The Written Podcast: New York (Part 5) – What You See Is What You Get

I made it to the Hudson hotel. I was in New York City. I was on my own. That was a truly new feeling. And one I wasn’t at all scared of. The excitement that I made it to New York on my own was enough to pump enough adrenaline through my body to keep going even after go back in time. New York is 5 hours behind so I was reliving the afternoon once more. The first thing I did when I stepped foot in my room was sit down and have a few minutes to relax, to gather myself together before heading out.

I had a lot planned and I didn’t plan any of it. I knew what I wanted to do, but had not a clue where to begin. I spent those few minutes putting together a brief itinerary. Since I only had the afternoon it’ll be best to not attempt to do anything big, especially considering jetlag was going to hit me in a few hours’ time from being awake for nearly 24 hours straight (I know I could have slept on the plane ride over here, but having done so would have thrown my body clock completely out of synch as it would have had to adjust going during the day, something I haven’t done in years).

When I say I didn’t know where to begin because I didn’t prepare anything before hopping on the plane, it was strictly true as I did a little bit of research, but only to see what within the area surrounding the Hudson hotel. I discovered there was a 7-Eleven about 8 minutes down the road, and I’ve always wanted to go there to purchase myself one of those Big Gulps the convenience store has become well known for selling. I made it my mission to make that store my first stop of the holiday. With a quick glance at Google maps via the free WIFI supplied by the hotel, I mapped out where to go, sorted out my belongings and stepped back out into the hotel’s corridor.

Stepping back outside, I could fully contemplate New York City. Drink it all in, and my first impression was, incredibly built up. New York is a place where what you see is what you get. I’ve seen many movies and TV shows that feature New York City, and that phase has been uttered by almost everyone who’s been there, even mentioned in some books my mum has read over the years – and my first impression was understanding what that phase truly meant. You see a built up city; you get a built up city. You see busy roads; you get busy roads. You see crowded footpaths; you get crowded footpaths.

I may have mapped out where the 7-Eleven was, but the first time I stepped out of my hotel, I forgotten everything. The sensation of actually being in New York City kept me rigid for a minute or two as I just admired my surroundings before coming back down to Earth with a bump in a city I’ve never been in before, and a craving for the biggest drink I’m ever going to have the pleasure of drinking (non-alcoholic of course)

As I navigated around the area of Hudson hotel in search of a 7-Eleven, scrambling through my short-term memory to find the directions needed to get to the famous convenience store, I found another iconic American store, Dunkin’ Doughnuts. I know even less about Dunkin’ Doughnuts that I do 7-Eleven, but I do know they do absolutely gorgeous doughnuts, and so I had to try it out. As my body had not much chance to process the food I had on the plane from sitting still for 7 hours straight, I decided it’ll be best if I come back and pick up a doughnut in the evening, maybe after having a proper meal first. I continued on toward the 7-Eleven store, and was met with an incredible image.

New York is built in blocks. Unlike the random assortment of buildings in London, New York was planned before being built, which means if you’re at the right angle, you can see one street stretching so far down it disappears below the horizon. All the time I was walking down the street (the one where I knew the store was on), I was staring into the distance, looking as far as I could, watching dots of cars and people move this way and that, but not jaywalking.

One of the first things I was warned about by my parents when announcing I was going to New York was not to jaywalk. It’s illegal. You will get a ticket if you’re caught doing it. In England, you’re free to jaywalk anywhere you want. If you’re too impatient to wait for the lights to turn red given you freedom of walking across the road without the threat of being hit by a moving vehicle, then jaywalk to your hearts content, just do not do it in America. I’m sure there are many people who do it, but I surely didn’t notice anyone attempting to play leapfrog with the vehicle, and there’s good reason for that. It’s practically impossible to do so, and it would be unnecessary to do so, considering the absolute magnitude of zebra crossings available for you to cross over with. There are so many zebra crossings, even on my first few minutes walking through the city, I noticed so many cars waiting at the lights whilst people crossed. Not only that, but there are so many vehicles on the road at any one time, attempting to jaywalk would’ve been a fool’s errand anyway, as there are hardly any breaks in the traffic to attempt to weave through. It became immediately apparent to me that it’d be quicker to wait at the zebra crossings than it would be to jaywalk across the road.

I found what I was looking for. A 7-Eleven convenience store, and I discovered that the Big Gulp is not the biggest cup they do, but the Double Gulp is, and so I realised that I had to go for that. I didn’t come to America just to purchase myself a Gulp from a 7-Eleven, but since I was there, I knew that if I am to make my holiday worthwhile, I needed to purchase myself a Double Gulp and enjoy the ludicrous size of it. I filled it right to the top with Gatorade, paid for it, and walked out with an incredibly large drink in my hand. I was on holiday.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT ARTICLE…