Ever thought you'd be jumping off a bus and into bright lights, noise and tons of people? Neither did I. But recently my school — Capital High School — took a once-in-a-lifetime field trip to the Big Apple. As a photographer, I have always wanted to go to New York to take tons of pictures of what this city had to offer.

With excitement and a little fear (no one was getting near my money), I boarded the plane and got ready for what I knew would be the best experience of my 16 years.

After the long flight, tons of excitement and energy flooded my body as we met our awesome tour guide, Frank Luz. We all poured tons of money into our first stop, an affordable souvenir shop. It was our first taste of New York shopping.

Our five-day trip was packed from start to finish, seeing sights and shows.

My favorite parts of trip were going to see Wicked (an amazing show that examines whether the Wicked Witch of the West really that wicked); going to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building; and of course Central Park (Strawberry Fields was GREAT).

I also learned a lot from New York, mainly if you know where to go, things can be cheap. I was also able to hear Capital economy teacher Meredith Tilp talk about how it was for her when she lived in New York during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That was a life-changing moment for her, and I'm touched that she shared it with me and my peers.

I also learned some fun facts in New York: one, the vendors give out mustard with their pretzels, not melted cheese; two, crossing the street isn't as dangerous as everyone thinks; three, flip flops are not the best shoes for walking; four, a small mist is a rainstorm for New Yorkers; and five, if you haven't been on a boat before, get ready — because once you get off, you'll have a major case of sea legs.

Now I'm back in enchanting New Mexico and though I'm disappointed in the lack of having a busy city, I'm also glad to be back at home in my own bed.



Amanda Martinez is going to be a senior at Capital. You can reach her at mandamtz88@yahoo.com.