Our trip across the United States for my best friend and me started in New York, the city of cities... the city that never sleeps, a city of lights and skyscrapers so tall you can't see the top... we lost our minds the moment we stepped out of the train station right onto Manhattan. We were immediately blinded by millions of lights everywhere; everything was glowing. Huge screens, flashing, blinking, colorful, advertising musicals... The Lion King... It was drizzling a bit, but thanks to that, a fog descended on the city (the same one our plane crawled into during landing)... and the tops of the skyscrapers were drowning in the fog way up high... and all you could see were eerie lights shining through from somewhere in the sky... a crazy number of Black people. It feels like all of America is inhabited only by Black people, and exactly the way they are portrayed... in huge sneakers, caps or beanies, long-sleeve shirts and puffer vests, with earrings, bracelets, and chains... at bus stations, in the subway... with their signature walk. I hope none of them can read my wall... but there was no time at all. We got on a bus and headed to Nags Head, the town where we are going to spend three months.