I know that innumerable people go to New York, even more to the USA, and there are several stories and blogs out there sharing one unique experience after another. But. This is not a travelogue, this does not describe the sites. This simply puts a perspective of a simple Indian girl on a trip to the US during the time of the pandemic.
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Yes, I went to New York.
The famous Brooklyn bridge and the Manhattan skyline! |
To start with, whoever has spoken with me in the past year knows that I was very excited and it took so much effort to get the visa (as it usually takes, but more during the pandemic). So we will not repeat that, this story starts after getting the visa. The whole idea behind going to the US came to be in the picture because there was this unique conference in my specific field celebrating 50 years of the discovery of empirical formula, so it will mostly not happen again. I really really wanted to go and share my work. I got a talk too, so all set with the visa, my work and presentations to go to the conference.
I started anticipating my first-ever conference in person. How will I present my elevator pitch and how will the other PhDs, researchers and professors be? Will I be able to create my standing there? How good am I? Obviously, I have a tiny bit of imposter syndrome. It started to kick in as I was preparing for this trip. Little did I know that these stresses would be of the least concern and I had some unanticipated distress (read: disaster) coming my way.
This was the worst timing. Most of the people in my office had gotten covid 19 in recent times and escaped that. As my body was getting very tired and I had to sleep most (read: all) the time, I started thinking in spirals. Why didn't I get covid when everyone got it, then this would not have happened, I thought. I know, this was not helpful, but I couldn't help myself but wonder what was Her plan for me. First, it was a lot of effort to get the visa appointment, and approval, and now just a couple days left to travel and this happened. I was at a record low emotionally, and cooking healthy food that will make me recover faster, eating it and then getting unbelievably tired by doing chores for half an hour was not helping my mental state. I knew I had to get out of this slumber somehow. And that was the American dream for me (I know this is not the correct use of the expression, but why not!)
My roommate and one of my friends here took care of me remotely. Made food for me occasionally and gave me some warm homemade remedies which worked wonders. My parents, over the phone and friends, were a constant support. I took the advice of a family friend who is an experienced doctor (shoutout to Vijaykaka) who prescribed me multivitamins, and fever medicine and told me that I will be able to recover in mere three days from this 'minor' inconvenience. I trusted him, kept on working whenever I can and packed. But. For travelling, one needs to have a negative covid 19 test result. We are in the pandemic era, and we can't forget that. How was I supposed to get a negative result when I was symptomatic?
Apparently, there is something called a 'recovery certificate'. It is for people like me, who contracted covid, showed some minor symptoms, recovered recently, and are not contagious, but cannot show a negative test result as the body takes a while to get rid of all the antigens, and antibodies. So. I went to the doctor (twice) to get confirmation of recovery and that I was no longer contagious. Finally 15 hours before the flight, I got the certificate and I was going to the US to share my science!
The work part of the trip
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| With new friends: Flatirons from Boulder in the background |
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After reaching Frankfurt (with double masks) and going through immigration I finally boarded the plane. (There's a funny story there, but I guess not here!) The whole journey was just for me to ground myself and recover fully (not to mention the two-masks rule!). I had an amazing mentor with me who also gave me tips on how to do better networking and helped me finalise the presentation.
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| Rainbow on top of the Brooklyn bridge |
The conference was from the field that I like, the talks were good and as it was a small conference, it was less overwhelming. I presented my work with confidence and made some close acquaintances. I would say it was a really good first international conference experience. Even though I was in recovery, I was jetlagged and overwhelmed with Fahrenheit, miles and pounds system locally, it was a very pleasant
experience.
Meanwhile, the friends I was supposed to meet rightfully told me to find another accommodation (I just had had covid! They are living alone in another country as well!). So I asked my cousin and he agreed. I was testing myself with the self-test every day. Some days it was negative, some positive. So I was still fighting the beast.
Sightseeing in NYC
So. Took a flight from Denver to NY and met my cousin after 3 years or so! It was such an amazing feeling to see someone who will be there unconditionally and not be judgemental and just be there. It had been a really long since I spent time with my family. Truly, family is family.
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| The roads between the skyscrapers |
Anyhow. So I went to his place and the next day we started roaming around in the greatest city in the world! The first day was to see the Manhattan part of the city. We went to Central Park, and roamed around a little bit there. Then went to midtown, Saw the iconic Times Square, the Grand Central station, the church and the Bull! This part of the city is gigantic. It is huge beyond my imagination. I could not have imagined how it is before seeing it in person.
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| The Grand Central Station |
The impressions that I had from before were mostly true. The city is extremely cosmopolitan. It has really all kinds of people and cultures and it felt like a dystopian dream. In a good way. Also, the property of the streets, buildings and landscapes, in general, being enormous transcends everything: the shops, food portions, groceries, and whatnot. Everything is giant. I felt like a tiny spec on the Earth. Which I am, But in other places, that realisation is not this direct. New York did that to me. It made me realise that it's okay to be a work in progress forever. That is how I am meant to be.
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| The Times Square! |
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| The charging bull |
Diversions later. The next day was more informational. I wanted to visit the Smithsonian. We decide to go for a walk on the legendary Brooklyn bridge. It was crowded with tourists. The stark difference between the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn skyline is clearly seen. I felt connected to this landmark more than I anticipated. I had seen this bridge in so many movies, series and books, that I immediately connected. This is where Andrew Garfield Spiderman confesses to his MJ!
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A Geodesic rock.
The biggest of its kind! |
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| On the busy Brooklyn bridge. |
Fangirling aside, after the bridge, we went to the Natural History Museum to meet our ancestors! There's so much collection in the museum! From different kinds of rocks to different kinds of flora and fauna throughout history. The exhibition about the history of the universe would remain closest to my heart. We spent quite a lot of time looking at the rocks and bones and reading their history. But eventually, we had to come out and move forward.
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With the T Rex
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The next destination was the Empire State Building. The city looks exceptional from the top of this skyscraper. It is creditable that this building is built in the 1930s and still stands tall. Also, the calming view from the top deck is unexpectedly meditative. Before this visit, I never believed that a city busting with life and chaos can be equally calming from a distance (vertical, though). Luckily we went there at the time of dusk, so we saw the view in daylight, during sunset and at the night. It was mesmerising. It was windy, it was filled with tourists, and it was chaotic, still, we could not make ourselves leave sooner. Nonetheless, we clicked so many pictures and maybe because we hadn't eaten in a while, we went to the Sarvana Bhavan for a well-deserved dinner.
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In conversation with one of the workers who
built the Empire State Building. |
At the restaurant, we met a couple friends from back in India. We met after three years and we were planning to roam around together. But we know what happened, so let's not get into that again. So. We ate and talked and clicked pictures together, and then parted ways as the weekend was over and everyone had to go back to work!
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| Pallavi, Sneha, Parita and Chinmay |
On the last day in new york, I wanted to visit another iconic site: the Statue of Liberty. I took the public transport ferry to Staten Islands and as I saw the islands going away from me, I could spot this tall statue with a flame in its hand. The huge skyscrapers were looking tiny from the sea. It's all about the perspective. Life's fragile, like a butterfly, and rightfully so. We were worried about my health a few minutes ago, and now we are in awe of this city which has so much to offer, from the cultures, languages, foods, people and sights.
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| As we go away from the city: Manhattan |
I roamed around a little bit on Staten island. It has the vibe of any other city. It is very close to the city of New York but still keeps its separate identity. On the other hand, the New York vibe that Brooklyn has to offer is more rustic or retro. It has so much graffiti, many more small shops and cute houses. I believe I need not spawn more words about Manhattan. It is iconic by itself: the tall skyscrapers, the roads, the yellow taxis and the always-in-hurry people! I did not have enough time to roam around in these burrows more and grasp the city better. Nonetheless, the city gave me a lot.
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| The statue of liberty: high and tall |
I had my flight back in the evening. And luckily, the day before I tested negative on the RT-PCR so that I could travel back (really sad to come back to the real world!). So I bid my goodbyes and took the metro to JFK and flew away from this city of grandiose. This trip proved to me, that no matter what happens, I am going to be fine. And what else do I need?
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