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So I've decided to make these entries as often as I like, which is going to be when I've got something to write about, and when I've got wifi, which is now.
Let me start out with a revelation I had today. I don't think I like New York. I'm sure many people who've been there must think this is an insane notion, but I'm sticking to my guns. The first thing that struck me was that it's very big. TOO big. Why do buildings have to be that tall I ask? It seems antisocial to block out the sun.
The next thing that struck me was that were lot's of people, which is probably why the buildings have to be so tall I suppose, but everything was so busy! I've always thought of myself as a city boy, and I've always felt more at home in a place like London, or the city centre of my home Swansea than I have out in the middle of nowhere, but New York just seems to have too much of EVERYTHING!
Too many people,
Too many cars,
Too many places you have to cross the road,
Too many buildings,
And definitely too many Irish pubs!!
That takes me nicely to the next part of this entry.
We went out last night into Manhattan from New Jersey, because we're staying in an RV park over the river Hudson. This makes it a long trip into Manhattan, and a miserable one as we have to walk from the RV to the PATH train station in the snow. From there, once we made it into Manhattan, we didn't really feel like taking too much time to find a place to get a drink (because of the freezing snow) so we ended up in the nearest bar we could, which was an Irish pub just off Times Square. This was an experience, one of many that are yet to come I feel, which showed me how different the States are to Britain. For example, the pub had 10 huge plasma TVs all behind the bar. ALL of them behind the bar, and everyone sat at the bar watching about 4 or 5 different sports matches at a time.
Now I enjoy American sports. I love Baseball and like American football, and I find Basketball a bit dull, but the match that caught my eye from one of the screens behind the bar was something called UFC.
I've been aware that UFC was a thing for some time but never sat down and watched what happens. It's disgusting, and horrifying. You may think me squeamish for saying something like that, but UFC makes boxing look like hairdressing. Two men enter a ring and, from what I can tell, do their best to kill each other. One of the fighters I watched last night had clearly been so beaten throughout his career his nose had been flattened to his face, so he looked like Voldemort. The only time the ref ever stopped the fight to tell one of the fighters off was if they went for a crotch shot. At one point the Voldemort looking guy fell over, and his opponent jumped right on top of him, repeatedly throwing punches DIRECTLY into his face and head, while Voldemort did the same. When the ref split it up both mens' faces and chests were covered red with blood. The fight ended when Voldemort jumped on top of his opponent, and punched him as hard as he could, directly in the temple, until his opponent was completely unconcious. THIS is when the ref thought:
'OK. He's had enough!'
Voldemort then proceeded to jump up and down around the ring smiling the widest smile I've seen for a while, and patting himself on the back, while his opponent laid there, covered in blood, completely unconscious. After that I decided I needed a more gentlemanly sporting experience, so this morning Ben, Joe, and I went to watch Tottenham vs Arsenal. It was only a slightly improved atmosphere!
We went into the city, to ANOTHER Irish pub, called O'Casey's, which turned out to be a Tottenham supporters' club. Now, I don't LOVE Arsenal, but in loyalty to my friend Joseph Werker, I was secretly supporting the Gunners. This made me very tense because if any of the fans in that bar had caught wind of my loyalties I wouldn't have been very popular, or very safe! After a disappointing match the boys and I wondered around New York a bit more, but it's just too big and too cold. Maybe when we return in June I'll be more in the mood and it'll be nice and warm, but until I am eager to get out on the road!
- comments
Lizzie Mundell Perkins Cool blog G, look forward to reading more :) don't get why the map says you came from Poland though?