We recorded our audio clips in Central Park, but we managed to capture different aspects of it.
As we were walking through the park, we noticed the difference between the atmospheres of Manhattan and the Bronx. Dasani managed to capture the sound of birds chirping in a bush, leading me to ask about whether she had heard similar sounds in her neighborhood. In part of her response she said,
The Bronx seems to be quite dead. I wish that there were more nature-centered places, and I kind of wish we had some like Manhattan.
This statement captured my attention as I also noticed the differences between the nature sounds in Manhattan and in the Bronx. At Lehman I manage to see glimpses of nature like a seagull or a falcon, but I rarely see them around where I live.
On our way to the park, however, we stumbled upon a deeper issue. I had mentioned that I overheard a conversation between locals who were discussing which country they should go to for vacation. We had found this exchange amusing because, as residents of less wealthy neighborhoods, we rarely talk about going on vacation, much less a vacation to a different country. Dasani summarized our thoughts in the following statement:
I feel like there’s a lot of wealthy people here. By their mannerisms you can tell there’s a class divide.
Hearing Dasani’s thoughts about her feelings of alienation were really insightful, and it is interesting that a walk in a park led to this discussion.
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