Plans Fail: A Sudden Trip to New York City

Moving to France to eat croissants and macarons all day might sound “easy” or “spontaneous,” but it actually takes a lot of planning and, how do I put it? …logistical manoeuvres. There are a few ways to get here: as a student, as a student/au pair, as a worker, or as the family member of a European person. The option that made the most sense for Erik and I was to become family members, i.e.: get married.

Up until last week, we had been planning on marrying in Sweden, Erik being a Swede and all. We had the tickets bought, we had plans for me to finally meet his family, and we were about to leave in less than a week. However, when we found out that some documents we sent hadn't been deemed "official" enough, we had to make a sudden change of plans. It’s not like we have all the time in the world, either - there’s a definite timeline to apply for residency, which is constantly hanging over my head.

Our solution? New York City.




It was certainly a lot of fun, but it was also really stressful. I was born American, but in many ways, New York felt like a foreign country. After attempting to walk from the Empire State Building up to Central Park, I realised that this is NOT a city made for sightseeing walks; it’s overwhelmingly expansive. In Paris, all you have to do is pick a street - any street - and it will be beautiful or charming or interesting in some way. New York requires a lot more city knowledge. New York also feels much grittier - rougher. I would imagine that the typical New Yorker is generally a tougher kind of person.






{IT WAS COOOOOLD!}
The day we got married was the coldest we experienced during our 5-day trip, and although my bare legs were frozen, the bright sunshine and clear skies made up for it. The Manhattan City Clerk’s Marriage Bureau was quite lovely: nothing over the top, but quite a few steps up from the DMV for sure. Some of the other government buildings nearby were pretty impressive and made for a good picture of us :D





We had some great pizza at Lombardi's, saw the city from the Rockafeller building, took some taxis, admired some fire escapes, went to a couple great bars, explored the Metropolitan Museum, strolled through Central Park, and best of all, GOT MARRIED!













I’m so excited to be home. Although I wouldn’t say that France feels like home by any stretch of the imagination, when I’m with somebody I love, I feel secure. When you’re out in the big world, within endless urbanscapes that swallow you up in machine dust and human grime, in a place where you feel sick, tired, scared, and confused, the best remedy possible is to have someone by your side.




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