After arriving at Penn Station in NYC on the evening of Friday, August 15, 2014, after a cross-country journey from Portland, Oregon, Fulbright-MTP Participants spent the weekend in New York City.
From left to right, Alyas Widita, Ammar Mohammed, Silvia Tijo, Jennifer Connor (IIE Staff), Anser Shaukat and Katie Nikolaeva, upon their arrival at Penn Station in NYC at the end of the MTP journey. Photo by Tyler Metcalfe, National Geographic Traveler.
In the words of Alyas Widita, a Fulbright Foreign Student from Indonesia:
The day was bright, the weather was nice — a beautiful day in New York greeted the Millennial Trains Project participants and staff the day after our 10-day train journey across the country arrived in New York City. It seemed like the momentum was just so perfect: MTP’s journey concluded with, what felt like, the most beautiful day in the year. Shimmering facades of New York’s skyscrapers as we approached the city further articulated the brightness and beauty of the day.
Ammar, fellow Fulbrighter from Yemen, suggested we visit the Statue of Liberty. At first, I was hesitant because I always thought that the statue was too touristy and we might have to spend half of our day in line waiting for the ferry. However, given the momentum I felt in having just completed a cross-country journey, complemented with the beauty of the day, I nodded to Ammar’s offer. Later, Lindsay Patross, MTP Community Director, and Silvia Tijo, fellow Fubrighter from Colombia, also said yes.
We went to the Statue by subway from Columbus Circle. The MTA subway line 1 conveniently connects the 59th St – Columbus Circle station to South Ferry station, the nearest station to the ferry terminal to the Statue of Liberty. As expected, by the time we approached the ferry departure points, the line was crowded with many people who had a similar thought as us: seize the beauty of the day and visit New York City’s landmark. However; as I had friends with me, waiting in line was not an issue. Plus, the location of the ferry terminal is surrounded with a gorgeous park, making the view of buildings behind clusters of trees and the atmosphere of the location a bit similar to my favorite place in the city, Bryant Park, adjacent to New York Public Library.