Category — LBornkamp

Once again, I’ve stumbled upon something magical in New York City.

This time, I wasn’t planning to witness culture in any spectacular way–I didn’t think a slice of pizza and some overplayed dance tunes were going to leave me a changed girl, at any rate. But that’s what made it so stunning. This whole accidental revelation began with a wrong turn–and ended with a whole new outlook on the “Big Apple.”

Walking back from a party with a friend, we became so engrossed in conversation that we  walked in the wrong direction for quite a few blocks without notice. Just as we were about to turn around, though, we heard the most beautiful singing coming from the next block over. Despite some hesitation, we decided to check it out. After climbing some steps, I realized that I knew were we were: The Metropolitan Opera. Still, though, I wasn’t quite sure what the occasion may have been–until we reached the top of the steps and set our eyes on the nearly 3,000 people sitting outside, transfixed as a magnificent voice leaped from the vast HD screen’s surround sound. This was the Summer HD Festival that I had been hearing about–and we stumbled upon it by sheer accident!

Completely agape, my friend and I moved to sit on a ledge on the side of the massive crowd, and began to watch the magic of the “Hansel & Gretel’s” Act III. I myself, being fond of operatic music but never of sitting through a true opera, was surprised as to how much joy this moment was bringing me. Surrounded by thousands of equally enthralled people, I began to realize the sheer enormity of the city and its beauty–and how just a few marvelous notes were able to travel straight to the souls of so many people, no matter their differences.

On our way home, more than satisfied by our night’s “accidental adventure” and the magical storyline still fresh in my mind, I began to ponder how a trail of bread crumbs would likely have solved the problem of finding our way home. Quickly, though, I realized that if we, like Hansel & Gretel, had used those bread crumbs, we would never have stumbled into the encounter of a lifetime.

It seems that one can’t help but stumble upon a melding of culture in New York City. A mesh of food, music, and language—the vibrant colors of society are ubiquitous in this new found world. Even through my thickly paned window, the collision of past, present, and future can be observed: graffiti in more than one language emblazoned on the building across the street.

And the day only continues to amaze me with its “cultural encounters”–down the stairs and onto a street where I have to stop for a minute to just attempt to take it in. Chinese writings on the side of a building followed by a sign proclaiming “In God we trust” only ensure my wonder. Just the sounds of this place… A Spanish-speaker helping a Chinese-speaker find the airport would’ve once been but a missed event on the subway—but now, I can’t help but to stand agape at how well the communication actually works. And my insight into this success led me to even greater realization: these cultural encounters that I see every day in this city, regardless of ethnicity, origin, and societal bounds, are successful—and I can’t wait to see what else this place has to offer.

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