Today was our much beloved Malou’s birthday, and even though she was not celebrated by Danish standards (with cake, coffee, and piles of gifts) - we did our best to make her feel speciale.  

  Today’s program took us on a trip to Harlem. At 10.00 a.m. a tour bus that resembled a black hummer limousine picked us up and a born and bred New Yorker showed us around the city by bus. As we drove through the skyscrapers and the inner city, the tour guide told us stories from his life and about the history of the city. We drove right next to the edge of central park, and when the traffic allowed it, gave us a peak into the green universe that seemed so remote from the rest of Manhattan. Our first stop was at a church, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, that made some of us, though not yours truly, a bit God-fearing. From there on, the bus took us straight to Harlem and showed us the historical places of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. When we were finished driving around in the black neighbourhoods that made us feel white - on the border to transparent - , we ended up in the lower east side, where a Danish journalist greeted us and was ready to show us around in the neighbourhoods of the immigrants from the old days. In addition to that, she told us about community gardens, housing problems, and the problem of getting in to a decent school that troubles the New Yorkers of today.

  One of her most important travel tips lead us to a street which was packed to the maximum with stores that could make every teenage girl drop to her knees: Bloomingdale’s, Victoria’s secret, Topshop, Forever 21, and a million other stores. Our primary goal was Victoria’s secret which you could easily spend two hours in. The pink colours and lovely laces made us an easy target for the cheap offers since our inner princess was utterly fascinated by the fabled and mysterious label that is known from the American movies. Compared to yesterday’s extravaganza, today’s spending was through the roof. It is lucky that we seldom come to New York. Otherwise we would most likely all be a group of homeless shopaholics.