Janine, my best friend since high school in Suriname, finally came to New York a few weeks ago.
I was in a state and was very excited because I just knew that it would be intensely cozy as usual. Even if it was only for two nights. She came for a workshop and would stay with me on the way back.
Although she has a sister in Florida, Janine could not really imagine what my life looks like now. Partly my fault because I often answer her questions a bit vaguely and sometimes a bit cynically. A kind of learned automatism because I assume that it is incomprehensible or maybe I am too aware of my limited ability to explain it well. Anyway, now that she came she could see and experience it herself.
The weather had not been kind to her and in her heavy borrowed winter coat she was waiting for me in the large hall of Grand Central Station. A kind of central station, but much bigger. She found the large well-lit marble hall beautiful and was immediately impressed by the grandeur of New York. To make a good start we first went home with her two small but quite heavy suitcases. After that we could have a nice meal.
There were several restaurants on the agenda because Janine loves good food. She herself is a very good cook. Her favorite cuisine varies and when she is outside Suriname she wants to try everything that is not common in Suriname, as if to get inspiration for new recipes. I took her to Wild Ginger. A trendy chic restaurant in Hoboken with a fusion kitchen of Asian dishes. That was good because Janine wanted Sushi. She was very much in her element with a combination of Salmon, Tuna and Eel rolls. This agenda item could be considered very successful.
The way back home was a bit less as this was a solid half hour walk. I always like to walk after dinner, but Janine is a luxury lady who is not fond of that. Apart from the fact that it was quite cold, about 8 degrees, there was also a strong headwind. I thought that poor woman from the lovely warm Suriname is suffering here in the cold, will she disinherit me as a friend? But she walked briskly and once we were home we sat and chatted until two in the morning. I am convinced that she will laugh when she reads my thoughts afterwards.
The next day was shopping. The very first place she wanted to go were the hair shops. My bosom friend has been relaxing her hair since I met her and I have never tried to convince her to stop. She has never convinced me to relax either. Janine has also always been into bags and now that she was here she wanted to look at all kinds and types of hair. She succeeded, but the selection did not make the choice any easier. For $35 you can get a great Prada or Gucci bag in China Town, if you know what you want. Otherwise it will take hours. We then went to Macy's for an extensive make-up session and that was that. Before we knew it the day was over and it was time for dinner again.
This time I took her to my favorite Japanese restaurant in Manhattan. I will never remember the name but it is on 9th street between Second and Third Avenue. Although it is Japanese I always go there for the Korean BBQ. Not only is the food delicious, you can also sit comfortably and deliciously here, Japanese style. While enjoying sushi and bulgogi we chatted like old times. When we were 14 years old our parents did not understand what we had to say to each other when we had seen and spoken to each other at school that same day. Now more than 20 years later not much has changed. We may live in separate continents, but we remain best friends.
We went to the Christus Koning School together but she went to the Lyceum, I went to the AMS. In the Netherlands she studied in Eindhoven, I in Amsterdam. Always kept in touch and of course we were at each other's graduation.
