Becoming a New Yorker, yet Behaving like a Tourist

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, a British journalist, novelist, and poet once wrote, "The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."

I had to reread that quote once again to understand what it means. To be honest, I thought that was awesome once I understood the meaning. I deeply wish I could travel so much that when I come back home, it would feel like foreign land to me. I think that's the whole concept of enjoying life. Many people find ways to enjoy life with the wrong things, but if you're going to spend your money on something, why not make it worth your while? When I was sightseeing New York City, I walked like a New Yorker, and I kinda behaved like one too. Yet, when it was time to take pictures, my behavior became like a typical tourist. I was taking pictures, and I was super excited.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 was a fantastic day! Biju Achen and I went to the city, and he was busy from about 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM there, so he told me to go sightseeing by myself. I willingly agreed, and I had a remarkable time. It was a lot of walking, but I liked that. I got to see Times Square, and I thought it was so glamorous. I wished I could have seen it at night. I happened to catch a guy playing sitar and another guy playing the tablas and performing very well. After this, I went to the UN Building. Some might call me a nerd and ask why it is that I went to the UN Building when there is so much more to see in New York. To be clear, I'm not a nerd, but I am crazy about history. I love history, and I love landmarks like this. To see all the flags of the country that are part of the UN flying next to one another really fascinated me. After this, I went to my last sight of the day, which was the Ground Zero site. When I was on my way there, I had to stop and ask a crossing guard for directions. She pointed me along the right way, but she also told me that going to that area really creeps her out. There is a different atmosphere there, and I must say, I agree with her. Ten years later, and it is still weird to not see those two huge buildings. I got to go through their 9/11 Memorial Site and see the timeline. There is construction going on over there. I wished I could have seen Rockefeller Center, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and more. None the less, it was still a great experience.

Today, June 22, 2011, we had the Lord's Tent Bible Study, and it's been the same group of guys that attend every week, but they are a great group to study the Word with. We covered all of Ephesians 1 today. I hope their Bible Studies continue to grow as well.

There's not much else to post today. Keep praying for me!

"The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

-Psalm 121:7-8 (NIV)