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| New York City, November 1999 |
The trip to New York came out of the blue. Tama, my best friend from high school, decided to visit me in Portland, Oregon, from Tokyo. En route, she decided to visit New York. Alone.
This plan sounded crazy. First of all, New York doesn't happen to fall in between Tokyo and Portland. Secondly, she doesn't know anyone there. And thirdly, her English skills at that time seemed questionable. (since this trip, she has taken private English lessons from a Moroccan guy who were raised in Canada, which worries me in a different sense.) I suggested that she should at least let me tag along. She agreed. This is how I got an excuse to skip the town.
When we finally got in a self-claimed "Bed and Breakfast" in NoHo, I was glad that I employed myself as her chaperone. Tama picked this particular accomodation. It was a dive. This "bed and breakfast" didn't come with breakfast. It came with a tiny dusty kitchenette, under-construction shower, and a sink with its water never shutting all the way. We had to listen to the water dripping all night if it weren't for the constant chaotic noise from the outside. This place was very closely situated near CBGB. It was a place for partying, not for sleeping. And speaking of sleeping, the beddings at this dive were close-out assortments from K-Mart. I slept under a Pocahontas blanket.
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By the way, our beds were clammed into a living room section of a one-bedroom apartment. Some other Japanese traveller(s) was occupying the bedroom. What separated us from people in the bedroom was just an acordion divider. Needless to say, I felt a little insecure. As luck would have it, we escaped without any damage to us nor property. Thank heavens.
Accomodations aside, I had a great time in NYC. Definately a place I plan to visit again.
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