But you learn, my God do you learn.” - C.S. Lewis
That is what road trips are all about, right? All about the experience. Experience as much as you possibly can, search as much as your eyes can possibly behold, hear as much as your ears can take in, dance as far as your legs will take you. Experience is indeed a brutal teacher, the brutalest of them all. Because instead of preparing and then taking the test, you have to take the test and see what you know. Experience has not been a brutal teacher to us on this northern journey...yet. Everything has gone smoothly, everything has gone exactly according to plan. So have we learned? Have we learned in volumes or even learned to a depth so that we will retain everything we are taking in, in its purest form?
As we ventured around New York we did the tourist thing. Okay, truthfully we did a very lazy version of the tourist process. We went everywhere we wanted: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway, Empire state building ... okay so we went to all of theses places, to only view them from a far, view them from across the water, from across the city, from ground level. Because they all had lines, very very long lines, and something we have found out that the three of us girls have in common is this: we want our gratification instantly. It's not that we complained or were upset or pitiful since we did not experience these blocks in the foundation of our nation, we just saw the wait and said, "eh, good enough let's move on." So have we experienced NY to the fullest? i don't know.
But I have been leaving out a very important part of this trip. Where we lay our heads at night to sleep. Candice had relatives in Brooklyn, relatives she had never even met before. And they welcomed us into their home and treated us like royalty and acted as if all three of us were there nieces. It was incredible, welcoming, encouraging, energizing. But we departed the El Salvadorian home this afternoon after our last big night in NY (which consisted of a rooftop garden, men from Ireland, New Zealand and Greece, and 3am pizza and 5am donuts, can you say a wonderful experience success?) and headed on our way to Long Island.
Which is where we lay our weary bodies to dream tonight. We are staying at the Smith's, seeing a quaint Long Island town, gazing at a beautiful river in our backyard, planning a trip to surf the beach, preparing for Jazz music festivals and experiencing new worlds. Every corner of NY was different from the other, just as the east is different from the west on this diverse Island. So we begin a new chapter to this short story.
While traveling with Candice if you want her to be talkative and attentive give her 3 drops of coffee, you want her to sleep put her in a moving vehicle. You want Lacey to be in a good mood keep walking, keep going; you want Lacey to be grumpy sit down & don't move, or just do yoga. I am currently experiencing America's north east with an El Salvadorian, a cow girl and a hippie. I feel guarded by a perfect variety/combination of women, especially since all three are nurses (or heading in that career direction). And with the the undeniable skill I contain for accidents, experiencing America with nurses just seemed wise. This way I am prepared in case I choke on a papusa, or get bucked off a horse, or get beaten for throwing out radical views. That is comforting, because you never know what I may get myself into. Although, I have kept in the clear for the trip so far I have my fingers crossed that my life will be "normal" for these couple weeks.
But, then again why would I want to be normal? Why would I want to be safe and comfortable? i don't. Give me experience, give me lessons, give me life.
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