Because of the time differences it’s too hard to put all of the New York trip in order.
Wednesday morning started off nicely. I got to ride on the “kaikyuu”- comfortable express train to Nagoya airport. Then the flight from Nagoya to Tokyo was also nice as I got moved to business class because the flight was empty. I slept on the 1 hour and 20 minute flight, and it was really nice because the seats go back all the way and there are nice Japanese features on the electronic chairs. The 12 hour flight from Tokyo to New York wasn’t so bad either because the seat next to me was open.
After arriving at JFK airport I caught the subway from the airport to Manhattan temple. Boy do I have some stories about the New York subway. After going to the temple I still had to wait for my high school friend Bobby to get off of work, so I took a nap in central park. Because I was so tired from the flight over I just crashed on the park benches. But it was safe because it was still light outside and there were lots of kids playing in the park.
I then walked down 5th avenue to meet my friend Bobby. The streets were lined with expensive shops and filled with people and there were tall buildings everywhere. It really felt like Tokyo, except for the fact that there were super tall white people instead and the streets were dirty, and every 2 second a horn was beeping. The horns weren’t a nice warning toot, it was like a 10 second, get out of the way, I’m in a hurry, blast.
At night Bobby took me out to see some of the town and we ate French fries for dinner. On the way back home I played chess on the street with a guy named Sam. At the beginning he told me just wanted a friendly match and he was no Bobby Fischer. But near the end of the match he started trash talking and said to buy some beers, come back, so he could take my money all night.
3 dollars was a small price to pay for a little fun.
Bobby Webster, he was the man in high school and still is. I remember all the younger girls would line up for his autograph for year book signing, and he was nice enough to write letters to each of them. We enjoyed new york fries with various dipping sauces for a light dinner snack. 
Me and Sam in the park playing chess. If you look closely, I have more of his pieces at this time, but in the end he accomplished his goal which was taking money from a tourist.
The next day I had my interview with NYU’s medical school, the purpose of my trip. The tours were nice and the campus was nice and the students there were very friendly. I was scheduled to interview at 1:30 but I didn’t start my interview until 3:00 because one of the interviewers didn’t show. If it wasn’t for another girl who was there waiting too, I would have gotten really nervous just waiting. The interview went well, but now it’s just more waiting. The intimidating thing about it was seeing the other students who were interviewing there who came from all the Ivy League schools and had already interviewed at like six top notch med schools. For me it was my first one.
After the interview the rain came down in New York. Even though I wanted to go to see the city it was raining so hard I just waited indoors until I went to the temple again in the evening.
At night I got to meet some of Bobby’s friends and we went out to a haunted house. I guess the haunted house being in New York added to the scariness of the atmosphere because I got the most scared in my life in a haunted house. People kept jumping out of everywhere and it was super dark and it was dangerous. I mean you had to climb over stuff, and because it was so dark we lost our way a few times. Anyway, it was a fun time and a good way to relax after feeling down about the interview.
On Friday I finally went out to see the city. I went to ground zero where they were re-building the world trade center. I then had lunch with my friend Carole-Anne who works at NYU. We ate Korean food and caught up on things. I then went shopping in SOHO on Broadway St. It was really fun but the shopping was a lot different because there was no mall, rather the streets were just lined with stores. After shopping for a few things to bring back to Japan, I just relaxed until the time came to meet with two other friends from high school, Tiffany and Eaton. We ate dinner at a nice place called “Peeps” and then we went to Eaton’s house to watch the UH football game. I think watching the game with people from high school that I haven’t seen in years in New York city was the highlight of the trip. We went through a lot of emotions as we saw Hawaii go down two touchdowns with minutes left in the fourth quarter before bouncing back to win in overtime over San Jose State.
Bobby, Tiff, Tiff’s boyfriend, me and Carole-Anne watching the UH football game. Eaton took the picture. 
Proof that we did watch the game. The quarterback of UH, Colt Brennan, who provided the emotional rollercoaster-ride for the night. We were all happy UH beat San Jose State in overtime.
At night we went out to the same bar we went the night before to a place called the cave with another friend from high school, Tanner. It was already past 1 o’clock and it was normal for people in New York to start going out at that time. I left early because I didn’t drink and I was a little tired.
On the way back home on the subway, the train stopped for about 35 minutes because someone passed out on the ground. I happened to be in the same car as the person. He was obviously hurt from something because he didn’t respond to anything. The cops and paramedics were called because he couldn’t get up. People kept yelling at him to get up so the train could go so they could get to work to provide food for his children as one person said. Finally after the cops arrived, the man was escorted off the train I finally made my way home.
I just realized from there how different New York subways are different from Japan’s. For one thing the subways are cleaner in Japan, absent of rats that pop out every few minutes. Also the times are known to the minute when the train will come to each stop rather than just waiting at the platform and sticking your head out to look down the track for a train.
I also had other interesting subway stories. When I was riding to NYU the morning before, the subways were really crowded. But for some reason the car I entered wasn’t that full. Five seconds after the doors closed I realized why. There was a homeless man at the end of the car that was sleeping on the seats. No one was around him because he was super stink. I mean not just a fart stink, but like diarrhea stink. I couldn’t breathe. So at the next stop I jumped into the next car with other people that made the same mistake as I did even though the next car was really crowded. Everyone in the car got to see a lot of people doing that, and when we saw someone coming in from the next car we all smiled knowing the reason.
The other evening when I was riding to the temple for some reason the stop I wanted to get off at was skipped. I later found out that someone jumped in front of the train so they had to shut that stop down. The people said that happens often.
After saying goodbye to my good friend Bobby, who let me stay at his place and took care of me the whole trip I made my way back to JFK airport. After the 13 and ½ hour flight then two hour flight back to Nagoya that got delayed, and a 1 hour train trip then 10 minute walk, I was finally back home to my dorm in Nagoya. What a nice trip to New York. I really appreciate all my friends in New York; they are all such great people. It was so good to spend time together watching the UH football game and having our home state’s team win. Even if I don’t get into NYU, this trip will always stand out in my mind.
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