Baseball Lessons and Juxtaposition in NYC

Having been told that the next day would be my last and thus having realised my ambition of surviving my internship with no major mishaps (yet. There's always still time I guess) it seemed like a good time to fulfill my other ambition; that of learning the rules of baseball. Or softball. Is there a difference?? I'm not sure.

Anyway, there's a pitch really close to where we're staying so I trotted off to be American and sit on the bleachers and say stuff like 'Way to go!' Basically, it's rounders, isn't it? Rounders with some added rules for complication and more equipment and some magical cue where they all know that it's time to swap who's batting and who's fielding.

So maybe I'm not entirely sure of all the rules yet, but I'm definitely getting there. Sitting on the wooden bleachers in the warm evening eating cherries and watching the baseball game in all its Americaness was perfect. And it made me want to join a sports team! It was all so jolly and friendly that me and Rain have decided that at uni we're going to become members of every club going. I haven't played netball in years but there's no reason why I shouldn't start again.

We especially loved the white tops with red sleeves in true baseball style.

Once the game had ended (I do know who won but only because of their jubilation - I got the impression that they were the underdogs and not very used to winning) we came up with the really bright idea that we simply had to see the Statue of Liberty at night. Obviously, we're poor students and so never want to spend any more money than we need to, which basically translates as spending no money on anything but clothes and sustenance, and so decided that we could totally not get the ferry and just, like, see it from the shore. And so we headed out to the river.

Once we got there we realised that our bright idea was maybe not so bright and that if you squint really hard you can just about make out the Statue of Liberty in the darkness. So that was a teeny bit of a fail.

But the river at night was beautiful. All the lights blinked back at their reflection in the river and Brooklyn Bridge was lit up like Christmas and the half moon hung over the water. It was like magic, especially as we stumbled upon the wistful clearing of the waterfront out of the urban jungle of the financial district totally by accident and without warning. As we drifted down the river we were drawn to the lights and cool bustle of Pier 17, which once again showed the way that New York is a city of contradictions and juxtaposition. Everything that conflicts is next to each other, and somehow match perfectly.

Pier 17 had loads of bars and restaurants, and some cool little stalls, and a couple of uber cool people dancing, which seems obligitory everywhere you go in New York. We keep making plans for when we all (the six of us girls) come back here when we're all 21. Until then, we've vowed to treat London differently; more like we're on holiday, more like it's the first time we're seeing it and less like everywhere takes ages to get to and probably wont be worth it when we get there.