I love New York

2008-07-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

New York
New Yorkers help full, kind, and curious people
It was my first week in New York. I was getting lost on the subway line, in the street and I missed the first and the second program of my schedule and i was early for the third one. It was raining I was tired but I saw how much new yorkers are helpfull, kind, and curious. I met new yorkers by asking them the way or they asked me if I needed help when they saw me trying to find the way by reading the map.
After a few days, when I started to be familiar with the city I realised that I lost the contact with people. So for the new comers at the begining it is not bad to get lost and to discover the people and the city at the same time.
I lived in Manhattan, I was an independant woman and I say independant woman because it was important when we are only for 1 month in a city like New York : festivals , cultural and independant city, you don’t need to do house duties and you don’t have family responsibilities specially when you are an african woman like me everything is different and excited .
I saw a lot of things and places which i heard for long time : the famous places like Manhattan Brooklyn bridge China town Harlem the empire state building time square, places I saw in movies, I read in books. It was wonderfull. I visited famous museums , theManhattan boat tour , the top of the rock, I saw broadway theaters, cinemas, for me New York was like a legend city I am the luckiest person to get this chance

stress
In New York there are too many events, I can have informations about actual events on New york, 1 tv program , in the village newspaper magazines; some times i twas impossible for me to choose events when i was in one event following my schedule i knew that I was missing on the same time a lot of nice other events so I regreted what i missed and I stressed by not taking all the advantages of my chance. I told my feelings to my husband on the phone and he told me : « you know at the same time you missed also nice events in London in Paris, you can’t be everywhere so just be happy by what you did, try to take maximum advantages. » Those words gave me comfort and one night I went to Long Island. There was one nice radio talk show. One of the subjects of the show was too much choise make you paralyse. They were right, in New York there are too many choise to make and when you are for a short term you are stressed and paralysed.

Washington
I went to Washington for one night and two days. I was happy to visit the capital city and to meet Ethiopian friends, artists, there are a lot of ethiopians who live there. I went to an ethiopian night club, to ethiopian restaurants. I had a lot of fun but when I came back to New York i was really happy when I arrived at New York penn station 34th street around 10 .30pm. I was happy and emotioned. I said newyorkye. In amharic it means my New York. I wanted to cry maybe because I knew that now that I wone week left until I left the city for good as back to New York, there was only i start to see peoples streets lights buildings like i never saw before i dont have enough eyes i start to take pictures of buildings streets everything I walked in front of a cinema and I saw people queuing in front of it. It was 11p.m, I had luggages and I was tired but I decided to got to the cinema anyway. I saw “Sex and the city” and I came back home at 8a.m. This is one of the reasons why I say that I like my independence I can do what I want whenever I want to. New York is a practical city because you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to get back home.

disapointed moment
I was never disapointed in New York except once in Harlem’s abyssinyan baptist church. It was Sunday, the next morning of my return from Washington. I arrived at the church at 9.30am, there was a lot of tourists, the church was full. The man who is in front of the gate said that it’s full and that I had to come back for the next service at 11am I went to see the man and i asked him if there was going to be ceremony at 11 with chorus and he answered yes. So I went to another church: UNITY CHURCH not far from the place and when I came back there was a lot of people I followed the line for long time it was a very hot day. Finally when i approched near the church it was again full the man said sorry it is full come back another time some of us begged him, some of us couldn’t come back another time. He was not polite and I think he was not happy tourists came only to visit and to see the chorus we could see how much he was happy to forbid people. I heared him say: “I know you want to get in just for 10 minute, it is not a broadway show, go to mosque” One women from the church came and said 10 more persons could get inside and she said again 10 person. That time was my turn the man saw me and he said “you can‘ t get in” i asked him why and he said “you wear open shoes” i said “after 3 hours on the sun it’s now that you’re telling me that! Why didn’t you tell me at first when i came to see you”
He said : “I didn’t see your shoes”
I answered : “ If it is the law you had to see them and i saw a lot of people get in with open shoes”
He said : “maybe you are right but I was busy, I didn’t see them”
I was furious, “what is the problem with open shoes ?” I asked
He said: “the noise will disturb”
I said: “I will take off my shoes please let me go I will not have time to come back again soon I will come back in ETHIOPIA”
He said: “It’s a holy place and a respected place, you can’t get in without shoes”
And I told him “in ETHIOPIA WHEN WE GET IN THE CHURCH WE HAVE TO take off our shoes because it is a holy and respected place.”
He answered to me un politly: “I don’t care, I said you can’t get in, have a good day”.
I was upset and I told him that I saw on the Internet website of the church that you had to dress well which I did but that the impossibility of wearing open shoes wasn’t mentioned and that I came to see him twice and that he didn’t say anything about the shoes either moreover I saw people whith open shoes getting in the church. I was really disappointed to waist all morning in the sun by 98 degrees. I left Harlem around 12.30.

my last week in New York
I was looking at New York like a mother who is watching her child and doesn’t want to miss any moments like she want’s to register everything in her mind before her child grows up and changes. I started to watch New York like that before leaving because if I didn’t see all that I had to see and I didn’t do what I wanted to do I would regret it. I was sad but I didn’t stop to repeat myself that I had a good reason to leave New York: I missed my daughter and my husband and therefore didn’t have to be sad to leave New York.

my favorite program of New york
My favorite evening program of New york was each Wednesday night at Chelsea studio NYC PLAY WRITERS script reading i like the scripts the way they read specially there honest and professional critics of the scripts, I learned a lot.
I like MOMA gallery talk and old cinemas in MOMA
I LIKE Every thing in NEW YORK all festivals ,events in public gardens an d places , walking in the street, in the night having a seat near my apartment at union square and watching people and there different activities anyway in New York you can’t be bored
I love NEW YORK
I have a lot of of professional and life experience
I would like to thank apexart for giving me this opportunity .

IN RESIDENCE @ APEXART WITH AZEB WORKU SIBANE

I love New York