New York - Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty

We left early in the morning and drove about four hours north.

Many of our ancestors once came to New York, city of hope, land of promise. In the heydays of immigration, they all had to walk through the doors of Ellis Island.

That is exactly how we started our discovery of the Big Apple. An audio guide led us through the museum of Ellis Island, showing us how people arrived on the big ships, how they registered, how doctors examined and diagnosed them (e.g. an X meant mental problem, an E meant your eyesight was poor, etc.), how some of them were deported, especially if it was suspected they wouldn't be able to support themselves.

There were the happy stories of families reunited, of young brides-to-be meeting their grooms-to-be. But, on the other hand, there were heartbreaking stories too. Like the one of the Chinese woman whose husband and seven sons came to the U.S. and who could never join them because of an exclusion law; or the one of the large family whose grandmother was sent back to her homeland, all alone, because she was considered too old and might become dependent on the U.S.

People died on Ellis Island and babies were born.

Our time here was too short, as every object had a special tale to tell, a fascinating story, the distastrous end of a long and tiring journey across the ocean or the beginning of a future where every dream could come true ...

The ferry brought us to the Statue of Liberty. On this bright and sunny day, the New York skyline was picture-perfect. The giant green lady with the spiky crown and golden torch raised her arm high in the air as we approached. Although I'd seen her before, from further away and we all know exactly what she looks like from postcards and movies, seeing her for real, so closeby is something else.

We walked around the park and I sat in her shadow to eat a salty pretzel and drink some Liberty water exclusively bottled for the Statue of Liberty Crown Café... I don't know if it has any miraculous qualities, but - to me at least - simply being here, on this Fulbright project, looking at the gulls and the skyscrapers of New York City, is a little miracle ...