As she stepped off the glowing red stairs she looked around her. Shelooked at all the lights and the different faces of the people that were surrounding her. There were so many colors everywhere and she felt the diversity in this place as she listened. In one ear she heard German being spoken by a tall pale man to his wife. In her other ear she heard a Chinese language being spoken by a mother with her two children. She tried to listen to all of their conversations even though there was no way for her to comprehend them. She was still interested.The people all around her were different. Two were not the same.

     Her dad held my hand tightly as she stared up at the lights above her. Their brightness made it hard not to keep her eyes off of them. Staring up as she walked, she bumped into all the crowds around her. These signs were advertising broadway shows being performed a couple streets down and restaurants and stores in the area. The advertisements amazed them all, when usually seeing advertising would cause their heads to turn away. These lights caught their gaze. Her eyes stared with wonder as she read each and every one of them, processing them in her head. The more she focused the more she could see each individual pixel of color that was making up the brilliant signs. The colors danced across the screen making a story and she felt as if she were a part of it.

     She could feel warmth on her skin but nothing like the warmth from home. It was a warmth that suddenly made her sweat without her realizing . She felt sweat form on her forehead as they walked around and pretty soon it started to fall down in rivers on  her face. She looked over at her brother and he was dripping in sweat, his t-shirt had sweat marks around his neck and leading down his back. Her dad looked the same. Although they were all overheated with humidity they were never used to, they could hardly notice as they were exploring the wonders of a place they were all new in. 

      She could smell multiple scents in the area, some intrigued her and others told her to stay away. Vendors lined the streets selling foods from all across the world. Foods she had never tasted before or even heard of. One guy selling hot dogs had a line of people waiting to get a chance to order. His hotdogs were a big deal here. He called out names and one by one people came out to retrieve their famous hotdogs.

      She watched people crossing the street without waiting for the light to tell them to do so. They looked to their right and then to their left in hopes a car wouldn't come speeding at them and collide with their bodies. They don’t have fear on their faces as they did this daily. She couldn’t think of crossing a street like that without a street light as protection. The chances of them getting hit by a car were slim considering traffic is only flowing at a speed of five miles per hour. Some of them are actually catching taxis by raising their hands and waving the taxi driver down just as you see in the movies. They hopped into the car telling the driver they were only going four blocks and they could’ve walked there faster. They were all moving fast around us as she stood with her family in the middle of all the havoc. Some at a running speed trying to get to wherever they are heading on time. Heels clicking on the stairs on the way down to the subway as the women on their way to work are dressed nicely to sit on the rat infested train. After all, it might be the cheapest and fastest way to get around in this city. Her feet went down the steep stairs leading her to the stands where they would swipe a paper card and move through metal bars leading them in.

     The subway arrived and everyone got on. People dressed in all types of clothing boarded the train. One woman caught my eye as she was dressed in the red Chanel suit released in 1975. Another man in a suit but less fancy and definitely less expensive. There was a man with a blue hat sitting on the floor in front of him that had the Yankees logo stitched into it. He had been leaning on a pillar playing guitar for what looked like could’ve been his whole life. As people boarded the train, they dropped the change in the bottoms of their pockets in his hat as they appreciated his music and enjoyed his entertainment as they waited. Her dad handed her a dollar and motioned towards the man playing the guitar. She bent down and placed the dollar in his blue Yankees hat. The man looked up and gave her a sweet smile. She knew this place was special and the people were kind. She knew she would be back soon.