I did finish up the blog - but I had to handwrite it and type it in after I got home. My laptop decided NOT to connect anymore and I didn't have the time to spend figuring it out. Either way, the story is all there now :-)

I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Chelsea on 24th St. just off 6th Ave. It was only about a 5-10 minute walk to the studio. It wasn't the cheapest place to stay but it did include a substantial hot breakfast that changed every day. Other worshop participants stayed at the Leo House or Seafarer's Inn. These were cheaper but you had to share a bathroom or conform to their rules (they are both run by churches). Not for me....

Eating breakfast at the hotel cut down on some food expenses, as did having street-cart food at lunch time. But isn't that one of the joys of a city like NY or Philly (my home)? Street food can be wonderful - the Halal cart down the street from Morocco's studio was really yummy! I kept some fruit and snacks in my room to hold me over between 4 (when workshops were done) and dinner time. Dinner was the biggest expense for sure. One place I would NOT go again was Casbah Rouge. Overpriced and bad service - even if the food was good. Sahara East's food was better - and cheaper and the service was a hundred times better. I went there three times that week!

Most anything you could want to see, do, eat or buy is within walking distance. The only times I took a cab were to get to specific clubs I wanted to visit (or was performing at) and were too far or the night it rained hard and deathly cold (for this Phoenician anyway).

I had some stereotypes about New York City/New Yorkers that happily got changed in my week there. At first I really wondered how smart/safe it was for a woman to walk at night alone to go out. The hotel front desk person told me to stay to more populated streets and away from the river and it was perfectly safe. I got over that pretty quickly and felt safe alone or with others at night.

I also had the idea that New Yorkers were often rude and in a hurry. I found just the opposite. On a couple occasions, just standing and looking confused about which way to go was enough for someone to offer to help. When I did ask I always got a helpful answer. Even the shopkeepers and retail workers were more friendly than here in Phoenix. Maybe Phoenix is the rude town??

Anyway, it was great .... I highly recommed the workshop, the city .... the whole experience to any dancer. Enough rambling from me ;-)