NY Trip

Over the Term 1 holidays a group of 35 students embarked on an enriching and eye-opening experience to New York. Ten packed days of sightseeing, workshops, food, tours and musicals left everyone excited, educated and exhausted.

We arrived on a warm evening and, after a short walk from our accommodation, we had a picnic dinner in Bryant Park. We got out first taste of the magic of Manhattan surrounded by skyscrapers. The next morning we were straight into our activities, splitting up into four groups: Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Business/Economics and Food.

The Performing Arts group saw many things including a trip to the Paley Centre for Media, attending a Harlem Church Service and two Broadway shows. One highlight of the trip for the group was a backstage experience at Aladdin, along with a dance workshop by a cast member. Bradman student Jacob Soeradinata was in that group:

"The CRC Sydenham New York trip was in every way an unforgettable experience that I’m glad I went on. At the heart of the trip were the people. It didn’t matter who you were, everyone was open to meet new people and make the most of what was offered. The Performing Arts group that I was a part of was offered a wide range of activities, including the musicals of Aladdin and Dear Evan Hansen to watch, exploring Aladdin backstage at one of the most famous theatres in the world and firsthand experience for combat acting, Broadway dancing and singing. As a group, us New Yorkers were offered the chance to watch an Ice Hockey game and an NBA game, along with a visit to Madame Tussauds, featuring the exclusive MARVEL exhibition. These are memories that I’m sure I won’t forget anytime soon, and if asked the question “would I do it again?”, the answer would always be yes."

The Visual Arts group benefited from Principal Brendan Watson’s detailed knowledge of New York City. They covered the city on foot; experiencing street art, pop up shops, restaurants and a number of other off the beaten track opportunities. Winton student Fraser O’Neill said of the experience:

“New York was great fun, got to see heaps of new things (namely a lot of Art in my group), and especially eat tons of American style food, so very delicious. It was pretty cool to meet new people i hadn't spoken to previously before as well. Would highly recommend anyone thinking of going to go ahead with it.”

The Business/Economics group saw the hub of global finance and politics in action as they toured Wall Street and the Stock Exchange. They visited City Hall and the United Nations and got a small taste of the myriad of opportunities that exist in a global city such as New York.

The Food group ate their way through the metropolis starting with a tour of the Lower East Side and the waves of immigration that brought Jewish, Asian and Latin American foods to the US. They sampled fare from a number of Food Trucks which feed the city workers every lunchtime. A really special experience was attending a cooking class at the International Culinary Institute at the World Trade Centre.

All of the groups took part in the must see attractions such as the Empire State Building, Ice Skating at 30 Rock, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and the Natural History Museum (think Night at the Museum). We enjoyed Mass at the famous St Patrick’s Cathedral, site of Bobby Kennedy’s funeral. Perhaps the most emotional experience was the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. We were given a guided tour of the tasteful and powerful Memorial followed by time in the Museum which had personal and factual accounts of the events. Staff and students openly wept at the awful and sad events as well as some acts of extreme bravery and heroism.

Sports’ fans were able to make two trips to the famous Madison Square Garden to see the New York Rangers in the Ice Hockey and the New York Knicks in the Basketball. Both games were close affairs and provided great atmosphere as they went down to the wire.

The 10 days in New York passed in a flash, it felt as if we’d barely scratched the surface of this amazing city. The long flight home gave us plenty of time to reflect on what was a truly unforgettable experience.

Joe Shaw, Morgana Jones, Jacob Soeradinata & Fraser O’Neill