Concrete Jungles Where Dreams are Made of...

I've always loved the idea of getting on a airplane and after a few minutes or hours, arriving in a place that is so much different from the island I call home. One of those places which I fell in love with was New York, the Big Apple, the capital of the world.  I have visited other cities but none give me that buzz that NY does.

For Bajans, New York is like one of those places where you MUST go. We flock to New York every summer in droves, to visit family and friends and of course to shop, shop and shop some more.  I wonder how many of them see the place, how vibrant New York is with culture or do they just see Fulton Street, 34th street, the fashion district, Sak's Fifth avenue and the Aquaduct flea market. 

What I love about New York? The Culture: I love that there is a Little Korea,a Little Italy a Chinatown. That I can go into a random store and hear Bajan, Trini, and Jamaican accents and be served by an Italian dude. New York is like one big cohoblopot where you'll get a little bit of this and little bit of that.   In New York I can find a Banks beer, drink a Ting and even have some fish cakes and an ice cold glass of mauby.  It's one of those places that grows on you.

The free concernts in the various parks in any of the boroughs....if you're an arts lover like I am, then those free concerts are the best thing...next to slice bread.  I've totally enjoyed my visits to Soho and marvelled at the different types of architecture (and NO I'm not an architecture buff) in the boroughs. From Soho's cast iron buildings to the brownstones in Brooklyn Heights.

There's nothing like a NY subway station. I know, they're trains all over, nothing new about a train but where else do you hear classical musicians, bucket drumming, and accordians, in one day.  The subway of course  and...did you know the NY subway is one of the world's largest(obvious) and let's  not talk about public transportation after midnight...in B'dos I've got to make sure I'm on the last bus at 12a.m (if i want to get home, that is). It took me a little while to understand the subway system there but once I got the 'uptown-downtown' business understood...I was good to go.

If we're talking about NY we definitely can't forget Times Square and 42nd street. It's like Baxters Road or Oistins but in a bigger City.  The place never sleeps. You can leave home at 10p.m. and still watch a movie, get a bite to eat and take a ride on a buggy. Let's not forget Toys R Us.  I do love shopping, and I can browse for hours without buying anything. 

Everything in the city is not all roses (we know that), the streets there are NOT paved with gold but there's something to be said, I think, about people, who flock to the place, for a better life.  All won't make it but NY, I believed is filled with the dreams of immigrants, some full-filled and some not and these dreams resonate around the city.

As much as I'm fascinated by New York, I wouldn't live in the place.  I'm a caribbean girl. I love my sea to look blue and my sand to be almost white and summer all year round. I love that I still live in a place where some people remember to say good morning when they pass you on the streets and that I don't need to rush all the time, just because 'it's the thing to do'.

Yet for some Alicia Keys got it right when she said:

"these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you, Let's hear it for NEW YORK!!