Getting Shoved In The Street: A Beginner's Guide to City Street Walking

Who decides to walk up endless stairs in the Manhattan subway station with seven suitcases and absolutely no sense of direction? My family. It was truly a struggle.

But it was an obvious way to tell the native New Yorkers from the tourists. Whereas the natives walked briskly ahead, avoiding eye contact as they barked commands into cell phones or hurriedly got into cabs to make their next meetings, the tourists stopped to help us with the luggage and directions, seemingly sympathetic as they struggled while arriving in the city.

Being swept up in the rush of the streets reminded me how connected New York City can be...but also, how lonely. On one hand, there's a sense of community in the streets of Times Square, all moving in the same direction, with ambitions and destinations guiding us to the places we want to go. But at the same time, it doesn't seem as if everyone is your friend, as it sometimes feels in other parts of the world. In my hometown of San Jose, I knew that if I needed help or directions I could practically stop anyone around me to ask. Here, I'm just trying to avoid the insistent street vendor trying to convince me that 20 dollars is worth his poorly painted depiction of Jesus.

But this moment of thought was only fleeting until the street noise once again consumed my mind. An older woman pushed past a younger woman sporting pink dreadlocks and a double nose piercing, which is shockingly one of the more normal fashion styles that New Yorkers sport. Normally, if someone accidentally shoved me, I'd quickly apologize and move along. Instead, this younger woman pushes back, yelling, "Don't you be shoving into me, you piece of..." along with some other colorful language that I don't care to include in this post. Ah, that classic New York attitude. What would you call the opposite of Southern hospitality? Whatever it is, that's how I would describe the people of New York City.

Welcome to the jungle.

So, what is my best advice for city street walking? Well, of course this will improve and increase as I spend more time living in the city, but here's a rough list.

- Don't look too many people in the eye. But also, don't look down or up too much. A 140-degree angle level is probably your best bet.

- Walk around people, not in the middle of them.

- No one actually waits for the red hand to become a white walking man. If you don't see any cars, just go. But also, don't get hit by cars. That's a pretty important one.

- Ditch the fashion for comfort. You won't see any native New Yorkers walking around in six-inch pumps.

- DON'T BE SLOW. Seriously, people have got places to go and people to see. We can't handle your two mile-per-hour speed.

- Try not to get hit by a car! Did I say that already?

#newyorkcity #nyc #streets