Day Numero Dos

The second day at Providence was just awesome. It was my first time riding AMTRAK and at first I was a bit nervous. As I entered the train, I noticed that it was just like a much better and neater BART. The seats were very comfortable and the service was great; just like a real train station. Andrew and I were playing cards to pass some of the 3 hour travel time away. Eventually, I got through it somehow.

My first experience of New York wasn't the high skyrises or the busy streets, but the smell and sight of a crowded subway. I was totally astonished by the chaos and mass movement within the small subways. We amazingly navigated through the treacherous paths and found Columbia University. At first, I saw Columbia University as another one of those top tier colleges. After attending the informational meeting, my opinion of Columbia was dramatically changed. I learned that Columbia has a really flexible schedule depending on what you want to pursue. Also, students have many opportunities to get internships and to participate in research groups. The location of Columbia gives its students many benefits in its neighborhood. One thing I found interesting was the point system in which students use points stored on their id cards to purchase food both inside and outside the university. Pretty neat. After today, I would highly consider Columbia as a university in which I would attend, especially the prominent engineering sector.

Times Square was the highlight of today. This was what I was waiting for while traveling through New York, the epitome of today's adventure. And it was what I expected. Crowdy streets, small shops selling "I ♥ NY" souvenirs, high rise buildings, and the famous NASDAQ electronic banner. I was just in awe as I strolled down the streets searching for the Cash Cab. The sights were just superb. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures. Gotta sleep.