Raw, honest travel blog.
I spent one week in New York, in September 2017.
September is a very humid time to go to New York. The air was sticky and heavy. My hair went wild from the humidity, ruining any possible good photo opportunities. In Times Square I could feel the weight of smog in the air. For me, New York is the worst place I have visited. Please note, I merely visited New York, I have yet to explore it. Explore it in the way I wish to; F.R.I.E.N.D.S tour, hop-on-hop-off bus (by day, please!), The Empire State Building, Central Park (by day, please!), Times Square with more liberty, The Statue of Liberty — you know, all that sort of stuff. I would go back, frankly because my mother wants to go. She really wants to go. I would much prefer to explore mountains than concrete parks, but I know that wherever I end up going, if it’s with my Mother Dearest, it will be an epic adventure. Girls gone wild? Maybe… With her, likely. So, yes, I’m excited to go back.
Well, as this blog is for you to explore my experience with me, her we go…
I went to New York at the start of my aupair journey. It was the first State I visited. Actually, it was all my firsts. First time on a plane to get there. First time leaving my family. First time out on my own. First airport expeditions. The airport. JFK, back when I landed in the States was horrific. The ablutions were clogged and overflowing. The floor was a mess. The people were hurried and rude. I didn’t understand airports as it was, so it was very intimidating. Eventually, I found my way to the aupair sign and waited for the remaining aupairs to find us.
Meeting the other aupairs was awesome. Some were excited and chatty and very friendly. Others were more reserved and, really, just trying to hold back their tears. It was a scary thing. We were all young. A lot of us hadn’t left our families before. I was lucky because I shared the same language as the family I was going to, as the country I was in. A lot of the girls weren’t fluent in English. I can’t imagine the intimidation of that. However, we were all friendly, and very quickly clung to the people we liked most and viola, life-long friendships were formed.
Once all the aupairs were gathered we took our first steps out into the hustle and bustle of New York. Wow, the streets were so busy. I broke out into a giggling frenzy. I made it. I made it to New York, Mom and Dad. The yellow taxis exist! The buildings are so tall! The accents. Mom, they have real American accents. I was so excited.
We took a bus to our hotel. We made our way to our assigned rooms. There was a fellow aupair in the room already when I walked in — alone, sitting on her bed crying. She was from Columbia, and we couldn’t converse with our language barrier. She was homesick. Already. I worried for her then, but today I am beaming for her. She flourished over her time aupairing. She became fluent in English. She began to laugh and smile all the time. She was adored by her host family and went on to extend her contract. I am so happy for her! I love these aupair stories.
Shortly after I set myself up in the room, another girl walked in. She was from Mexico. She and I clicked straight away. I was so excited to meet her, I literally started to jump on the spot. Goodness, I’m probably the biggest geek. Anyway, we got to talking. We spoke about our host families and where we would be going. Hey, she’s also going to Boston. Hey, she’s also going to Needham. No way, we would be exactly 3 minutes away from each other. To this day, from that moment, she has been my best friend.
We did the orientation for aupairing — first aid courses and other aupair-related activities.
We went on a night tour of New York. Times Square was the first stop. I tried my first Starbucks. It was the weakest and sweetest coffee. It would become a daily staple for my 6 months stay in the US. Times Square was big and busy. I have never been an enthusiast for buildings and malls. I’m a country girl. That would certainly alter my experience. So for me, Times Square was okay.
We went to Central Park. I can’t guarantee this though. It was SUPER dark. I couldn’t see anything around me. We went on a guided tour of Central Park. We walked slowly, lighting our pathway with our cell phone torches, as not to trip. At one point the guide explained, yes EXPLAINED, that we were standing on a bridge over a pond. I didn’t see anything. This was laughable. I strongly recommend a day tour.
I know we went to other places, and did other things, but I don’t know what these places or things were. Wow, talk about a digression in this report.
New York, what’s happening?
I think I might have to go back to figure out these loop holes…Mother dearest, join me?