Earlier today was Freia's moving day. Moving to her dorm in the Big Apple. Her moving in time was between 7 and 10. We figured that getting there around 8 would be ideal. Not too early. And not too late. Freia just had a couple of regular travel suitcases. Mabel who were visiting offered to come along. The surprise was Prem, who offered to join in, especially since we were leaving at 6.30.
Freia who was excited was up and ready well on time. We drove over to pick up Mabel and Prem, and had yet another surprise. Prem was ready. Mabel took a few minutes and we headed out. The biggest fear I have of New York is the parking. And Freia's dorm, Rubin Hall in downtown Manhattan on 10th Street and 5th Avenue was guaranteed to be a nightmare. Even on Sunday.
We reached Rubin Hall and were shocked to see security guiding the car to a parking spot bang in front of the entrance. There were hundreds of students and their families as part of the moving, many with trucks and everything from couches to televisions. We felt light and wondered if we had missed something.
We quickly unloaded and Freia went in and registered. There were several volunteers who kept offering to help and made everything very seamless and convenient. It gave us an insight into what Freia's likely to be doing for the next 3 years on moving day. Most people were able to complete the process in minutes, but Freia took a while longer, since she had been allotted her room just a couple of days ago.
We got her suitcases and headed up to her room. We all knew that in New York, they call a closet a room. And in NYU dorms, the closet is shared by 2 people if you're lucky and 4 if you're not unlucky. Her room number happened to be 602, which coincidentally is our Mumbai house number too.
On the 6th floor, more volunteers guiding you to the room. We reached the door and there was a large welcome poster with Freia's name. Cool start. We entered. It was a huge single room, with a walk in closet and an attached bath with a bathtub. WOW. This was amazing. We helped her unpack. Mabel and Prem took over. Freia unpacked whilst Mabel arranged stuff in the closet and Prem made the bed. In no time, she was all set. Time to go for a walk.
We went down and there was water and snacks. We helped ourselves to some bars and cakes. And then Freia who had explored her surroundings took us on a walk. To Washington Park and then to Kimmel Center, the NYU central meeting place. There was breakfast served for all students and families and we decided to try and get some return on the investment.
As we entered the center, there suddenly was a flutter of activity. It seemed like some celebrity had come and everyone wanted to meet him. Freia was pushed towards the celebrity who gave her a warm hug. Mabel went up and she too got a hug. Everyone around was shrieking, "Oh my God, you got THE HUG". We learnt later that the celebrity was the President of NYU, John Sexton, and the hug was his trademark which students die for.
We went up to the breakfast area and it was a decent spread of croissants, cakes, yogurt, ... We had our fill, had enjoyed our time at NYU and it was time to say Adieu to Freia. We looked at the time and it was just 10 a.m. So much activity in under 2 hours.
As we wished Freia all the best at NYU, a thought occurred. After such an awesome first day, it was going to be difficult to better it. Or was this just the beginning of an eventful 4 years ahead ?
Freia who was excited was up and ready well on time. We drove over to pick up Mabel and Prem, and had yet another surprise. Prem was ready. Mabel took a few minutes and we headed out. The biggest fear I have of New York is the parking. And Freia's dorm, Rubin Hall in downtown Manhattan on 10th Street and 5th Avenue was guaranteed to be a nightmare. Even on Sunday.
We reached Rubin Hall and were shocked to see security guiding the car to a parking spot bang in front of the entrance. There were hundreds of students and their families as part of the moving, many with trucks and everything from couches to televisions. We felt light and wondered if we had missed something.
We quickly unloaded and Freia went in and registered. There were several volunteers who kept offering to help and made everything very seamless and convenient. It gave us an insight into what Freia's likely to be doing for the next 3 years on moving day. Most people were able to complete the process in minutes, but Freia took a while longer, since she had been allotted her room just a couple of days ago.
We got her suitcases and headed up to her room. We all knew that in New York, they call a closet a room. And in NYU dorms, the closet is shared by 2 people if you're lucky and 4 if you're not unlucky. Her room number happened to be 602, which coincidentally is our Mumbai house number too.
On the 6th floor, more volunteers guiding you to the room. We reached the door and there was a large welcome poster with Freia's name. Cool start. We entered. It was a huge single room, with a walk in closet and an attached bath with a bathtub. WOW. This was amazing. We helped her unpack. Mabel and Prem took over. Freia unpacked whilst Mabel arranged stuff in the closet and Prem made the bed. In no time, she was all set. Time to go for a walk.
We went down and there was water and snacks. We helped ourselves to some bars and cakes. And then Freia who had explored her surroundings took us on a walk. To Washington Park and then to Kimmel Center, the NYU central meeting place. There was breakfast served for all students and families and we decided to try and get some return on the investment.
As we entered the center, there suddenly was a flutter of activity. It seemed like some celebrity had come and everyone wanted to meet him. Freia was pushed towards the celebrity who gave her a warm hug. Mabel went up and she too got a hug. Everyone around was shrieking, "Oh my God, you got THE HUG". We learnt later that the celebrity was the President of NYU, John Sexton, and the hug was his trademark which students die for.
We went up to the breakfast area and it was a decent spread of croissants, cakes, yogurt, ... We had our fill, had enjoyed our time at NYU and it was time to say Adieu to Freia. We looked at the time and it was just 10 a.m. So much activity in under 2 hours.
As we wished Freia all the best at NYU, a thought occurred. After such an awesome first day, it was going to be difficult to better it. Or was this just the beginning of an eventful 4 years ahead ?
No comments:
Post a Comment