The Big Apple

I am finally in one of the greatest cities in the world: New York City! I’ve only been here for about 5 hours and this city has already taught me lessons.

Saying goodbye to my family was hard. I’ve never been away from them for a very long time, and being away made me realize that this will happen around this time next year when I really leave to go to college. This was lesson one. I need to learn how to survive on my own.

Our flight was delayed because of thunderstorms in New York. We did not leave SFO until about 11:30 AM. The plane had TVs on the back of the seats for each of us to watch and they also had a screen where you could track where the plane was and how close to your destination you were.

When we landed, we headed out on our first car ride in the Big Apple. I learned that since the Bay Area and New York City are on complete opposite parts of the country that they are completely opposite from each other. In California, the pedestrians have the right of way. In New York, however, if the pedestrians do not move out of the way from the speeding cars coming their way, they will become road kill.

We checked into the Empire Hotel, where we were given out roommates and room numbers. We are each located on different floors. Beilul and I share a room and together we learned lesson three. Teamwork is necessary in everything, even trying to figure out how to turn the shower on. We spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how the thing worked!

Mrs. L. took us to dinner at a Mexican restaurant around the corner from our hotel. The food was amazing! Everyone ordered something different and we each tried a little bit of each other’s food, especially when it was time for dessert. The vibe of the restaurant was different from any vibe I had felt at a restaurant. It was very friendly and almost laid back, even though it was a very nice restaurant.

So far, I haven’t decided whether I like NYC or not. I’m not used to being in a big city. Inside the hotel room you can hear the loud trucks and noises outside. I’m very anxious to explore and broaden my horizons. We are all planning the trips we can make in the city, like going to a concert in Central Park, go to museums, and even try to see the Today show!

In the morning we will visit UPENN and dine with admissions officers, alumni, and current students. We will also see Independence Hall. UPENN is on my list of colleges I want to attend so today will be a big day!