New becomes an habit

As days goes by, you try to develop habits. “There's a cool Thai restaurant down the street where we love to eat!”... That's the kind of habits I don't have yet.
BUUUUUT! Coming from Paris, NYC is like a fat food paradise. There. is. food. everywhere.

Leaving France, I was wondering how I could survive for 6 months without bread, cheese, and the holy sacred french gastronomy. What a lie to myself! It feels like I've eaten more since my arrival than during my entire life in France. Every meal and with the same thought: “I'll never eat again, I'm done with junk foods.” It generally lasts until the next appealing fast-food (One “I'm done with junk foods” unit equals to more or less 500 m).

Manhattan seen from a tasteful doughnut 🍩

Brooklyn has a very different vibe from Manhattan. It's much more popular city with a lot of residential areas. Coming from a popular city near Paris, I didn't really know what to expect. Everybody seems really friendly. It's always full of life, day and night. That's a feeling I've had in every place I went during my first days. You just have to your shyness away to start a conversation with anyone.

Puppies or humans? said the stranger.

Roaming in Brooklyn

Manhattan looks like a ghost city. A ghost city? Nah, some irreducible New Yorkers are still roaming around the 5th Avenue. The few ones we saw on the street didn't seem that concerned about the virus, but the fact that it was almost desert shows that everyone is concerned.

It's much less impressive when all roads are empty, the Avenue almost silent. Can't wait head back to the 5th when the situation will be back to normal.

South entrance of the 5th Avenue

We spent an afternoon walking from Washington Park to the Empire State Building. Just like proper tourists. Didn't make it to the top of the Building, I wasn't psychologically ready to spend $45 on an elevator ride. I'm probably not American enough... yet.

Empire State Building seen from its bottom

The good thing with that virus is that it made me less stressed about the concerns I had when my plane took off. When you're thinking like everyone about how the next week will be, work or social pressure seem much more manageable. I hope that I'll be able to see NYC in normal conditions. Probably not before a few weeks.

I'm glad I'm here with a friend. It would have been much harder to handle this new life, especially with the outbreak.

My internship begins tomorrow. Can't wait!