JOURNALS 5 - 9
5. SPANISH HARLEM & CENTRAL PARK
I was stressing out about class today because of the weather. It was supposed to rain and I had no idea what to wear and if I should bring an umbrella. Besides that, a hot, rainy day in the city is no fun at all. Turns out it was actually a beautiful day and I really enjoyed every aspect of today. We started out in Penn Station deciding what we were going to do about the strike. We decided that today would be a longer class day. I prepared myself for a lot of walking and a lot of learning. We hopped on a subway heading towards East Harlem. I've never been there before but I've always wanted to check it out at least once. Thats what I loved about this class. There have been so many places I wanted to check out but probably wouldn't have gotten to had it not been for Gotham. I was excited to see what this tour guide, Luke, was all about. The first thing we saw while walking through Spanish Harlem was the Carver Houses which is "a housing project of 13 buildings that was created for low income residents of the neighborhood and completed in 1958" (ENY, 76). They didn't seem too bad from the outside, but then again I didn't see the inside. As we were walking through the neighborhood I really liked what I saw: people outside chatting, playing games with neighbors, and kids playing outside. There was so much going on and it was very community oriented. We continued our trek to the Museum of the City of New York. "The museum moved to its current location on Fifth Avenue in 1923" (ENY, 77). The first room we saw was dedicated to graffiti. I really enjoyed this room because although many people find graffiti as vandalism, I actually really think its cool to look at and I like the meaning behind it. I once watched a documentary on the graffiti revolution in the 70's and have since had a great appreciation for it. We then bopped around the museum seeing different things such as THE AMAZING GUSTAVINO TILE and some artifacts by Tiffany & Co. We also watched a short, but thorough documentary called "Timescapes" which "provides an engaging multimedia history of New York City" (ENY, 77).
Soon after we met our tour guide Luke outside of El Museo del Barrio. We all stood in a circle introducing ourselves and saying how we felt. Then Luke shared one of his poems with us about a girl singing on the D train. I'm really into rap and hip hop music and thats what his poem reminded me of. I felt like it'd make a great song and I really enjoyed his lyrics. We were not the only ones who liked it though because a random guy came walking over and enjoyed it too. Luke made such an impact on us from the get go that his words are still stuck in my head: "WE NEED MORE MUSIC!" I can't stop saying it. As we walked along with Luke he pointed out how much of community El Barrio really was. He took us past little artistic areas that weren't official pieces of art but art of the community to decorate and inspire. We then walked into the Modesto "Tin" Flores Garden. "The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by East Harlem resident Ernesto "Tin" Flores into a garden for the neighborhood's inhabitants" (ENY, 78). The garden was cute inside and had an impressive mosaic on the wall. "The mural depicts mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Puerto Rican poet Julia De Burgos (1917-1953) with their hands intertwined with the flags of their respective countries behind them" (ENY, 78). Within the park there was also a piece of art that was also made out of tile representing fallopian tubes. I felt as though that was kind of weird but I guess it gave the park the theme of women and their importance in the spanish culture. Or, at least thats what I took from it. After we went to a cute little book store called La Casa Azul Bookstore. I felt like it was a good place to stop and check out because it was a place to promote literacy in this community. We left and continued down the street and we must have been going too fast because we lost poor Carla and Griselda. Once they caught up to us we stopped at a mural which was a great site to see. I liked this mural mostly because it wasn't of anyone famous but it was of the people in the community. It showed what the community was really about and the people in it. It left me to make up my own story of who each person was in the community and what their role was. The mural is called "the Spirit of East Harlem" mural. it was "created by Hank Prussing in 1978, the mural captures the Latin influences on street life in East Harlem in the 1970s" (ENY, 77). Just before lunch we stopped at Justo Botanica which was a shop of spiritual medicines and religious statues. It was all pretty interesting but at this point I was basically ravenous and needed to get out of there. We braked for lunch and some of us headed to El Paso Taqueria & Cerveceria for lunch. First things first, I ordered a margarita on the rocks. Nicole and Casey both got frozen mangoritas and all the drinks were amazing. Some of us ordered tacos but I ordered a burrito and it was amazing. We each got one more drink and then had to rush out of there to meet up with the rest of the class. The one thing I would change about this class is having more time for lunch so we can enjoy it rather than having to scoff it down. After we met back up with the group we headed to Central Park.
I've been to Central Park a million times of course but I have never been to the end that we started at nevertheless even knew it existed or reached to Spanish Harlem. We explored every inch of that park, saw every sight, I think, we've ever heard of. We gathered outside of the gate and talked about the history of the Vanderbilt Gate upon entering the park at the Conservatory Gardens. This gate was made in Paris in 1894 and originally stood at the Vanderbilt Mansion on Fifth Avenue and 58th Street (ENY, 65). We stopped by the Obelisk which would have been a lot cooler if there wasn't wrapping and poles around it. But the fact that it is a 3,500 year old Egyptian monument (ENY, 68) was pretty awesome. We also moseyed on over to the Belvedere Castle which was built in 1869 out of schist straight out of the park itself (ENY, 68). The word belvedere means "beautiful view" (ENY, 69) and I can vouch that the views of the city and the park from the top were pretty amazing. We then walked along Ramble which is Central Park's version of a forest like trail (ENY, 69). My favorite part of the trail was the little bridge we crossed over because you can see people on their rented canoes floating in the pond. At the end of the trail we reached the Ode to John Lennon; Strawberry Fields. It was pretty cool but I was kind of expecting more. I did like the Imagine mosaic, which was made of black and white tile with the word "Imagine" after one of John Lennon's most inspiring songs (ENY, 70). We also saw the Dakota, where John Lennon's wife, Yoko-Ono still currently lives. We stopped at Bethesda Terrace and fountain, which I always enjoy because there is so much going on around there. I love the archways under the terrace because the mosaic ceilings are just phenomenal...I think I have a thing for tile work...anyway, I also love the fountain. I'm glad I actually got a decent picture by it because it's usually so crowded that you can't. Bethesda fountain is a good place to sit and people watch though. The fountain has a statue at the top known as the Angel of the Waters, created by Emma Stebbins in 1868 (ENY, 70). Lastly, we walked along the park seeing the Boat House and the Boat Pond. Today was a long day but I was glad to learn so many new things and experience the culture of Spanish Harlem while also finally getting to see things that I've heard of but never gotten to go to in Central Park.
Soon after we met our tour guide Luke outside of El Museo del Barrio. We all stood in a circle introducing ourselves and saying how we felt. Then Luke shared one of his poems with us about a girl singing on the D train. I'm really into rap and hip hop music and thats what his poem reminded me of. I felt like it'd make a great song and I really enjoyed his lyrics. We were not the only ones who liked it though because a random guy came walking over and enjoyed it too. Luke made such an impact on us from the get go that his words are still stuck in my head: "WE NEED MORE MUSIC!" I can't stop saying it. As we walked along with Luke he pointed out how much of community El Barrio really was. He took us past little artistic areas that weren't official pieces of art but art of the community to decorate and inspire. We then walked into the Modesto "Tin" Flores Garden. "The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by East Harlem resident Ernesto "Tin" Flores into a garden for the neighborhood's inhabitants" (ENY, 78). The garden was cute inside and had an impressive mosaic on the wall. "The mural depicts mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Puerto Rican poet Julia De Burgos (1917-1953) with their hands intertwined with the flags of their respective countries behind them" (ENY, 78). Within the park there was also a piece of art that was also made out of tile representing fallopian tubes. I felt as though that was kind of weird but I guess it gave the park the theme of women and their importance in the spanish culture. Or, at least thats what I took from it. After we went to a cute little book store called La Casa Azul Bookstore. I felt like it was a good place to stop and check out because it was a place to promote literacy in this community. We left and continued down the street and we must have been going too fast because we lost poor Carla and Griselda. Once they caught up to us we stopped at a mural which was a great site to see. I liked this mural mostly because it wasn't of anyone famous but it was of the people in the community. It showed what the community was really about and the people in it. It left me to make up my own story of who each person was in the community and what their role was. The mural is called "the Spirit of East Harlem" mural. it was "created by Hank Prussing in 1978, the mural captures the Latin influences on street life in East Harlem in the 1970s" (ENY, 77). Just before lunch we stopped at Justo Botanica which was a shop of spiritual medicines and religious statues. It was all pretty interesting but at this point I was basically ravenous and needed to get out of there. We braked for lunch and some of us headed to El Paso Taqueria & Cerveceria for lunch. First things first, I ordered a margarita on the rocks. Nicole and Casey both got frozen mangoritas and all the drinks were amazing. Some of us ordered tacos but I ordered a burrito and it was amazing. We each got one more drink and then had to rush out of there to meet up with the rest of the class. The one thing I would change about this class is having more time for lunch so we can enjoy it rather than having to scoff it down. After we met back up with the group we headed to Central Park.
I've been to Central Park a million times of course but I have never been to the end that we started at nevertheless even knew it existed or reached to Spanish Harlem. We explored every inch of that park, saw every sight, I think, we've ever heard of. We gathered outside of the gate and talked about the history of the Vanderbilt Gate upon entering the park at the Conservatory Gardens. This gate was made in Paris in 1894 and originally stood at the Vanderbilt Mansion on Fifth Avenue and 58th Street (ENY, 65). We stopped by the Obelisk which would have been a lot cooler if there wasn't wrapping and poles around it. But the fact that it is a 3,500 year old Egyptian monument (ENY, 68) was pretty awesome. We also moseyed on over to the Belvedere Castle which was built in 1869 out of schist straight out of the park itself (ENY, 68). The word belvedere means "beautiful view" (ENY, 69) and I can vouch that the views of the city and the park from the top were pretty amazing. We then walked along Ramble which is Central Park's version of a forest like trail (ENY, 69). My favorite part of the trail was the little bridge we crossed over because you can see people on their rented canoes floating in the pond. At the end of the trail we reached the Ode to John Lennon; Strawberry Fields. It was pretty cool but I was kind of expecting more. I did like the Imagine mosaic, which was made of black and white tile with the word "Imagine" after one of John Lennon's most inspiring songs (ENY, 70). We also saw the Dakota, where John Lennon's wife, Yoko-Ono still currently lives. We stopped at Bethesda Terrace and fountain, which I always enjoy because there is so much going on around there. I love the archways under the terrace because the mosaic ceilings are just phenomenal...I think I have a thing for tile work...anyway, I also love the fountain. I'm glad I actually got a decent picture by it because it's usually so crowded that you can't. Bethesda fountain is a good place to sit and people watch though. The fountain has a statue at the top known as the Angel of the Waters, created by Emma Stebbins in 1868 (ENY, 70). Lastly, we walked along the park seeing the Boat House and the Boat Pond. Today was a long day but I was glad to learn so many new things and experience the culture of Spanish Harlem while also finally getting to see things that I've heard of but never gotten to go to in Central Park.
6. MIDTOWN & HARLEM
So turns out there was no strike so we didn't have to have a long class day again, thank god. It was a beautiful day so I was excited to just walk around. After arriving in Penn Station we took attendance as per usual and then headed out. Unlike most other classes, our first move wasn't to hop on a subway. We exited Penn Station and the first site pointed out was Macy's Department Store. Macy's occupies the entire block between Broadway and 7th Avenue and is the largest department store in the United States (ENY, 31). I've been to Macy's multiple times. Christmas time, Thanksgiving and other times that I've wanted to shop while in the city. I always admired the window display during Christmas time and the Thanksgiving Day parade by Macy's is always fantastic whether you're watching it on TV or there in person. We then proceeded down the 34th Street to Herald Square which is actually a triangle. Mike explained to us that there are a few squares within Manhattan and they're formed by intersections on Broadway. After Herald Square we headed to the oh so busy Times Square. Some native New Yorkers can't stand Times Square. As many times as I've been there I don't mind it at all. There is always something to see. Times Square is known as both the world's busiest intersection as well as the world's most popular tourist attraction (ENY, 33). This area was originally a farm land owned by John Morin Scott, but by the mid 19th century the area became the center of New York's horse carriage industry and was named Time sSquare in 1904 when The New York Times moved into a skyscraper on 42nd street (ENY, 33).
We continued our walk along Broadway then making a right and left to the G.E. Building. This building was in the heart of Rockefeller Center. It was definitely done in the Art Deco style. The characteristics of the building matched the description of the Art Deco style that Mike had previously described. The G.E. Building was originally called the RCA building when it was completed in 1933 (ENY, 34). It is now the headquarters of NBC which aires popular late night shows such as The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. The building itself was pretty nice inside it was all marble and clean looking. We then got to hang out outside in Rockefeller Center. The ice skating rink had turned into an outdoor patio type thing with tables, umbrellas and a bar. I would have loved to break for lunch there but since we didn't I'll have to go back there with my friends before the summer ends. I've never really been over there in the summer but I have in the winter multiple times because of the tree. After our 15 minutes of free time we headed over to the MOMA.
The MOMA is one of the most important and influential museums of the modern art in the world (ENY, 38) so having never been there before, I was pretty interested to check it out. The MOMA holds collections of important works of art from the 19th and 20th centuries (ENY, 39). Seeing an original Mondrian was exciting for me. For art history class, I had to research him as an artist, so seeing his piece in person was pretty amazing. We worked up an appetite after all this art viewing so we then headed to Hell's Kitchen for lunch. Originally Hell's Kitchen was filled with immigrants living in tenements and it was busy and crowded. In the 1990's gentrification began, completely changing it to an upscale area and the benefit of this was a plethora of international restaurants (ENY, 40). I love Hell's Kitchen because I've had so many good experiences there. The restaurants are so diverse and there is so much to choose from. Today we went to a Thai Restaurant called Yum Yum Bangkok. The food was amazing. I liked this place way more than Jackson Diner. At Yum Yum I ordered a chicken cashew dish and a spring roll. I really enjoyed it. I wish I would have noticed the "$5 Frozen Margaritas All Day" sign because that would of topped off that great lunch. After lunch I seemed to have been on crack because I had a burst of energy. I was singing and dancing as if I was in a musical. I kept running up to random people singing my favorite line: "WE NEED MORE MUSIC". That didn't last very long though. We then hopped on a subway to Morningside heights.
I find myself looking around at everything now. I noticed the ceiling of the subway station had a cool design. Anyway, we got out of the subway station and continued down the street and saw the most beautiful CVS I've probably ever seen. It was a pretty done-up building. We then walked up to this grand church and statue. We sat down and waited for Jim, our impressive tour guide, who was filled with tons and tons of knowledge. We were at the Cathedral of St John the Divine. It is the largest church in the United States and the largest gothic style cathedral in the world, having room for 3000 worshippers and is 600 feet in length (ENY, 81). I've decided that I'm also a fan of gothic style architecture. Both the inside and the outside of the church was amazing. I loved the stain glass. Then we headed to see another bunch of beautiful architectural structures at Columbia University. I wish I went there so bad. Between the beautiful day, the nice quad and the detail and beauty of the buildings, it was such a nice campus! I bet it brought back great memories for Damian. Columbia University was the first college established in New York state and the fifth in the United States. The campus was designed by McKim, Meade and White, who were also responsible for a bunch of Beaux Arts style buildings in New York (ENY, 83). After we walked over to the tomb of Ulysses S Grant.
The General Grant National Memorial was pretty huge for just two people, Ulysses S Grant and his wife. Ulysses S Grant was commander of the Union army during the Civil War and President of the United States from 1869-1877 (ENY, 85). The tomb seemed to be made out of white granite and it definitely federal style architecture. The lower area, down the stairs had gigantic caskets that held the remains of Ulysses and his wife. I felt that it was nice that both him and his wife were placed next to eachother to lay to rest.
We then headed to Harlem. A completely different vibe from Spanish Harlem. I got a weird vibe from it, not in a bad way, just different from anything i've reallt seen before. I didn't really know what to expect from Harlem but it was very hustle and bustle and noisy. We saw the Apollo theatre were tons of famous people have performed. The theatre opened in 1914 and was strictly a "Whites Only", but reopening in 1934, it was prominent center of black entertainment (ENY, 90). We kept walking and there were street performers playing music and there were people dancing around. After we split from Mike and Damian and hopped on the subway. We tried to keep up with Vibin because he always makes it to Penn on time for his train. Me, Nicole, Casey and Muscles took the train home together again and it was a nice ride home just chatting and hanging out. As I realized we only had a couple of classes left I started getting a little sad about it but still excited for what we had in store for next class.
We continued our walk along Broadway then making a right and left to the G.E. Building. This building was in the heart of Rockefeller Center. It was definitely done in the Art Deco style. The characteristics of the building matched the description of the Art Deco style that Mike had previously described. The G.E. Building was originally called the RCA building when it was completed in 1933 (ENY, 34). It is now the headquarters of NBC which aires popular late night shows such as The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. The building itself was pretty nice inside it was all marble and clean looking. We then got to hang out outside in Rockefeller Center. The ice skating rink had turned into an outdoor patio type thing with tables, umbrellas and a bar. I would have loved to break for lunch there but since we didn't I'll have to go back there with my friends before the summer ends. I've never really been over there in the summer but I have in the winter multiple times because of the tree. After our 15 minutes of free time we headed over to the MOMA.
The MOMA is one of the most important and influential museums of the modern art in the world (ENY, 38) so having never been there before, I was pretty interested to check it out. The MOMA holds collections of important works of art from the 19th and 20th centuries (ENY, 39). Seeing an original Mondrian was exciting for me. For art history class, I had to research him as an artist, so seeing his piece in person was pretty amazing. We worked up an appetite after all this art viewing so we then headed to Hell's Kitchen for lunch. Originally Hell's Kitchen was filled with immigrants living in tenements and it was busy and crowded. In the 1990's gentrification began, completely changing it to an upscale area and the benefit of this was a plethora of international restaurants (ENY, 40). I love Hell's Kitchen because I've had so many good experiences there. The restaurants are so diverse and there is so much to choose from. Today we went to a Thai Restaurant called Yum Yum Bangkok. The food was amazing. I liked this place way more than Jackson Diner. At Yum Yum I ordered a chicken cashew dish and a spring roll. I really enjoyed it. I wish I would have noticed the "$5 Frozen Margaritas All Day" sign because that would of topped off that great lunch. After lunch I seemed to have been on crack because I had a burst of energy. I was singing and dancing as if I was in a musical. I kept running up to random people singing my favorite line: "WE NEED MORE MUSIC". That didn't last very long though. We then hopped on a subway to Morningside heights.
I find myself looking around at everything now. I noticed the ceiling of the subway station had a cool design. Anyway, we got out of the subway station and continued down the street and saw the most beautiful CVS I've probably ever seen. It was a pretty done-up building. We then walked up to this grand church and statue. We sat down and waited for Jim, our impressive tour guide, who was filled with tons and tons of knowledge. We were at the Cathedral of St John the Divine. It is the largest church in the United States and the largest gothic style cathedral in the world, having room for 3000 worshippers and is 600 feet in length (ENY, 81). I've decided that I'm also a fan of gothic style architecture. Both the inside and the outside of the church was amazing. I loved the stain glass. Then we headed to see another bunch of beautiful architectural structures at Columbia University. I wish I went there so bad. Between the beautiful day, the nice quad and the detail and beauty of the buildings, it was such a nice campus! I bet it brought back great memories for Damian. Columbia University was the first college established in New York state and the fifth in the United States. The campus was designed by McKim, Meade and White, who were also responsible for a bunch of Beaux Arts style buildings in New York (ENY, 83). After we walked over to the tomb of Ulysses S Grant.
The General Grant National Memorial was pretty huge for just two people, Ulysses S Grant and his wife. Ulysses S Grant was commander of the Union army during the Civil War and President of the United States from 1869-1877 (ENY, 85). The tomb seemed to be made out of white granite and it definitely federal style architecture. The lower area, down the stairs had gigantic caskets that held the remains of Ulysses and his wife. I felt that it was nice that both him and his wife were placed next to eachother to lay to rest.
We then headed to Harlem. A completely different vibe from Spanish Harlem. I got a weird vibe from it, not in a bad way, just different from anything i've reallt seen before. I didn't really know what to expect from Harlem but it was very hustle and bustle and noisy. We saw the Apollo theatre were tons of famous people have performed. The theatre opened in 1914 and was strictly a "Whites Only", but reopening in 1934, it was prominent center of black entertainment (ENY, 90). We kept walking and there were street performers playing music and there were people dancing around. After we split from Mike and Damian and hopped on the subway. We tried to keep up with Vibin because he always makes it to Penn on time for his train. Me, Nicole, Casey and Muscles took the train home together again and it was a nice ride home just chatting and hanging out. As I realized we only had a couple of classes left I started getting a little sad about it but still excited for what we had in store for next class.
7. LOWER MANHATTAN & GOVERNOR'S ISLAND
Today was our last full day of class and needless to say I was kind of sad thinking about it. But I was definitely excited for what the day had in store. I started off the day the same as usual, hopping on the 10:02 train with Nicole from Merrick, meeting up with Casey in Baldwin, just chatting away until we reach Penn. Our plan for the day was to explore Lower Manhattan and ending in Governors Island though I wished it was the opposite way around so I could have enough energy to ride the tandem bikes. We hopped on the E train downtown and headed towards St Paul's Chapel. We walked into the front yard which was a lush, green, peaceful cemetery. This is the oldest church in Manhattan, built in 1764. But, it also is the oldest building still in use in Manhattan (ENY, PDF, 46). Mike mentioned in the information session that this church housed some responders of 9/11 during clean up. When we entered the church there was memorabilia and ornamental decoration. "Although it was directly across the street from the World Trade Center, the chapel miraculously survived the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001" (ENY, PDF, 47). Besides that though, there was also George Washington's pew. It is said that George Washington himself used to worship here.
We continued our walk towards the Woolworth building. Again, we were pointing out what type of style architecture everything was. At this point it was like a game and I loved to keep guessing. Woolworth was the founder of a chain of 5 and 10 cent stores. When building his headquarters right here in Lower Manhattan, Woolworth was determined to have it rise higher than any other building in the world (ENY, PDF, 46). Then we walked through a park where we got a much better view of the Woolworth building and then got to see the front of City Hall. I was kind of glad we didn't get the chance to go in because it honestly probably would have bored me and most of the group. We headed into the Civic Center which was basically the area of the neighborhood with all the government, official type buildings. We saw Mike's favorite building, the Municipal building. It had these grand archways and the ceilings were done in nothing other than GUSTAVINO TILE!!! HOW EXCITING!!! This building is the largest governmental buildings in the world, holding 13 municipal agencies and is home to the Manhattan Marriage Bureau (ENY, PDF 42). But honestly, I wasn't too impressed by this building or the tile or the courthouse. The only thing that really impressed me were the grand archways. We then headed to the African Burial ground which again, didn't really impress me come first impression. I had no knowledge of it so I thought I was just looking at some grass with and memorial on it. The memorial was opened in 2007 to recognize the important role that African Slaves played in the development of New York City (ENY, PDF, 44). Once we went in that beautifully air conditioned museum and watched the short film I honestly appreciated it more and really thought how awesome of a site that was to see.
After this we headed to the 911 memorial which I haven't had the chance to check out yet. I was actually really excited for this because this to me was a very important day in history and it was during my lifetime. I'll never forget 9/11 and how I felt that day and how I feel now so being able to visit this memorial was really special. The memorial consisted of two 1 acre pools set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers (ENY, PDF, 49). I remember watching the ceremony this past September of reading off the names of the victims of this tragedy. It was nice to see they were being recognized on the memorial by their names carved into it. I looked for one of my former friend's father's name but I couldn't find it. I also liked seeing the Survivor Tree because I felt like it was pretty symbolic of New York and it's people. We're tough and we can handle anything thrown our way and with this tree being a survivor, I think it represents just that. After that experience we headed to Battery City park which I loved because it was on the water and you can look at all the beautiful boats. We headed inside a building there called Hudson Eats. It was kind of like Chelsea market but in my opinion it was way better. Going up the escalator my toes somehow got stuck in it, so that was fun. Once we got to Hudson Eats there were many options but Casey, Nicole and myself decided to have Skinny Pizza. We sat and ate with the rest of our classmates. After lunch we walked to Trinity Church. The steeple of this church, at one point, was the highest point in New York, being 284 feet tall, until the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge were built (ENY, PDF, 50). I'm pretty sure we weren't allowed to walk around inside so we checked out the cemetery which was so pretty.
Then we had to catch the 4:00 ferry to Governors Island. It was only a $2.00 round trip fee so that wasn't bad. We took the ferry across, and it was just beautiful. The breeze, the views, the water. I loved it all. Once we arrived, we walked through Fort Jay to Castle William. It was so damn hot in that castle. We took a tour of it and learned that it was once a prison for war then a military prison. We saw a real life cannon and also amazing views of downtown manhattan and the statue of liberty. It was too damn hot in there so by the time we finished the tour, there was no shot I was riding any bicycles. Remember in the beginning of this journal when I wished we had went to Governors Island first, well I changed my mind because at the end of the day we got to chill out in Hammock Grove. Hammocks are one of my most favorite things so I was very excited to relax and finish up the day in one. We took the 6:00 ferry back and headed to Penn. It was a long day but such a great one and I really don't want this class to ever end!
We continued our walk towards the Woolworth building. Again, we were pointing out what type of style architecture everything was. At this point it was like a game and I loved to keep guessing. Woolworth was the founder of a chain of 5 and 10 cent stores. When building his headquarters right here in Lower Manhattan, Woolworth was determined to have it rise higher than any other building in the world (ENY, PDF, 46). Then we walked through a park where we got a much better view of the Woolworth building and then got to see the front of City Hall. I was kind of glad we didn't get the chance to go in because it honestly probably would have bored me and most of the group. We headed into the Civic Center which was basically the area of the neighborhood with all the government, official type buildings. We saw Mike's favorite building, the Municipal building. It had these grand archways and the ceilings were done in nothing other than GUSTAVINO TILE!!! HOW EXCITING!!! This building is the largest governmental buildings in the world, holding 13 municipal agencies and is home to the Manhattan Marriage Bureau (ENY, PDF 42). But honestly, I wasn't too impressed by this building or the tile or the courthouse. The only thing that really impressed me were the grand archways. We then headed to the African Burial ground which again, didn't really impress me come first impression. I had no knowledge of it so I thought I was just looking at some grass with and memorial on it. The memorial was opened in 2007 to recognize the important role that African Slaves played in the development of New York City (ENY, PDF, 44). Once we went in that beautifully air conditioned museum and watched the short film I honestly appreciated it more and really thought how awesome of a site that was to see.
After this we headed to the 911 memorial which I haven't had the chance to check out yet. I was actually really excited for this because this to me was a very important day in history and it was during my lifetime. I'll never forget 9/11 and how I felt that day and how I feel now so being able to visit this memorial was really special. The memorial consisted of two 1 acre pools set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers (ENY, PDF, 49). I remember watching the ceremony this past September of reading off the names of the victims of this tragedy. It was nice to see they were being recognized on the memorial by their names carved into it. I looked for one of my former friend's father's name but I couldn't find it. I also liked seeing the Survivor Tree because I felt like it was pretty symbolic of New York and it's people. We're tough and we can handle anything thrown our way and with this tree being a survivor, I think it represents just that. After that experience we headed to Battery City park which I loved because it was on the water and you can look at all the beautiful boats. We headed inside a building there called Hudson Eats. It was kind of like Chelsea market but in my opinion it was way better. Going up the escalator my toes somehow got stuck in it, so that was fun. Once we got to Hudson Eats there were many options but Casey, Nicole and myself decided to have Skinny Pizza. We sat and ate with the rest of our classmates. After lunch we walked to Trinity Church. The steeple of this church, at one point, was the highest point in New York, being 284 feet tall, until the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge were built (ENY, PDF, 50). I'm pretty sure we weren't allowed to walk around inside so we checked out the cemetery which was so pretty.
Then we had to catch the 4:00 ferry to Governors Island. It was only a $2.00 round trip fee so that wasn't bad. We took the ferry across, and it was just beautiful. The breeze, the views, the water. I loved it all. Once we arrived, we walked through Fort Jay to Castle William. It was so damn hot in that castle. We took a tour of it and learned that it was once a prison for war then a military prison. We saw a real life cannon and also amazing views of downtown manhattan and the statue of liberty. It was too damn hot in there so by the time we finished the tour, there was no shot I was riding any bicycles. Remember in the beginning of this journal when I wished we had went to Governors Island first, well I changed my mind because at the end of the day we got to chill out in Hammock Grove. Hammocks are one of my most favorite things so I was very excited to relax and finish up the day in one. We took the 6:00 ferry back and headed to Penn. It was a long day but such a great one and I really don't want this class to ever end!
8. IMMIGRANT NEW YORK
Well, it's our last class. Bittersweet would be the word to describe it. This class sure wore me out the past couple weeks but I couldn't think of any else I rather be doing on my Wednesdays and Fridays. I can honestly say I am going to miss the excitement of what I'm going to see that day or where I'm going to go. Most of all I'll miss the ridiculous things that go on in class that make me laugh so hard each class. We gathered in Penn Station one last time this morning to head to the Lower East side. We took the F train to Delancey Street. Once we arrived Mike and Damian gave us a bit of history mentioning how it was prominently a Jewish and now Chinese area. In the 1800's, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in this neighborhood, really giving it its character (ENY, PDF, 65). We stopped at a Bialy place called Kossar's Bialys. Breakfast was on Mike. I ordered an onion Bialy because I wanted to give it a try. We then walked to Seward Park to eat. "The park was named after William Seward, Governor of New York from 1839-1842 and later Secretary of State during the Lincoln administration" (ENY, PDF, 69). Mike ended up getting tofu spread rather then cream cheese so he sent Muscles back by himself to exchange it. Well, he got lost. God knows how. I had half of Casey's bagel after that and a couple of fresh baked cookies by Joe. I went out the night before so I need to pack on the carbs today. Then appeared Jim, our tour guide from the other day. He was back to show us around some more. Jim took us to Bialystoker Synagogue first. "The synagogue was founded in 1865 by Jews who came from the town of Bialystock in Poland. Merging with another congregation from Poland, the enlarged congregation purchased the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church and converted it into a synagogue" (ENY, PDF, 68). Then we went to the Henry Street Settlement which was founded by a Lilian Wald who was a nursing student. This brought both education and nursing care to the community.
We walked all around the Lower East side. It wasn't as interesting as I had hoped since it was the last day. We then headed to lunch at Congee Village Chinese Food, and authentic chinese food place. Jim told us that the restaurant actually once was a recording studio were singers like Beyonce once had recorded. We got two pretty big tables with gigantic lazy susans attached to them. We all enjoyed different types of food from this authentic Chinese restaurant. Mike ordered dumplings, sesame chicken, fried rice, noodles with seafood, and some veggies. I really liked the sesame chicken and the fried rice. We talked about what we liked and what we didn't and of course laughed about the ridiculous and funny memories we had made. At the end of the lunch it was time to say goodbye. Everyone was a little blue and we gave each other hugs. Good thing we all are Molloy students, so I'm sure we'll see each other again. Nicole, Casey and myself left the group and went shopping for weekend attire in SoHo. It was a great way to end the last day but again sad that it was officially over.
We walked all around the Lower East side. It wasn't as interesting as I had hoped since it was the last day. We then headed to lunch at Congee Village Chinese Food, and authentic chinese food place. Jim told us that the restaurant actually once was a recording studio were singers like Beyonce once had recorded. We got two pretty big tables with gigantic lazy susans attached to them. We all enjoyed different types of food from this authentic Chinese restaurant. Mike ordered dumplings, sesame chicken, fried rice, noodles with seafood, and some veggies. I really liked the sesame chicken and the fried rice. We talked about what we liked and what we didn't and of course laughed about the ridiculous and funny memories we had made. At the end of the lunch it was time to say goodbye. Everyone was a little blue and we gave each other hugs. Good thing we all are Molloy students, so I'm sure we'll see each other again. Nicole, Casey and myself left the group and went shopping for weekend attire in SoHo. It was a great way to end the last day but again sad that it was officially over.
9. OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Overall, I could not have asked for a better experience with this class. I had so much fun and beyond enjoyed this experience. Our professors, Mike and Damian were so enjoyable and so knowledgable. They made the class fun, as if we were exploring the city with our friends. Like I've mentioned in a previous entry, there has been so much I've wanted to see and do in the city but probably wouldn't have gotten around to ever doing it had it not been for this class. And for that I am thankful. Besides the fact that we have learned and experienced so much in this class, we've made some really great new friends. We were a good group who was anxious and excited each day. I feel like I am more cultured after this, which makes for a more well rounded person. It was a growing experience too. With everything I've learned this summer, I appreciate New York that much more and I would 100% go back and do all these things again. I've always wanted to study abroad and with not being able to really do that, although it was basically like exploring my own backyard, this class somehow filled the desire for me to study abroad. Brooklyn was probably my favorite day of them all. I didn't really have any complaints about the course except for maybe longer lunch periods. Other than that, I love this class and I am actually so sad that it has come to an end. Taking this class you must be open minded and willing to explore and have fun while still also learning and you'll see NYC in a new light!