Central Park

Last day in New York

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Today we attended the Ivy Native Council Fall Summit, which featured presentations and workshops on the theme of Expansion, Intervention, Refusal: Representing Indigeneity through Art in New York City.

I left at lunch time due to fatigue, but prior to that I got to chat with some lovely Indigenous students from all over the US about our experiences and our homes.

One student from Arizona showed me pictures of her home town—the landscape was gorgeous. The colours reminded me of Western Australia, but the topography was completely different. She showed me a picture of a cedar tree and the trunk looked very much like that of a bottlebrush, though the structure of the branches and leaves was very different.

I napped in the afternoon, and then a group of us went out to a Japanese restaurant a couple of blocks away for dinner. The food was delicious and made me miss all the amazing little Japanese places in Perth. I’m keen for Hakata Gensuke ramen when I get home!

Tomorrow morning we’re taking a short flight to Boston. It looks like it’ll be a busy week at Harvard but I’m hoping to cancel or reschedule a couple of my meetings so I don’t burn out.

I’m very glad I made it to Central Park yesterday. It’s actually made it easier to notice and appreciate what little greenery is scattered around the city.

Thanks, New York, and see you again.

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The opening presentation at the Ivy Native Council Fall Summit

I made it to Central Park!

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Today was another bad fatigue day, so I ended up cancelling my meetings and sleeping instead. In the afternoon I caught an Uber to Central Park and spent a couple of hours there wandering around.

It was nice to be surrounded by nature, though even there the sounds of the city permeate.

I found a bench inscribed: “Shay’s bench—she taught us a masterclass in how to lead a life” and sat on it for a while. From there I could see people rowing on the lake, and hear their laughter through the trees.

My favourite part of the day was walking through the Ramble, probably the most natural-feeling area of the park (even though the trees are fenced off and the paths are all bitumen). According to the signage at the entrance it’s one of the best places for bird-watching in the United States. I saw a cardinal finch and got very excited! And promptly forgot to take a picture of it.

Fun fact: Perth’s Kings Park is bigger than Central Park, at 400.6 ha vs Central Park’s 315 ha. Take that, America.

After resting on Shay’s Bench I went in search of Bethesda Fountain. I did find it, but from the other side of the lake. One of the other Scholars and I stood on opposite shores and waved.

Then it was back in an Uber and to the accommodation to rest. Later, one of the other Scholars shaved my undercut for me (it was getting long and looking a bit weird). The evening has been slow and lazy. I have binged a lot of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix.

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View of the city skyline from a bridge in Central Park

Perhaps it’s not so bad?

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New York is growing on me, surprisingly. I’m still not a huge fan, and I still don’t think I could live here, but I will begrudgingly admit that it’s not awful.

My favourite part of this city is the subway. I love the feeling of being down beneath the surface surrounded by warm-white tiles and still air. The place we’re staying is right next to an elevated line, so I can hear the trains going by at all hours, which I find very comforting. I love the noises of the city, the windows rattling as buses idle in the street outside.

There still aren’t enough trees, though.

Today I met with a current (Australian!) student in the writing program at Columbia, and had a good chat about the program and what it’s like living and studying in New York. The course sounds amazing, honestly. So I’m going to go have a mosey around Brooklyn tomorrow to see if there’s anywhere in this vast place that could feel remotely like a home for a little while. I’m not holding my breath.

The one thing I absolutely have to do before we move on to Boston is to go to Central Park. All the other touristy things can wait until my next visit (…yes, there will probably be a next visit) but I have to see Central Park. I’m hoping Thursday will be as sunny and nice as it was today, because I have the whole day free to wander around and soak in the vibes of the urban oasis.

I also need to get to the post office some time this week and send some stuff home (I may have accidentally bought a few too many books).

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Look! some trees!

New York, New York

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Today we woke up around 4am to travel to the airport for our flight to New York. I got really ill on the plane, but the flight attendants were so lovely and moved me closer to the front so I could lay down and sleep, and I felt better after that.

We landed late-afternoon and took a shuttle through the suburbs to our accommodation. The houses were beautiful, with steep roofs and cute little details on the window frames. Once we drove into the city proper, though, it was all tall buildings and grime.

We’ve only been here for a few hours so I’m trying not to judge it too quickly, but already I’m feeling like New York is not the place for me. I’m hoping to go see Central Park either tomorrow or the day following to fill my veins with nature. I’m already missing California’s trees and grasses.

It’s a full-on week this week, with meetings at both NYU and Columbia. I doubt I’ll have time for many tourist-y activities, but I am very open to suggestions if anybody has them!