The Train into Amsterdam

After stepping off the plane in Amsterdam, picture after picture in the airport was not of tulips - but rather of the Dutch's engineering accomplishments - bridges, canals, windmills etc. This is not surprising considering the Dutch have the best engineering university in the world, and every monarch that has ruled over them has had the equivalent of a Masters in Mechanical Engineering.  The Dutch, the master designers of people and systems, have created locks, canals, renewable energy sources, and walk/bike-able cities. They want the movement of their day to day business and leisure to be easy. This is a value I have learned to deeply appreciate and even envy as one could make the strong argument that New York City is exactly the opposite - you have to work for every single movement you make around its 5 boroughs. I was looking forward to an easy commute from the airport into the city of Amsterdam.

"The trains are delayed, due to signal malfunctions," the train ticketer told me as I inquired about a train ticket from the airport to the Jordaan neighborhood in Amsterdam.

***

Since I live in NYC train delays have unfortunately become part of my daily life, which means that I'm used to waiting for 20-30 minutes just to see if the train will show up once the delay is announced. This creates the all too familiar dilemma of "calculating" subway probabilities as sweat causally drips down my back as I stand on the sweltering subway platform. Do I leave the station and walk 15 minutes to a different line in hopes that I can catch a different train that will vaguely get me to the place I want to be? Do I bite the bullet and pay the expense for a cab?  Do I stand here and watch the crowds of people and rats grow while the humidity raises in proportion to the crowd's train anxiety? Or do I decide none of this is worth it, cancel my plans and go back home? Ahh yes the subway has been particularly bad this spring/summer. So bad in fact, that the New York Times has called it "The summer of Hell." The subway leaves much to be desired.

***

"They haven't canceled this train yet, it is supposed to arrive in 20 minutes - but everything is delayed in the system - even the trains to the city central, but we can still try if you want. I hope this works" she apologized.

I decide to give it a go anyway. I mean HOW bad can it be - I'm comparing it to the NYC subway system. I can wait an extra 45 minutes if I need to and I have my book with me anyway. It's *almost* like I never left New York.

What I soon learn is that when the Dutch mean "delays on multiple lines" what they really mean is they had to cancel 2 trains, which were clearly marked on the overhead electronic board. So instead of waiting the typical 5 minutes you had to wait 20 - no biggie. Hanging out on the platform with my Starbucks coffee to keep me going for what will most likely be a 36 hour day, two employees on the platform made regular announcements in Dutch and English. They managed the growing crowds expectations like professionals as they showed the people how to line up to disperse them evenly among expected train cars. This is unusual I thought to myself, in NYC nobody tells nobody what's going on and people on the platform are left to guess and fight for their space, usually with swear words not directed at other people but the subway at large. And - there's always that ONE person who is so much better at publicly cursing out the subway you feel you should give them a round of applause because they so well articulate what you feel and know to be true. No such drama of that sort here in the Amsterdam train station.

AND then.... Our train arrived on time.

Thirty minutes and 5 euros later I was at the door of the apartment that I will stay at for the next two days. Umm....... Can we integrate some of that magic Dutch engineering into the NYC subway system please? 

Brexit

What do you get when your New York City goodbye dinner at Bacaro in the Lower East Side includes two of your closest British Friends shortly after the Brexit vote?

A lot of talk about European soccer.

I could have talked about the Brexit politics all night, but recognizing it's a touchy subject for my British friends, it's best for them to take the lead. Both my friends work in America and have been here long enough where they didn't get to vote in the referendum. One of my friends was very pro-stay and the other neutral. The rest of the 2 minutes that they talked about it was mostly making jokes at each other. Example: "I'm having the spaghetti with mussels and I'm NOT sharing. I'm British, not European." To give context, almost all meals we have out as a group we order family style, unless of course, you have the Brit who doesn't want to share. (I tease. I tease.)

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Forgive me, but I find the Brexit politics so interesting!! The first week after the vote I spent an admittedly absurd amount of time thinking, talking, listening, and reading about it. Border line obsession really. I found myself at the end of year staff party being like, ugh... All I want to do is sit in the corner with my closest friends and talk about the implications of the vote or read more articles about it. IS THIS WHAT MY LIFE HAS COME TOO??? Yes, yes it has.

I'm going to put it all out there.. There's so much to be thinking about:

- from the generational divide where millennials will have to live with the consequences of the older generation's vote, 
-the idea that immigration is deeply rooted in how people voted, 
-to the split of the conservative party and resignation of their Prime Minister and how there's no clear leadership to pick up the pieces, 
-to political chaos echoing throughout the UK, 
-to the idea of Scotland becoming independent so they can remain in the EU, 
-to the economics and financial implications across the world, 
-to the idea that $3 trillion vanished from the worlds economy over night, 
-to the downgrading of the UK's S&P rating to AA, 
-to the diplomatic suicide and how countries including our own will respond in their future interactions with the UK, 
-to the idea that Russia could rise as a power in Europe's future (and how scary that could be), 
-to the lack of listening and understanding of the working class by the wealthy elite (and how they were flat out ignored), 
-to the idea that the 2nd most googled word in the UK AFTER the vote was "what is the EU?", 
-to the idea of voters regret, 
-to the the interesting way different media sources take, 
-to the idea that Europe will never be the same again. 


Its all so interesting to me!!! It's like the kind of reality TV I can get into.. except its real. If you have any comments or ideas to add I'm all about it! Please do comment! I'm so eager to talk about this its almost embarrassing- I had to make Facebook down a notch to bring the annoying factor down.

If you want to know more about Brexit, this podcast covers the basics largely from an economics point of view. Take a listen!!
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/06/22/483142244/episode-707-brexit

Leaving New York. A necessity to living there.

New York City has a way of wearing on you. You constantly have to fight for space whether it's an apartment, space on the subway, hailing a cab, a place at the bar, or a table at a restaurant. Half the time you don't even realize you are doing it, the fighting for space montra has been bread into your way of being in New York City - it's essential for survival. It gets old. The only remedy I have found for this sickness is to leave the City for an extended time so that you can remember what life is like without having to fight and claw your way through everything. Somewhere I read that living in New York City is like simulataneously being hugged and punched in the face at the same time. Lately, I feel I have experienced more of New York's boxing gloves than its gentle kisses. Fuck you too, New York!  

I had a friend who described it best. New York City has a boomerang effect. People arrive wide eyed and young hoping to be the next big thing only to be met with a series of comical and at times dangerous challenges. The challenge of the fast pace of the city that doesn't stop for anyone unless you demand it to requires a certain assertiveness not found in many places in America.  To the challenge of the bum on the subway platform asks you to hold something of his and then starts masterbating in front of you. The woman on the bus who shouts about losing her Costco card, how she was raped violently, and blames gentrification. The bro from Wall Street breaks your heart. The men who cat call you around the city and at times even ask for your number because "they want to text you too".  The boring know-it-alls to the homeless drug addicts, to the self righteous stroller moms, to the obnoxious Bernie Bros, to the Hassidic Jews who ignore you, everything can get to be so tiresome. Most people don't have what it takes to last in the city. 

Which is why, it is important to leave. 

And that is where a large chunk of motivation to travel all summer comes from. 

New York City - The City of Immigrants

After the celebration of my 27th birthday down in Red Hook (a Brooklyn neighborhood at the edge of the water near the Statue of Liberty) I took a cab back to the island city of Manhattan. Slightly buzzed with hair flowing through the night breeze I watched the New York City skyline. The Empire State Building was green and red that night for the anniversary of the Dow Jones I discovered after a quick google search. That's disappointing I thought to myself hoping the colors would represent something cooler. Only in NYC would the Empire State Building light up over something financial.

Somewhere on the Brooklyn Bridge, I mentioned Istanbul and how I needed to get back to Turkey.

"Ahhhh!!! You've been to Turkey?!? That is my home country!!" the cab driver exclaimed. I have to admit I was a little caught off guard - not because the man was from Turkey but rather that cab drivers rarely engage in conversation. He shared that he moved here 5 years ago and that he hopes to go back, when things get better. I looked uneasy at my fellow passenger - we both knew Turkey wasn't going to be getting "better" anytime soon or at least without a lot of pain and suffering of the Turkish people. It was a conversation both of us had several times before and we always promised our selves to go back SOON so that we can see Cappadocia and Antalya. I fear that window continues to be closing.

The rest of the ride was pleasant. We talked the rest of the way discussing all things Turkish- from the bathes, to Turkish culture, to Turkish delight. The cab driver even laughed when we told him our stories of Turkish cab drivers in Istanbul (but that's a story for a different time). I imagine laughter doesn't happen often with costumers on the late night taxi drive shift.

At the end of the ride, the man let out a sigh that will haunt me forever.

It must be so hard to be an immigrant.

Especially in New York City.