First day in NYC!

Okay, so my first version of this totally just got deleted. I hope nothing got deleted. I've got to start doing this in wordpad.

Anyway, I'm about to turn in after a really long day in NYC. Getting up at 5 a.m. for a 9.5 hour drive isn't exactly my idea of fun. But, on a lighter note, I did enjoy the company of those I was riding with and the delicious chocolate milkshake from the Chik-Fil-A that we stopped at in Maryland.

I slept intermittedly throughout my ride in the back-seat of an 8-passenger van, but was awake while we were passing through New Jersey. I was surprised by how dilapidated and run-down everything look, especially the overwhelming number of cement industrial complexes, gratuitous power arrays, and stacks of warehouse crates. Also, I realized that northern states have way too many toll booths.

Coming into NYC the first thing I noticed was the statue of liberty, empire state building, and many skyscrapers. When we arrived in the city, the traffic was crazy with people cutting each other off, etc. Also, maybe it was the weather, but the sky just didn't seem blue in NYC... it seemed to be tinted grey and the state of New Jersey and the city appeared to be completely void of grassy landscapes.

Anyway, our hostel is pretty nice, I'm sitting in the basement/lounge of it right now. When I first tried getting my key from the guy at the desk, I couldn't understand a word he was saying. I just said "OK" and he handed me my key and I thanked him.

After we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, we went out as a group to central park, which is literally a step outside of our building. Overall, I thought the park was a little lackluster, but it did have a cool tunnel and was really large. I really liked the ice skating rink and hockey rink on the outskirts of the park. (I have yet to upload any pictures because I forgot my camera cord and haven't found anyone with one that will fit my camera.) When we left the park, we went back through the Harlem district, which had a lot of black folk, lots of small bakery shops, barber shops, and other small shops.

After that, we came back and I played pool in the lounge of the hostel with this guy named Stephen. We went undefeated (3-0 or 4-0), but most if it was mainly luck. :)

Then, we had some authentic NYC pizza, which was awesome and probably tasted even better because I was starving. After supper, we were free to do what we wanted. I went with some girls (many of whom I rode up here with) to Columbus Circle via the subway. Riding the NYC subway for the first time was an experience (a fun one at that).

Columbus Circle was pretty nice, with a statue of columbus, big skyscrapers and an elegant shopping center. After walking around the bookstore and exploring the shopping center, we just started walking down the streets toward anything that looked interesting. While we were in the mall and walking it was just so interesting to people watch. The people of NYC just are so unique, different and varied. Many speak different languages, have unusual appearances (no offense) or just behave differently in public. The city also feels so enclosed, with all the tall buildings looming overhead - very different with anything I've ever experienced.

On our walk that eventually led to Times Square, we stopped in a variety of stores like the M&M world store, a gift shop, and more. (Again, I'll upload pictures of the stuff I saw like Carnegie Hall)

At one point, my batteries ran out on my 2nd camera. I decided to buy some from a roadside stand resembling the one in Men In Black. It was really cool. Times square was pure eye candy. I could've stood there forever and still not grasped everything going on around me. The streets were so busy and full of life.

Anyway, I'm getting pretty tired now and need to get some sleep before my training tomorrow.

Later,