Greenwich Village is known for its hip culture, thus, it never fails to be on top of the favorite places around the city of both locals and tourists, myself included.
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| Apt. somewhere among the tranquility of Greenwich Village |
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| Premiere nighttime of Greenwich Village |
You could almost not tell Greenwich Village at day and Greenwich Village at night as just a single place. In the day, the streets are that of a ghost town, especially during non-luncheon hours. Well, maybe except for a few cafes, but it's a whole lot different when it's found in the more urban parts of the city. At night, the lines of restaurants, bars, and clubs of all variants work like elves during Christmas. It's basically a feast. Though I am not a big fan of crowds, this kind of crowd seemed to excite me because everywhere around, there was just something more interesting during those hours of the night.
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| Midnight snacking: Prosciutto ham and cheese platter with flatbread, two cups of tea, and pecan pie |
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| La Lanterna di Vittorio with my aunt; May 2017 |
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| Basement jazz club |
I've always loved jazz. It never fails to feed my soul. Initially, my aunt wanted to take me to this jazz club she enjoyed very much; unfortunately, she didn't bring me there because she said I was below 18. (We weren't close, so I was too shy to ask her if maybe we could just give it a shot.) I did not know until I had to use the restroom that it was just right below from where we were midnight snacking. It was hard to tell because of the indistinct chitchats surrounding me. But I was glad nature called me and brought me down to my first jazz club ever. It wasn't how I exactly pictured it to be. Just like upstairs, it, too was loud and dark downstairs, making the music almost inaudible, like it was just background music, contradicting its purpose -- to be the center of attention. Maybe it's because the main acts were already finished. Also, it sure was steaming hot down there. Maybe it's the heat of the food or the seemingly too many candlelights I was afraid would burn the whole place down. The humidity made me sweat in a New York minute. It wasn't too long till I finally understood why it wasn't much of a minors' place, because some other things did turn up the temperature down there.
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| Washington Square Arch |
Greenwich Village became an instant favorite to me because aside from its hip culture, I would often daydream about studying at NYU. Though that seems so far from reality given my current situation, I don't think it's that bad to dream, as long as I am aware of the boundaries of dreams and realities. In short, I don't mind if I won't be able to study there someday, but it would be an amazing opportunity I'd gladly take. Many people would point out my naivety as a high school student, but I'll say it anyway. I remember walking around Washington Square Park with my aunt last year an hour before midnight. I loved how so alive the park was in such an hour, with college kids just being carefree (I'm afraid even high), jamming and skateboarding all their worries away. I've heard the scariest horror stories came from what college life is like, and as a typical high school student, I would say that I don't mind and that I can't wait to be in college. Sure, I'd probably be hysterically laughing and crying at myself both at the same time looking back at this because, well, college will happen to me eventually, but I guess I am just drawn to the idea of how "liberty" must feel like for the very first time.
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| Friends Apartment |
Before leaving for New York this year, I had the chance to go on my first two-month long marathon of watching all episodes of the hit sitcom Friends. I've never really been the biggest fan of tv shows, but Friends truly did change my perceptions on that.
Although, it does show some insensitivity on some important topics, such as fat shaming, sexism, homophobia, and even transphobia (which I am not here to defend, by the way; and despite having some really meaningful themes, take TOW Five Steaks and an Eggplant where they indirectly talk about the divisions of social classes, TOW Joey Moves Out where Phoebe shows feminism–which can also be seen among others–and Joey on plastic spoons how he says they're bad for the environment).
Today it seems as though it is impossible not to be wary of what you consume and promote–to just easily let anything slip through. It is easier to identify the wrongs in the media–the ones with wrong portrayal of how society as we are in the millennial age where a lot of people fight for lots of things and it is impossible not to hear.
Nevertheless, I guess I call it my guilty pleasure. There is no such thing as perfect after all. I do not want to make any petty excuses just because it entertains me (because I know there are other ways to be entertained anyway–though not all are even close to perfect), but in a situation like this, what's important is you note all the mistakes and don't let it register into your subconsciousness, but instead let the right thing, or the lesson learned, be your mindset.
But in the span of 10 seasons, I can't help but be attached to the characters. It felt as though they've made me part of their own special group, which is why it had me breaking when they had to go their own separate ways. I loved it because it wasn't just funny, it taught me valuable lessons on friendship, even family, and on choosing and inspiring me to pursue my chosen career path.
Currently, I am watching a similar show, How I Met Your Mother (I'm really new on all this tv series commotion), and yes, I am aware it is also imperfect as it, too, has its own share of being problematic, which again, I am not here to defend, (although it has remarkable arguments, and really on-point messages–such as about going for our dreams, and about how precious Marshall is for this world), but it never fails to relieve my stress after long, hard days at school.
The Friends Apartment wasn't the only thing that fascinated me in that location, though. The building across from it (probably it was the ugly naked man's building?) caught more of my attention. Also, did I ever mention that while we were around the block of the Friends Apartment, fellow fans (these fans were obviously tourists) started playing the Friends theme song and we all became so giddy that we hummed and danced along to it? They were all so nice and smiley, everything felt as happy as a Friends episode back there. It's amazing how connections are made among people coming from different parts of the world.
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| I guess I'm just really in love with vines on buildings |
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| Washington Mews |
SoHo, Manhattan is the more well-known cobblestoned place in NYC. Contrary to its popular reputation, I still prefer the less urban stretch of cobblestoned street lined with french-windowed, vine-creeping little buildings of Washington Mews. I fell immediately in love with the architecture in this place, it was hard to leave.
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