Waking up was the hardest part, but once I got that out of the way this morning, I was okay to take on the day, or so I thought. At around ten this morning, the Columbia cohort met up to walk through Central Park through Strawberry Fields and go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the Subway we walked to Starbucks for breakfast to Central Park to the Met. We was finally made it and it was huge! And, you can guess it, a huge museum requires a huge amount of walking. Even though I'm keen to complain about the walk, I honestly think Central Park is stunning. It did not feel like being in the center of loud, smelly, constantly moving New York, but more like the Santa Cruz trails like back in California. It was beautiful and I envy the people who can visit it everyday.
Once we arrived at the Met, I was expecting it to be like any other museum: paintings, a few sculptures, and a food court. I'm starting to love being proved wrong. The Met is immense, beautiful, and full of life! Every single exhibit is fantastic and included at least 50 pieces from that time period and culture. Ancient Greece and Rome were my favorites because I love that culture (give me some pita bread!) and the artifacts presented were real beauties, each with individual stories. I wasn't expecting to stay the entire day, but we all ended staying from the morning until closing.
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| A part of the Ancient Egypt exhibit |
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| A repaired Ancient Greek statue |
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| A Buddha statue from the 11th century |
By the end of the the excursion I definitely felt worn out, but it was completely worth it because every exhibit at the Met is captivating, including the food cart "exhibit" in front of the museum steps. It turns out that the days that wear me out the most are the ones most worth it and I think that everyone in the Columbia cohort can agree.
Aside from all the fun things I am experiencing, I am starting to wonder where my place here at Columbia is. I am not homesick, but I am trying to feel a part of this cool community more which I didn't expect to be so difficult a week ago. Meeting new people everyday is a different story than developing connections with them. New York is a crazy and slightly intimidating place, but I hope I will find my way within Columbia and broaden that to my adventures in the city this week.
I'm glad you loved the Met as much as I did! I'm hoping to go back and see more of it. I was so happy that you suggested the Greek and Roman rooms, I'm fascinated with that culture as well. Did you know that Ancient Greece had the first theaters? The oldest plays come from that time and many are still done today.
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