Cool Spots

Mike: Hey, Mari, so you said New York was very diverse. What parts or neighborhoods do you like?

Mari: I really like Soho because there's lots of great shopping to do. Really small shops and really cute restaurants and cafes and then if I'm lucky sometimes when I'm walking around or eating I see like movie stars, so recently before I moved back to Japan I was shopping on Broadway and I say Claire Danes with her boyfriend. It was pretty cool.

Mike: So, I always hear about Central Park. Can you tell me about Central Park?

Mari: Yeah, Central Park is obviously in the middle of Manhattan. It's really big and people go and play sports or they just hang out and walk around. If you go there on the weekends, you see a lot of joggers because the roads are closed off, so there's no cars. Cars are not allowed, and in the summertime you see a lot of roller-bladers, and bikers.

Mike: How big is the park?

Mari: It's really big. It goes from I think 56th Street to 110th, so it's pretty large.

Mike: So, what other parts?

Mari: I went to grad school at Colombia so I lived right near Harlem and I actually really like Harlem because you get a very neighborhood feeling. You hear... You see people walking on the street talking to each other. You walk by the barbershop and you know that everyone knows each other. Everyone is interested in the other. They're gossiping about people in their neighborhood.

Mike: Is there any area you don't really like?

Mari: Because I am from New York City, I really don't like going to Times Square. I feel like it's very commercial and touristy, so I really don't like Times Square, but I guess for tourists it's very exciting. There's all these lights and, and I don't know, it's probably very exciting, the side street vendors, the musicians and all these things. It would be exciting for tourists, but I try to avoid it.