New York, New York

Yesterday, I had my very own adventure to the big city, which I have never been to in my life. The first task was to get there, but being all the way out is Morris County of New Jersey, that was a feat in itself. After being armed with 5 maps, time tables, a GPS, and a pep talk from my roommates, I left the house at about 8:30AM to first find the train station.

The station was easy to find, but I wasn't sure where to pay for parking or the train ticket. As I circled the complex, I found the ticket vending machine, and got my ticket. At that point though, I heard the two hoots from the train, and it was here! (I still hadn't paid for parking!) I was franticly searching for the pay station, and then saw this bizarre constructed metal container. I was supposed to stash money and coins with my key into the very narrow slot, on the number of where I parked. As I was squeezing my last dollar in.. I heard the train roll away.

"NoooooOoOooooOooOOOOOO!"

I spent the next hour getting up to date on the latest adventures of the heroine described by Victoria Holt. Once I boarded, I felt a humongous sigh of relief, but there was still more to see. NJ transit has two levels, and pretty comfortable chairs. A train conductor busily checks if everyone has tickets and we passed by many towns before entering Jersey City. The longest stretch was between Jersey and into Penn Station.
The first thing that amazed me was the number of tracks and the soaring sky scrapers up ahead. As I left the station, I was fairly disoriented, and first tried to find which was East and West... and while I was doing that, I saw a humongous mass of yellow coming at me without any intention of stopping!! I was almost mowed down by a NY taxi cab! After that incident, I would only cross the street if there were 2-3 people between me and the crazy drivers!!

I quickly found Michelle, my first roommate from when we were in college and living in La Jolla. We found each other at one of the many Starbucks, and started looking for a good place to get New York thin crust pizza. Since it was the weekend, there was a portion of 5th Avenue closed off for street vendors. There was allll sorts of pleasant smells: Gyros, Caribbean, Salvadorian, grilled corn, chili dogs, roasted nuts, and large soft pretzels. Along side the food stands, there were many trinkets from all sorts of cultures to be bought, including summery flowing dresses, imitation bags, and music from emerging artists. There was even a man that kept on trying to get people to buy a book that he said he wrote himself!

After enjoying a delicious pizza, and those yummy garlic knots, we set off for Grand Central. The station was humongous! Inside, there were many shopping stores, and we came into the main station room, which I had seen so many times in the movies! The ceiling was painted sky blue, and the different astrological signs painted on the top. On the sides lined the traditional ticket booths, with a metal gate separating the customers from the vendor.
Michelle showed me the subway, and what the difference between "downtown" and "uptown" was. With a 2 minute rundown of how the subway worked, I took it from Grand Central to several blocks away from the Metropolitan. The "Met," as it is called, was ginormous!!! There were many people sitting on its steps. Once my backpack was checked in, I got a student ticket (my student ID is still useful!) and started in the Egyptian section.
What's funny, was that there were sooo many pilfered artifacts in New York, not in Egypt where it ought to belong! The exhibit started with the early stone figurines, before any of the Kingdoms. There was a lot of jewelry, pottery, and remnants from the decorated sarcophagus and burial rooms. As the dynasties progressed, the artwork became more extravagant and over the top!
Although many of the pieces have stood up to the test of time, many suffered from being destroyed by looters during the age of antiquity, as well as had graffiti from the early nosy English explorers.
From the exhibits, I learned about how important ceremony was in the daily Egyptian life, and what their main foods and revered creatures were. Also, Egyptians were very big on human taxidermy, well okay, embalming, so there were many burial coffins, and even a real mummy! I wouldn't want to be mummified, because before they do that, they take out things such as your heart and brain (through your nose, ICK!) and put them in jars so you can come back in tact in the afterlife.
I spent a good deal of time on the Egypt wing, and rushed through the Early American, Medieval, Greek, and Oceanic wings. A week could easily be spent examining all of the artwork!!!
After the Met, I made my way through Central Park. It was a very nice day in New York after the rain, so there were SOOOOO many people hanging out at the park. I've never seen a park so crowded as this! Every where I went, it felt extremely cramped to be around so many people, and the many taxis rushing down the street, honking as if it would make traffic go faster!

I gave myself an hour to find Penn station, but I couldn't find it on the way back! First I went to a wrong station, and they directed me towards another street. At that point, I missed the train (AGAIN) and wandered around Broadway St and the nearby avenues, and asked for directions at least 5 times. Once I got on the train, I was super relieved!

New York is a very enchanting city, unlike any city I have seen, and very unlike the ones in Asia. One thing for sure is, there is always something to do in the city, which is probably why it is so attractive for people to live there. The city felt very high-paced, and everyone appeared to have a mission and a destination to get to, unlike me, who was just wandering around, unsure if I even wanted to cross a street! I hope I can explore more parts of downtown New York next time I go!