Since I was four, I have gone to Salida Montessori Charter School. One of the biggest opportunities that is granted to the students is getting to go on an overnight trip with the class at the end of our 7th and 8th grade years. My 8th grade year, my class worked hard to fundraise and plan for a trip to New York City.
This opportunity was something unforgettable. I got to experience being in a city that is drastically different from Salida. I experienced different cultures and ways of life, and I got to explore many memorable sights without the close comfort of my family.
The night before heading to New York City, we stayed at a hotel and then woke up early the next day to travel by plane to the LaGuardia airport. That evening, after we had a chance to settle into our AirBnB in Brooklyn, a small group planned to take the subway to Bryant Park in Manhattan while the others went shopping for perishable items or continued setting up the house. While taking the subway to the park, a train car down from ours was robbed. At first, everyone was silent and the stopped trains’ doors began to open and close. Then, people began to run through the doors in between the train cars, and we heard loud screams and a gunshot. At the time, nobody was sure what was happening, but it was extremely frightening. After a little bit of time, we were able to get out of the subway station and walked a fairly short distance back to our house. I felt very lucky that I was close with all of the teachers on the trip, and I was happy with how they went about working through the dilemma and making sure everyone was comfortable after experiencing something traumatic. Since we took the subway and walked as our transportation methods, we had to take the subway multiple times after that experience. I found it hard not to think about what had happened previously on the subway, but with the close companionship of my friends and teachers, I was able to calm myself down as best as I could.
On the second day, we took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island and went to the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration. The Statue of Liberty was such a fun place to go because it is a landmark that so many people talk about. I thought that exploring the Statue of Liberty museum was also very interesting. I was able to learn how it was created and everything that went into the process. Ellis Island and the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration were fun to explore and I learned lots. After taking the ferry back, we went to little Italy and Chinatown to complete a scavenger hunt. We also ate dinner in little Italy, which had amazing food. I was really intrigued seeing the diverse cultures that make up New York.
Wednesday was one of my favorite days on the trip. We started our day by volunteering at central park pulling tree saplings out of the ground and exploring central park. Central park was different than I had expected. Unlike the streets of New York, Central park was very clean and well maintained, as well as having many ponds and trails to walk or ride a bike. That evening we went to Times Square and ate at a restaurant called Pink Taco. Times square felt the most like what you would imagine New York to look like, or what you see in movies. The bright billboards that make the sky look bright even at night, lots of people, and really tall buildings. From Times Square, we then walked to Richards Rogers Theater, where we saw Broadway’s Hamilton. I was very impressed by this production, and it was so fun to see as a class. This was my first time seeing a Broadway production, and it was something that I will never forget. I was extremely impressed by not only the acting talent that the people who put the production on had, but also their musical talent. In general Hamilton is such a cool way to show events from history. This was one of my favorite things we did on the trip.
Thursday was my fourteenth birthday. We went to Manhattan to visit the Chelsea Market and the Highline. Additionally, we went to the Whitney museum of american art, which was very interactive and interesting.
On our last day of the trip, we started our day by visiting the Empire State building. I was very amazed by the structural integrity of the building and the stunning view from the top. I had not realized before that the building was split into two sections, one for people who actually worked there and for tourists. Once down from the empire state building, we went to Bryant park, which is close to the Empire state building. We walked through Times Square one last time before taking our flight to Denver and driving home.
Although this trip was a difficult experience to navigate emotionally, I think that everyone learned something valuable. For me personally, this trip taught me courage and bravery when in a city as big as New York. I was able to get exposure to seeing many different cultures and being away from home for a long amount of time. I think that although the trip did not go exactly as it was planned to, I feel that it was very worth it to go on the trip and I feel very lucky that I got the opportunity to go.
