For a city-born like me, I thought New York, said to be the best city in the world, would not impress me too much. After all, every major city is losing its characteristics through globalization. However, I was wrong. NYC impressed me in a way I did not expect.
I hate to be a typical tourist. I am not interested in places recommended by guide books because I know no real New Yorkers would go to such places. I am looking forward to the true experiences of the locals. The first thing I did was observe local people walking in Manhattan, especially their fashion and behaviors. I noticed that NYC had a wide range of fashion depending not only on one’s social status but also on their community (race). This is fresh to me because I have lived in a homogenous country my whole life. This variety mede me confused. Many local residents’ accents are ever heavier than mine.
Eventually, I collected my clothes at Brooks Brothers. I like a casual suit style from the start. I wore a casual necktie from time to time when I was in Tokyo. I was trying to improve my current fashion style according to what I learnt from early observation. My new outfits were perfect, I successfully fit in the crowd. Some staff actually thought I lived in the US despite my non-fluent English when speaking. Brooks Brothers seems famous within the Japanese community. They also have several shops in Tokyo, which I never noticed. Maybe I will continue to buy clothes from them even after going home.
At night, I had my first (comparably) authentic Italian food in my life. I asked the waiter a lot of essential knowledge sincerely. To be honest, my questions and behaviors were indeed laughable, but I did not feel too much shame because everyone had their “first time”. However, one thing was truly painful, the tipping system. I am constantly confused about whether I should tip or how much should I tip. I would rather let them to decide and charge tips by credit card. Unfortunately, sometimes the tip is not included and places may take cash only. At this moment, if I do not carry enough cash, I do not know what to do.
