Tuesday, May 5, 2015

10 things I learned in April

Linking up today with Emily at Chatting at the Sky for her monthly "What I learned" link up! A time where we share the mundane and epic. I'd say most of mine this month are epic learnings. Here, in no particular order, are ten things I learned in April.


A week ago I returned from five days with friends I'd never met in person. We met online through Brene Brown's e-course on her book The Gifts of Imperfection last year. We decided it would be fantastic to meet up in real life!

Each of us had to step out into courage to book tickets or drive to meet one another. What an adventure it was as we met face to face and spent five days seeing the sites of New York City! 

We traveled from Thailand, Utah, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Canada, California and Iowa. 






My list of "things I learned" in April is all from this epic trip!



1.  Hailing a taxi isn't as hard as I imagined.  I had been anxious about this part of NYC for awhile. Never had ridden in, much less hailed a taxi. Here are the directions for hailing a taxi:

A. stand out by curb
B. stick out your arm really high, like you are in school
C. step into taxi when it pulls over for you.
D. tell taxi driver the address where you need to go
E. pay with cash or swipe your credit card 


2.  20% tips are the suggested minimum in NYC taxis. I wouldn't want to try tipping less.

3.  This was my first time ever in New York City so I was definitely a newbie at everything. I grew up on a farm and never realized that this kind of trip would be a reality someday! Woo hoo!

4.  The views from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building at midnight are a sight to behold!







5.  Meeting my dear online friends in real life was a huge blessing. Getting to hear their voices and see their smiling faces. Priceless!

6.  Seeing Lady Liberty is so much better than on a post card. She's regal, stately and elegant. I can just imagine how my dad must have felt coming to America in 1948 and seeing her for the first time from his ship!




7.  Going to Ellis Island where my father came in to the United States from Sweden in 1948 was very moving for me. I was able to look up his name on a computer right there and see the ship manifest where his name and important information was written when he was registered. Awesome.

8.  Manhattan has 13,000 taxis, and 85% of Manhattan-ites do not own a car. (wow, I would miss my car!)

9.  Delta Airline snacks brought much more joy than they should have.





10.  I was moved more than I thought possible by Monet, van Gogh, Picasso and Klimt at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. I don't consider myself an art museum junkie at all. But, when I saw these originals, something clicked. I got what all the fuss is about!






There are so many more things I could've written on this list, like how fun it was to walk around on Rockefeller Plaza, where I used to watch Bryant Gumbel, and now Matt Lauer and Al Roker from NBC news interview people right there in front of the building!

Thanks for letting me reminisce a bit on a fantastic trip.

Blessings to you, friend.

~Anne



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