Out of the way, USA

Two weeks couchsurfing in New York? Alone?
My announcement was met with a mixture of scepticism and horror. But five years ago I'd watched Man v Food, and vowed I'd be eating 'The World’s Hottest Curry' in NYC on my 40th birthday.
So what if I’d become divorced and poor in the meantime?
I doubt there’s a square inch of Manhattan that hasn’t been explored and chronicled in the finest detail, and with my trusty guidebook - its once crisp pages now soft and curled - I set off on my adventure.
The boxes were easy to tick. Iconic NY delivered all it had promised, and more. For the first time in my life, I experienced snow. Actually falling from the sky, landing on my head (and yes, I may have stuck out my tongue). My heart wept at the 9/11 museum, burst from my chest as I conquered Lady Liberty’s crown, and did somersaults roaming the Green Lung, as she smiled serenely at me from beneath her veil of glistening ice. I feasted on warm cornbread and fiery fried yard bird in Harlem and ran through the streets of Hell’s Kitchen in my undies for charity.
I was returning from my tour of the UN (with my ATM dispensed cupcake in hand) and by this stage my only coat was so filthy and rank I was surprised strangers weren't offering me their loose change. I stood scowling at the subway map, trying to work out whether the approaching train was the B, F or M, and which would return me to the West Side (given the line conveniently split three ways two stops up).
An older man approached me sensing my confusion, and offered his services to translate the picture of multi-coloured spaghetti purporting to be the subway map. Having confirmed I was on the right track (pun intended), we got chatting. He was captivated by my reasons for taking a bite of the Big Apple, and in turn I learned he was a retired electro-physicist, who had visited Australia during a period he'd lived in Japan and had a daughter who was an author (I've now read all her books). We chatted for some time, missing several trains as they cascaded through the platform, and eventually realised we’d been distracted, and hopped on the next B train towards our common destination.
I’ve learned that it’s our common humanity which is the greatest source of knowledge, joy and wonderment, wherever you are in the world. For all my adventures in New York, meeting Paul will remain one of my greatest experiences. So forget what mom taught you about talking to strangers, and make it the number one item on your ‘to do’ list.