"Now I know that rose trees never grow, in New York City" - Elton John

I once heard somewhere that, "the art of travel is to deviate from one's plans."
In my initial plan, I was supposed to stay in Paris until July 19th but at some point in the middle of my trip in Paris, I felt the need to stop in New York on my way home. I've been here only a few hours and I already feel jet lagged and high on coffee. After I get off the plane a very nice cab driver told me that the hotel I was planning on staying in Brooklyn was in the ghetto of ghettos. So he helped me find the YMCA hostel in Midtown Manhattan, which I think is a much better place than what I had originally planned. I'm right across the street from Central Park, ten minutes away from Times Square, and loving every minute of it. Even though I've only been here a short time thus far, the reverse culture shock is starting to kick in full gear.
First of all, it's really weird to be in an elevator and the person is asking me about my day. People are smiling and it's super bizarre. But the one thing that is really starting to stick out is how Americans act. We carry ourselves in such a different way than the French do. In the way that we dress, talk, even standing is totally different. No one really wears UGGs or sweatpants in France, and everyone who has glasses has Ray-Bans, even the little ones. Everyone dresses nicely and I've come to notice how loud Americans really are.
My first day back in America, I decided I needed a bagel and some hot coffee. Of course there's a heat wave, 80 degrees by 9 AM and I cannot resist a nice hot cup of coffee. It may not be anything like France but it was sure delicious. It is incredibly hot but...finally! Sun, heat, no thunderstorms coming out of left field. I am taking in this heat wave with the biggest smile on my face. After this wonderful breakfast and catching up on some reading, I decide I need to do a little wandering. And where do I end up but smack dab right in the middle of Times Square! Naturally I had to do some shopping. I go into the stores and there's someone to greet you and ask you how your day is. They'll say, "Hey, how you doin'?" Once all of my shopping had been fulfilled, I thought it might be a good idea to check out Central Park. I have to admit, it's not as beautiful as the Luxembourg Gardens I was used to for two months but still pretty awesome anyway. There I pretty much wandered, watched a couple of baseball games with the faint smell of dirty water hot dogs in the air. So much wandering, so many new things to see, I can't wait to do even more exploring.
Probably the most American thing I've done in two months....