Secondhand Serenade

New York City (officially The City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world. It has been the largest city in the United States since 1790, and was the country's first capital city and the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first president of the United States. For more than a century, it has been one of the world's major centers of commerce and finance. New York City is rated as an alpha world city for its global influences in media, politics, education, entertainment, arts and fashion. The city is also a major center for foreign affairs, hosting the headquarters of the United Nations.

New York City comprises five boroughs, each of which is coextensive with a county: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. With over 8.2 million residents within an area of 322 square miles (830 km²), New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States.

Many of the city's neighborhoods and landmarks are known around the world. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, at Ellis Island, a small part of which lies within the city. Wall Street, in Lower Manhattan, has been a dominant global financial center since World War II and is home to the New York Stock Exchange. The city has been home to several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the Empire State Building and the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

New York is the birthplace of many cultural movements, including the Harlem Renaissance in literature and visual art, abstract expressionism (also known as the New York School) in painting, and hip hop, punk, salsa, and Tin Pan Alley in music. In 2005, nearly 170 languages were spoken in the city and 36% of its population was born outside the United States. With its 24-hour subway and constant bustling of traffic and people, New York is known as "The City That Never Sleeps;" it was first linked with "Gotham" by Washington Irving in 1807.

以上，凑字数用的……

这次旅行以及其本身的动机都是十分恶俗---因为我怕在回国后被人说成个连NYC都没去过的土人，所以我去了。

NYC不是个美丽的地方，至少我认为不是，尤其是当我在法拉盛的唐人街走下那辆由不知识福建还是广东人经营的客运公司大巴时，所见的一切更让我坚定了这个想法。狭窄的街道，破旧的楼房，杂乱的店铺以及熙熙攘攘的中国人让我觉得自己来到了八十年代的家乡，当然除了满大街的奔驰宝马……

《北京人在纽约》是我唯一看完的一部电视剧，同时也给了我对NYC的憧憬和遐想，尤其是当大巴行驶在Manhattan bridge，我远远的眺望着黑色海水中的自由女神，这种憧憬变得愈发强烈。就像当年坐着北上的火车，来到北京读书，我对自己说：今后四年这座城市就是属于你的了，你准备好了吗？可惜同样的不幸，当年刚下了火车，校车就把我送到了昌平；这次大巴则直接把我们丢到了唐人街……希望，总是来得快去得更快。


大致的活动范围

第一天（阴）：

从Worcester去Boston的方法有很多，但是我们选择了最白痴的一种---火车。如果把美国铁道部挪到中国，我怀疑会被更多人骂。原定7点发车等到了8点半，然后上了车也没人售票，于是大家每人都省了7块5，不错！！

这里提一下zdw同学，真乃模范男人中的典范阿，为了远在法国的女朋友，每月至少140刀的电话费，而且还要忍受同share family plan的另一对夫妇的白眼（猜测……）。12月15日寒假刚开始就飞往法国，30号刚回来31号就跟着我们去NYC，当然这些都可以无视，但重点是他居然把他那个很漂亮很妩媚很温柔很xxx（此处省略500字）的小姨子也带来了。艾，丫每月140刀也值了。

就这样大家顺利到了Boston，然后顺利赶上去NYC的大巴，然后不出意外地在4个小时后赶到了NYC。下了车，大家就开始寻找之前预订好的小旅馆。由于环境不熟悉，大家便寄希望于某人手中的N95里面的GPS以及某某人手中Iphone里面的Gmap，但是N95迟迟连不上卫星Iphone一直找不到网络，大家便回归最原始的方法，拿嘴问路。还好顺利找到，短暂休整之后，大家就直奔地铁站，朝着第一站Time Square前进了。

纽约的地铁票Metro Card分次票和通票，通票又分一天和一周，周通票十分划算，但我们呆不了那么久……因为不是工作时间，地铁上人很少，刚出Flushing，地铁行驶在高架桥上，船外都是破旧的房子以及艳丽的涂鸦，很有黑人区得味道（其实本来就是黑人区-_,-）。进了Manhattan， 列车没入了地下的黑暗。等过了传说中的Grand Central Terminal， 终点站Time Square就在眼前。

附：纽约地铁7号线，我们从头坐到尾。

出了42th St.，立刻就感到了一种压迫感。十几米宽的马路被两边的摩天大楼挤压得像羊肠小道，繁复的霓虹灯以及变幻的广告牌提醒着这个城市的繁华。看着Gucci与Chanel之流在巨大的液晶屏里携手掠过，再摸摸自己的钱包，不由得让人感到很失落。我们预期的打算是在Time Square等到午夜然后看脑袋上掉下来的大苹果。。结果发现警察早已把通往Time Square的各条路口全部封死，理由是因为人太多。我们一行人从42th一直走到59th，然后终于趁警察叔叔不备钻了进去。话说我的第一次走丢就发生在这里……
我们被人流分成两部分，寻找着能进入的路口。我这人天生就爱走神，本来跟在一堆人后面还算好，可是在一五星酒店门口忽然窜出几个人喊：Free soda, come on, come on.然后我就眼睁睁看着乌秧乌秧的一坨人窜到我面前，等他们作鸟兽散后我发现自己周围一个熟悉的面孔都没了。于是我开始琢磨自己是坐飞机回去呢还是坐火车，是打110呢还是911，然后发现手机狂响，可爱的mm们以及2b或者不2b的GG们都在嗷嗷喊，我操你丫怎么丢了，找你找得好苦……然后我就十分感动热泪盈眶的回喊，我操明明是你们把我搞丢了，还tm说我大脑短路。。。


恶搞NYPD，刚照完就被police赶走了。

我们的打算是在Time Square呆到午夜看大苹果，但是在排队2小时才前进了不到20米之后，我们决定战略撤退，回去睡觉。在我已丢失了镜头盖儿为代价挤出人群后，大部队已然抛弃我溜得没影了……后来听说有个同学的同学中午12点就来排队，然后排到晚上12点也没有看到大苹果，我们就十分心安……


人，各种人，除了人还是人……



同上


第一天结束，其实只有一个晚上。

下回：第二天。