[0:00]hello and welcome back to my slow English podcast.
[0:17]Today I'm going to talk about my trip to New York. the whole entire story from the moment I arrived at the airport to my home in Nebraska to New York and back in Mexico City. First, in the morning my family and I woke up at around 4:00 AM, super early. Because my dad had to drive us to the airport and then go to his work. So my mom, my sister, my brother, and I woke up, got our bags, and head to the airport in Mexico City. Once we arrived at the airport, we had to find our airline. Our airline was United / AeroMexico. So we found our airline, we checked in, we checked a bag, and we went through security check. The security check this time was so chill. The security guards were super friendly and not intense or angry at all. So it was a good start to a good trip. Then once we were past security, we had to walk through the duty free section, the section where everything is duty free. And we were so hungry, we hadn't eaten anything since the night before. So we all made a unanimous decision to get breakfast at Carl's Jr. And it was so yummy. I had the deluxe meal that has: pancakes, bacon, tater tots, and a piece of toast. My brother and my sister got the breakfast burrito and my mom got the breakfast burger. We had plenty (more than enough) of time to find our gate, so we were in no rush. We were in no hurry. We took our first flight to* Dallas, that was our first layover, and then our second flight to Omaha, Nebraska. And that's where my aunt picked us up in her car and drove us to her home. I saw the big roads right away, the roads in the United States always surprise me. They're so big. They're unnecessarily big with almost no cars, just roads. I can't imagine walking somewhere in the United States. Right away my aunt took us all to eat ice cream. We got the biggest ice cream cones I've ever seen. You can't even imagine. unnecessarily big. But they were very friendly at the ice cream shop. And it was a very delicious ice cream. We relaxed at my aunt's house for a few days, and we ate some delicious, fresh vegetables from my aunt's garden. And after a few days, we went to my cousin's graduation. He is 19 graduating from high school. My aunt (my cousin's mom) made a huge celebration. She went all out on this graduation party. She had an ice cream machine, unlimited ice cream. She had hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, and lots of fun games like Jenga or tic tac toe. The graduation party was really fun. And for the next few days, we hung out (past of hang out) at my aunt's house. My aunt's house is in the same city... where me and my family used to live. We all used to live in Sioux City. And it brought back so many nostalgic feelings, so many warm memories. I walked around the streets in Sioux City with my sister and we saw all of the old houses that we used to see every day on our way to our cousin's house. Or just going for walks every day when we were little. There's nothing like that nostalgic feeling of being in your childhood home or childhood city. What place brings back nostalgic feelings for you? What things bring back nostalgic feelings? For me, it's all of the green trees and the big houses and even the big roads. What brings those feelings for you? We saw a house with cute little mushrooms, and a tree that had a hole cut through the middle for the cable lines going through the tree. It was funny to see. Instead of chopping down the whole tree, they just cut around so the cable could go through it. And one day before heading to my grandma and grandpa's farm, we decided to go to the gym with my cousin. It was so nice because we got a hydro massage after, a very relaxing massage. The next day my aunt drove us to my grandma and grandpa's farm. I got to see all of the huge landscapes, of fields and fields of grass, fields and fields of corn, and fields and fields of just lots of vegetation. The huge windmills and arriving at my grandma and grandpa's farmhouse brought back so many warm and nostalgic feelings. The piano that I used to play when I was little, even though I didn't know how to play the piano. The screen door to keep bugs out of the house, the living room, the photos, the farm. So many wonderful memories. I feel so lucky to have had such a beautiful childhood. Can you think of one heartwarming story from your childhood? One person, thing, place or story that you feel grateful for having as a kid. I went outside with my grandpa to see his vegetables like his rhubarb, his tomatoes, his potatoes, and more. He's very proud of his garden, and I felt very proud of his garden too. We hung out in the living room for a little while and played with our cousins and grandparents, and it was a wonderful day. Full of remembering happy days from the past. The next day we had to go to get my driver's license, so we drove my grandma and grandpa's car all the way to the DMV, the place where you renew or get your driver's license. It was really funny because the car was all torn apart everywhere for some weird reason. I don't even know how it could have gotten torn up on the ceiling. It's an old car, definitely, but it was a funny memory. We arrived back at the farmhouse and my brother mowed the lawn.
[14:03]I relaxed under the trees. I like looking at the view from underneath the trees, and I chatted with my grandma and grandpa. It's always so nice to see the hogs, the chickens, and the cows at my grandma and grandpa's farm. The next day we had to head back to Nebraska and take our flight to New York City. The view from our first flight was so beautiful.
[14:53]A huge river winding around the city. But the view of New York City when we were flying in was even more impressive to see. Buildings and lights everywhere. Even the taxi drive to our hostel was so impressive to see all of the lights, the buildings, the cars, the people. And our taxi driver drove us through Times Square, which was really nice of him to do. And that was crazy to see. It felt like I was in a movie, because I feel like every movie is filmed or based in New York. We arrived pretty late in New York City, so the first thing we did was head to bed. I passed out, we were all so sleepy. But the next day we all woke up early to walk around the city. We saw gift shops, construction sites, the Rockefeller Center, buildings and more buildings. It was sprinkling on our first day, just a little bit of rain. And for me that was perfect, that way we could walk all around the city without feeling hot. We ordered at a food stand in the streets. I ordered a chicken kebab because I love kebabs, and it was pretty decent (not good not bad), but it was $20.
[17:40]Now I don't know if I was scammed because I looked like a tourist, but to me that was crazy expensive. I still sat down at Central Park and enjoyed my kebab, my $20 kebab. We saw some street performers, but they didn't really do anything that impressive.
[18:20]It was pretty average. I think they are just good at scamming people. Getting you to pay attention to the show so that behind you they can take your wallets and your phones. So be careful, be aware in big cities. Is there a big city in your home country where you need to be aware of your surroundings and careful with your things? Later that evening we ate some chicken strips and French fries at Cane's. It's the first time that I've ever been to Cane's. It was pretty good. Then for dessert we had to get a Crumbl Cookie.
[19:33]I've been obsessed with trying Crumbl Cookies since the first time I saw a video of somebody eating one.
[19:48]I've been dreaming of this moment for so long, because in Mexico there's no Crumbl Cookie. We tried a snickerdoodle cookie, and it was everything I expected and more.
[20:13]I definitely love cookies, specifically doughy cookies. So maybe I'm being biased (unfair) because of that, but in my opinion they're the best. Have you ever tried a Crumbl Cookie? If not, would you like to? The next day we woke up, got some smoothies, and some ginger shots. And we took the subway to see the Statue of Liberty. And like I said before, it felt like I was in a movie. Eating a salted pretzel in New York was a dream. And then for dinner we had the best pizza ever at a place called Joe's Pizza. Later that evening we walked to Times Square, and we were able to see everything completely by ourselves.
[22:45]The next morning we took the train to the JFK airport. We ate our leftover Chipotle while waiting for our plane to board. I always prefer to be early to my flights, so I'm always just chilling, eating a snack and waiting for my flight to board. We put on our hats and we boarded the plane. The take off was just as beautiful as the landing. Taking off from New York City in the daylight was so beautiful.
[23:40]It's probably one of my favorite cities to see from the sky. Then we arrived back in Mexico City. A beautiful sight to land with beautiful lights and buildings and my family, of course. I got to see my mom and dad's new dogs, Pablo and Güera. They're so cute, and it was really nice to be home. Stay tuned for next week when I show you my vlog styled podcast for my trip in Puerto Escondido so far. If you like this type of slow English podcasts then let me know in the comments. Like and subscribe. Have a wonderful day, and don't forget to practice English every day. You can get early access to all my videos with my YouTube membership. So join today for more exclusive content, personal stories and challenges and homework for you to practice at home. Have a wonderful day, I will see you next time. Bye.
