It's cold over here

Christmas was great, Rob's family welcomed me with open arms, great food, and presents! I was only there for a few days, and then Kelly and I had to see Ernest and Rob off at Newark airport. They are in Rio DeJaneiro right now. Afterwards Kelly and I drove through Jersey, a state I hate, because their freeways are completely confusing, and don't make any sense at all, causing us to get lost a few times. And yes, it was Jersey's fault, not ours. We finally made it into NYC and then into
Brooklyn. Unfortunately Sue and I were not communicating well, and I ended up having to take my backpack back into NYC on the subway in order to meet up and have dinner. Final lesson: Be explicit about where you are meeting and always double check directions people give you. That's all I have to say about that.

Walk, walk, walking, that's pretty much all I'm doing over here in NYC. Up stairs, down stairs, through tunnels, K-town, Chinatown, SOHO, uptown, downtown, back and
forth tobrooklyn . Eating well, and for cheap, which is great. It kind of sucks that it's winter here, and that there are so many cute things to buy that are on sale, but I must not. I must continue to wear my one winter outfit until I make it to Brazil.

Yesterday was an extremely frustrating day to be in the city. It seems as though the
whole population has doubled overnight. Herds of people claim the sidewalks, and you have to literally push your way through in order to make progress. I've never been here near New Year's, and hope to never have to endure this again.

There have been a few times where I have been a little disgusted with all the commercialization that is going on here. Sometimes I think that New York is only good for buying things, and have felt bored at times because I really can't buy anything right now. I understand that it's a hub of culture and all, but there are SO many stores, so many people, so many people with shopping bags, people yelling at you to buy things, it gets a little overwhelming.

Here are some highlights my trip to NY/The East Coast:

Playing hide and seek with Ernest's boy Dylan. He is in the 90th percentile for height and weight for 17 month olds.


Going to Longwood Gardens


Giving out hand-made bird ornaments to friends and family



Waiting in line for Magnolia cupcakes



Beer Garden in Williamsburg!




P.S. Line breaks on blogger SUCK. Tis not my fault.