Fourth Stop: What I Hear

I have a confession to make. I never walk around without my music. I hear it all the time, really. The only time I don't hear music is during class at Hunter, just because I can't…So for me, this assignment was pretty hard. I don't remember the last time I walked the streets of NYC by myself without my ipod. But surprisingly enough, I enjoyed it.
I kick off my soundwalk in Yorkville neighborhood, at 86 & York Ave. As I walk down towards 68th street, I realize that York Ave is probably the least noisy avenue on the East side. There are actually several blocks where all I can hear is the sound of my heels clicking on the side walk. I turn right on 68th street and start walking towards Hunter College. It's 7:15PM now and I have an English class in an hour. Great.
I pass a construction site that is quiet right now since it is evening. The only thing I hear is the sound of the wind hitting the black plastic sheets that cover the gates of the site, whenever a car drives by.
Silence again.
Then I hear people talking to each other in a different language – a nice reminder that this is the capital of the world. A teenager with huge headphones walks towards me, and when he came close enough, I could identify the song he was listening to – "Nothing else matters" by Metallica.
I'm on 68 & 1 Ave now. The sounds in the street are gradually getting louder. There are more people and more cars driving by. I decide to go and sit in a playground for a while. It's 7:30PM and the playground is filled with children and their parents. You can’t ignore the screams of joy and happiness. In the background you can hear the noise of the polluting buses. Coming from the other side of the playground is the sound of dribbling basket balls. As I walk out and pass the basketball court, the sounds I hear are changing – now the kids' laughter is in the background and the people's tone of voice is much older (you can hear them cursing too).
It's 7:45PM, and 2nd Ave is quieter than ever. Usually it is very noisy. Believe me, I know, since I live there. Even though I am far from Yorkville, I feel as if I am there again. Walking between 2nd & 3rd Avenues, the silence is interrupted only by the sound of my clicking heels. It all changes when I get to 3rd Ave. There is so much noise – people talking, some even yelling, many cars and several trucks driving by, honking. The familiar sound of the kneeling bus is in the background.
On my way towards Lexington Ave, I pass by two fruits and vegetables stands and a newsstand. This combination creates a small chaos of noise – sounds of Hindi, Arabic and English, people asking for fruits, newspapers and water. This is the small chaos because the big one is heard when I get to Hunter. The sounds are practically the same as those I heard on 3rd Ave, but here they are much, much louder. More people talking, more kneeling buses and honking cabs. More noise. It's 8PM now and the place is still packed with people. But inside the building everything is quiet – the time between classes is usually that way. I find an empty seat on the 4th floor and just sit there for a while. All I can hear is one girl talking on the phone and the sound of the working escalator. The rest of us are just sitting there, silently.
I guess this is the end of my soundwalk. As much as it's been fun just being and listening to street sounds, I think I prefer my own soundtrack.
It's 8:15PM and I'm off to class. I know you're jealous. :)