As the high-pitched screeches of alarm clocks pierce the eardrums of the students of Old Rochester, it’s time to reluctantly roll out of bed and drag tired bodies to school. On Friday, December 4, those alarm clocks went off early for the members of the American Field Service (AFS) club. Despite being at the school by 5:15 am, there was a sense of excitement as students loaded onto the buses, ready for the four-hour drive to New York City.
The AFS club is a club based on spreading knowledge about other cultures. AFS is what allows Old Rochester to accept foreign exchange students; they also do an array of other activities, including, but most certainly not limited to, a Halloween pumpkin carving contest, as well as attending fairs that showcase different cultures.
The NYC trip is an annual outing for the members of AFS, and one that is looked forward to for months in advance. Foreign exchange students from the surrounding area schools were invited to join the AFS club on their trip, and many did. On top of AFS members, students who are not a part of the club but who go to Old Rochester were invited to join the AFS (until the buses were filled up).
The morning bus ride was full of whispers and naps, until the bus stopped for a quick break at a highway-side rest stop. After the breakfast break, the group finished off the final two hours into the city. The first stop was Bryant Park for about 20 minutes, where students walked around, looked at the small shops around it, and reveled in the fact that they were finally in New York City.
Then began the journey to Times Square. The group arrived around noon and was allowed two hours to explore all the shops Times Square had to offer. At 2:00, everyone regrouped and sat together for a picture on the red bleachers, smack dab in the middle of Times Square.
After a quick head count, the group was off again, this time to Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas Spectacular at 4:00 pm. Groups were spread across the three mezzanines of the Hall, and the lights went down, the curtain came up, and the show began. The Rockettes were the stars of the show, with their precise choreography wowing the audience. After the show, the group gathered in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral near Rockefeller Center, where the students were then allowed time to roam Rockefeller Center and marvel at the enormous Christmas tree and all the lights.
After a little more than an hour, the group gathered for a final time, this time with the souvenirs they purchased from the array of stores in the Big Apple, and waited for the buses to come. The bus ride home was a quiet one; the excitement for the city was replaced with exhaustion as the buses rolled out of the city and made their way back to the quiet serenity of the Tri-Town.
The trip was a fun experience for everyone involved, including those who had visited the city before.
“The atmosphere in the city is really nice,” said Emma Cadieux, “and it’s really nice, as someone who’s been before, to be able to take people who have never been before and show them some really cool things in the city.”
As for those who hadn’t been to the city before, most were blown away by the sheer size and grandeur of the Big Apple. Dillon McCarthy summed up his emotions upon seeing Times Square for the first time in one tiny word: “Whoa.”
All in all, the trip was a smashing success, and everyone who went was able to experience the city that never sleeps with friends from home and from all over the globe.
By Sienna Wurl