian, Indian or African nations. They push the dozens of strollers (giant strollers, I might add … in Phoenix people have big cars, in New York, the size of your stroller shows your economic status) moving on each block of the city, they follow motorized wheelchairs and other vehicles for the elderly, and they bring tastefully dressed Caucasian children to the deli for lunch. There were two particularly odd moments I witnessed with “domestics.” A woman with three boys in very large strollers (in fact, the boys looked too large for the strollers) came into Starbucks with her teen domestic. She patronizingly asked the girl if she wanted something since the boys were having a treat. It was very odd. Another domestic tried to order lunch for the children in her charge. Her English was so poor, she had to get the child (about age 6) to order for them. It’s such a different world.

“DELI” … there’s a deli on every corner and the food is so fresh and delicious. In Phoenix, it’s hard to find something quick, cheap and good (what’s the saying … pick any two because you can’t have all three at once). Well, in NYC you can get all three in most shops! Yesterday, Alec and I ate lunch for $9.56. Both of us. Fresh sandwiches and beverages for less than $10. I don’t think we can eat at Burger King for that. There was so much, Alec had to bring half his sandwich home. And, the joy for me … no dishes to do afterwards. Simply amazing.

“SO MUCH TO DO” … ironically, everyone keeps asking me what I’m doing, like I should be hitting all the tourist spots. I guess it’s the same way people always ask if we go to the Grand Canyon. It’s there so it must be THE thing to do. NYC has so many things to do and see. I could spend a fortune visiting all of those things but, to be honest, I’m enjoying wandering around, getting the feel of the city. I’m liking the experience of being relocated in space. I feel like someone snatched me out of MY space/time continuum and thrust me into a different one. Very Star Trek … or SYBIL … regardless, I’m enjoying the discombobulation. I’m trying to use it as training for going to Zambia. The challenge of finding a comfort zone in the face of total change and chaos.