Last Friday I walked into my apartment after seeing Larry Crowne and lo and behold, my boyfriend was nonchalantly sitting in my living room, chatting with my parents. Not for a moment this summer did I expect to find him at my house, especially when he lives 1,300 miles away in Minnesota. As it turns out, he has been secretly planning behind my back with both my family and my friends to stay here for two weeks, from July 1st to the 15th.
So now, when I’m not blogging for the Campus Clipper, I’ve had the pleasure of showing off my hometown to a guy who’s never visited the big apple.
So far I’ve taken him to his first New York Broadway musical, the South Street Seaport, fancy restaurants, the July 4th fireworks, and the like. But by the time he leaves, I really hope that he’ll have gotten to see more than just the average tourist traps. Of course, going to the MoMA and the Empire State Building are a must, but I also want to take him to all my favorite stores, restaurants, and parks where my friends and I would visit on a regular day, such as the Strand bookstore, Washington Square Park, and Eileen’s Cheesecake, and Insomnia Cookies.
Although the tourist attractions are what everyone thinks traveling to New York is about, I’ve found over the past few days that it’s much harder to keep someone entertained than I thought. And I don’t blame them. Finding the Statue of Liberty overly exciting is difficult when I’ve lived in New York City for 19 years, but as it turns out, the Statue of Liberty isn’t that enthralling to most of the jaded teenagers of America.
So sometimes a night in just hanging out with friends is really all a tourist might be looking for—a chance to experience the ‘real’ New York teenager’s life. So when I’m all done showing him the glitz of Times Square, chilling at home playing Risk is still fun.
Some of my other places around the city that I want to take him to are Chinatown and the Piers along the East and West sides of Manhattan (if only I wasn’t on crutches so that we could ride bicycles around the city!).
Since we’re both students, we’ve been having a blast rocking the student discounts Campus Clipper offers us, such as the discounts at the Village Party Store, where we’ve purchased sheets of temporary dinosaur tattoos and have decorated ourselves to the point of hilarity.
/elizabeth Kaleko, Tufts University
Click here to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!
Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook
Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book!