they're coming to america

"Could you imagine being a kid in this city? You'd go on so many cool field trips."

My fiance isn't wrong. I remember the thrill of field trips when I was in elementary school, but New York area kids seem even more excited. Growing up in Northern Maine was nice, but beyond state history little of significance really happened there. We did go to Boston for three days in the fifth grade, but other than that all I really remember were a visit to the state capital in fourth grade, and a trip to the town bank and post office in kindergarten. Not exactly thrilling stuff.

But New York area kids... I don't think they know how lucky they have it. They live in a city full of history and culture. The teacher's must love it almost as much as the students. It's so much easier to teach subjects like history and art appreciation when your pupils can practically reach out and touch it.

This is especially true of Ellis Island (and to a lesser extent the Statue of Liberty). While immigrants passing through the Registration Room at Ellis Island is a thing of the past, the immigrant experience in New York is very much a part of the city's present. While walking the streets I've probably heard every language on earth being spoken.* New York city classrooms are no doubt a very real representation of "the melting pot" this country is said to be.

For those kids-- the children of immigrants or immigrants themselves-- Ellis Island must be the easiest  part of American history to relate to. It wouldn't be very hard for them to imagine traveling to a new country. To not know anyone outside your family (if you are lucky enough to have family members living here already). To find yourself thrust into a world where everyone around you speaks a different language. To find yourself torn between your homeland's culture and American culture.

Growing up an immigrant in America is probably still rough, but at least the kids in New York have a very real reminder that they are not alone. They aren't the first to make the journey, and they won't be the last.


*And seen every dog breed imaginable.

love and hope and sex and dreams are still survivin' on the street

Times Square is the worst. It's just the worst. I did not like it. It was crowded and noisy and hot and full of chain restaurants. I now completely understand how some people hate New York.

Traveling around the city I've noticed a lot of international tourists. Their guidebooks in Japanese and Spanish and German give them away. They tend to gather in the most touristy locations, which inevitably at some point in their stay means Times Square. And I do get it: it's where they drop the ball on New Year's Eve. It's the scene of the famous Alfred Eisenstaedt photo, where a sailor kisses a woman in celebration of V-J Day. It's the hub of the theater district. It's "the Crossroads of the World."

The reality will never match up with the glamorized vision created on TV and in the movies. Times Square is quite like Hollywood in this regard. You think it's a beautiful area, filled with movie stars and trendy coffee shops. But it's actually pretty dumpy, full street performers in superhero Halloween costumes and porn shops. New York City may have done away with the porn shops, but it's still not as great as you'd imagine.

So whenever I see foreign (and even some American) tourists on the subway, I want to warn them: DO NOT visit Times Square! Take a long walk through Central Park. Spend a day in the Met. Go to a baseball game. Don't judge New York by those few blocks around Broadway and Seventh Avenue. It's a tiny slice of a city that is somehow vast despite it's lack of acreage.

But maybe I'm being a little too harsh. As a Southern Californian, I've made my peace with Hollywood. I've even come to love it, seediness and all. I would never judge all of Los Angeles by it, but it is still part of the city's character. Maybe Times Square falls into the same category for New Yorkers-- something you must do once, but please don't judge my entire city on it alone.

a cheeseburger in paradise

"I think I like this better than In-N-Out," my fiance said. He was barely three bites into his Shake Shack cheeseburger, and he was already spouting blasphemy.

Australia is lacking in the burger department (unless we make them ourselves; though, our local fish 'n chips shop has a good contender). Five Guys left us a bit disappointed (too much hype; meh fries). We've been advised to avoid White Castle (done). But Shake Shack... sooooo goooood!

I love the burgers. I love the fries-- plain or slathered in cheese. I love the shakes. We've been in New York only three full days and have already gone twice. We've joked about going again this week. At least, I think we were both joking.

Yet I just can't proclaim them to be my favorite burger. Yes, they are excellent, but they don't have In-N-Out's classic spread/special sauce. It's the best food substance in the world. I always dip my fries in it, and have gone so far as to save packets of it for home-burger nights. And speaking of fries, Shake Shack's crinkle fries are excellent, but I'll always be partial to shoe strings.

Sorry, Shake Shack. You are delightful, but In-N-Out is still what a hamburger's all about.

and all i have to do is act naturally

There is something unnatural about the American Museum of Natural History. Don't get me wrong, it's a very cool place. You'd be remiss to visit New York and skip it. But there is something odd and even a little unsettling about the museum. At least that's how it seemed to us.

Walking through the Hall of African Mammals, we got our first look at the famous dioramas. Zebras drink from a watering hole. A lion pride surveys a field, looking for its next meal. Massive elephants dominate the center of the room. It was exactly what I had expected, yet somehow it felt strange.

Living in San Diego means I have visited its zoo more times than I can count. I'm used to seeing animals behind glass, they're just usually moving. But when you really think about it, aren't zoos just as weird, if not more so? Is it better to take a dead animal and pose it for eternal display, or remove a live one from its environment and confine it to a cage for the rest of its life? Neither is a true example of how the animal looks and acts in the wild.

The rest of the museum (save for the fourth floor, where they keep the dinosaurs and other fossils) feels just as strange, almost like stepping back in time or into a Wes Anderson movie. Artifacts are displayed in the most straight forward way; lined up in orderly fashion within glass display cases, or placed on mannequins. No muss, no fuss.

While my 20th/21st century eye sees this as dated, it was actually ahead of its time in the 1920s and 1930s when the museum was really taking shape. Great care and detail were used in creating the taxidermy dioramas, creating displays that sharply contrasted with the rigid stuffing typically used at the time. The display on evolution was the only major American exhibition of its kind in 1921. The AMNH worked closely with cultural anthropologists Franz Boas and Margaret Mead, who both revolutionized the field.

The American Museum of Natural History isn't the flashiest, but it is itself a slice of New York history. When you view the dioramas, you are viewing the same display seen by visitors over 70 years ago. You are walking in the footsteps of New York's rich and poor, old and young, tourists and locals.

i want to wake up in the city that never sleeps

New York City is the longest stop on our trip. Eleven days in the Big Apple. I better like it.

So far it's been a mix. Getting off the train at Madison Square Garden was a bit chaotic. We were weighed down with bags, trying our best to weave through the crowd while not getting separated. Thankfully the city has thought ahead and set up a semi-orderly taxi stand at the exit. If people weren't forced into a queue, trying to catch a cab there would be a nightmare.

Of course, about three minutes into our taxi ride to the hotel I wanted out. The ride was one of those stereotypical New York experiences you hear about in television and movies, but don't quite believe it ever happens. Our cabbie flew through yellow lights and switched lanes at least 1000 times on his way to the Upper West Side. But he did get us there fast and in one piece, so I guess that's a victory.

Our hotel is nicely located. A short walk from Central Park, with lots of local eateries and bars up and down Broadway and Amsterdam. We even got upgraded to the Penthouse because my fiance told the front desk we had just gotten engaged. The elevator is slow, but the room is comfy and quiet.

All in all, it's been a good start.

waitin' for the soldier to come back again

Looking back through my photos from Washington D.C., you'd think my favorite stop was the Washington Monument. It dominates the D.C. skyline, and sneaks itself into images of other memorials. There are photos of it alone, as seen from the Lincoln Memorial, reflected in ponds... You can't escape it. 

Yet, it's probably one of the most unremarkable sites to see in the capital. It's just a tall tower, really. It's cold and impersonal. There are no lofty quotes from our first president. It sits there, towering over the National Mall, failing to inspire.

Of all the monuments and memorials in Washington D.C., the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is my favorite. Much has been made of the controversy surrounding the war itself and the design of its memorial. All this arguing misses the true point: War is always tragic. It doesn't matter if a war is just or in vain; no family should know the grief of losing a loved one through violence.

Our visit happened to be the Friday before Memorial Day. The base of the wall was covered with flowers, some photos of deceased soldiers, and papers printed by family members telling the story of their lost loved one. A group of high school students arrived as we walked through. They were given a specific serviceman's name to find, and then took rubbings of that name from the wall. Volunteers, some Vietnam vets themselves, were helping them locate the names.

No doubt that today the Vietnam Memorial, as well as those for Korean and WWII veterans, are covered in even more flowers and tributes. They may not be the most prominent or the most flashy, but these are the most important places in the capital-- the places where we remember what we have lost as a country, not what we have gained. Where we can bow our heads and contemplate the sacrifice of brave men and women.