I have a sister that lives in New York, to be exactly in Manhattan. I had always wanted to visit her and see the city that never sleeps. On August, as a birthday gift, she bought me an airplane ticket to New York. I had the chance to spend a week and five days in this amazing, never-ending city.
It is an interesting place with different cultures, people, food and a very different way of seeing life. I arrived into the John F. Kennedy Airport. That day, the sky was a little gray, the sun was nowhere to be found and a chill wind scattered the morning mist since I arrived at 6am. My sister went to pick me up and we head it to Manhattan.
On arrival in the city, it had skyscrapers of different sizes and high known buildings, like the Empire State and Chrysler Building. The streets were all titled by numbers of streets and avenues. It was a little confusing since were the apartment was it’s a higher number, 42St. and the avenue is just the sixth (6Ave. ).
She told me that I had to manage by counting the streets downtown, like that I wouldn’t get lost when I’ll be alone. My “adventure” began in Korea Town, the same day I arrived, because I wanted to eat some delicious “Pocket Buns” with kimchee and wanted to see how many Korean store where there too. I didn’t know how to arrive, if we had to use a car or take the train but when I asked my sister, she told me that we could go there by just walking 5 minutes and that I could even see part of the famous 5th Avenue. Arriving to the Korean restaurant I was getting dizzy with all those delicious aromas of beefs, soups, different rices and multicolored vegetables that were cooking. After we order and ate, I felt so satisfy because It was something I wanted to try and it was wonderful. I went to the Empire State, to see the museum and I took many photos when I arrived to the top of it to the afternoon and night in Manhattan, New York.
Other days I went to Chinatown. There I saw many things, like: markets that sell seafood, alive and non alive, right in the street. The smell while walking through that part or near in the sidewalk was really strong and horrible, I felt like I was surrounded by them like if they were clothes. They were stores that sell different kind of roots and seeds for teas and medicine. Those seeds and roots didn’t look good, they were dried but look old and the smell wasn’t very nice.
Many other stores sell bags, jewelry, clothes, good luck charms and other things. It was really impressive seeing all that for the first time. For my last two days my brother decided to accompany me and tour me a little farther. He took me to see the Statue of Liberty and we took some pictures. After that, we went to Central Park that was really amazing the park is really big and beautiful.
You can appreciate many street artists there that dance, play instruments, paint, write poems, draw and even do stunts. That night we went to Time Square to see how it was at night and why it has the name of the city that never sleeps. It was beautiful everything. My last day was one that I will never forget. We went to Ground Cero and its museum.
The 9/11 museum is a shocking and impressive one. All the stories of how it happened, the things of the exhibit that where from that day, the cars used and destroyed by the collapse of the tower leaves you without words. They even made a room in honor to all the people that died that day with pictures, information, newspaper clippings of the person and even letters that the families alive write to them. I felt sad and with a desire to cry since everything we were seeing was so shocking. I like it even thought I felt that way. I would say that my adventure through New York ended perfectly.
I came back to Puerto Rico. I spent like a week telling my parents about everything I did, eat, see and walk in New York. Thanks god that I’m going again, this time with my parents, because I already miss my sister and this time she’s going to be on vacation. I feel really proud of her and really happy that I could be there with her and spent special moments together.
After that, we are going to tour our parents through the city. This will be the start of a second adventure.
Bibliography:
Miller, Arthur. “Death of a Salesman”. 1949.
Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, Compact Edition. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. Compact Edition. New York: Pearson, 2015, 1182-1244.
Print. Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1931.
Print. “The American Dream. ” Library of Congress. Web. October 2014.
