doc w/ Pen

journalist + medical student + artist

Tag: New York City

August 24, 2015

Exploring NYC: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of my favorite destinations in my former home-city. So I knew it wouldn’t be long before I visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art (“The Met”) to see what it has to offer. I was not disappointed.

Monet is famous for his studies of this bridge overlooking water lilies.

I quickly found The Met’s Impressionist galleries—a favorite of mine at the Art Institute—and felt right at home amid the masterpieces by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Seurat, and others. Monet is known for creating a series of paintings of the same setting—haystacks, cliffs, a bridge overlooking water lilies for example—but painting them at different times of day or seasons to capture various effects of light and other environmental cues. It was fascinating to see the same subject as I’d seen at the Art Institute, but painted in a slightly different way. Like seeing an old friend who’s wearing a different expression on her face.

I wandered through the galleries until I came to a special exhibit called “China: Through the Looking Glass.” According to The Met’s website, in this exhibit “high fashion is juxtaposed with Chinese costumes, paintings, porcelains, and other art, including films, to reveal enchanting reflections of Chinese imagery.” The exhibit was breathtaking. Here are some photos I took.

In contrast to the very new haute couture, I also saw Assyrian relief scupltures that dated as far back as 800 B.C. That’s nearly 3,000 years old! What a feeling to be in the same room as something that ancient.

In the couple of hours I was at The Met, I saw only a fraction of the collection. I can’t wait to go back.

 

August 23, 2015

Exploring NYC: Central Park

The 843-acre Central Park is nestled among New York City skyscrapers, which peek out above the trees. Inside the park though, you almost forget you’re in a city at all.

It was gorgeous yesterday—sunny but not too hot or humid; just right for exploring my new surroundings on foot. The famed Central Park is less than a mile from my dorm, so that was my first destination. According to Wikipedia and the travel blog EF Explore America (and we know everything on the Internet is accurate, right?), this 843-acre park boasts:

  • 29 sculptures
  • 7 bodies of water
  • 25,000 trees
  • 235 species of birds
  • 136 acres of woodlands
  • 250 acres of lawns
  • 58 miles of walkways

Walking in Central Park …

Whether these numbers are completely accurate, the takeaway is this: Central Park is a big place, with lots of cool stuff to see and do. For example, I’m hoping to take in one of the free movies in the park before the close of summer—the perfect activity for a broke medical student.

And the truth is, facts can’t capture Central Park. As I walked along the paths, I was awed by the park’s enormity. In the midst of the largest city in the United States, people have a place where they can share a picnic lunch under the shade of a century-old tree, bird-watch, read a favorite book on a sunny bench, and play frisbee. When I need a break from the hustle and bustle, this will be a great place to unwind.

One of the mini lakes in Central Park, where people were sailing small boats on the Saturday afternoon I visited.

August 14, 2015

Embracing Change

Chicago skyline

For nearly a quarter century, the Chicago area has been my home. When I think “city,” in my mind I see a skyline like the one in the picture above. Navy Pier, Sears Tower (I’ll never be able to call it “Willis Tower”), Michigan Avenue, Art Institute, Field Museum, Millennium Park, Prudential Building, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago. And that just scratches the surface of the places I’ve worked and played over the years.

But as they say, the only constant in life is change. So I’m going to have to get used to calling another city home: New York City. Thus, this will be my skyline for at least the next four years:

New York City skyline

Clearly, there are key differences. New York City proper has more people than reside in the Chicago city limits (about 8.5 million compared to 2.7 million). There are different bodies of water, different landmarks, a different train system, different types of pizza. These differences will require adjustment on my part, of course, and there will be some uneasiness at first. I’m sure there will be days when I long for Chicago — Lake Michigan, the John Hancock Building, the El, and deep dish from Lou Malnati’s (with butter crust, of course). But I fully believe that before long, I will look lovingly at the East River and the Empire State Building. I’ll board the subway without trepidation. I may even be able to stomach New York-style pizza.

Change is scary, and it’s hard. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But change is also good. It brings about new growth, opportunities, relationships, and interests.

The way I see it, I’m not leaving Chicago behind. I’m merely adding New York City to my repertoire.

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August 6, 2015

Learning to Live Without a Car

Knowing that cell phone service is less than certain amid skyscrapers, not to mention the threat of my battery dying, I thought buying maps would be prudent. These Streetwise maps, which are laminated, got great reviews on Amazon.com. One covers Manhattan, one covers the multitude of transit options (NYC subway, Long Island Railroad, etc.), and the other exclusively covers the Manhattan subway.

In 2003, just after graduating from college, I bought my first car. I’ve owned one ever since. My car hasn’t been my only means of transportation though – while working at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I commuted on the El (short for “elevated train”), and have often taken the train into the city rather than fight traffic and pay $30 to park. But taking the train or bus to work is different than taking the train or bus to buy groceries, which is what I will be doing while living in Manhattan. The thought is a little nerve-wracking – that there will be no trunk, no back seat, to haul stuff in. No immediate wheels. No straight shot to where I’m headed. Add to that the complexity of the New York City transit system, and it’s overwhelming. I remind myself that I survived taking the bus everywhere (and not having a car) for five months when I lived in Chile during college, and that was in a foreign country where I had to speak a foreign language. So I can certainly do it in New York. Because as foreign as NYC might seem at times, I’m still on home soil. And soon enough, NYC will come to be my home too.

I’m especially excited about the foldable subway map.