From fake Gucci, to Fifth Ave., to the serenity of Central Park, NYC offers something for all agendas. An initial visit to Times Square surely puts the Capital Square into proportionate dimensions. While there is nothing better than our dear city of Madison, the two cannot be compared. With nearby Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Soho, the possibilities for exploring are endless. Last weekend, a student group had the opportunity to do a whirlwind four-day perusal of New York City. While some members proved to be veteran tourists of NYC, many in the group, like myself, were having our very first love affair with the alleged global city.
Unnecessarily large bags in hand, fourteen UW-Madison ladies stepped into La Guardia airport excited, and slightly jet lagged from the 5:30 a.m. arrival at the Dane County airport. As expected, the initial culture shock of not being the racial majority was both refreshing and stimulating coming from the largely homogenous UW campus. After a questionably safe and incredibly overpriced cab ride through central park to western Manhattan, we finally arrived at our incredibly affordable, questionably located youth hostel en masse. Those who have frequented hostels know that they come in many makes and models, from frightening to comfortable. Luckily, our hostel of choice was of the latter variety. Although the surrounding neighborhood had a pretty constant population of shady characters hanging out in front of the numerous liquor stores, they proved to be harmless.
Post-hostel initiation, fourteen classily-dressed ladies ventured into an underground metro station. The multitude and variety of New Yorkers riding the subway did our Madison hearts proud. While subway usage is largely due to the cost and hassle of owning a vehicle in NYC; I choose to believe that people are making an effort to be more environmentally conscious. Ignorance is bliss.
Anthropology students could have a field day studying the NY subway culture, as the thralls of commuters pass through the metro gates. Some talented, and some not so talented performers livened up the stressful atmosphere as our business shoes clacked on the cement en route to the train – from a man dressed like Jesus, to a Midwestern boy singing show tunes for tips – there was always someone or something interesting to watch in passing.
On the train, in true tourist style, maps were whipped out to avoid missing our stop. While the chance of us missing Times Square was not likely, in large groups it’s better to err on the side of caution. Following a tour of People Magazine en Espanol, it was time to hit Broadway.
For those interested in advertising, Times Square is a must-see. The incredible digital banners and stock tickers running alongside massive buildings catch consumers’ attentions, even the NYPD building is lit up with blue florescent lights. This seemed a bit more of a fashion statement than a necessity, but who am I to judge? To my great dismay, the infamous naked cowboy was nowhere in sight when we visited the square.
While waiting in line, outside, at 5:30 a.m. in the drizzling rain may seem like cruel and unnecessary punishment, the promise of meeting Diane Sawyer was enough to keep the fourteen Wisconsin visitors waiting. Seeing the sun come up on Times Square was an added bonus, while the creeper in line ahead of us was a detraction from the situation. Nonetheless, Good Morning America interviewed Bob Saget in front of a gaggle of UW communications majors on national television. It took our group nearly an hour to get over our initial disappointment with the guest star being Danny Tanner; luckily it soon wore off. Although there is a good chance that no one other than fourteen WI mothers recognized our shining faces on GMA, the experience of watching the morning show being filmed was well worth the soggy wait.
While sightseeing and serial-shopping could keep tourists busy for weeks in NYC, the nightlife is equally as impressive. The party scene was high profile as list-only clubs charged $10 for a tiny beverage, but it is well worth the three-floor dance fest waiting inside. With a DJ on every floor, crazy fashion and the hint of illegal substances in the air, our small-town basement-party mentality was challenged. The local nightlife near the hostel was undoubtedly the most random and unexpected environment for good times, with a little Latin American flavor, some tequila followed by horrible spanglish communication and chips and salsa to top it off.
Based on word of mouth information about New York, many in our Midwestern group expected it to be dirty and the people to be rude with obnoxious accents. I can only imagine that New Yorkers expect Wisconsinites to be overweight, beer and cheese loving farmers based on similar statewide stereotypes. During the four-day trip, there were only two run-ins with stereotypical New Yorkers. One was expectedly on the escalator in the subway as a man yelled “Hey Blondie, I’m walkin’ here” up the escalator to get our cluster of blond-haired bodies out of his way. Another incident occurred in Soho as a snobby local blatantly ignored a direct question. Aside from these isolated incidences, the vitality of the city proved intoxicating. The inevitable question “so when are you going back?” is continually thrown around post-vacation, in the case of NYC, the answer to that question will always be “not soon enough!”