"I'm thinkin' bout the city, and how it's living proof people need to be together" -Ben Lee
I feel like I haven’t written anything in a while. My mind must have needed a break after the intense paper writing that signified the end of Winter quarter…New York was fabulous. I didn’t see big touristy sights such as the Statue of Liberty, the EmpireStateBuilding or the Met, but I did experience the feel of the city. I’ve never been one for guidebooks or plans anyway; I’ve always been a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, letting the day unfold naturally. I walked the streets of the upper West side, East side, the village, Times Square, Brooklyn, Central Park, Midtown, Harlem, and the Bronx. I saw the buildings, fashion and skin color change from neighborhood to neighborhood. The personality of each neighborhood differs from the one before. I enjoyed acquainting myself with these new places.
However, acquaintanceship is enough for me. I don’t have the intensity and endurance to live in a city like New York. Being the introvert that I am, the thousands of people everywhere I look or turn made me completely claustrophobic and longing for my quiet Portland neighborhood. I still can’t get over the sheer number of people that live in the city, the packed streets couldn’t contain the crowds and many walked in the street side by side with the cabs and tour buses. And still there were thousands and millions more inside the hundred floor buildings in their tiny apartments and office spaces. My mind could hardly fathom so many people in one place.
Though, I wish I could have taken Central Park with me. I loved walking through the park, all crisp and sunny-like, brimming with charm and culture. So many people moving: running, biking and roller-blading, couples hand-in-hand taking a Sunday stroll, tourists from all over with their wide angle zoom lenses snapping artsy shots, the jazz band playing in the street and the guy dancing in front them in roller-skates, the smell of cotton candy and sound of horse carriages. I loved it all.
Here are a few pictures I snapped along the way with my non artsy zoom lens camera, but alas, they will have to suffice.
Central Park transportation
Sara always falls asleep on the subway, haha!
Times Square
John Lennon Memorial
Vendors outside the Met
Upper West side
Shadow Trees
"Presented to the city of New York and its music lovers"
hello from the other side of the country! I am having a blast already. There is so much culture in this city and I'm already in love. It's refreshing. This city has so much character and charm; it's swept me off my feet in less than 24 hours. I could people watch all day and just take in the sights, the smells, the sounds...the man roasting nuts on the sidewalk, the man speaking about the love of Jesus on the corner, the sidewalk vendors selling everything you can think of, a boutique plant shop next to an African American hair salon, the thousands of people on the sidewalks after work in Time Square. It captivates me. I feel like I'm in another country.
I'm proud of my navigation skills. I owe most if not all of this to my friend Sara's directions, but even with directions, I tend to get lost...I think I get so interested and swept up in everything and everyone around me that I completely lose track of where I am. But I found my way, through the streets of Harlem, along the subway (going the right direction) and then through the Bronx to Sara's school where she teaches. I get to watch her teach and it's so awesome. She is so good at what she does. She has a way with these kids that is so special. She gets them. She gets them learning and motivated to learn. Not every kid; it seems in every class, there is at least one student that remains checked out despite attempts to engage them. She teaches 11th grade math and at the end of the last class, she had the entire class up out of their seats, singing and even dancing to a song to remember the quadratic equation to the tune of a Macy Gray song. I must say it's stuck in my head now, too. Throughout the day, I've heard kids in the halls singing this song; I love that. I love that Sara teaches here. She is made for this work. To quote Frederick Buechner as I do all too often, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep joy and the world's deep need meet."
There is so much going on, I feel as though my Portland pace and way of life gets lost in the wind. I also feel like I stick out like a sore thumb, as I am the only one looking at everything, looking people in the eye, smiling, looking both ways when I cross the street, wearing "northwest" attire (i brought as many nice clothes as i could, but it's rainy today-and the northwest knows rainy attire).
All in all, I'm having a ball. Tonight we're off for some New York City pizza and watching the Zags game!
The Poet's Walk, Central Park
Riverside Park
The Met
Outside Sara's apt
