I was really impressed by my visit to New York City for the very first time this weekend. My desire to visit New York City was huge! The first ten seconds after I entered the city, I could not believe that I was in New York, the city that I saw in popular American movies since I was too small to remember and that I always dreamed of visiting. In fact, since I saw on our Washington Fellowship schedule that we were to visit New York, I was very impatient! I was counting the days until I finally got to see New York City! This weekend, my dream came true; I was in New York City! I was very curious to see what New York looks like. At my entrance into New York City, I was very impressed by the height and size of most of the buildings. They were huge, especially compared to all of the buildings that I’ve ever seen before (except, of course, in the movies).
The tallest building I saw was the One World Trade Center, which was built on the ground where the Twin Towers once stood. Thinking about the approximately 3,000 people killed at Ground Zero, I was torn. I was conflicted between emotions of joy and sadness: joy at being in New York City and sadness due to reflecting upon how many people died during the attacks. After several minutes, I told myself that it was time to enjoy this experience and understand American culture rather than be overcome by sadness.
Despite the sadness inside me, the fact that we were in Manhattan allowed me to enjoy myself. In New York, we visited many sites, such as the Statue of Liberty, Time Square, and Central Park. Manhattan is like a small paradise. The beautiful streets, the colors of the television screens in Time Square, and cabs, limousines, buses, and trains really impressed me, and I noticed the great differences between the city and Delaware. There are so many people in New York! The streets are crowded with people from different parts! In Manhattan, the streets are so busy that, at times, I asked myself whether I would find the place where my group had to meet with our other friends.
In Manhattan, you can do whatever you want to do, so I decided to go shopping in some shops for small souvenirs of New York. I bought a few postcards for my friends, shirts, and clothes. We had a lot of fun in New York. We ate ice creams and chocolates, and after shopping, we took a short break and tasted the best pizza in the city.
In New York, time flies, and we had to return to our dear University of Delaware in Newark. Our driver put on some music, and there was spirited dance! Everybody was happy to visit New York for the first time. It was an unforgettable experience—the best weekend in the United States of America!
