New York, New York

Similar to my stop in Paris, I ended up in New York without any personal connections and a few days to get a feel for the place. So because my couchsurfing experiences had gone well I used the website again to find a host to stay with for three nights. The main benefits of couchsurfing is that you hang out with locals which gives you a somewhat different perspective on the place... and it's free which is a great relief on the hip pocket.

New York, the great city needs no introduction. From all the films and television shows everyone has an impression of what the city and its people are like. At first it was a little surreal being there and seeing all the yellow cabs, policemen, riding the subway and all those kinds of things. The couchsurfer (Matt) I stayed with lived in Harlem with three other girls from Oklahoma. I'm sure there are good reasons for Harlem's dangerous reputation but as is usually the case with these places I had no problems at all. I was happy to be staying in an "authentic New York" part of town. I only did a few things there like check out the famous local jazz bar, eat at the local fried chicken shop (so unhealthy). Unfortunately I didn't have time to see all the Dominicans playing checkers in the street on Saturdays or to go to the Apollo which was closeby. I felt pretty cool staying "in the ghetto" but apparently it was one of the better areas of Harlem.

Another area I really liked was Brooklyn, one night I went with one of the housemates to a free concert in Prospect Park which was cool. WIth my two days there I just checked out the major areas of Manhattan like Chinatown, Soho, Greenwich Village and the Meat Packing District, I also tried to see some of the major sites like Times Square, Ground Zero, the Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Union Square and the view from the Rockefeller Centre. Basically it was a lot of walking and subway trips around town. While I'm happy I got to see a lot, I wish I had more time to properly enjoy some of the things that the city has to offer properly. Luckily I had great hosts to hang out with a bit to keep me entertained and give me a little insight into how New Yorkers live.

New York is a lot like you would expect it to be: a cultural melting pot of people from all over the world that constantly buzzes with all kinds of interesting things happening. I think it would be very difficult to ever be bored there with the multitude of things happening. Some parts of town are really beautiful (like the villages), some parts are arty (lower east side), some parts are ghetto, some people get around in stretch Hummers, most people get the subway (which is falling apart) and its this contrast which makes the place so interesting. There isn't just one New York, there is one for every person. It's ability to cater to so many is what makes it such a great place. Anyone who gets the chance to live there is spoilt for choice, if I get the opportunity one day I'll take it.