I recently received my first out of town visitor since moving to NYC.  My brother paid me a visit.

It’s amazing how much this experience (and only after a few months) has taught me about the importance of family and friends.  Since leaving home, I’ve realized how important friends and family are.

My brother was only here for a few days, but it was a break that I desperately needed.  I didn’t get a drop of homework done that weekend (and paid for it dearly by spending late Sunday night/early Monday catching up).  But it was worth it.

We spent the weekend with another cousin in the city.  So, I got a break from my little apartment.  We didn’t do anything unusual.  We went to a Mexican restaurant—this in itself was an experience.  The restaurant was very small and we waited for a long time (mostly outside) for a seat.  During the time that we waited, the three of us just talked and caught up so I can’t really complain about the wait time.  Afterwards, we went back to my cousin’s place where we spent more time chatting and watching TV.

The next day was spent shopping in a part of Manhattan that I had yet to visit so I got a chance to see a different part of the city.  I brought my brother to see my apartment and we spent some more time catching up.  That evening, our cousin prepared a home cooked meal, and then we went to a bar and spent more time talking.

It was a very simple weekend, but, I haven’t had this much fun in weeks.

I just needed this.  I needed time to get away from all of the homework, and thinking, and analyzing.  I just needed a few days to enjoy this city.