NEW YOAK

every now and then i get the strange urge to write in my blog again. indeed my posts have been dwindling, but for those of you who still check from time to time, (and mom and dad) heres whats new...

its been almost 2 weeks since i moved my butt into an nyu apartment by union square in the city (new yoaaak city). the apartment is basically just a dorm room with a kitchen, living room, and other bedroom attached - very simple - but its all i need. i dont spend much time in the room because hey, its new yoak city right?

my job in harlem has been okay. ill leave it at that. were painting a mural but today since it was forecasted to rain all day my boss said we could cancel work (the mural is outside). so i called all the kids and cancelled. and now its sunny as ever. free day! thank you weatherman!

in my free time, ive been busy as ever - running all over the place. ive been checking out parks and cafes like its my job. my favorite cafe is still the Cake Shop down in SoHo, but there are quite a few other ones that are up there. i hate the fact that coffee prices are ridiculous these days, so i only go to cafes when i plan on spending some time there, reading or writing or something. that way i at least feel like im getting my moneys worth.

ive been reading a ton. right now im reading the glass castle, small is beautiful, and africa trek. i have a laundry lists of other books i need to get to before school starts. ahhhh!

ive also been running a TON. i dont know how, but im suddenly a good runner! yesterday i ran 5 miles which is the farthest ive run since my track days back in high school! its really nice to run along the river and definitely helps me to clear my head from a busy day at work (we end at 330 so i can run while its still light out).

the other thing ive been doing is going to african dance! i found this place called Djoniba that is just 4 blocks away from my apartment and its pretty cool. i just got back from a af dance class actually and guess who was in it. tyra banks. yep. not kidding. the teacher was this cool dude named bangaly who is from cote d'ivoire and he speaks julakan which is basically the same as bambara so he had me speak to him in front of the whole class to prove to them that i can speak it. ohhhhhhh bambara!

the other nice thing about new york is that i know lots and lots of people living here for the summer. its so nice to be around friends again (philly did get a little lonely sometimes!)

but all that said, im really ready to go back to st louis. i miss my wash u friends oh so much! and i know it sounds dorky, but im really excited for the classes im taking this semester. i havent been in class for so long! ;aklsjdflakhhhh!

thats the update for now... if youre reading this, send me an email back and let me know what youre up to!
ciao
BINTOU