New York Subway
After several days of being couch potatoes on the coach, we got to experience the rickety rides on the famed New York Subway. Equipped with a yellow electromagnetic metro card, we braced the storm of incoming New Yorkers, while literally being compressed like sardines in the swaying train carriage. Despite having to cling on one another for support, we still had a thrilling experience dashing in and out of the metal doors!
~
For the past few trips, we only traveled on buses to our various destinations. In fact, it had almost come to the point where we hardly did any walking, basically getting off and getting on the bus when we reached our destinations. Some of us even complained about the whole eating and sitting process that is inevitable with our dear bus. And the teachers heard us, I guess, by scheduling us for the subway instead of the comfort of the bus when travelling around New York. Subways in New York are the stuff in movies (in fact, the entire city kind of is)-- at first, we thought that the subway is kind of grand and cool, but when we actually boarded the subway, most of us were quite appalled at the state of the subway stations and the train itself.
The train was rather shaky and the platform was relatively dirty. In fact, the entire train line system was so confusing due to the many different train lines and unannounced station closures and scheduled track changes that we got thrown off track. Besides that, the announcements in the train for the next stations so soft that we ended up pressing our noses against the window to catch a glimpse of the name of the station we were at!
Also, the train was so crowded we felt like sardines that were packed. We were all rather afraid that we would be left behind and not be able to get in or out with the rest of the group. This pushed us to move quicker and to be more aware of our surroundings such that we were able to receive information from the teachers. Overall, it was a rather unexpected experience and also quite an eye opener for the bunch of us, who had not met with such a rush during our travelling in Washinton DC and Boston.
This experience made all of us appreciate the comfortable MRTs in Singapore more and not constantly complain about the trains in Singapore.
Fun-Fact #1: We were "pushed" into the subway by Ms Low when it was crowded just so all of us could fit on one train. (we nearly didn't xD)
Fun-Fact #2: We met a busker on the train that was playing the clarinet… (some of us didn't actually know he was busking for money) but it was a really good experience. Andd the music was really good.
~
For the past few trips, we only traveled on buses to our various destinations. In fact, it had almost come to the point where we hardly did any walking, basically getting off and getting on the bus when we reached our destinations. Some of us even complained about the whole eating and sitting process that is inevitable with our dear bus. And the teachers heard us, I guess, by scheduling us for the subway instead of the comfort of the bus when travelling around New York. Subways in New York are the stuff in movies (in fact, the entire city kind of is)-- at first, we thought that the subway is kind of grand and cool, but when we actually boarded the subway, most of us were quite appalled at the state of the subway stations and the train itself.
The train was rather shaky and the platform was relatively dirty. In fact, the entire train line system was so confusing due to the many different train lines and unannounced station closures and scheduled track changes that we got thrown off track. Besides that, the announcements in the train for the next stations so soft that we ended up pressing our noses against the window to catch a glimpse of the name of the station we were at!
Also, the train was so crowded we felt like sardines that were packed. We were all rather afraid that we would be left behind and not be able to get in or out with the rest of the group. This pushed us to move quicker and to be more aware of our surroundings such that we were able to receive information from the teachers. Overall, it was a rather unexpected experience and also quite an eye opener for the bunch of us, who had not met with such a rush during our travelling in Washinton DC and Boston.
This experience made all of us appreciate the comfortable MRTs in Singapore more and not constantly complain about the trains in Singapore.
Fun-Fact #1: We were "pushed" into the subway by Ms Low when it was crowded just so all of us could fit on one train. (we nearly didn't xD)
Fun-Fact #2: We met a busker on the train that was playing the clarinet… (some of us didn't actually know he was busking for money) but it was a really good experience. Andd the music was really good.
The Highline
We also went to the New York High Line.The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues. From the high lines, we got to see an bird's eye view of the New York traffic.
Ground Zero Museum
After navigating through the complicated subway lines, we finally arrived at the Ground Zero Museum Workshop, which was opened in September 7, 2005. It was opened by Mr Gary Suson, official photographer of the 911 aftermath, created to provide the most realistic account of the Ground Zero "Recovery Period". Before entering the museum, we had expected the artifacts to document the entire process of the tragedy and the horror it inspired, but we were taken by surprise at the overarching theme of "Healing". We first watched a short film documenting Mr Gary's interview on his work in the aftermath efforts and a photo montage of some of the photographs taken right at the accident site. Next, we embarked on a self-guided tour around the museum, equipped with a tour headset, to listen to the personal stories behind every photograph and artifact.
Reflections:
After listening to all the stories behind the picture and personally interacting with the original photographer, Gary Suson, our impression of the museum totally changed. The museum featured raw emotions in photos that carried stories, with a name to relate to and every story wrenches at the heartstrings. Honestly, to us, 9/11 was only a distant event that happened. We see and read about the impact in old papers, websites, but to actually have pictures displayed in front of us, documenting the emotions and the moments of slow recovery- or heartfelt worn down moments- it was a totally different experience entirely that we still find it hard to express in words. We think that the thing about seeing recovery and grief is that it's so hard to understand how you feel at that moment. 9/11 was a monumental event that shook the world and perhaps America is still mourning the after-effects of such an attack today. A scar like that doesn't really ever heal, does it? It reopens all the time, when something similar happens all over again. "Ah, I lost someone in something similar to this." We think that's something you can't stop thinking about. That's also why it resonates so strongly, The father's quote, "Why it must be that person that died, why must it be my son or my daughter, my loved one that died in something like this, why must it happen…" We think that people up till now are still reflecting and thinking about it. When faced with so many stories like that- and just imagine how many more similiar stories are left untold- We think it's something that will stay with us for a very long time. Where we do not once feel anything, we feel for now- and we think that was one of the great achievements of the mueseum.
Quote #1: "I know he is in better hands now, but I wish he was in my hands."- said by the father of a victim.
Reflections:
After listening to all the stories behind the picture and personally interacting with the original photographer, Gary Suson, our impression of the museum totally changed. The museum featured raw emotions in photos that carried stories, with a name to relate to and every story wrenches at the heartstrings. Honestly, to us, 9/11 was only a distant event that happened. We see and read about the impact in old papers, websites, but to actually have pictures displayed in front of us, documenting the emotions and the moments of slow recovery- or heartfelt worn down moments- it was a totally different experience entirely that we still find it hard to express in words. We think that the thing about seeing recovery and grief is that it's so hard to understand how you feel at that moment. 9/11 was a monumental event that shook the world and perhaps America is still mourning the after-effects of such an attack today. A scar like that doesn't really ever heal, does it? It reopens all the time, when something similar happens all over again. "Ah, I lost someone in something similar to this." We think that's something you can't stop thinking about. That's also why it resonates so strongly, The father's quote, "Why it must be that person that died, why must it be my son or my daughter, my loved one that died in something like this, why must it happen…" We think that people up till now are still reflecting and thinking about it. When faced with so many stories like that- and just imagine how many more similiar stories are left untold- We think it's something that will stay with us for a very long time. Where we do not once feel anything, we feel for now- and we think that was one of the great achievements of the mueseum.
Quote #1: "I know he is in better hands now, but I wish he was in my hands."- said by the father of a victim.
"Time has a way of dulling our memory and people may forget what happened and the valuable lives lost on 9/11. I hope my images will insure that people never forget"
~ Mr Gary Marlon Suson