buaidh no bas

Experiencing New York City is like one big social experiment.  There are so many situations to observe and people to watch. 

Yesterday, I got to see how an entire city reacts when public transportation is almost completely shut down.  There was a huge storm the night/morning before, which resulted in no subways running and an overwhelming demand for buses and taxis.  I ended up walking from 96th St. all the way down Lexington to 34th St. On my walk I saw people yelling at others on buses because they couldn’t get on, people teaming up and sharing taxis to similar locations, people stressed out and power walking to get where they needed, and others just relaxing and accepting the siutation at hand. 

Another situation that was interesting to observe involved a rather stinky homeless man with a huge cart of dirty stuff sitting on a subway.  The second I got on the train I smelled his stench, but luckily there was a free seat far enough away from him.  As we continued on and stopped to pick up passengers the train became more crowded.  Some people would get on the train, look at him and act like he wasn’t there.  Others would board, sit down, and stare at him.  And one lady even got on, saw him, and yelled “Oh hell NO!”  She then spun around, bumping into all the people behind her, and ran off the train into a different car. 

Yet another situation that made me think, was when a huge explosion occurred in the middle of midtown Manhattan.  The news of the explosion spread quickly, but no one really knew what caused it.  I heard people on the street questioning whether it was terrorism.  I even heard one lady say to her friend, “Are we going to die?”  (a bit dramatic)  While walking through Times Square, I noticed people bonding over the situation.  Strangers were talking to other strangers while standing around watching the news on a huge screen on 42nd St. It seems that in times of crisis people are drawn together.  

With 3 days left in New York City, I’m waiting to see how many more interesting social situations I can experience.