Day 2 Part 2

Hello, my name is Sarah Saxton, and I am a sophomore at the University of Arizona Honors College. My major is currently English so I am extremely excited about the literature focus of this study abroad trip. Carrie has already given a bit of detailed information about our tour of the Tenement Museum this morning so I will be discussing the latter half of the day. Many of us explored the lower east side after the museum tour including China Town. The middle of the day was spent furthering our subway system education; it truly is like an entirely different city to navigate below the street level.

This evening the main event a trip to the theater, specifically The Trip to Bountiful. It was a play about an elderly woman, Mrs. Carrie Watts who insists on visiting her hometown, Bountiful, one last time in her life to the chagrin of her son and daughter in law. The play explored the differences between the older, rural generation and the city dwelling new generation, and the value of a person's roots. This definitely resonated with me exploring a new city with a completely different atmosphere and society. In some ways I miss the clear open air of Tucson, Arizona, the place I grew up in. However, a lot of the busy pace and the many new and exciting things we have already run into in the short time we have been in this amazing city have the appeal of progress and modernity.

My group concluded the night with a walk in the Times Square area and watching a spray paint artist and having desert at a bakery. The spray paint artist was especially exciting and skilled even though it seemed that all of his motions were careless until we saw the final product of the New York City skyline against the moon. It just goes to show amazing moments in this city are hardly ever planned.

Learning the subway system

The only group who used the subway to reach the theater after a spontaneous torrential downpour

The Trip to Bountiful theater night

The theater and play background

Exploring the area (New York Stonehenge)