Before I left for the World Race, the Lord had me spend the first year of my adult, post-college life in the greatest city in the World: New York City. Initially, I wanted to join the World Race right after college so that I could better prepare myself spiritually and emotionally for a life and career in NYC, but as it turned out, the Lord had the opposite in mind. And what’s even funnier looking back is how much God’s plan makes SO MUCH SENSE.
My World Race life and my New York life couldn’t be any different. I remember preparing for Training Camp, practicing hiking 3 miles with a 50 pound pack through Central Park and drawing a lot of stares, and admittedly, I wondered who the heck I had become. But now that I’m a couple of months into this thing, I’m now realizing how much that crazy life in that city prepared me for my crazy life on this Race.
Here are 11 Ways New York City Prepared Me for the World Race.
1. Culture shock is REAL.
If America can be considered the melting pot of the World, then New York City is like the melting soup ladle of the country. Any country in the world you want to visit, there’s probably a neighborhood designated for it (yes, there’s even probably a Little Tajikistan somewhere out there in Queens). In the span of five minutes, you can walk down the street, turn a corner, and suddenly your pleasant walk through the East Village threw you in the middle of an Asian market street where literally nobody speaks English and people are trying to get you to eat their Halal and everything smells like weird fish. It’s the real world, and the more you get used to being thrown into random situations with language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and names of places that you can’t pronounce, you’ll discover that you’re basically the rugged world traveler you always wanted people to think you are. This kind of cultural training even occurred in my own building, through talking in gestures with my building’s cleaning lady because she spoke no English, or when accidentally walked in on my Muslim door woman who had removed her burka and was praying in the storage closet. However, I realized that while my past months on the Race had me navigating foreign cities, eating strange foods, and figuring out bus lines in different languages, nothing could have prepared me better for navigating through foreign territory than learning to translate the subway conductor’s route announcements through the garbled speakers of New York City’s world class metro system.
2. Pinterest is a LIE (and needs a scratch and sniff option).
Pinterest sucks. And not that the photos I had saved up of the countries on my route don’t look like that in real life, but you forget sometimes that there’s a LOT of other elements going on in those photos that make your wanderlust cravings deceiving. Specifically, SMELL. I love the beautiful canyon landscape of New York City, the bright lights of Broadway, and the radiance of Central Park in all seasons. But nothing truly screams New York City quite like the intoxicating smell of steamed pee. Oh, but it gets better! There’s also the poop. Yes. Homeless people poop. In front of you. In broad daylight. And sometimes it happens early in the morning on your commute to work, and you haven’t had coffee yet, and the glorious smell of freshly dropped feces awakens your senses to the glory and wonder that is New York City. Similarly, I’ve come to accept that the Chaco stank that began Month One of the World Race is a FACT of life, and is as such for all seven of my teammates, and has now become one of the more charming realities of my life abroad. Whether I’m staring out to sea watching the sun set over the Pacific, or I’m hiking through the jungle, or I’m exploring new cities, nothing brings me crashing down to earth like the smell of seven sweaty World Racers whose clothes haven’t been washed in two weeks but have still been worn nine times since then.
3. You CAN fit that mattress in a taxi!
I’ve learned to live by the “stuff and pray” method. Here’s how it works:
Step One: Notice that the space you are given is far too small for the amount of things that must fit in it.
Step Two: Breathe, and speak out that Step One is a lie of the enemy.
Step Three: Notice that Step One was actually the Lord speaking, but pray for forgiveness as you attempt to cram anything you can into the small crevices that might still be left over.
Step Four: Worship/praise/fast/dance when everything fits, because you know that the Lord just performed a crazy miracle that’s basically up there with turning water into wine.
This method can be applied to a variety of circumstances. Whether it’s helping your friend move apartments by fitting her queen-sized mattress in the trunk of an Uber XL (who knew it folded in half??), or fitting 11-month’s worth of clothes and living commodities in your small backpack. There can be miracles, when you believe.
4. You CAN fit 10 people in a closet!
You want to know how to cut costs in life? Just give up personal space! Seriously, you don’t need it! Sure, it’ll be tricky fitting 10 people into one small bedroom, but think of the savings you’ll have! Sure, it’ll be tricky sharing one fridge, or one bathroom, or one dresser, or one closet, but… think of the savings!! Sure it’ll be tricky fitting 60 people in the back of one truck, especially when the drive is 30 minutes long and the road is filled with potholes, but… think of the savings!! I’ve learned that my basic rights to personal space are basically a joke in New York City and on the World Race, because if I think that I’m entitled to any sort of personal luxuries, then I remember that I’m living on basically no money, so I better get used to stacking bodies.
5. A dolla (pizza) makes me holla.
You know what my actual favorite thing about New York City is? You might be surprised. It’s Dollar Pizza. It’s one of the most surprising things about New York City, because in a city where the cost of a three bedroom apartment is equivalent to a luxury penthouse in any other city, you CAN blow all your money on your lodging and amenities and still use your leftover pennies to eat! Granted, eating dollar pizza every day is also going to require you to be able to purchase a gym membership or risk dying an early death from heart failure, but it IS possible to survive on cheap food! And speaking of food budgeting, I learned quickly in my time there that if I ate the same lunch every day as I did in the Second Grade (A PB+J, a raw carrot, fruit snacks, a bag of chips, and a cookie – shout out to my main digs LotLess!), I could still afford to go see that new Broadway show I wanted to see. On the World Race, I somehow have to survive on $5 a day for meals, but because life overseas gives you a wealth of cheap food options – for $1 in Malaysia, I can either get a plate of noodles, a Shwarma chicken wrap, sushi, or an Auntie Anne’s pretzel – I’ve learned that cheap food is truly the way to a life of joy and prosperity (maybe not health though…).
6. “It is what it is”; or, “SOCKS”.
My first use of the phrase happened in Costa Rica, when I was painting the walls of a friend’s house and a group of school children ran down the street past me playing tag. Expect… this was no ordinary game of tag. One child was “it”, and by “it”, I do mean “IT” the scary demon clown hat that gave every 90’s child clown PTSD. But for some reason, these kids loved being chased by someone with an oversized clown head in need of an exorcism. I could’ve freaked out, but I instead chalked it up to cultural differences. That’s Costa Rica. “Eso si que es”, I said (spell “SOCKS” for pronunciation assistance). “It is what it is”. I learned to take this approach, because New York is FULL of these kind of occurrences. Seriously. New Yorkers are in to some weird crap. But, what might be creepy or uncomfortable to a passing tourist can actually be charming and magical to someone who uses this phrase. Example: When the man on the other side of the train from you has a parrot, and you notice, and he sends the parrot flying over to you so that he can sit on your shoulder (this ACTUALLY happened to my friend though – see below for photo evidence). Yes, that’s a man taking his parrot on the subway. And you are now holding said parrot. Because you’re in New York City. It is what it is.
7. Poverty is everywhere if you open your eyes.
When I lived in New York, I joked about being poor all the time. It’s kind of a right of passage, the whole starving artist façade. In reality, I was so privileged (solely by the miraculous favor of the LORD), I had literally no right to even joke. Sure, I lived in a room the size of a closet, and I learned to give up some of the luxuries of suburban life, but I still had all of the amenities I needed to survive. But when you live in New York, you’ll find someone living on the street even in the richest parts of town. Every day, I passed dozens of homeless people, begging for food or money, while trying to survive the rough elements of New York City’s schizophrenic seasons. It broke my heart to see so many people suffering, especially those who suffer solely because life dealt them some rough cards. Being in such an expensive city, the Lord opened my eyes to the pain He feels for these people, even though the lights of the city might obscure them from the view of others. He gave me a heart to serve many people I passed by, whether that was through giving them lunch, or water, or even just a friendly hello. God taught me to see with His eyes and His heart, a practice that has continued onto the Race. Regardless of someone’s physical situation, God sees them as valuable, worthy of love, and filled with purpose.
8. Community, or DIE.
There are over 9 Million people in New York City across its five boroughs. And yet, what’s most surprising about this is that most people find themselves feeling isolated. Most of this stems from a pride of being a hardened New Yorker, one that has their go-to bagel shop, has an opinion (that’s better than yours) about all things culture and politics, and can use the subway system like a big boy. But I very quickly learned upon moving to the Big Apple that I could quickly get sucked into negativity and fear and futility without a group of people to seek solace with. Specifically, spiritual community (special shout out to The Nook New York!). And nowhere do I hear the word “community” repeated like the theme song of “It’s A Small World” than on the World Race! I’ve learned that in going on this adventure, living in deep community is as necessary to your spiritual growth as it is to your everyday living. Being away from home and never feeling totally settled down in one place can be pretty discomforting, so to have a family of believers doing life alongside you can make any situation so much brighter. And nothing grows community better than shared experiences, especially those that arise out of really sketchy situations! Some highlights: when my NYC co-workers and I tried to fit a giant Nutcracker sleigh inside a tiny two-person freight elevator, or when my World Race team survived a weekend in that ratchet hostel in Costa Rica. Disastrous circumstances tend to make amazing memories and even better relationships.
9. Surprise! Your plans are ruined!
Ooh, you wanted to get to work on time didn’t you? Well, SURPRISE! Your train is delayed because someone threw up on the 1 train ahead of you at Times Square! Ooh, you thought that travel day to Honduras was gonna be short and easy? Well, SURPRISE! Your 6 hour bus ride just became a 16 hour bus ride, because the Nicaraguan border police want permits for all your guitars, and your bus is so ratchet it fell apart at a police station in the middle of nowhere! I’ve learned to take nothing for granted, expect the unexpected, and #justsayyes to any situation presented to me. This can also have a positive spin, like when I planned to have a normal day at work and suddenly Jane Krakowski is at my window asking about ballet classes, or when I planned to live in a cheap hostel in Kuala Lumpur but instead got offered to live in a crazy amazing high-rise apartment. Expectations are like armpits – everyone has them, but if you give them too much attention, you realize that they really stink.
10. Comfort zones are for the weak.
When I moved to the Big Apple, fresh out of college, NYC welcomed me like a warm, welcoming punch to the face. Suddenly, I was immersed in a culture of busy, important, and aggressively opinionated people, when here I was, an insecure, awkward, and unassuming fresh face who just wanted to blend in. Well, sweetie, blending in is not an option in New York if you want to get anywhere. I learned quickly that if I wanted a job, I had to be aggressive, make bold statements, be myself, and sometimes do things that pissed people off. And I eventually came to do all these things, even though my inner spirit was screaming like the kid from Home Alone. The World Race is also not a place for people who want to blend in – those people don’t even survive training camp. I’ve learned on the Race how to press into vulnerability, own up to my mistakes, and step out into ministry that scares me. Sure, it’s been hecka awkward and laughably painful sometimes, but I wouldn’t have signed up for this thing if that wasn’t what I was already used to!
11. Opportunity abounds when you just say yes.
“Just Say Yes” has been a funny slogan, because I thought initially it had to do with ministry. But really, my life in New York City and on the World Race has been full of amazing opportunities! There have been so many unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime, bucket-list-things-that-weren’t-on-the-bucket-list-until-now-that-I-found-out-about-this-thing kind of moments. Like attending a Broadway awards show, or meeting my favorite musical composer at a Monday night lecture, or getting to perform an original musical in a ballet studio just for fun. On the Race, I’ve learned to take advantage of every opportunity that’s handed to me. That weird food in the market? Try it! Is that a parade over there? Join in! There’s a roller coaster in this mall?? Just say yes! I’ve learned to say yes to most every opportunity God puts in my path, and while my poor bank account might be on its way to the grave, I’ve been able to store up a wealth of memories that I’ll never forget. And further, God even creates some amazing ministry opportunities when you’re willing to receive them! You never know if that stranger that just approached you at that restaurant could use prayer, or if that homeless girl on the subway could use some food, or if the fact that you ran into that one person coincidentally meant that God wanted you to share something with him in that moment! I’ve learned that God delights in “yes” people, because He has so many amazing opportunities in store for those who are willing to take them on.
I look back on these last two years of my life, and I wonder how I’ve been able to fit so much life experience in such a short amount of time. I look back on all the hardships, the frustrations, and the times where I wanted to quit, and I laugh – mostly because I realize how dramatic I can be – knowing that I wouldn’t change a thing about how the Lord’s orchestrated His plan with me. God’s story for me is sometimes is too ridiculous to comprehend, and sometimes He’s just so obvious it’s ridiculous.
New York, I don’t miss your crowded subways, or your angry crowds, or your urine musk. I don’t miss your cramped living spaces, or your long commutes, or your overpriced food. I REALLY don’t miss your freezing winters and scorching summers.
I’m loving my World Race life, and I’m not ready to come home yet.
But when I do, I cannot wait to come back home to you.
