Today, I woke up extremely nervous about traveling to another city by myself. I was nervous about flying. I was nervous about staying in an airbnb. I was nervous about being in an unknown city alone. I think I was so nervous that I kept pooping. I probably pooped like 5 times today. It wasn’t until my friend Connie reassured me that New York is safer than most places because it’s well lit and there are always a lot of people out that I finally started to calm down. She is the only person I know that lives here and she won’t be available most of the time because she has to go to work, but she has lived here for two years so I trust her judgement.
Navigating the airport and the plane ride wasn’t that bad. I watched a movie the entire time and only started feeling nauseous towards the end of the flight. I thought I was going to have to poop again or throw up because m stomach felt awful. The landing was kind of rough, but I’m happy I survived and made it off the plane without having to go the bathroom. When we arrived I went straight for the toilet and had to poop again. At least my stomach felt better.
This is the first time I have stayed at an airbnb by myself and I was worried about the hosts. I was relieved when I finally met them and found out how nice they are. Also I love the apartment and my room. Although there are a lot of stairs this place is amazing. I have an entire room to myself with a high ceiling. There’s a gym and laundry room. I also have access to the roof. When I was trying to figure out a place to eat, the host recommended an excellent area for me to try and told me upfront that there weren’t many places near the apartment. She told me about Bedford Ave.
Being that this was my first time here, I had never heard of Bedford Ave. She informed that a lot of young people are in the area and there are lots of restaurants and that I would have fun. So I bought my metro card and headed over there. It was fairly easy to get there and I loved it! I walked up on side of the street looking at the different restaurants and stores and then walked back down on the other side of the street. I noticed so many places for desserts, but I knew I needed an actual meal before that. I decided on this place called Sweet Chick because I love chicken and waffles.
Sweet Chick was no ordinary chicken and waffles place. The ambience is dimly lit and they have old school R&B playing. The crowd is diverse and young. Their specialty chicken and waffles were so interesting. There was a Buffalo Chicken and waffle combo that had a celery and carrot waffle. The chicken parmesan came with a basil a parmesan waffle. General Tso’s chicken was served with a rice flour and broccoli waffle. There were some crazy combination and I’m pretty basic so I just got the chicken parmesan with an apple and cinnamon waffle. I also got a side of mac and cheese and a pomegranate lemonade spiked with vodka. All of the waffles came with three different types of butter: berry, herb, and lemon. At first, I was afraid to try them because I didn’t think any of them went with my waffle, but I was dead wrong. I tried them all and all of the butters left an amazing taste in my mouth. I even made sure to get the butters with my leftovers. The mac and cheese was super creamy, but it’s kind of small for ten dollars. This place was definitely expensive, but I’m on vacation so I came to have fun and eat good.
For dessert, I went to Taiyaki NYC. I’ve always wanted to try taiyaki because I like red bean paste and I see taiyaki in anime all the time. It amazed me that Taiyaki NYC combined ice cream and taiyaki into one dessert!
That’s literally two for one. I got the classic with vanilla ice cream and oreo and fudge drizzle. I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t realize that there was no red bean paste in the classic. Oh well! I guess I’ll have to go back. Next time, I’ll try the matcha and black sesame ice cream and make sure there’s red bean paste.
On my way home or back to the airbnb, I realized that I wasn’t as nervous as I was before. I’m happy I didn’t let the fear get the best of me and explored despite it.
