DanT1999 is happily asserting imperfection
I found New York City to be quite an amazing place during the few days I spent there last weekend. I brought my 18 year old brother with me, and the trip was intended as a high school graduation gift to him. Had I realized in advance just how expensive New York would be I maybe would have suggested going some place else, but I had never been to the city myself and I figured that I may as well experience it at least once in my life and make as much of the experience as I possibly could.
The time I spent in New York City was basically in Manhattan (well, unless I count the time to and from the airport which I spent in Queens or the time I accidentally ended up in Queens when I missed my stop on the subway or the time I cross the Brooklyn bridge stepped foot in Brooklyn and then walked back). Manhattan itself, however, is surprisingly diverse, and there was lots I didn’t see. I saw Midtown, the Upper East and the Upper West Sides, Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho, Greenwich Village and the Financial District. These regions all had a distinct character. I was amazed by the size of the late night crowds around Time Square. I liked the architecture in Soho. Greenwich Village surprised me the most with it’s tranquility in the midst of all the hustle of the city surronding it. I saw signs on some of the streets there promising a $350 fine for honking.
I was also impressed by the diversity of the people I saw. The city seemed to be teeming with tourists (which could be recognized by the books and maps they carried) which I guess should be expected since it’s summer. In the places I went, I heard so many languages being spoken. I’m sure that a majority of the people I heard were tourists (they’re fairly easy to pick out), but there’s also quite a bit of diversity among the residents (I think more than even in LA). It was fun people-watching in the subway even when at times it was uncomfortably crowded…
I’ve always been told by East Coast natives that the pace of life is different in the West than it is in the East, i.e. that the West is slower paced. I have found this to be quite true which I guess could be either good or bad depending on your perspective. As for me I’m a little bit uncomfortable with it. The people in general also seem to be more aggressive. However, in my limited experience I didn’t find them to be mean. In fact, on two seperate occasions I was offered help with directions when I needed it but didn’t even ask for it.
I did many typical tourist things while I was in New York like see a Broadway show, visit Ground Zero, see the Statue of Liberty, and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was surprised by how casually many people dressed when going to the Broadway plays as hardly anyone goes casual to the theater in LA although LA is in general a more casual city. I also went on a tour of the UN building, went up to the observation deck of the 86th floor of the Empire State Building where I got some amazing views of Manhattan (see the photo I took), and spent some time in Central Park which was above all my favorite part of the trip. It’s beautiful and seems so out of place in the middle of the metropolis. It was interesting to see so many people sunbathing in the park as if it were the beach.
Another one of the purposes of my trip was to try to build a stronger relationship with my brother, whom I had not spent so much time with growing up. I think we did learn some new things about each other, but it’s not like we became best buddies or anything. We have totally seperate lives and it’s like after the trip we easily slid back into them and who knows how often they will ever intersect again. My brother did have a blast, however, and I hope this trip will be a positive memory he will carry with him for a long time even if we hardly interact with each other so much again. Relationships often seem impossible.
As a whole, I definitely found my trip to New York to be worthwhile although I did learn that while New York is interesting it’s not a place where I could see myself living.
