The thing with Spanish verbs..

Recently, i have taken to relearning the lovely language of Spain (and Mexico, most of Latin America and huge chunks of the US), trying to pick up where i left off almost 5 years back. And it aint easy doing this by yourself.
I started with an e-book from the library, and what a pleasure it was to be able to know individual nouns and questions words and everything else they could possibly teach you in a 3 hour session.
Essentially-nothing much.
So while i could perhaps tell you the spanish for bread, butter and cheese, i still had little to no clue about sentences. most importantly, the verbs. Those teeny tiny words that bring action into your statement. Essentially, without the verb, you're nowhere.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
they sure are the toughest things to get in your head, especially when the teaching method is an english-to-spanish website for conjugating verbs.
After sufficient mugging up, i can now effectively say " i go, you go, she goes" and "i see, you see, he sees" but thats where it ends.
I am a sucker for perfection, and even though i am not even close to being in the vicinity of perfect, i have not given up yet.
Next on agenda: the past tense. Wish me la suerte. I sure need it!

A homecoming of sorts

The West Coast and its laid-back way of life is all very well, and i am not gonna deny i love the clean streets, the well-behaved traffic and the easygoing folk here. But being in New York, felt like being home. The jaywalking, the honking-forever cabbies, the bumpy subrides, the spirit of being alive and screaming it to the world, till late into the wee hours of the morning..that felt like Mumbai to me. Of course, Mumbai is not technically home, but it feels like. Which is why a trip to New York made me feel rejuvenated, as though i had been lovingly fed by my mother till i refused to eat anymore.

To make this experience more surreal, i was in the Big Apple during Christmas. And was it magical! Who would have thought window displays could be as lavish, as grand, and as creatively intricate as those of Macys, Saks and Lord & Taylor? Sure, i cant afford to buy the one fragrance i liked in Saks, aggressively offered to me on a strip. But that did not stop me from hoping that i could someday dish out 500 dollars for about 10 drops of that heaven. Sure, Bloomingdales clothes were extravagantly priced, and i wondered how Rachel and Monica had the Big Brown Bag always displayed in their kitchen when they barely made money! But thats the whole deal with New York. It embraces one and all. From food on carts to swish fondue places, from Park Avenue apartments to the hostels in Queens, from the straight-out-of-Europe of Little Italy to the colors and affordability of China Town-this city has something for everyone, in a vibrant, sparkling sense that overwhelms a first-time visitor.

As a tourist, you have your hands (and itinieries)full with the long list of must-see attractions. But as just an explorer, you have tonnes to do too. Spend a day with a picnic basket in Central Park, feed the ducks and watch kids learn how to ride a bike. Browse through the art galleries of Little Italy and satisfy the artistic soul in you. Go have the Frrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity Cafe on Spring Street after popping into Bloomingdales across the road. Look up the winners of the Vendy Awards ( an award that recognizes the best steet food in the city)and discover why New Yorkers love these guys and their carts. And just be swept up by the surging crowds at Times Square while you watch the billboards. I could go on and on here....

I know people who did not like New York when they visited, and it beats me why. I could keep exploring the place and not have enough! Its love alright, why else am i itching to be back there soon, soak it up some more, and start longing all over again.

Oh, i forgot-the Broadway Hard Rock Cafe is the best one i've seen so far. Does that count??!