By Hannah Marcus

Today was a very relaxing day. After a late wake up we made our way to Central Park. The Ingbers and my parents brought us some brunch. We then relaxed at the park and listened to David Ippolito, known as That Guitar Man in Central Park. It was so relaxing and everyone enjoyed it. He plays many classic rock songs. We also walked to Strawberry Fields, a small park dedicated by Yoko Ono after John Lennon was shot and killed.

We then jumped on the subway and made our way to the Lower East Side. Billy gave us a history lesson on the neighborhood and how our ancestors moved to this area and many sold things from carts to make a living. We also learned about tenements and how they lived in the Lower East Side. We also explored Chinatown and Little Italy and ended on Canal Street. We had time to go shopping and bargain with the shop owners.

After a New York pizza dinner, we went to see the new Broadway musical, “In The Heights”. It touched on the subject of gentrification, something we have spoken about many times, and how it affects the residents. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

When we got back to the hotel we discussed the answer to Billy’s question from a few days ago, when we saw “Avenue Q”, which was what does it mean to leave your apartment. We came to the conclusion that it essentially means to leave your safety zone and try new things and that there is much life out there but you have to go out and live it. It does not come to you.