FINAL LESSONS NEW YORK
Models are clean
Not only in terms of food (which is anyway limited to a strictly necessary minimum) but also in terms of looks. No hairpieces, no extensions, no false eyelashes, no tattoos, no piercings, nothing. Logical, but still, we noticed it.
New Yorkers do not eat
Where all of America struggles with serious obesity, we could speak of underweight in New York. Almost. French girls are thin despite eating bread and cheese, New York girls are thin because they simply do not eat. Never. Maybe a raw nut on the left and an almond on the right but that's about it. It's a mystery how they even manage to walk upright.
Say it loud say it proud
Running is preferably done here with as few clothes on as possible. Men with bare torsos, women in mini tops and shorts, clothes are just ballast.
Everyone is president of the world (or will be very soon)
World domination is quite a thing. Ask a Dutch guy in the pub what he does or wants to do later and he might say something about studying more, maybe wanting to travel, oh I actually don't know that well. Ask that question to a New York man and you will hear that he is setting up his own business in whatever, or that he is an upcoming talent within his law firm, or “I’m quite a big deal where I come from.” New York men have the world in their pocket and are successful anyway, even if they live in a garbage can and work at Starbucks.
Manhattan is SO over
New Yorkers are anyway incredibly blasé but especially Manhattan is really so totally over. Brooklyn is hipper than ever but even that is actually already too hip and thus also totally over. Williamsburg is the place to be now but be careful, that could be over in half an hour too.
The more exclusive the place, the uglier the wine glasses
I am writing this on the roof of the mega exclusive members only club The Soho House. To become a member, you have to be quite a big deal and bring quite a big bag of money, but once you are inside, you have a pass with access to heaven. Friend Nish (who was also at the foot of The Meeting With Johannes) is a member and arranged for May and me to experience a few hours of the life of the lucky few. The wine we ordered costs about a week's rent and is served in plastic lemonade glasses. It seems to be a rule that the more important you are, the less you care about your appearance. On the left sits a rather fierce-looking man in a hoodie, big sunglasses, 1000 tattoos, and a scruffy beard but you can tell from everything that he is Very Important, just by the fact that he is the only one allowed to smoke here. There comes a point on the importance meter where you are too important to even give a fuck.
New Yorkers cannot handle tall women
I am 1.78 m tall and cannot walk three meters without someone asking, “oh my gooood how tall are you you’re like so tall it’s amaaaaazing!” And I am also wearing heels so I almost hit 1.90 and that scores high here. Everyone assumes you are a model and conveniently forgets that you never fit those sizes but it’s fun to take advantage of that sometimes. So to all Dutch girls who are dissatisfied with the amount of attention they get in the Netherlands, book a ticket to New York cause everybody loves you here.
