New York Minute

Well, it’s fair to say that quite a lot has been going on since I wrote my last post. Finals have been revised for ( and thankfully finished), I said goodbye to some of my best friends and my family travelled all the way from New Zealand to see me in State College. 

Whilst my parents were here in the US we spent a week exploring New York City and then spent Christmas in the Catskill mountains in upstate New York.

I have been to New York City a few times now but this was my first time getting to be a real “tourist”. We stayed in an Air Bnb in New Jersey and took the $3 bus to the NYC Port Authority, right next to Times Square each day. 

Pensive pose with Andy Warhol

We went to MOMA where we practically had to drag my sister ( the design student) away from the Andy Warhol exhibition, whilst my younger brother who doesn’t appreciate art spent a lot of time moping in the corner. 

We did the oh so cliché visit to Times Square, complete with cheesy photos and visited Central Park - which is completely out-of-sync with the never ending concrete jungle that is Manhatten.  Following the recommendation of my friend Cam we popped into an Australian café on Upper East Side to warm ourselves up and was transported thousands of miles back home by my first, real mocha and smashed avo toast since I have arrived in the US.  Heaven. 

We also took the ferry to Liberty and Ellis island where we saw the Statue of Liberty and  visited the immigrant arrival centre on Ellis Island where hundreds of thousands of European migrants arrived in the 19th Century.  

Several times in New York my brother and I were stopped or catcalled at for wearing Penn State gear.  One waiter who saw my brothers Penn State sweater said the school was “dope”, whilst a couple yelled We Are at me in the middle of Chelsea markets.  On another occasion a haggler in Times Square yelled out to me about being kissed by the coach at Penn State.

The sense of pride people have in having attended Penn State ( or any college) for that matter still amazes me.  We just don’t have the same sense of school spirit in New Zealand and I think that's kind of sad. We should feel pride in where we come from and the choices we make. I  have a connection with Penn State students and alumni in a way I don't have with my peers at VUW back home.  

Penn State and Manhatten

We then drove to the Boiceville in Upstate New York where we spent Christmas in an idyllic colonial house surrounded by snow, trees and a lake.  Christmas Day was spent eating dinner, mince pies and Christmas pudding and devouring books.  

It was a really fun visit to New York and of course being able to share with my family was even more special.  So, thank you Mum and Dad for making the gigantous effort to visit me in the US - I know you read this blog, so I hope I have done our time in New York justice ( albeit brief).  

Pearson family take New York