I'd rather be in France.

{Thankful November} 13: City Sounds

November 15th, 2011 | Rachel

Join me in the comments or on your own blog as I give thanks every day this month.

My first roommate in the city (technically the second, if you count Davina) thought I was a little weird because she’d come home from work to find me sitting on couch in silence.  No television, no music, just silence.  Most of the time I’d be typing on my laptop, so it wasn’t like I was silently staring at the wall.  THAT would be a little strange.

When I lived by myself for the first time, I played a lot of music so I wouldn’t get too freaked out by all of the bumps and creaks and hisses of my apartment, but now I am back to sitting in silence.

Silence is an inaccurate term because there really isn’t any such thing as silence in New York City.  Whether it is footsteps from the apartment above you or the radiator clanking or a truck outside with squeaky brakes, there are always sounds.  Right now, I can hear a car driving up the hill on my street, the shutting of a door somewhere else in the building, the rumble of the subway as it heads underground at 123rd Street and the hum of this computer.  During the day I can hear the murmur of people’s conversations as they walk by on the sidewalk along with church bells that chime every half hour.

That first year in the city, I had trouble sleeping because the recycling trucks would do their rounds in the middle of the night and the noise would wake me up despite the fact that I was in a 20th floor apartment.  Eventually I got used to it.

I love listening to the sounds of the city because it reminds me how many people are here going about their own business and living their own lives.  I also feel we are so inundated by sounds throughout the day that it is nice to spend some time in (near) silence while I gather my thoughts and reflect on the day.

Thank you, quiet city sounds.