Thursday, September 17, 2009

Is this Still On?

Hello? Check one, check two. Anyone out there?

Hmmm.

Well, my frequent absences from blogging probably mean that only one person is now reading this, but I have semi-successfully moved continents. I say semi-successfully, because really, all I've done since moving is 1) worked 2) slept 3) caught up on awesome American television 4) got a new mobile phone number.

I am sort of existing in a permanent state of exhaustion. I still have a hacking cough that I picked up in Bombay (pollution is my friend!). I am still jet-lagged. I still don't know where a good portion of my stuff is.

I'm also suffering from a little bit of culture shock. I know ... culture shock between London and New York City? But, yes. And sadly, New York is way less green than I would have imagined. The fair trade products that are all over London still haven't made their way across the pond. Where are the compost bins? Hell, where are the recycle bins?!

On the other hand, the subway is open 24 hours and the bars are open until 4am, and you can get any food you want delivered to you at 11pm. Plus, American chocolate chip cookies are so much more satisfying than digestive biscuits. But I do miss my jacket potatoes with beans and cheese.

Anyhow, more to follow as I recover from moving exhaustion and adjust to this new city.

16 comments:

Kerri said...

The lack of recycling bins in my own city (I'm about two hours from NYC) is so frustrating. It'll be interesting to me to see what other differences you notice between the two continents.

I've been lurking for awhile, so, hello!

heidi said...

Any part of Europe, compared to any part of the US... the greenest city in TX is Austin and you can't find a recycle bin to save your life!

Chile said...

Welcome back to the States. On a similarly sad note, I was shocked to find that Trader Joe's does not recycle in Tucson. The City, which provides recycling containers for residential customers apparently does not for all businesses. (Maybe they have to pay?) Kind of disgusted me because the City is always pushing recycling but not making it easy for the biggest producers of recyclable garbage. Anyway, I brought home the four plastic jugs I saw in TJ's trash to put in my own recycling, and will eventually call the City to see what's up with their policies.

I'm sure you can find ways to green up NYC...once you recover from your exhaustion, of course.

Sam said...

Welcome back! I've been reading many articles touting how green NYC was. I didn't think it really was considering the damage that the tourists leave every day, but maybe you can get knee deep into discovering the real truth.

You know Fresh Kills is in your backyard now. Planning a visit? I wanted to before I left the East Coast but couldn't get around to it.

Green Bean said...

Welcome back to the US. Great to have you back on the same continent.

pink dogwood said...

welcome back :)

Anonymous said...

Hi. Just wanted to say hi.

Farmer's Daughter said...

Well I hope you enjoy fall in the Northeast!

If you're ever looking for a farm to visit one weekend for a hayride and pumpkins, the train ride is only a few hours :)

ScienceMama said...

*Mwah*

Welcome home!

Lauraz said...

Welcome back! I just moved from Mexico back to the States and I can really relate to the culture shock. I thought the U.S. was going to be so much greener than where I was living and people just threw their trash in the streets. But moving back, I was shocked at how much waste there was. I think you commented on my post about it over at Fake Plastic Fish.

Chile said...

Lauraz - did you move back to Arizona? I'm in Tucson...

(Ruchi - sorry for going off-topic!)

Lauraz said...

Chile,

Yes, I did move back here. I am in Phoenix.

Oldnovice said...

Good to see you back. Did you have that job lined up before you left London?

Robj98168 said...

In Burien. My fair city bordering Seattle, after the city hassled the residents about recycling I am starting to see recycling garbage cans throughout our little downtown. I am not convinced though it is just not a tad bit of greenwashing.

Anyway- Welcome back to the US of A!

Stephanie said...

Reverse culture shock generally affects most people! Don't be too shocked by it. Welcome back; looks like your estimate of "one" reader really wasn't correct. ;)

organicneedle said...

Welcome to the city! You will find plenty to love and there is certainly greenness lurking if you know where to lurk. Your building doesn't have recycling bins? NYC isn't great about recycling everything,like plastic other than #1, but what they do recycle I find pretty well organized. Although there is no compost collection, there are places you can bring your compost...like Union Square. As far as fair trade, Whole Paycheck has a decent convenient selection. Plus there are tons of little crunchy independent places that will track things down for you. That is one of the amazing things about NYC...if it exists in the world, you can probably find it here...even at 11PM.

What part of the city are you living in?