City Girl

I've always wondered what it would be like to live in a big city. Public transportation was foreign to me for most of my life. Naturally, in the Midwest (woot woot) and the South, most cities are so spread out and sprawling that cars are the only practical transportation option. Hmmm...were I ever to return to those fair parts of the country, I would invest in a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang type vehicle - getting around would be SO much easier.

Change has come, good people! The city embraces me, and therefore I embrace the city! I travel to work everyday via the Metro system, and I am a fan. Sure, people invade my personal bubble. Yes, many young whipper snappers listen to their iPods so loudly through their earphones that I can practically host a rave in the train. Okay, so not everyone gets the concept that you are supposed to move to the center of the car so customers can enter the train and have room to stand comfortably. Nonetheless, it is nice to pay my $2.00 each way (and my work subsidizes this, by the way) and not have to deal with DC traffic and parking. I walk about 10 minutes from my super awesome house to the closest metro stop (Clarendon). I ride the rail for about 18-20 minutes, and I exit the metro at the Smithsonian stop on the National Mall. Orange line all the way, baby.

Here's the problem with living and working in the city. I have no time. Everyone is in such a hurry at every moment and I've followed suit. I walk faster, I listen to my iPod so I can pretend no one else is around, and I bury my head in my Express newspaper in the mornings so I don't have to look at anyone else. I know, right? What happened to, "Hi, neighbor!" What happened to a friendly smile at each person you pass? I tried that for the first two weeks. Then I stopped. People are nice here, mind you. A lovely white-bearded gentleman offered me a seat on the metro today when one opened up, for example. Few folks I've encountered are hostile, but people disconnect, and it's sometimes difficult to break that barrier.

So have I become a city snob? Well....maybe a little bit. I have less patience for the large tourist groups in their matching t-shirts, hats and vests. You know why? Because they don't all understand that on the escalator one is supposed to stand on the right and walk on the left. Now that I'm all citied out, I walk-walk-walk and I just don't have the time to stand around on escalators all day. (Sense the facetious tone.) The Smithsonian metro stop is the worst. The entrance/exit I use is right on the mall, so that's where all the tourists surface to see the sights. Oh how quickly I developed a city attitude. Yet, how I still enjoy playing tourist myself. I'll expound on my tourist trysts in another post, but I can't judge other well-meaning sight seers when I love touring the city just as much as the next person.

In conclusion, I miss the city life I'm used to. The one in which people let each other merge on the highway. Where we often wave and smile to strangers when we pass them on neighborhood roads. Where I know where I'm going and don't get lost every two seconds. Ah, Tulsa, how I miss thee. But I like this city life. There's so much excitement here. There's always something going on and something new to see. DC is a great place for those seeking adventure. I guess that means I fit right in.

- Scenes from future "Gilli In The Real World" posts: the living situation, sightseeing in the city and my summer with the brother. Stay tuned!

- P.S. Thanks to Barron for this awesome shot of the city from the Key Bridge over the Potomac River.