New York At Last

First moments in New York

“Are you going to LaGuardia airport?” This question startled me as I stared blankly into the plastic screen that divided the driver and me. I had just gotten off my Delta flight at JFK airport and was now waiting in a black van to get to my apartment. “Excuse me?” I quickly asked, hoping for some clarification; the driver asked me again, “Are you going to LaGuardia? are you Israel?”. Israel? why is this man calling me Israel? Then it all hit me at once, I was not in the right car to get to my apartment; I had just hopped into someone else’s taxi. This paints a picture of what the first few moments of my arrival in New York were like. I had quickly learned my first lesson, not all New York taxis are yellow and not to go into any car that comes my way.

The awkward encounter quickly dissolved in my memory as I eventually was able to move into my apartment in Upper East Manhattan. This area was everything I had hoped for, Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum are about a 15 min walk from my place and with the subway and bus stations close at hand, the city was at my fingertips!

Exploring the City!

After my three-day quarantine, a couple of us who are a part of the New York Arts Program got together and eagerly began covering ground in the city. From Brooklyn Bridge to Times Square, we were determined to sightsee as much as we could during the week and a half before our internships. I would have to say, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Strand Bookstore were two of my favorite visits. It was surreal seeing Vincent van Gogh’s starry night at the MoMa (although it was a lot smaller than I thought), and the Strand Bookstore was endless with novels and had a whole floor dedicated to the arts, which I absolutely loved! It was safe to say my first week and a half was eventful and has definitely got me looking for what more is in store for me during my stay in the city.