The group arrived in Manhattan early morning on March 2 and met with their tour guide, Jerry, for their 3-night stay.

Day One included stops at some of the city's most famous sites, including the Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Grand Central Station. Dinner at the Hard Rock Café’ in Times Square was followed by an ascent to the "Top of the Rock" observation deck to get a 70th-floor view of the city at night. “Seeing all those places you only see on TV, it was like being in a movie,” said Amin Zainal, a junior from Malaysia majoring in aeronautical engineering.

Brooklyn Bridge – Tieng Yee Lau

On Day Two, Jerry introduced the students to some of the major historical monuments of the city. The group boarded a boat to see the Statue of Liberty and to make a stop at Ellis Island. Nicholas DiFranco, WMU international programming intern and one planner of the trip, said many students in the group were touched by the experience and seemed to see themselves in the faces and stories of those who immigrated to America through the island. The day concluded with a stop on Broadway to see the "Lion King."

"It was great to visit New York City for the first time with such a fun and interesting group," said sophomore Hashim Alsharif, of Saudia Arabia. "The trip didn’t only allow me to see the city, but I also made a lot of new friends."

(l-r) Ars Vewen, Sue-Lynn Ng, Sue-Yenn Ng, Tieng Yee Lau,
Hashim Alsharif, Lygia Mueller, Cheryl Lim, Amin Zainal, Nicholas DiFranco

DiFranco said many of the students particularly enjoyed their third day in the city, which was agenda-free, allowing students to choose the day’s activities. "From Little Italy, to Chinatown, to seeing a professional basketball game in Madison Square Garden, no two people had the same experience that day," he said.

"This trip is one of the most amazing times I have ever experienced," said Sue-Yenn NG from Malaysia, a junior majoring in music theatre performance. I loved the fact that it was so affordable and everyone was so open and welcoming towards each other."

On their final day in New York, the students took a leisurely tour of upper Manhattan and a walk through Central Park. "It seemed to be the appropriate way to say good bye to the city that never sleeps," DiFranco said.

 

The group stayed overnight in Pennsylvania that evening, before starting the day-long trek to Kalamazoo. In the final two hours of the trip, an impromptu international karaoke broke out on the bus. Every country represented by people on the trip had at least one representative grab the microphone at the front of the bus and sing a native song, or a song in their native tongue, until the bus made the last stop of the trip—home sweet WMU!