I always knew I had a keen adventurous spirit, but I would have never thought I would live in so many places in less than one year. Since May 2010 I have lived in the North Bronx, the Upper East Side, O Brasil, El Uruguay, Prospect Heights, Bed-Stuy, back to Prospect Heights (or ProCo- the trendy name for the barrio), and finally the Bushwick. Ultimate Couch Surfer? Really green or really ghetto? Or simply a Semi-Nomade?
Whatever I have become this past year has been the result of an insatiable lust to not conform, to escape, to learn, and to live la vida. Is that too much to ask or do? I personally do not think so. As Don Quijote said, lo importante es el camino, no el fin. Everybody graduates from college believing they know what they want to do for the rest of their lives... That idea perplexes me. Honestly, I did not have a single clue as to what I wanted to do with my life then, now, or in the next 25 years.
Soon after graduation I moved in with a fantastic friend of mine who had a studio in UES. At the time I thought the right thing for me to do was to look for a job, try to make it in the big apple, etc. etc... What I did not realize then was that moving into that studio, and sleeping in my twin size inflatable mattress would be the beginning of the couch-surfing, semi-nomade phase of my life. A phase that is still in process...
I experienced infinite adventures, feelings, smells and flavors throughout this entire year of traveling/living around New York City, Latin America, and last but not least Le Brooklyn. Upon my reluctant arrival from Latin America, I have been arduously attempting to land a job in this city. A goal that has proven to be almost unattainable. With no money, little savings, and student loans on my back, I have been crashing at my friends' places across the polarized borough called Brooklyn... By doing so, I have made it a point to discover and enjoy the cafes, bars, and restaurants of its pockets, while becoming a temporary local.
This is my hood-surfing in Le Brooklyn story.
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