My class and I recently had an interesting voyage to the Boston, Massachusetts. It made me realize it is completely amazing over there and that I didn't want to leave so quick. Maybe I am over exaggerating since it was my first time over there; but even for my first time, it was incredible.
1) The Parks
When I got to Boston at 12:02 p.m, my group went into this lovely park called The Boston Commons, where I saw this shallow pond where people nor dogs could step inside and ruin the cleanliness of the water. As I was walking this walk, people let their dogs roam freely without having any problems. Unlike New York City, if we don't train our dogs correctly they will run off and go somewhere they wouldn't like to be. Central Park is different from The Boston Commons because tourist don't see it as the main park in Boston just a small, simple park that shouldn't be judged by it's cover.
2) The Streets
While walking around everyone was questioning where the nearest trash can was, or how the streets and sidewalks are so clean. We felt like the minute we dropped even a little crumb, someone was going to clean it up. It shows that the communities in Boston truly care about how their city is presented. In Times Square, you see approximately three trash cans on one street, but Times Square has a history with having dirty streets.
3) The Peace
Boston was as quiet as a mouse. No one heard cars honking their horns to get their jobs or lives in general. No one was in a rush so their weren't hardly any accidents. We heard no police sirens or ambulances. No one was shouting to the top of their lungs to get the person only two feet away from them to hear them. If you go to Times Square, you can hear every conversation around you including your own conversation. All around NYC people can tell the difference between a police siren and an ambulance siren.
4) The Tourist
While walking around Boston with only 45 students including myself, a bus of tourist decided to wave at us. It was interesting because we didn't truly know how to respond to that action from strangers. We waved back, but they tried starting conversations with us while they were on their tour bus. When you're little your parents tell you not to talk to strangers, well...we broke that rule and spoke to them. The tourist were from London, UK and their next stop was New York, so we said you can't wave at people in New York because people will think you are crazy. It is sad and true at the same time because New Yorkers are known to not look someone in the eye for too long or there is going to be a fight between the two.
5) The Entertainment
In a store that was inspired by the 1980s sitcom Cheers, I found an amazing jukebox. It was fully operational and had a loud bass with it. I was astonished to see a jukebox that still worked. The entertainment out their was similar to the entertainment in New York but the difference is, is that people in Boston get pulled onto the stage for the acts with the performers. The performers, I met out there were sweet and kind since they knew we weren't from around so they made us feel welcomed to Boston. In New York City, we have performers but they make us feel pressured to give them a tip or even a compliment.
6) The Transportation
When we were walking out of The Boston Commons, we saw a tourist bus that was colored in the colors of the rainbow as the bus was similar to a boat. Each boat bus was unique styles and colors, showing that Boston is diverse to all. Some of the buses had plastic windows so they can feel the cool wind and hear what is going on outside the bus. We ran into a group of tourist on a bus with plastic windows as we were walking back to The Boston Commons and they did a call-and-response to us by saying "yo", of course we responded back with a "yo". The train entrances were clear and clean while 34th-Penn Station has trash in the corners and if you don't look closely you will never know where your train is.
7) The People
The people were so sweet, we made friends with each person that spoke to us. When my group and I were getting food, people were trying to help us figure out what was good to eat and what was the cheapest. When we were getting our food the chef gave us compliments to all of us, even the males giving all of us a big, cheesy smiles. They were talking to us with their Boston accents causing us to ask several times on what they were saying at first until they said it as slow as possible. When we got lost for a few moments several random people on bikes, stopped and helped us figure out where we were. They directed us to how to get back to the parks to get back to the tour bus. You know you are a true New Yorker if you can catch road rage while walking on the sidewalks.
8) The Animals
Animals are the same in both places but act in different ways. When we were across the street of The Boston Commons in a different park, we ran into a group of ducks and a large goose outside of the lake. They crept up to us giving us these big eyes to see if we had food on us. The goose was fascinating to see up close as we did because geese in New York City don't get out of the water in Central Park because they will get angry faster. Those ducks were so cute and sweet because they didn't cause any harm or problems, they just looked like they wanted to be taken home with us.
9) Some Protesters
We ran into two nonviolent protest while we were in Boston. One protest was about government toward the Nigerians. The other was about the charter schools and how they aren't giving the education that their children aren't getting and how they can barely afford the tuition for charter schools. Children were all around holding cardboard posters that said "I want my education" in their handwriting. Both these protest were talking about important things that should get fixed to make Boston a better place. While protest in NYC, you can always end up getting hurt because someone always takes it in their hands that they need to cause a bigger scene than there already is.
10) The Food
The food was incredible! There are no words on how good the food was. I had an amazing plate of Tortellini and a plate of Chicken Alfredo. Both of those plates were exquisite and beautiful. I had a male that came personally from Italy a couple of years ago making it, telling me that it was his family recipe even with a secret ingredient. There were so many varieties of cultures in one food court, you had Chinese, authentic Mexican, New York Deli style, and etc. It made me realize that we are a diverse country since New York, it's either pizza, halal food, or fast foods around each corner.
11) The Safety
I felt safe in that state, I didn't feel like it was a new area. It was quiet and peaceful but like you could cross the streets without getting hit by a taxi cab or a road rage driver that wants to get to their destination faster than anyone. It made me think maybe I should move to Boston after college and have a safe peaceful life.
If I could give you advice, visit Boston; you won't regret it at all.
