Fri Dec 30 2005
Footmarks:
Harlem, The Schomburg Center, Harlem Tea Room, Guggenheim Museum, etc.
A Walk in Harlem with an Order form
It was really windy. I was walking up along Lenox Ave in Harlem.
My destination was The Schomburg Center where the museum of African American history and culture is.
I wasn't planning on visiting there. Initially, I wasn't going to go to Harlem except for the gospel tour and the nice tea room my teacher had recommended. I heard that that area was the most dangerous place in the city but, I also heard that the whole city has become much safer these days, even so, I thought that the safest course was to keep as far away from the area as possible.
However, when I went to Harlem Tea Room, the clerks were so kind to me and one of them encouraged me to go to the museum.
She drew a map on the back of an order form and explained how to get to the museum and some other good sightseeing places in Harlem. So at last I decided to give it a try!
To tell the truth, although I didn't meet danger, I was so scared.
It was a fine Friday morning and there were a lot of people on the street. They were just hanging around. Some of them were talking, others were dancing to up-tempo music or selling CDs and DVDs on the street. Most of the people I saw were African Americans and I didn't see any Asian people. I heard someone say, "Is she Chinese?" and I said to myself, "Yes. I'm NOW a Chinese woman living in NYC, so don't get in my way!". I pretended to relax, and walked as confidently as I could. So when I entered the museum from the temporary entrance (the building was under construction), I was relieved.
They held a limited exhibit on Malcolm X. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know much about the great man. I saw a lot of pictures of him and of those days, and many letters for and from him. He knew how to learn both good and bad things, and he had love for his nation, his family and himself. Maybe because of this, he lived as he did.
I liked his neat handwriting.
Afterwards, my fears had passed and I enjoyed the red-brick town on my way back from the museum. I stopped at The Harlem Tea Room to say thanks to the clerk and relax there. When I entered the cafe, the clerk recognized me and said,
"Back again?" with a smile. I had a happy time eating rich chocolate cake and drinking dainty berry tea.
After that, I went to the Guggenheim Museum and savored the "looped" spiral by Frank Lloyd Wright and "peculiar" collections of Solomon R. Guggenheim.
I can't describe all of my experiences I had today! However, I didn't get any indigestion.
The day was perfectly balanced by three wonderful places.