Friends in Unexpected Places

They said that New Yorkers are rude, unfriendly, and callous. They said to keep moving, keep your head down, don’t talk too much to people.

I was nervous to take my first steps out of the airport. I didn’t know if I was going to take a Lyft, a taxi, or the train in to Manhattan. Lyft was going to cost over $100, so train it was. Google told me to catch the AirTrain and then transfer to the subway. I had no idea where to go.

I wandered around a bit. People rushed by all around me. Finally, I caught the eye of a small woman wearing a headscarf. I recognized her from my flight. I took a chance and asked if she would mind helping me find my way.

It turns out we were heading in the same direction, and she went out of her way to lead me from one train to the next and make sure I knew how to buy and use a metro card and that I got on the correct train and got off at the correct stop. She was such a nice person and meeting her was a great way to start my adventure here.

She definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. I heard so many things about New Yorkers that made them seem cold hearted with an every man for himself mentality. I’m not going to try and make friends with everyone I see, but meeting her made me feel a lot better about moving through the city on my own for a few days.

Maddy Kinsella 5/4/19