This is the second day for us to be staying at NY. Just like normal, we woke up early and went downstairs for breakfast. After eating some food, we waited in the lobby until the bus comes to pick is up, and it did on time. I got on the bus fast and sat down in the back quickly and quietly, well, today was the sixth day of the trip, halfway through already, and I was kinda tired. So I fell asleep on the bus again...
After about 10 minutes or so, we arrived the port for the ship, yep, the ship took us from NYC to the Library Island, where the Statue of Liberty stands. I started taking pictures from really far away because it was my first time seeing the real Statue of Liberty. For about 5 minutes, we arrived. We got off the ship, our director counted us, then we just rushed into the park. And just like other places I've been, they were plenty of immigrants from all around the world because they speak different languages. Also, it shows a really high connection between the United States and the world. With more and more people coming in, more communications, more understanding, and more peaceful.
We didn't stay for too long on the island, because we had to move to another place: Ellis Island. Back to the 1700s- 1800s, thousands of Irish groups entered Ellis Island as Irish immigrants. As an immigrant myself, I think it was very important that I know more about immigration and how their life was like back in those days, because without their struggling, there's no way I can be standing here with full and equal rights.
After touring Ellis Island, we went to Wall St. It was so crowded with different groups of people taking pictures of the bull at the same time... It was also funny to watch how they rushed in and take pictures then leave. Anyway, we walked closed to the 9/11 memorial, first we had some lunch, then we went to see the reflection pool. Just like the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, their were few symbolic similarities. For example: the survivor tree, the pool, and the stone, symbolizing the strength of life and liberty.
After seeing the memorial, we walked around in NYC and went back to Time Square for food and shopping, then it was my favorite part of the day: Empire State Building. I looked down at the city, trying to find everything and everywhere I've been, but there were too many, and it started getting colder and colder. So I went inside and then we left. After the Empire State Building, we went back to the hotel... I was so tired. So I just fell asleep.