Hi! My name is Isaac Privett and here I am getting out into the world, exploring new things, and establishing the identity I will have for the rest of my life. I am starting this blog to inform people about the trials and tribulations of growing up in todays world and making decisions that will affect me for years to come.

Interesting Encounters of Animals vs. Humans

Well, I was out surfing blog world and stumbled on an interesting story over at Jaded Journal. It is about the actually hanging of an elephant for killing a person. It even has a picture! I know it is a very sad to read about but it made me think of a video I saw on the net. You may have seen it or you may have not but I always get a chuckle when I watch it. It is a video about a town trying to get rid of a dead, beached whale and they decide the best course of action is to blow it up. Here is a link of the video and here is a link to the site with the story. The video I linked is 11 meg so it may take a while to download.
:: American-N-Canada 11:20 AM [+] ::
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Traveling to the conference

I made it back safely from the model UN conference even though it was unknown just how we would get back. The trip was interesting in itself and part of that fun is set soley on the shoulders of the Simon's Rock administration for being totally unruly and making the trip much harder then it should have been. On a side note, I find it interesting how they provided transportation to the train station but not back... Anyway, our trip consisted of different stages. The first stage was the model UN team getting from the school to the train station 45 minutes away. Like I said the school provided that transportation thanks to a nice resident director who volunteered. That part of the trip was rather dull. We had to wake up a 4:30 am and then be outside by 5:00 am. They then shoved us into a van and we were on our way. The second stage was also really dull although I enjoyed it. That was a hour and a half train ride on the Metro North to get to Grand Central.

Here is some wise words of advice if you are hungry and are in New York City. DO NOT BUY FOOD IN GRAND CENTRAL! The price on the food there is outrageous! I spent 10 dollars on just a turkey sandwich, 2 dollars on a cookie, 8 dollars on a chicken sandwich, and 2 cans of coke for 1.10 each. For those that don't go out to eat much, you can eat at a decent restaurant for these prices. Unfortunately, I had to eat there twice.

We set out from Grand Central later that morning. We caught the subway and jumped from train to train to get to somewhere near where we were trying to go. The New York subway amazes me. Yes, it does look like it does in the movies and yes, I did see a big New York sewer rat. You can cover huger distances you would otherwise have to walk and that is no fun after you are done worrying about how cool New York City is and your feet are tired.

Anyway, we got out of the subway and that part of the journey wasn't a problem at all. We were faced with an interesting problem though. We had no idea where we were and we had no idea to get to Chinatown. Luckily we encountered what I am impressed most about New York City. In New York City almost everyone is willing to help you get to where you are going. As soon as you are looking dazed and confused some complete stranger will offer their help without being asked. New Yorkers are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Some people think they look rather "shady" but as soon as you get past the "shadiness" you will see they are just normal people. New Yorkers do have a distinct appearance that I have never seen anywhere else but I kind of like it.

One of these friendly New Yorkers helped us out immediately and pointed us in the direction of Chinatown. We started walking off in that direction and I was giddy from all the new sights and sounds that I was getting to experience. I was like a sponge trying to soak up as much as possible as we walked and walked and walked. The walking didn't bother me at all but my fellow students didn't enjoy it much. Anyone who knows me knows that I pack very light when I go anywhere. However, that was not the case for my teammates. They took more then what I do when I go home for intercession and intercession is 4-5 weeks long.

It wasn't that long before I started smelling the distinct smell of Chinese food. Unfortunately I prefer not to eat Chinese food but nonetheless, I enjoy the aroma of warm Chinese food being cooked and served. Chinatown is a very cool place. After walking in Chinatown for a while, you forget you are in the US and it feels like you are actually in China. There is Chinese writing everywhere, shops and booths set up on the sidewalk, people practicing tai chi in the park, aquariums with live fish and other things to cook and eat, and the region of New York City that is Chinatown is huge. It is big enough to be its own city.

I bet some are wondering why we were in Chinatown in the first place. Our plan was an interesting one. We planned on jumping on the Chinatown bus and have that take us to Washington D.C. We really didn't know what to expect with the Chinatown bus. We just knew that it was the only transportation that we could afford and we were going to just wing it. We also heard stories that they used to just set you on anything and take you to D.C. Even trucks full of chickens. We didn't really care. We just wanted to get there and nothing was going to stop us. Luckily for us they have gotten upgrades. We actually had a bus and it wasn't bad at all. I would also like to point out that it only costs 15 dollars to take a one way bus from New York City to Washington D.C. on the Chinatown bus. You can't beat that price anywhere. After we got on the bus it only took us 4 and a half hours to get to D.C. I am not really going to say anything about D.C. because it just wasn't interesting at all. We just jumped on the subway and took it to the hotel. Their subway is so clean and you aren't allowed to eat down there. It was an interesting trip there, but it was nothing like the trip back.
:: American-N-Canada 2:58 PM [+] ::
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