So I've been a lazy blogger, oh well.
This past summer I went to NYC. Instead of me telling you all the things I did and see I will give you my impressions of the city and my experience. The very first things I noticed upon arriving and that stuck with me is that NYC is a city of no bull shit. What I mean by that is that everyone is direct, there is no sugar coating things and you aska question you're gonna get a straight answer. For some people this might be upsetting or a bit too direct but I loved it, I thought it was hilarious that you ask someone a question of where to get info for a shuttle and before you realize it they are not only telling you which shuttle you want to take but have called for it, suggested some sight seeing, and passively hit on your sister.
The second thing I noticed is that everyone is out to make a buck. This certainly isn't something specific to NYC but I've never seen it more blatant. The shuttle driver toured around the terminal about 3 times looking to jam up the shuttle only to not, but her tried. So many people have tip expectations. The tip expectation was most evidenced by a tour bus driver who went on a 10 minute rant about how tipping is important and an indication of good service the world over. He was laying it on thick. The other searing image in my mind about people trying to make a buck is multiple people with plastic garbage bags or coolers filled with botled water selling it on the street for $1. Every time I saw this and a few other things I couldn't help but have Rick Ross' song "hustlin'" playing in my head repeatedly.
The third thing I noticed is just how compact this city is. We spent almost all of our time in Manhattan. Every couple blocks you stumble across some major landmark or event. heres's time square, oh here's madison square garden, oh here's Macy's (which is insane by the way). Being a city that is so compact and arguably the most famous city in the world it is of course crowded, my sister used the term overwhelming once or twice but I found it great. I loved how busy it was, there was so much energy in the city. I would not be so fond of all the people and noise and smell if I lived in NYC and had to face it on a daily basis but visiting and temporarily immersing myself in it was awesome.
Overall I loved the trip. I loved what New York had to offer, you could be there for a month and still not see everything you'd want to. I would not want to live in NYC but it sure was great to visit. Side note, the statue of liberty experience was the low-light of the trip.
