The Poconos, New York City, Nomad, Vagabond

After two and a half days of driving, we arrived in Pennsylvania to spend some time with my mom's family. Nebraska, Iowa, and Indiana were obnoxiously hot. Zack was my copilot, he was pretty calm for most of the trip but didn't do a whole lot of driving, mostly sleeping in the passenger seat. :) The cool water of Fairview Lake in Paupack was a welcome change from being couped up in a vehicle driving across the torrid midwest summer.

The last two weeks or so have been interesting and fun. I was able to spend time with aunts, uncles, cousins, my siblings, my grandma and my mom. Hanna met almost all of my mom's side of the family, we spent a lot of time by and in the lake, swimming, boating, relaxing. Zack seems to be enjoying PA for the most part. The humidity seems to have helped keep his nose from getting too dry and he seems to have an extra bounce in his step when we go for walks. The first day we had him at the dock, he launched himself into the lake in pursuit of my aunt Cathy's dogs at the next closest dock, seemingly not realizing that once he fell into the water, he'd have to swim to get anywhere. He looked panicked for a second, swum in a circle, and turned right back around, the terrified look in his eyes screaming at me "MATT MATT MATT GET ME OUT OF THIS WATER HOLY CRAP!!!!". It was surprising and amusing to witness.

I came into New York City last week to meet Hanna, meet up with some of my good friends from Peace Corps, and check out an apartment that we are trying to get into. Hanna found a nice place in upper Manhattan that we put in applications for and we've got our fingers crossed that we can possibly move in sometime this week or weekend. I've been spending a few days in the city, going back and forth between a friend's place and my aunt Peggy's house in Long Island. I'm a nomad, vagabond, call me what you will, at the moment and really looking forward to getting settled into an apartment in the city so I can do some more exploring and hopefully find some temp work.

New York City is, in one word, crazy. There are people everywhere, there's something going on on every street corner, there is so much to see, so much to listen to. It's so much louder and more fast paced here than in Colorado. I take the subway everywhere so I'm constantly watching people, wondering about them. There is so much diversity here. It's so amazing to me how many different ethnic groups have such a large presence in this city. So many people from so many different walks of life, all living crammed into one city. It's incredible.

I've taken a lot of pictures, I've asked a lot of questions, I've eaten a lot of good food, I've caught up with friends from Peace Corps Mongolia, I've been lost, I've gotten on the wrong train, I've met some new and interesting people and it's only been a few days. I'm doing my best to stay optimistic and curious. I'm here for at least two years, going to make the most of it.

18 days until my trip to Kenya. Can't wait. Here's a few pictures I took over the past week.
Driving across the country. Sunset in Ohio.


Fairview Lake, Paupack PA, view from my aunt's dock


Few random shots in New York City