Updates...mid month-Sept

After the lights of NY...NJ seems alian... I mean NJ is quiter than even the outskirts of any of our cities...in almost all indian cities/towns and villages(here, i guess),in the evenings, you will always see some children playing, some people strolling out on the streets, you can hear people and families...here, by the time i come back - 8pm!!!! {what is 8pm i ask you?} there are some (read:2-3) people waiting for a bus into NY and ONLY cars on the streets rushing towards their destinations (offcourse, they ALL spare a cursory glance for me - which is a change, pleasant or not, from NY where people would go right through me if they could!...i wonder, what they must think of this woman carrying a back pack like a kid and a purse like a lady and standing at a gas station corner!)....I digress...time for a color change...NJ is a pleasant surprise...well, atleast the part i am in... and a b'ful name like meadowlands... oh, and today i made my 1st acquintance...with dr.s/proffs no less! and they looked just like normal ppl (this comment comes from my complete inaptitude at anything academic but a dream of being well read and an intellectual -- some day!)....

It has dawned on me:
--Fruits are also FOOD for vegetarians!
-- the commute is worth it for the scenic view :)
-- too much diet coke is STILL a lot of soda! and it causes a tummy upset!
-- I have no concept of $ (I u'stand Rs.100 vs. Rs. 10 but not $10 vs. $1.....)

My progress so far:
--I have understood the concept of uptown/downtown... and as long as i am in manhattan - i can get around! once i know the complete address that is!
-- I have found a good and economical b'fast place -- and which doesnt serve burnt coffee or bagels (unlike the deli next door to my previous hotel)
-- This city - like all others - has its good and bad.... the ugly -luckily i havent seen...(plz! say! tOUcH wOoD :)



Things which fascinate me/ make me want to jump off my yatra vahan (journey vehicle) and go CliCk....cLicK....cLICk.....:

a restaurant in central part with angel lights and lanters...MaGik...I did take pics - i just hope to come out as awesome as the experience

statue of liberty - saw it from the cruise ship... I want to go look closer... I am surprised i found such an overused piece of sculpture to be so fascinating!

homes done up for Halloween.. this is something i have never seen before...the houses look like homes... so comfortable and inviting...truly havens!
(tho' this does leave me wondering - if u r sitting inside yr house - how r u enjoying the garden/window display).... are these for us?
My commuting and travelling is so worth it... i am exploring parts of this city which as a tourist i wouldnt have...

I am very glad in this 1 trip i am getting to experience both lifestyles here in US -the madness of NY - the heart and pulse.... and the suburbs... both lives are so different...yet overlap...

i didnt think i would stay here so long... and I wonder if I have managed to cover a lot here or not! I definitely appreciate this place more each day... I like this place more than when i got here....now all i need is 10,000 - pick yr currency ($/Rs.) a few days off and i will get you reels and reels of AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers,
I