Thomas

Escape from Upstate

          Believe it or not, there is a village where the people race lawnmowers to school and have an enormous festival in celebration of maple trees and maple syrup. The people here have also never heard of Urban Outfitters or of Pinkberry and do not know what “Metrocard” means. Although you may never find this location on a map, it is known as the Village of Marathon; I lived there for seven years and endured the ignorance and monotony of country life. I may not have a thrilling, heart-wrenching story about how my great-great-great grandparents (I am a fourth-generation American) struggled to come to America and adapt to a new lifestyle, but I can share my experience and the important lessons I learned as an escapee from the unnaturally sheltered village of Marathon.

          Lesson 1: Open your mind. I understand how obvious this must seem, but too many individuals coming from dissimilar locations allow preconceptions about other people and cultures impede them from appreciating the city as much as possible. You never know as much as you think you know. I was always aware that I was not exposed to all the name-brand stores and people while living upstate; however, I never imagined there would be so many stores and cultures of which I never heard before.  The population in the Village of Marathon equates to about ninety-eight percent white and 2% other. Needless to say, all of my high school friends were white. Here in Manhattan, my three best friends are Egyptian, Indian, and Pakistani. Irrefutably, these new friends of mine have completely different values and cultural backgrounds than any of my friends Upstate, and I have learned an immense amount about their individual cultures and absolutely love having a diverse range of friends.

          Lesson 2: If you cannot pronounce the name of a food, you should still try it. Expanding your eating horizons should be a priority while in Manhattan. For example, I had never tried Thai, Indian, Middle-Eastern, Ethiopian, Egyptian, or Eucadorian cuisine before. Pad Thai? Papri? Falafel? I would not have even been able to guess someone was talking about food if I heard these words before I moved here. Of course, I have tried a variety of new foods that I never knew existed and discovered how much I was missing out on while living Upstate. My favorite kind of food is now Thai and I always bring my friends from Upstate to a Thai restaurant when they visit. I always seek to taste new foods from new cultures any opportunity I have; I have never regretted trying anything once.

          Lesson 3: Harlem can be scary, but the area is not nearly as terrifying as TV and people who have not lived here make it seem. My parents nearly had heart failure when I mentioned to them that I was considering college in Harlem. My mother tried to dissuade me from attending college here by repeatedly claiming that I would not be able to leave the dormitories alone or walk outside of the dorms after seven P.M. unless I wanted to be mugged and killed. Despite her words and bribes to keep me home, I attended City College and lived in Harlem for two semesters so far. Although I admit that this is not the best area of Manhattan, I have enjoyed the diversity of people and culture here. Most people also don’t know that Harlem is rich with history and contains beautiful nature areas such as Riverside Park and St. Nicholas Park.

          Lesson 4: The only way to truly experience NYC is by exploration. This lesson also seems blatantly obvious, but too many individuals do not put effort forth to explore. Locations and areas that are not as well-known as Times Square and Chinatown contain just as much, if not more, amazing stores, restaurants, architecture, and art. NYC is almost like its own world. Numerous areas exist that are extremely distinguishable from one another by the people, geography, and businesses. You’ll even stumble upon historical monuments, buildings, museums, or parks that you never heard of before. Personally, the best areas that I’ve ever come across while exploring were Riverside Church, Coronet Pizza (they sell giant pizzas), Beard Papa’s (an amazing creampuff place), and Belvedere Castle in Central Park.

          Lesson 5: Learn to allot your time wisely if you plan to travel by subway. Subways can be unpredictable. If you need to be somewhere at a specific time, leave at least twenty minutes earlier than you think you need to leave because public transportation is not always convenient. Be aware that you will often miss your train by a matter of split seconds and have the doors shut in front of your face. Also, you may experience delays or your train may simply not be running due to construction or other reasons. In other cases, you may doze off and miss your stop or blissfully wait to see the sign for your subway stop just to notice that you were supposed to get off four stops ago or are going in the wrong direction (especially with Brooklyn trains). Anything can go wrong, especially for those who are new to the city. Trust me, I have made every mistake possible in the subway system and have been late to countless plans and appointments.

          Overall, my life in Manhattan has been incredible. I feel as though I have entered an entirely new world from my homes in both Staten Island and Marathon, New York. The people, the clothing, the methods of transportation, the food, and the area are just entirely different from everything I have always known. In fact, I find myself to have become different in the two semesters living here. My original preconceptions about the city have changed, my clothing style has improved, and irrefutably my knowledge about other cultures and people has drastically increased. I would even assert that I am still changing and learning while living here. Honestly, I do not believe anyone can learn everything there is to know about NYC, but every new bit of knowledge is worth the time and effort spent searching.