New York, New York

08 August 2008; 1800hrs New York, New York (USA)

In less than 24 hours, I’m back at the airport once again. This time I am here to welcome HZ and JL. My time alone in America is finally coming to an end! If it were in a place like Uppsala or Bozeman, I wouldn’t mind being alone but in a city like New York… That’s a different story altogether. The people I met in NY thus far especially in the city centre have been rather unfriendly. The subway is so confusing and the city centre madly crowded. And it doesn’t help that the hostel is located in a shady area. I was already accosted by a ‘homeless’ man for 75 cents. He wanted more but I refused. Get a job!

This is a scary place. At least in the airport, I feel safe. Hopefully this feeling will disappear when friends arrive. My time in NY so far hasn’t been as enjoyable as I envisioned it to be.

Central Park is huge! Really huge! I walked from end to end, criss-crossing it from west to east and back again, from 113th Street to 42nd Street, and that took me 5 hours! 5 hours of walking in one day. Man, I’m tired. The north part of the parks is beautiful and serene but the rest especially towards to south is pretty much boring. The open spaces and boating areas make it south a little more interesting but the view cannot be compared to the north. I certainly enjoyed myself at the north a bit more, even though I cannot imagine why people keep telling me Central Park is a MUST SEE in NY.

It didn’t help that there were constant but intermittent showers from 1300hrs onwards. One was so heavy that I had to seek shelter along the street. I hope it won’t rain tomorrow. I didn’t take my umbrella from home. Forgot map, forgot umbrella…

After 2 weeks away from home, I’m starting to miss it. I can’t wait to be back again. Another 2 weeks seem like a really long time.

I guess no matter what others think of me (Ang Mo Pai, most likely to emigrate), to me, home is back at the Dot, where my family and most of my friends are (even though most of my childhood friends are stationed out of the country), where I know how things work, and public transportation clean, neat, and efficient. Tomorrow is National Day (Actually, given the time difference, it’s National Day now.), and it’s my first time missing it. I don’t know why I feel so patriotic all of a sudden but I really feel like listening to the National Day songs and humming along to the marches and salutes…

Two more weeks and I’m going home!

America, especially the big cities (or at least NY) is not for me.