Our first class finally arrived, and I was extremely excited about starting off in my hometown, Queens. I thought I would know almost every spot, and perhaps join our instructors in the guided tour. Boy was I wrong.!
We hoped on the 7 train and met up with the class at Citi Field. Once we met up we walked to our first stop,
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. I have only been to this park once, when I was younger. However hearing the history behind this park and finally appreciating the Unisphere so closely (700,000 lbs of steel!), completely changed my perspective on this park. As I heard Mike inform us that the park used to be a dump, I was a bit in shock as I looked around and saw how they had fixed it up so nicely. In the 1920s large amounts of trash arrived daily from Brooklyn, making it look dantesque (BG p.497) Luckily for this area, Robert Moses transformed the dump into an area suitable for the 1939-1940 World's Fair. (BG p. 497). Hearing the history behind the World's Fair is quite interesting, because it was an enormous clash of culture and technology.
Next up on our Queens excursion was the
Queens Museum of Art , a short walk from Flushing Meadows. First off I was a bit embarrassed at the fact that I have basically lived all my life in Queens and have never visited QMA! My favorite part of the museum was the New York Panorama. I have been missing out on this beautiful masterpiece for quite a while. It is model for the city, and includes all the boroughs, even Staten Island!. It is amazing at the number of buildings this model contains, and the precise locations of each. My favorite part of the visit was the tour guide we had, she gave us so much information on the Panorama, and included fun facts all through out the way. The Panorama contains 895,00 buildings (BG p. 497), and more are added very easily as our tour guide explained!.
Our third stop of the day was Jackson Heights! We hopped back on the 7 train and a few stops later arrived at Little India. Possibly one of the most diverse train rides ever, the 7 train also known as the "International Express" can leave you in so many different ethnic communities (BG p. 493). We were in Flushing, a predominantly Asian community and arrived in Jackson Heights, where Little India, Little Columbia, and many other Little communities have gathered. We went to Jackson Dinner, and the food was delicious! I could not help myself and had to get up for seconds! My favorite was curry chicken, and the rice! I will definitely show this spot to my friends and make it my mission to come back! Jackson Heights seems to be an excellent place to go to when your in the mood for ethnic food!
After our delicious lunch, we where Astoria bound! My favorite part of our Queens adventure has to be our visit to the
Museum of Moving Image. It is still a shock to me that Astoria was the place to be if you where filming movies. It was the center of the film-making industry, when the Famous Players- Lasky Corporation was one of the nations most important studios (BG P. 499). I loved this museum! It was such a great learning experience to finally be able to visit this famous attraction. Their exhibit titled
Behind the Screen shows us the entire process of filming a movie. I enjoyed reading each description and looking at the old school material film producers had to work with! The technological advances that have been made in the film industry are amazing and they seem to keep improving by the years. I loved seeing instruments used in one of my favorite movie, Men in Black! The doll used in the exorcist movie was also an interesting site to see. I appreciated the step by step process the exhibit explained, such as wardrobe and makeup, these are things that seem quite simple but in fact are very complicated processes!
After our visit in Astoria, we hoped back on the train and continued our voyage into Long Island City. I knew little about Long Island City, other than its quite close to Manhattan. However Long island City is quite industrious and is known for housing contemporary art (BG p.495). We visited a famous location that I have always wanted to go to:
5Pointz. I have only seen 5Pointz from the train, but seeing it up close and personal was a totally different experience. The art on those walls are inspiring and breathtaking. My favorite was the Batman graffiti, it looks as if it was portrayed in the artist perspective. Each artist in 5Pointz is free to do whatever they desire, without getting arrested or reprimanded. That is the beauty of this exhibit, freedom and creativity. All the styles, colors, and designs used by the artists at 5Pointz where quite a site to see. I would love to come back to this exhibit, just to see the new art work and creativity of these skilled artist.
Our last stop in Queens was
Gantry Plaza State Park, a relaxing ending to this long day. I finally got to see the Coca Cola Sign! It is a beautiful park, with an excellent view of the city. The breeze was lovely, and being next to the East River was a cool experience. I enjoyed this park and took plenty of pictures! It is an excellent place for a picnic, or just for a nap on the grass. I was tired but happy to say I survived my first NYC experience class, and I'm ready for many more adventures!
After our visit in Astoria, we hoped back on the train and continued our voyage into Long Island City. I knew little about Long Island City, other than its quite close to Manhattan. However Long island City is quite industrious and is known for housing contemporary art (BG p.495). We visited a famous location that I have always wanted to go to: 5Pointz. I have only seen 5Pointz from the train, but seeing it up close and personal was a totally different experience. The art on those walls are inspiring and breathtaking. My favorite was the Batman graffiti, it looks as if it was portrayed in the artist perspective. Each artist in 5Pointz is free to do whatever they desire, without getting arrested or reprimanded. That is the beauty of this exhibit, freedom and creativity. All the styles, colors, and designs used by the artists at 5Pointz where quite a site to see. I would love to come back to this exhibit, just to see the new art work and creativity of these skilled artist.
Our last stop in Queens was Gantry Plaza State Park, a relaxing ending to this long day. I finally got to see the Coca Cola Sign! It is a beautiful park, with an excellent view of the city. The breeze was lovely, and being next to the East River was a cool experience. I enjoyed this park and took plenty of pictures! It is an excellent place for a picnic, or just for a nap on the grass. I was tired but happy to say I survived my first NYC experience class, and I'm ready for many more adventures! 
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