Journey to USA ( New York )

For a long time, I ignored my blog, 3 years almost, many things changed in my life, my dearest dad died, sad but true, people die, a nature's rule, I decorated my dad's old clothes and started performance art, that was a good thing to make some daily cash and to learn patience and improving live acting skills <3 mostly making kids happy!

Meanwhile, in those 3 years I traveled Balkans, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia, lovely Kotor 2 times and longer, joining rainbow gatherings, festivals, making paintings, music and performing arts.

But today I want to tell my USA story which was the longest journey in my life 3 months and 10 days smth..

My visa was expiring and I decided to travel to the USA for the third time to observe how American Culture is in late 2023, have some fun, and learn on the way, and maybe if I like it to settle down more there. Not forgetting the road always is superior to us, and life is to exist on the road..

J17 Gate

So I booked my flights, I arranged a volunteering-stay-work by worldbackpackers.com in Seattle for 2 months but I wanted to start in New York and had nothing arranged for stay or volunteering, and I put in 1 month which was too long for New York in the middle of summer.. Indeed I had no time to plan too, still bad planning for me.

Central Park <3

Entering the USA was little bit tough, no need for details but officers asked many questions and I was freezing in the over-cooled office, anyway that's how you welcome to the USA at NY at 2023 maybe..

I was approved at the end and welcomed NY <3 First views from my favorite place Central Park!

City View is amazing through the big lake near uptown West 88th line

I was also reading the story of Manhattan, in the native language it meant " the place for gathering of bows for wood " or something like that, white men bought it from natives

for 20 bucks as told in the tale..

Natives probably did no understand the purchase of land

how air and land can be sold?..

True.

A magical shot!

Normally I am bad at photography but I liked this :)

Let's call this:

the lonesome of sky riders shot from Central Park

minted as NFT here if you want to give support:

https://objkt.com/tokens/hicetnunc/845074

A breakfast memory from the hostel, bagels were my rescuing bread

which is similar to Simit ( round Turkish bread with sesame )

Everything on ones are my fav <3 with many granes..

I was staying one of the cheapest but nice hostel in town..

A student hostel, making peace events for youth!

Sometimes lovely concerts and art all around <3 and had a lovely garden!

88th street West, Student Hostel, close to Central Park!

Nothing like a Garden at a Hostel!

But no smoking :))

Meanwhile many rules of NY as I live inside was pissing me off,

I also saw a group of kids chained by teachers !

I learned to put a hammock on Central Park is forbidden!

Remembering this gif I made before going, and I performed with this gif on Mr Green's Screen!

Nft can be find here:

https://objkt.com/tokens/hicetnunc/822797

My money was getting low, I was trying to find a volunteering around NY

while street/park performings had very low income :/

Meanwhile It was summer and best place to go around I thought was ocean:

Coney Island where to have some rest and enjoy the beach <3 Wonder Wheel is fun <3 Ocean is grey :)

Ale beers are always best for me, and best choice in bars and to drink in parks, mostly people won't recognize the beer as it is not legal to drink in public.. and it's real beer for me, 5 thousands years of history.. and aromas <3

Bagels with bacon+cheese was my mate meal mostly, suits my Turkish clinary taste..

with Ale/IPA Beers <3 best

Mr Green ( ver. 2.2 , my
dear co-worker )

with " Stop WW3 " guy!

Evenings with Mr Green, but NY busking didn't go as well as I expected because it was not the season, and New York has many maybe better buskers and I also wanted to enjoy the city so I lost some money in New York, I did some portraits in bars and hostels and sold them but wasn't enough, but I had a great time, especially in Central Park with amazing people, also on the streets and hostels, visiting Museums and Galleries was also good <3

I really liked the Folk Museum in Manhattan this time, which is completely free and has lovely folk and textile art, adviced <3

Indeed I want to open a parenthesis for visual art and galleries in New York, honestly painting and visual arts are repeating themselves all over the world, the same similar stuff, pop art and so on..

those two i liked a bit..

Mostly not very interesting to see for me.. sad but nothing very new and exciting in galleries, streets are way better.

Subway Memories

Sometimes an apple only at busking :)) almost, haha

Mr Green Cat Version, because NY needs Cats!

There are almost no cats in the city of New York! But you see giant rats going from here to there! There is a big tick population and bugs all around, bad planning! I thought about cat houses in Central Park, I tried to reach the major, wrote, and sent postcards, no reply :( sad.

No Reply! New York City Needs 1001 Cats !!! or more :)

This is a serious project.

If you are a smoker, NY is not a friendly place, tho weed was legal and all of Manhattan was smelling weed, which was ok for me :)

And finding busking places in lovely Central Park:

Mr Green version 2.2 ( cat edition make-up )

A note here, if you want to buy weed in Manhattan, stores can be pretty expensive, if you are in low budget, find the vendors, they are around parks like Central Park, Washington Park etc. they are friendly and you can grab a gram for around 5-10 bucks smth. :)

I painted this from Staten Island, greens by the grass there, one of the good things if you visit New York is free Staten Island ferry, hard to understand in the core of capitalism why it is free, but USA is a country of suprises..

and I wrote this poem within :

oh those winds of freedom passed with making jokes now every corner is of rules and only free are thus gurus :Räts. Painting on A4 cheap print paper by Staten Island Grass and graphite Late July Manhattan from Staten Island 2023

Nft version here :

https://objkt.com/tokens/hicetnunc/832552

People in New York are pretty friendly and open-minded mostly, the city is full of Hispanic and South American tourists in the middle of summer, probably most rich locals are out of town to somewhere they can enjoy the sea because the beaches of New York are not really welcoming with their grey looking sea...

Me on my way to Albany for the FarmWorkVolunteering I found !

Met this lovely person on train

I found a volunteering work in a farm in NY, Albany, Rensselaerville

Hard to pronounce, sounds very Dutch :)

Farming was not easy, I worked quite a lot and bodywork is challenging, tho I loved the nature and the place, and the friends were quite boring but still nice people, I agreed for working 2 weeks, but after 1 week we had some issues with the owner due to smoking again, I was smoking out of the farm in the country road, even she was against it :)) weird but true, she is the boss, ok what to do.

Anyway, it was an interesting place with no water system and kind of living ecological farm life, was a nice experience, and I enjoyed the pond, nature, and the farm in general <3 still thankful..

Pond and Big Fire Place My Fav <3

I had to return NY Manhattan earlier

damn! :)

Anyway all was ok, I met Baila while busking around Columbus Square, she had opened an " Alien Post Office " telling stories of yours from Aliens' view , a nice initiative, very cosmic and punk <3

Another lovely soul I met in a rooftop concert <3

Vanetta, she is a fashion designer and open mic poet <3

Concert shot here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv2LMmyNFsc/

Mr Green at Times Square New York

I was staying in a nice but more expensive hostel this time, and one morning I woke with a giant tick on my neck :O

Anyway nothing happened, but I wanted a refund and Hostel made some trouble to me..

Shit happens! NapYork! Take care there!

Indeed good things were also happening, especially on the music side, I met a lovely Opera Singer in one of the bridges of Central Park NY, we had a lovely time and he sang so good stuff for me..

You can see and listen here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvwDiC0glQH/

I played Native American Flute

At World Trade Center, the acoustic was so nice <3

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvQJnx6tP6u/

Also I was in contact for a small volunteering concert at Universalist Church next to Central Park, this church name was the same as my name " Universal ", so I jumped in and played some flutes to them, later we arranged a small concert for Sunday ritual <3 for playing a Turkish Classical " Katibim "

You can see and listen here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv59PsTtGZx/

Some bars in NY are amazing you can not hold yourself not
to enter: