Metropolitan Diary: A Surprising Conversation

I stumbled across this New York Times piece. I'm not exactly sure what it is, or if it's reoccurring, but it seems to be a section that people can write in and submit short, fun interactions with strangers in the city.  Click here to see all the stories The last one is the one I like the best (read below). A lot of our discussion this semester has revolved around a lack of connection and alienation in the city. Though  these people have lived in the same building for seven years, they never knew each other. We've discussed this in class, and many of us don't know our neighbors. This short snippet provides some hope of finding connection and becoming less of a stranger in the urban jungle. At least for this moment, a city is a place of potential connection.


Setting: A yoga room at a gym on Columbus Avenue, with 25 students.
Daniella: “I know you!”
Me: “Really? I live on the Upper West Side.”
Daniella: “Oh, sorry. I live in Chelsea. You look like someone else.”
Harriet (standing nearby, overhearing conversation): “Where on the Upper West Side?”
Me: “Seventieth Street.”
Harriet: “I live on the Upper West Side on 70th Street.”
Me: “Which building?”
Harriet: “205.”
Me: “Me, too!”
Harriet: “What floor?”
Me: “Seventh.”
Harriet: “Me, too!”
Me: “How long have you lived in that building?”
Harriet: “Seven years.”
Me: “Eight years.”
Harriet: “I never saw you before in my life.”
Me: “I never saw you before in my life.”
Harriet and me: “Let’s do lunch!”