Historic New York and Its Diversity

New York City has always been an example of how diversity can exist in a successful and peaceful place. Full of action, enthusiasm, and a combination of many cultures, New York is rich in every sense of the word. For example, taking a walk down the busy streets not only opens your eyes to the small but meaningful details of the city and the different people that revive it but also the numerous worlds that are somehow fused in this magical city, like Little Italy, Chinatown, Little Syria, Korea Town, and many others.
Following the steps of the Dutch who first came to Lower Manhattan, we embarked on the Staten Island Ferry on Sunday, Nov. 10, and we could see one of the world’s most famous figures: The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French to the U.S. that was put in such a strategic and historic place. The view of the green icon from the boat that was transporting passengers from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan, with the skyline of New Jersey in the background, and New York to our right, was a delightful experience. Not one person on the ferry was like the other, one could see people from all over the world, joined together and representing New York’s diversity, trying to relive the same experience that the Dutch had centuries ago. Some people take this ride every day for work; others were simply tourists or inhabitants of the New York metropolitan area.
The arrival to Manhattan was like an entry to a whole new world: from the sea, its breezes, color, and landscapes, to the heart of the city beating louder than ever at the Whitehall Terminal. I could smell New York’s bagels in Battery Park with a mixture of the most relaxing scents: the coffee people were holding while walking down the streets, the old walls of Castle Clinton ...

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... who settled on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where we could see packs of books telling the stories and experiences of past immigrants. I felt the rush and the excitement that characterize the city, but I also couldn’t get enough of the multiple cultures in New York. One would spend days and weeks in the “City that Never Sleeps” but still, it would take many more to truly experience every aspect of it or understand how the diverse ethnicities were able to survive and succeed there.
Every culture left a mark of its quality on New York’s buildings that change over time: some are old, some are new, some are tall, and some are small. They might have a lot in common, but not one building is like the other. Diversity is what makes New York.
That bull I touched at the beginning of our trip actually provided me with luck to enjoy our day in New York, in the city at its best!