Lessons:

• Twice in my life I’ve found myself fleeing a burning building. In neither instance did I move as quickly as your average New Yorker walking down the street. I believe there is an excellent chance I’ll be trampled to death here.
• Smiling at strangers on the street and saying hello for no particular reason is fun here. They don’t expect it. Throws them off their game. One guy walked into a wall.
• Everyone calls me “ma’am.” I’m choosing to believe this is some sort of folksy New England tradition and not that I’ve suddenly aged 30 years.
• I like clam chowder.
• Landing at JFK looks a lot like landing in, say, Madison, Wisconsin.
• Everyone in New York dresses up. Everyone in L.A. dresses down.

More photos after the jump!

Photos:

Click on any photo to see the uncropped version. Click again for the bigger version.