Although I do consider myself a native New Yorker, there are so many things that I never knew about this fine city. For example, as we read the various pieces and watch the various videos in class, there are many landmarks which should seem so familiar to New Yorkers, yet are so foreign. I have heard about Housten St. and Marks Place but I have never been fortunate to know where they are or actually see them… Until last thursday.
Right after class on thursday my father called me to tell me he is in the city and he wants to meet me so he can drive me home. He told me he is near me, downtown, and I should go to Grand St. to a place called Jodamo clothing. I figured it would be a quick and easy walk to this seemingly fancy italian clothing place (just based on the name). However, because of my lack of knowledge of the city I opened my app on the iPhone and it said that I was about 12 minutes away. As I made my way downtown on this never ending walk (I realized that the 12 minutes was for a car, not a walk…) I passed places that we had literally just mentioned in class. I passed Housten St., Marks Place, and all of those self sufficient neighborhoods with a supermarket, deli, dry cleaner, shoe shine, on every single corner for the ~25 blocks. I was also able to pass by a famous bagel store called Russ & Daughters, which is actually a customer of my father.
To make the story even better, when I finally got to Jodamo clothing, the “fine Italian clothing store,” I realized it was actually a bunch of Hassidic Jews. Shocked! That was the only expression I had. Well, not only was it Hassidic Jews, they were very dressed up in fancy clothing, and for those people who understand mens fashion, they were carrying brands like Brioni, Zenga, Brooks Brothers, Varci, and other top name brands in their store that you won’t find in your local Marshalls or TJ Maxx.
This whole experience (which took place all under an hour) put perspective on the locations and landmarks that we actually talk about in class. Also, it further expanded the idea that everything crazy happens in the city, and even though I thought I knew a lot about the city as a commuter, there is still so much that I don’t know, and have to learn. Luckily, I was also able to take home a suit for the upcoming holiday!
