Hello Hoboken and Happy Halloween

My Thursday night arrival into Newark, NJ was heralded by Murphy's Law. A missing driver, a phone with no service and the wrong house number left me feeling slightly concerned. However, meeting Amy and having the opportunity to spend Friday morning with her was a great way to kick off our switch. Hoboken is just across the Hudson from Manhattan and is one train stop away from Saatchi NY in the West Village

Keen to take on this switch challenge in every way possible, I clearly made things more difficult for myself. After already unpacking, I decided to re-pack again to go stay with another friend, Mel in Murray Hill, to celebrate Halloween over the weekend

Having dismissed the need to pack a Halloween costume, I quickly regretted not having even a token mask or some face paint to show my cultural commitment. Luckily, Mel and her friends came to the rescue and I managed to come up with something that was meant to resemble a cat. Halloween is so big here, apparently larger than New Year's Eve. And it certainly felt that way with hordes of people roaming the street and HUGE difficulties in trying to get cabs. However, it was great to see everyone getting into it despite the horror stories being shared around ("The most dangerous night of the year / Crime rates spike / Anything can happen because any freak can just cover himself with a mask")!