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I think I’ve just about gotten over the jet lag. It’s bee a tiring few days since i got home at about 6pm last Sunday after 18 or so ours of traveling; trains, planes and buses. I can definitely see how the novelty of traveling can wear of quickly.
I am back, but never the same. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to write an entry before I left as I had planned, but with packing for moving house and packing for going away I just didn’t get a chance. So for those of you who don’t know I was in the United States of America for three weeks from 25th Aug until 16th Sept. And the reason I haven’t written about it until now is quite similar, I have been moving into the new house and unpacking.
Two years since my first life-changing adventure State-side, my return was well overdue. Thankfully the time I was away didn’t go too quickly as holidays often go. Of course I do wish I was still there. I have been asked many times what it was like and to give best and worst things that happened, I’ve had a lot of trouble giving an answer. It was all good, with so many highlights. Just standing in any one spot and looking up had quite an effect on me. Worst things? None. Besides some minor stressful moments of trying to find accommodation for a night, on that day or the next day which happened once or twice. Once solved, it was back to good.
Just so everything’s clear from the offset:
NYC - 4 nights
Boston - 2 nights
Rhode Island - 4 nights
NYC - 3 nights
Florida - 6 nights
NYC - 2 nights
It didn’t hit me until I began hearing American accents in Heathrow in that very very long queue through security. Then the thrusting engines of the 747-400 shot up the runway and into the clouds. Unfortunately after watching one movie the screen infront of me stopped working so I read a newspaper, magazine and NYC guides for hours that followed. This is one instance where my choice not to possess a watch didn’t help me much, with my phone off I had no way of telling how much longer the journey was. Eventually I landed in JFK.
Unaware of the Airtrain which runs between the terminals and links to the subway, I ended up in a Super Shuttle, which was anything but super. These cabs go around all the terminals multiple times (I counted at least 5 in the first, before I was shifted to another where I counted at least 10) in order to attempt to get the maximum number of passengers, generally eight, at a cost of $20 per passenger. The only reason this service works is through the conversation and persuasion skills of the drivers. A lesson learnt.
The next morning I awoke early with no plan. Except that is to find somewhere to stay that night. This took longer than first expected but thanks to Skype and an Internet Café on 5th (and roughly 30th) I was able to call lots of places cheaply and eventually find somewhere. Once that was out of the way I could begin snapping.
On Tuesday I met Ronan, who turned out to be most unenthusiastic about spending another 2 days in the City. Having spent all Summer in the neighbouring state of New Jersey working at a Summer Camp and visiting the Big Apple often enough to be glad to eventually see the back of it. I wasn’t going to let that stop me though.
The thing about NYC, and the other cities and states that I have and haven’t been to, is that I just have to stand still and look around to be impressed by it all. Constantly filled with a feeling of “wow, this is real”. Having grown up, like most others, watching American movies and T.V. shows to later see that everything is exactly like its shown on the big (and small) screen. I actually find it very strange. Often even the fact that these places exist can be hard to comprehend, and exist in exactly the way they are depicted in all pictures, moving or otherwise.
Of course it isn’t the same for Americans - they’ve always grown up with it. In a very abstract way I feel it’s similar to the way we (or maybe its just me) feel about sexuality. Something I am often curious about is how women feel about the way much of western society portrays them as objects of desire. How does it feel to know that so many men lust over the female body. Something I don’t have which leads me to wonder how it must feel. Though that is definitely something for another day.
This awesome vacation will be split into a number of condensed parts over the next week or so, with accompanying photographs. More photographs can be found on my Flickr - www.flickr.com/photos/philokane
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