Journals 1-4
1. Impressions of NYC
When I think of New York City, the first thing that comes to my mind is: rush. There is always a rush that overcomes me any time I visit any of the 5 boroughs. I feel as if I belong there because it's a checkpoint in this nation for free spirited humans. Anyone can go to NYC and find their new favorite spot to hang out, or just walk aimlessly and lose themselves in this large culturally diversed world. There is more than the eye can see here, each time I go to the city I discover new places. I'm so excited to take this course and experience new things!
When I think of New York City, the first thing that comes to my mind is: rush. There is always a rush that overcomes me any time I visit any of the 5 boroughs. I feel as if I belong there because it's a checkpoint in this nation for free spirited humans. Anyone can go to NYC and find their new favorite spot to hang out, or just walk aimlessly and lose themselves in this large culturally diversed world. There is more than the eye can see here, each time I go to the city I discover new places. I'm so excited to take this course and experience new things!
2. Queens
Today was the big day! Our first class meeting in Queens, NY. I had always loved Queens because I have family all over the place including Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona, Bayside, Forest Hills to Maspeth and South Ozone Park. But today I learned there was so much more history than we could imagine. I'm almost positive my family who has always lived there since birth doesn't even know the truth behind one of the greatest counties.
I have a friend in class named Jimmy, he's one of my sister's friends so I was happy I knew someone in the class and I wouldn't be a loner. However, sometimes being a loner is cool too. I met another girl named Evelyn who was in my art history class last spring and we immediately hit it off and she's half Ecuadorean like me! (Except I'm full Ecuadorean). We're always together now!
I had traveled to the city alone before so it was nothing new to be traveling alone. I can tell you it's scarier to be traveling to a different country is scary, not so much being on a 45 minute train ride to one of the safest cities in NY.
Anyway, we started the day off by meeting in Penn Station and I made the smart decision to wear flip flops (sarcasm). We then took the 7 Train to get to Queens and went to Flushing Meadow Park. I remember being really young and going to watch my dad play soccer there with his friends, also the Colombian Festival is there every summer. But I never knew the story behind it until now.
We first visited the Unisphere which was amazing. I think it's so beautiful how a human has so many ideas in their brain to make art. Art takes you away from reality, even if it's just for a moment. It stands 12 stories high and is made of stainless steel as a representation of Earth. The Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the theme symbol of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding" and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence. It was dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe". We were able to take cool pictures of the colossal piece of art as well as take a cool break with the tiny drops of water it jumped onto our skin. One of the security guards blew her whistle at one of my classmates to get off the ledge. I see how much they value this work of art!
Just across the lawn was the Queens Museum which displayed different works of art to show just how remarkable NYC is. It had a Panorama of New York City which felt like you were taking a helicopter ride through NYC which was so cool. I loved all of the detail and imagination put into the creation. The lights even shut off to get a full effect of what it would be like during nighttime. The Panorama of the City of New York is the jewel in the crown of the collection of the Queens Museum and a locus of memory for visitors from all over the globe. Conceived as a celebration of the City’s municipal infrastructure by urban mastermind and World’s Fair President Robert Moses for the 1964 Fair, the Panorama was built by a team of more than 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester & Associates over the course of three years.
We later hopped back onto the 7 train to get to Roosevelt Avenue also known as Little India, where we or most of us enjoyed a nice Indian lunch. I knew Evelyn was scared of food, so I thought I saw some chicken nuggets, but nope I was wrong. They were little potato looking things, not even sure what they were, ha! I had some goat and curry chicken and some other fun stuff. My mouth was on flames a few times but it was amazing. Everyone had different options on the food and they made sure they let everyone know they did not enjoy it. No offense, i feel like some of the people in class are high maintenance.. So why take this class?! It should be about learning new things, experiencing new changes, getting out of the norm! I'm sorry, I had to vent for a moment.
Next up, we went to visit Astoria, Queens. I wish we had more time to walk around more and not just walk to the another museum. I've been to Astoria a few times and it's definitely the new cool spot to be. There are so many things to do there! My family lives just a just a jump, skip and a hop away from Astoria in Jackson Heights and I was familiar with the area. There is a nice sushi spot on Ditmars, called Watawa if you ever want to go! I definitely recommend it. We went to a cool museum called, The Museum of Moving Images. The museum was amazing! I think i will definitely go back there with friends or family. It's all about the history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media by presenting exhibitions, significant moving-image works, and interpretive programs, and collecting and preserving moving-image related artifacts.I thought it was incredible that they held actual costumes of famous actors as well as masks and other props. There was a portion of the museum especially for different filming technologies. It was cool seeing the actual wax figure used for the girl from The Exorcism, she's just as ugly in person, than in the movie, ha! Sadly, Robin Williams past away about a month ago and seeing his mask from Ms. Doubtfire and his infamous dress made me miss him. It's crazy to really stop and think about him passing away, I always thought he was the happiest man. We never really know what a person is thinking though, plus he was an actor and faking something was part of his life. He impacted so many people, I grew up with him watching Aladin over and over again making my parents insane..they still love me though. Enough sad talk, they even had really vintage ones that still worked where you could flip through a tiny scroll and images would pop up and create a silent film. Charlie Chaplin was in a few of them, it was hilarious! The museum even had a section where we could make our own short films using puzzle pieces, so I messed around with some of those. We later took a bunch of pics outside in the museum's yard. I felt so weird jumping, but the pictures came out cool! Except for one, with my lion hair. Anyway, that concludes this week's journal. Until next week in Brooklyn!
I have a friend in class named Jimmy, he's one of my sister's friends so I was happy I knew someone in the class and I wouldn't be a loner. However, sometimes being a loner is cool too. I met another girl named Evelyn who was in my art history class last spring and we immediately hit it off and she's half Ecuadorean like me! (Except I'm full Ecuadorean). We're always together now!
I had traveled to the city alone before so it was nothing new to be traveling alone. I can tell you it's scarier to be traveling to a different country is scary, not so much being on a 45 minute train ride to one of the safest cities in NY.
Anyway, we started the day off by meeting in Penn Station and I made the smart decision to wear flip flops (sarcasm). We then took the 7 Train to get to Queens and went to Flushing Meadow Park. I remember being really young and going to watch my dad play soccer there with his friends, also the Colombian Festival is there every summer. But I never knew the story behind it until now.
We first visited the Unisphere which was amazing. I think it's so beautiful how a human has so many ideas in their brain to make art. Art takes you away from reality, even if it's just for a moment. It stands 12 stories high and is made of stainless steel as a representation of Earth. The Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the theme symbol of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding" and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence. It was dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe". We were able to take cool pictures of the colossal piece of art as well as take a cool break with the tiny drops of water it jumped onto our skin. One of the security guards blew her whistle at one of my classmates to get off the ledge. I see how much they value this work of art!
Just across the lawn was the Queens Museum which displayed different works of art to show just how remarkable NYC is. It had a Panorama of New York City which felt like you were taking a helicopter ride through NYC which was so cool. I loved all of the detail and imagination put into the creation. The lights even shut off to get a full effect of what it would be like during nighttime. The Panorama of the City of New York is the jewel in the crown of the collection of the Queens Museum and a locus of memory for visitors from all over the globe. Conceived as a celebration of the City’s municipal infrastructure by urban mastermind and World’s Fair President Robert Moses for the 1964 Fair, the Panorama was built by a team of more than 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester & Associates over the course of three years.
We later hopped back onto the 7 train to get to Roosevelt Avenue also known as Little India, where we or most of us enjoyed a nice Indian lunch. I knew Evelyn was scared of food, so I thought I saw some chicken nuggets, but nope I was wrong. They were little potato looking things, not even sure what they were, ha! I had some goat and curry chicken and some other fun stuff. My mouth was on flames a few times but it was amazing. Everyone had different options on the food and they made sure they let everyone know they did not enjoy it. No offense, i feel like some of the people in class are high maintenance.. So why take this class?! It should be about learning new things, experiencing new changes, getting out of the norm! I'm sorry, I had to vent for a moment.
Next up, we went to visit Astoria, Queens. I wish we had more time to walk around more and not just walk to the another museum. I've been to Astoria a few times and it's definitely the new cool spot to be. There are so many things to do there! My family lives just a just a jump, skip and a hop away from Astoria in Jackson Heights and I was familiar with the area. There is a nice sushi spot on Ditmars, called Watawa if you ever want to go! I definitely recommend it. We went to a cool museum called, The Museum of Moving Images. The museum was amazing! I think i will definitely go back there with friends or family. It's all about the history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media by presenting exhibitions, significant moving-image works, and interpretive programs, and collecting and preserving moving-image related artifacts.I thought it was incredible that they held actual costumes of famous actors as well as masks and other props. There was a portion of the museum especially for different filming technologies. It was cool seeing the actual wax figure used for the girl from The Exorcism, she's just as ugly in person, than in the movie, ha! Sadly, Robin Williams past away about a month ago and seeing his mask from Ms. Doubtfire and his infamous dress made me miss him. It's crazy to really stop and think about him passing away, I always thought he was the happiest man. We never really know what a person is thinking though, plus he was an actor and faking something was part of his life. He impacted so many people, I grew up with him watching Aladin over and over again making my parents insane..they still love me though. Enough sad talk, they even had really vintage ones that still worked where you could flip through a tiny scroll and images would pop up and create a silent film. Charlie Chaplin was in a few of them, it was hilarious! The museum even had a section where we could make our own short films using puzzle pieces, so I messed around with some of those. We later took a bunch of pics outside in the museum's yard. I felt so weird jumping, but the pictures came out cool! Except for one, with my lion hair. Anyway, that concludes this week's journal. Until next week in Brooklyn!
3. Brooklyn
Today we explored a few sights of Bodacious Brooklyn. And to be honest, I expected a lot more to happen despite the weather conditions. Or maybe I'm being picky and pointing out the negatives. So we first started the day off by hanging out a bit in City Hall Park before we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. During City Hall Park, we reviewed some pretty cool facts about City Hall. The park is located right smack dab in the middle of City Hall and the Civic Center. It was built in 1811 by architects Joseph-Francois Mangin and John McComb, Jr and the architectural style inside is Georgian Revival, while the exterior is French Renaissance Revival. Another interesting fact that I picked up was that President Abraham Lincoln's coffin was also placed there after his assassination. We then learned of the history of the Brooklyn Bridge, I was in complete awe of the architecture of it! It was amazing! The Brooklyn Bridge looms majestically over New York City’s East River, linking the two boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Since 1883, its granite towers and steel cables have offered a safe and scenic passage to millions of commuters and tourists. The bridge’s construction took 14 years, involved 600 workers and cost $15 million (more than $320 million in today’s dollars). At least two dozen people died in the process, including its original designer. Now more than 125 years old, this iconic feature of the New York City skyline still carries roughly 150,000 vehicles and pedestrians every day.John Augustus Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge’s creator, was a great pioneer in the design of steel suspension bridges.Just before construction began in 1869, Roebling was fatally injured while taking a few final compass readings across the East River. A boat smashed the toes on one of his feet, and three weeks later he died of tetanus. His 32-year-old son,Washington A. Roebling, took over as chief engineer. Roebling had worked with his father on several bridges and had helped design the Brooklyn Bridge.On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River opened, connecting the great cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. Thousands of residents of Brooklyn and Manhattan Island turned out to witness the dedication ceremony, which was presided over by President Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland. Emily Roebling was given the first ride over the completed bridge, with a rooster, a symbol of victory, in her lap. Within 24 hours, an estimated 250,000 people walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, using a broad promenade above the roadway that John Roebling designed solely for the enjoyment of pedestrians. Oh and let me just say, the highlight to my day was when the girls in class were TERRIFIED OF PIGEONS. Like, why? Relax please. They were even kicking the pigeons. I was embarrassed for them. People are so sheltered that they've never seen a pigeon or a squirrel before. I don't understand.
Back to the fun stuff, as we walked over the East River, the sights were impeccable and just seeing new things and different faces. The runners did get mad if you were in their lane though, as well as some bikers. But hey, what did they expect? This is NYC, millions of people coming in and out every second. I feel like Brooklyn Bridge is a portal to hipster town. Hipsters think they are so different and will only hang out with other hipsters but really they are all the same. What have they brought the world? I'm not sure if I'm making any sense right now but they just annoy me.
On the bridge, being under the wires was crazy. It's amazing that all these wires can hold such heavy pieces of steel and people! There were some sections of the bridge where people left locks as a symbol of love with their significant other. I thought that was adorable. One day I will leave my lock on that bridge with my significant other...it's a goal! Looking down the bridge gave me vertigo, even though in my head I knew nothing will happen, but my eyes and gut were telling me otherwise. I've walked over the bridge a few years ago with my family, then we stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge Park for a picnic, it was real cute. I'm excited for spring already to go back. We walked a few blocks after we got off the bridge and visited DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). It was beautiful! We were able to see all bridges from that one spot which include the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge. By the way, I was sad to find out we were not going to be able to go to Coney Island.. I've been there only once and I was going to get my fortune told by some gypsy lady then my mom said no. But since I was not with my mom at the moment, she wouldn't have stopped me this time! Oh well, there's always next time. Anyway, we then stopped on this one strip for some people to get some ice cream while myself, Jimmy and Evelyn went across the street to check out the cool graffiti all along the abandoned building. It was so cool. I took some pictures of the wall and the ones that were put on the website came out sick too. Sick means cool, by the way. Passerby's looked at us because we looked like a bunch of tourists which I hate looking like! Even when I go to Ecuador, i try to look as natural as possible like I know what I'm doing and like I've lived here my whole life. But you can totally tell we're a bunch of young college students straight out of Long Island. But isn't most of NYC from Long Island anyway? People from NYC try to get out of there and move to Long Island, and Long Island moves to the city. Damn, no one can ever be pleased, right? We also visited Jane's Carousel which was gorgeous. I wanted to take a spin, but I'm not sure why I didn't. It was built in 1922 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the carousel was lovingly restored and donated to the park by Jane and David Walentas. Located in the Empire Fulton Ferry section of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jane’s Carousel is housed in a gorgeous glass pavilion, designed by Pritzker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel.
Oh my goodness, I almost forgot, Miranda from Sex and the City was strolling by at the same time we walked into the carousel. Apparently she was kind of snobby, but I wouldn't be surprised..all celebrities want their own privacy too and want to be "normal."
After all of that, we went to Brooklyn Heights which was also beautiful. The brownstone houses made me think about my future and how much harder I need to work to ever be able to afford one of these houses. I wish we knocked on someone's door just to ask if we could use the bathroom and take a peek inside. I had previous knowledge of all houses being similar in architecture inside. I believe you even said people would accidentally walk into other people's homes with the light off and believe they were in their own home because everything was exactly alike. We later had a lunch break and Evelyn and I went to some random deli and I had a nice chicken avocado wrap, I was starving! There were two other girls in the deli with us so we all decided to run across the street to Sephora for the hell of it and I tried on some weird lipstick. That's what I do each time I see a Sephora store. It's a makeup store in case you didn't know! We met up with the rest of the class and went to the Brooklyn Historical Museum. And no offense, that was way too boring for me. I'm the type of person to make the best out of anything thrown at me, but dear Lord, the tour guide had no emotion whatsoever. She reminded me of Daria. Daria is some 90s MTV cartoon of a high school girl hating life and waiting for the world to end. That's who I thought of the ENTIRE time... Although, she did have some interesting points, I couldn't even tell you something life impacting right now. The cool part of the tour was the library and the old books they had. I love the smell of old books, is that weird? You can judge me, it's cool. Until next time in the village! Ciao!
Back to the fun stuff, as we walked over the East River, the sights were impeccable and just seeing new things and different faces. The runners did get mad if you were in their lane though, as well as some bikers. But hey, what did they expect? This is NYC, millions of people coming in and out every second. I feel like Brooklyn Bridge is a portal to hipster town. Hipsters think they are so different and will only hang out with other hipsters but really they are all the same. What have they brought the world? I'm not sure if I'm making any sense right now but they just annoy me.
On the bridge, being under the wires was crazy. It's amazing that all these wires can hold such heavy pieces of steel and people! There were some sections of the bridge where people left locks as a symbol of love with their significant other. I thought that was adorable. One day I will leave my lock on that bridge with my significant other...it's a goal! Looking down the bridge gave me vertigo, even though in my head I knew nothing will happen, but my eyes and gut were telling me otherwise. I've walked over the bridge a few years ago with my family, then we stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge Park for a picnic, it was real cute. I'm excited for spring already to go back. We walked a few blocks after we got off the bridge and visited DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). It was beautiful! We were able to see all bridges from that one spot which include the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge. By the way, I was sad to find out we were not going to be able to go to Coney Island.. I've been there only once and I was going to get my fortune told by some gypsy lady then my mom said no. But since I was not with my mom at the moment, she wouldn't have stopped me this time! Oh well, there's always next time. Anyway, we then stopped on this one strip for some people to get some ice cream while myself, Jimmy and Evelyn went across the street to check out the cool graffiti all along the abandoned building. It was so cool. I took some pictures of the wall and the ones that were put on the website came out sick too. Sick means cool, by the way. Passerby's looked at us because we looked like a bunch of tourists which I hate looking like! Even when I go to Ecuador, i try to look as natural as possible like I know what I'm doing and like I've lived here my whole life. But you can totally tell we're a bunch of young college students straight out of Long Island. But isn't most of NYC from Long Island anyway? People from NYC try to get out of there and move to Long Island, and Long Island moves to the city. Damn, no one can ever be pleased, right? We also visited Jane's Carousel which was gorgeous. I wanted to take a spin, but I'm not sure why I didn't. It was built in 1922 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the carousel was lovingly restored and donated to the park by Jane and David Walentas. Located in the Empire Fulton Ferry section of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jane’s Carousel is housed in a gorgeous glass pavilion, designed by Pritzker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel.
Oh my goodness, I almost forgot, Miranda from Sex and the City was strolling by at the same time we walked into the carousel. Apparently she was kind of snobby, but I wouldn't be surprised..all celebrities want their own privacy too and want to be "normal."
After all of that, we went to Brooklyn Heights which was also beautiful. The brownstone houses made me think about my future and how much harder I need to work to ever be able to afford one of these houses. I wish we knocked on someone's door just to ask if we could use the bathroom and take a peek inside. I had previous knowledge of all houses being similar in architecture inside. I believe you even said people would accidentally walk into other people's homes with the light off and believe they were in their own home because everything was exactly alike. We later had a lunch break and Evelyn and I went to some random deli and I had a nice chicken avocado wrap, I was starving! There were two other girls in the deli with us so we all decided to run across the street to Sephora for the hell of it and I tried on some weird lipstick. That's what I do each time I see a Sephora store. It's a makeup store in case you didn't know! We met up with the rest of the class and went to the Brooklyn Historical Museum. And no offense, that was way too boring for me. I'm the type of person to make the best out of anything thrown at me, but dear Lord, the tour guide had no emotion whatsoever. She reminded me of Daria. Daria is some 90s MTV cartoon of a high school girl hating life and waiting for the world to end. That's who I thought of the ENTIRE time... Although, she did have some interesting points, I couldn't even tell you something life impacting right now. The cool part of the tour was the library and the old books they had. I love the smell of old books, is that weird? You can judge me, it's cool. Until next time in the village! Ciao!
4. Chelsea and The Village
Today was friggin' awesome! I loved the village. We first visited Chelsea which was so cute. The whole neighborhood I just felt love coming from all directions. I don't know how to explain it. Everywhere I turned, there was a little something whether it be art, or flowers or people holding hands, it felt nice. We started the day off walking on the High Line which was extremely crowded by tourists and us! In 1934, as part of the West Side Improvement Project, the High Line opens to trains. It runs from 34th Street to St John’s Park Terminal, at Spring Street. It is designed to go through the center of blocks, rather than over the avenue, carrying goods to and from Manhattan’s largest industrial district. So we walked down the stairs to get off and walked down 10th Ave that had a breathtaking mural by artist, Kobba. It's of a sailor kissing a woman, it's beautiful. There was art everywhere, I loved it! We walked into a few art galleries which were pretty interesting. It definitely makes you think outside of the norm. One thing I absolutely did not like about our class was that A LOT of students do not know how to handle themselves. I can truthfully say I was embarrassed to be a part of this group. One gallery had a swing hanging from the ceiling and we were allowed to hang on it but this one kid was swinging like Tarzan from it and hit the wall with his shoes.. The artist and the other lady who worked there were so pissed! We got the ugliest stares and were definitely looked down on. Why can't people handle themselves? It makes me sad to think people my age or a year younger lack so much cognitive health. I have very little hope for my generation..especially to the fact that we think we know everything. No, we do not know everything we are still learning every single day. Whatever, it was so embarrassing. Okay, anyway there was even an art gallery of fake babies. It was the weirdest thing. We didn't get to go inside but I was creeped out and kept walking.
We walked into this bookstore that had a bunch of crazy books on gay models. I thought it was such a gender role switch. There were magazines of men posing like women models would, wearing thongs and heels. It really engaged me into thinking about this century and how much things are changing. People are no longer closed minded. I mean, there still are a bunch of narrow minded people. But if we search carefully there are people who wish to live liberally and I love that. Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street to the west of its intersection with Sixth Ave. The Stonewall Inn is located on Christopher Street, and, therefore, the street was at the center of New York State's gay rights movement in the late 1970s. To this day, the inn and the street serve as an international symbol of gay pride. There are statues of a gay and a lesbian couple in the middle of the park to signify the importance of publicly being able to show affection with a significant other.
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay tavern and recreational bar in New York City and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States. In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested in the Stonewall Inn, turning it into a gay bar, after it had been a restaurant and a nightclub for heterosexuals. Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff; the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license. It had no running water behind the bar; used glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other "cash transactions" took place. It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club. Police raids on gay bars were very common, often happening once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in a secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids before. The Stonewall riots were a series of violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich neighborhood of New York City. Around 1:20 AM on June 28, 1969, 8 police officers, some undercover, some in uniform entered the Stonewall Inn and announced that they were “taking the place.” However, the raid did not go as planned. Because the patrol wagons responsible for transporting the arrested patrons and the alcohol from the bar took longer than expected, a crowd of released patrons and by-standers began to grow outside of the Inn.
Finally, it was lunch time and I've been to the village before and I knew there was a small place called "Crif Dogs" which was good and I saw it again! I remember it being amazing the first time, so I wanted it again. They have a huge selection of hot dogs and you can get anything on it. This time I had the Hawaiian dog which was ham wrapped around the dog with pieces of cut up onion and some magical sauce that makes it taste so good. Last time I also bought the Bacon, Egg and Cheese dog and that speaks for itself. It was so tasty. And I left a $2 tip, I don't know why I was feeling so generous that day. I should've gotten the $1 pizza across the street. I ended up going there with Evelyn anyway, cause she was not about to spend $6 on a hot dog that will not fill her up. The pizza guy was really friendly and he spoke Spanish so i started speaking to him about the village and he said when it gets crazy over the weekend he threatens people with his bat. I was like "oh, okay." Then I carefully walked away. Just kidding, he was nice though. Evelyn, Jimmy and I walked around a few stores and we stumbled into Freddy. I found this store that had a bunch of incense and crystals. I believe that if you faithfully believe that crystal healing works then it will. I bought a bunch of incense from India and some from Indonesia. I also bought a pink Apatite crystal which is used for balancing energy and clears all Chakras from impurities. I've been charging it by my windowsill alongside my other crystals. Small places like that is what gives a community a small sense of warmth and security for people to know there is a place where they can relax and bring themselves together.
After lunch, we went to the Merchants House Museum which I also loved. Once you told us it was haunted, I was hooked. My mom strongly believes in the after life and she calls herself a witch and to this day after 22 years of spending life with her I still cannot tell if she's being serious or not. But mothers always do know best, am I right? She has these psychic powers, no joke, and they come out of nowhere and if I'm skeptical it happens but if I believe her it doesn't. Crazy how the universe works out sometimes. Anyway, we were separated into 2 groups and I was in the group with the "boring tour guy" but he was so cool! He had so much knowledge on the house and I talked a lot with him over the Irish immigrants and just different things about the house we both found interesting. I thought it was amazing how these young Irish maids walked up and down 5 flight of stairs everyday and were squished into a tiny room and had to share with the other girls on the same mattress. The Merchant’s House has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark (one of only 2,400) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In New York City, it has been awarded landmark status not only for its 1832 late-Federal brick exterior but also for its Greek revival interior rooms. The house was among the first 20 buildings designated in 1965 under the City’s new landmarks law. It is the only historic house museum in the Greenwich Village/Soho/NoHo neighborhoods and celebrated 75 years as a museum in 2011. The tour guide took us into a small portal of the 19th century. And me being a Shaman and all, I was intrigued. The youngest daughter of the Tredwell family was Gertrude and she lived alone for the more recent years. She was born in her parents room and died in her room too at the age of 93. I thought it was crazy how people would come and visit her with a small note asking to speak to her and the maid would answer then run back up to Gertrude and send her back down with a response if whether or not she wanted to meet. It sounds like people back then were more high maintenance than I would have ever imagined! The living rooms and bedrooms were divine. All of the rich reds and dark wooden floors and bronze stood out and made it seem like I was in the middle of a Marie Antoinette movie. Their living conditions seemed comfortable, except the taking baths part..they had to use a small tub in their bedroom and heat up the water. That must have been so annoying. After the tour, I asked the people who worked there to tell me about the ghosts! I was looking forward to that the whole time. In the middle of the tour, I saw a small shadow by my whole right side like moving quickly and into the wall behind me. At first, I was freaked out but then I remembered that if spirits reach out to you, it's a sign of comfort. They are comfortable enough to show you who they are or what they feel. I'm sure Gertrude and her family were not bad people so I was not afraid after. However, they did tell me they have seen ghosts like a man just sitting on a rocking chair or maids walking across the hall. Also when I was upstairs in the attic where the maids would live I felt a cold sensation run through my body it was weird. But they ended up telling me that one of the sisters died going down those steep stairs and she broke her hip then ended up passing away because there was no proper medicine for that.
After that awesome experience, we strolled through St. Marks which was cool. We then stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. I wasn't feeling it and it was the end of class, so Evelyn, Jimmy and I decided to do some exploring! We went to Casa Adela which is on 66 Ave C. It's all Puerto Rican cuisine. I never had Puerto Rican food, mostly Dominican. They are both pretty similar they just have different names for things. I didn't want to get something big because I knew my dad made food at home so i had to leave a little room for his dinner! Evelyn and I both just had appetizers while Jimmy had some deep fried chicken with rice and beans. It was all so delicious. We walked to the nearest subway and went back home. It was a beautiful day!
We walked into this bookstore that had a bunch of crazy books on gay models. I thought it was such a gender role switch. There were magazines of men posing like women models would, wearing thongs and heels. It really engaged me into thinking about this century and how much things are changing. People are no longer closed minded. I mean, there still are a bunch of narrow minded people. But if we search carefully there are people who wish to live liberally and I love that. Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street to the west of its intersection with Sixth Ave. The Stonewall Inn is located on Christopher Street, and, therefore, the street was at the center of New York State's gay rights movement in the late 1970s. To this day, the inn and the street serve as an international symbol of gay pride. There are statues of a gay and a lesbian couple in the middle of the park to signify the importance of publicly being able to show affection with a significant other.
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay tavern and recreational bar in New York City and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States. In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested in the Stonewall Inn, turning it into a gay bar, after it had been a restaurant and a nightclub for heterosexuals. Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff; the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license. It had no running water behind the bar; used glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other "cash transactions" took place. It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club. Police raids on gay bars were very common, often happening once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in a secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids before. The Stonewall riots were a series of violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich neighborhood of New York City. Around 1:20 AM on June 28, 1969, 8 police officers, some undercover, some in uniform entered the Stonewall Inn and announced that they were “taking the place.” However, the raid did not go as planned. Because the patrol wagons responsible for transporting the arrested patrons and the alcohol from the bar took longer than expected, a crowd of released patrons and by-standers began to grow outside of the Inn.
Finally, it was lunch time and I've been to the village before and I knew there was a small place called "Crif Dogs" which was good and I saw it again! I remember it being amazing the first time, so I wanted it again. They have a huge selection of hot dogs and you can get anything on it. This time I had the Hawaiian dog which was ham wrapped around the dog with pieces of cut up onion and some magical sauce that makes it taste so good. Last time I also bought the Bacon, Egg and Cheese dog and that speaks for itself. It was so tasty. And I left a $2 tip, I don't know why I was feeling so generous that day. I should've gotten the $1 pizza across the street. I ended up going there with Evelyn anyway, cause she was not about to spend $6 on a hot dog that will not fill her up. The pizza guy was really friendly and he spoke Spanish so i started speaking to him about the village and he said when it gets crazy over the weekend he threatens people with his bat. I was like "oh, okay." Then I carefully walked away. Just kidding, he was nice though. Evelyn, Jimmy and I walked around a few stores and we stumbled into Freddy. I found this store that had a bunch of incense and crystals. I believe that if you faithfully believe that crystal healing works then it will. I bought a bunch of incense from India and some from Indonesia. I also bought a pink Apatite crystal which is used for balancing energy and clears all Chakras from impurities. I've been charging it by my windowsill alongside my other crystals. Small places like that is what gives a community a small sense of warmth and security for people to know there is a place where they can relax and bring themselves together.
After lunch, we went to the Merchants House Museum which I also loved. Once you told us it was haunted, I was hooked. My mom strongly believes in the after life and she calls herself a witch and to this day after 22 years of spending life with her I still cannot tell if she's being serious or not. But mothers always do know best, am I right? She has these psychic powers, no joke, and they come out of nowhere and if I'm skeptical it happens but if I believe her it doesn't. Crazy how the universe works out sometimes. Anyway, we were separated into 2 groups and I was in the group with the "boring tour guy" but he was so cool! He had so much knowledge on the house and I talked a lot with him over the Irish immigrants and just different things about the house we both found interesting. I thought it was amazing how these young Irish maids walked up and down 5 flight of stairs everyday and were squished into a tiny room and had to share with the other girls on the same mattress. The Merchant’s House has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark (one of only 2,400) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In New York City, it has been awarded landmark status not only for its 1832 late-Federal brick exterior but also for its Greek revival interior rooms. The house was among the first 20 buildings designated in 1965 under the City’s new landmarks law. It is the only historic house museum in the Greenwich Village/Soho/NoHo neighborhoods and celebrated 75 years as a museum in 2011. The tour guide took us into a small portal of the 19th century. And me being a Shaman and all, I was intrigued. The youngest daughter of the Tredwell family was Gertrude and she lived alone for the more recent years. She was born in her parents room and died in her room too at the age of 93. I thought it was crazy how people would come and visit her with a small note asking to speak to her and the maid would answer then run back up to Gertrude and send her back down with a response if whether or not she wanted to meet. It sounds like people back then were more high maintenance than I would have ever imagined! The living rooms and bedrooms were divine. All of the rich reds and dark wooden floors and bronze stood out and made it seem like I was in the middle of a Marie Antoinette movie. Their living conditions seemed comfortable, except the taking baths part..they had to use a small tub in their bedroom and heat up the water. That must have been so annoying. After the tour, I asked the people who worked there to tell me about the ghosts! I was looking forward to that the whole time. In the middle of the tour, I saw a small shadow by my whole right side like moving quickly and into the wall behind me. At first, I was freaked out but then I remembered that if spirits reach out to you, it's a sign of comfort. They are comfortable enough to show you who they are or what they feel. I'm sure Gertrude and her family were not bad people so I was not afraid after. However, they did tell me they have seen ghosts like a man just sitting on a rocking chair or maids walking across the hall. Also when I was upstairs in the attic where the maids would live I felt a cold sensation run through my body it was weird. But they ended up telling me that one of the sisters died going down those steep stairs and she broke her hip then ended up passing away because there was no proper medicine for that.
After that awesome experience, we strolled through St. Marks which was cool. We then stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. I wasn't feeling it and it was the end of class, so Evelyn, Jimmy and I decided to do some exploring! We went to Casa Adela which is on 66 Ave C. It's all Puerto Rican cuisine. I never had Puerto Rican food, mostly Dominican. They are both pretty similar they just have different names for things. I didn't want to get something big because I knew my dad made food at home so i had to leave a little room for his dinner! Evelyn and I both just had appetizers while Jimmy had some deep fried chicken with rice and beans. It was all so delicious. We walked to the nearest subway and went back home. It was a beautiful day!