NEW YORK PART I

I still can't believe the trip to New York is over already. I've spent more than 6 months looking forward to it and then suddenly it goes by so fast.
Thank god for the memories (:

Anyway, saturday 30th of April (Queensday in the Netherlands) we began our journey at 5 o'clock in the morning. Still exhausted from Paris, we managed to survive the flight. We boarded in Brussels and went with Jet Airlines, which appears to do lots of flights from India to New York (with a stop in Brussels) so the entire crew and many passengers as well, were Indian. I sat next to a big Indian man who slept the entire journey and hasn't even visited the restroom! Very important detail, I know. The food we received was also Indian (chicken rice, special bread) and though everyone thought it was very disgustful, I enjoyed it.

We arrived in New Yersey (Newark) where we could already see the skyline. One of the most magical things you'll ever see, believe me. After a long busride, we finally saw ourselves walking through the doors of Grand Central Terminal. We got into the metro and went all the way uptown to East-Harlem.

Harlem really is like you see it in the movies. Black children hanging in front of shabby houses, big men in old stores, deserted playgrounds. But I have to say it wasn't as dangerous, as I thought it would be. Nowadays the Bronx is more the ghetto of the city.



Our hostel was lovely. Small, but doable. We were in a room with four and in a floor with three rooms and two bathrooms. We had to share. After a quick refresh we got into town! The teachers, who were all young and kind, had picked out a small and amazing restaurant which reminded me of the fifties. Don't know if you've ever seen 'A Cinderella Story', but it looked a lot like the restaurant in there. I ordered a tuna & cheese and it was delicious.

In the evening we went to Times Square and it was very impressing for everyone. All the lights and the taxis and the huge stores (everything is big, bigger, biggest). Though I've already been in NYC once, it was still a big happening for me. We went to Toys-R-us, the M&M store and Forever 21. Around 10 o'clock we were back in the hostel. Exhausted, but so thrilled with a tremendous week to come.