Long Journey

I stayed with Fatih brother 2 weeks in Brooklyn. It was a different experience for me.

New York City is a very developed location. I tried to get used to subway first. Because it connects people to almost everywhere. I lost my way, got on the wrong train :) , went wrong way . But eventually I was be able to find my way to home everytime.

First a few days I stayed at home. Everyone went to work or school. By the way I informed my sponsor and was waiting them to find me a job.

Our apartment in Brooklyn

It is very crowded and exteremely hot. There is more than 90% of humid. It is like boiling. It's hard to live in New York City.

On Friday we went to New York University Islamic Center for Jumaah.

I came to here for teravih later. Subway works at nights so when I left from here ( it is in Manhattan ) I went to our apartment easily.

The subway is very long and connects all places. We have only one line in Istanbul. You don't have to know which train you get in. There are 2 ways , one way to Taksim and other way. It's easy. But here is different. There are lots of trains and it is 2 or 3 storey. You have to be careful. If you get on C instead of A train it goes to another way. Shorty it is complicated. I wrongly got on different trains but I learned.

After teravih, I was going back to home.

Next week my sponsor offered me another job at Mcdonald's in Massachusetts. I accepted this offer and left from New York.

On the 20th of July, I arrived in Framingham, MA. There were another Turkish guys at Monticello Motel which I would share a big queen room with. We met and I settled. 

Monticello Inn

2 days later I went to Mcdonald's and two managers welcomed me. We spoke about job necessities. They gave me job dresses and I started working on the register at Fresh City.

Fresh City is next to Mcdonald's . And we are selling wraps, burridos, salads, tuna etc. Day by day I learned details. On my 4th day I learned almost %90 of it. İt is easy. My colleges are helpful.

I foınd a masjid on google maps. So I try to go there in the evenings.

We break our fasting here and play basketball befero teravih.

Elhamdulillah everything is going well. I want to buy a bicycle soon. So I will be able to visit Boston and other masjids. 

Changing job : 9 July

I haven't written for a week. Because days were almost same. I didn't want to write the same things.

I worked at Thendara for 4 days. I was working in the kitchen and it was a very hard job for me. For instance last Friday I started 5 pm and finished 1 am. I was always standing and after 5 hours working my waist ached and it continued all night and even next two days.

I didn't want to lose my health. When I got tired , my work speed decreased. And boss didn't like this. We argued lots of times and she said :

"If you don't want to work I can find another one!"

So I accepted.

She wanted me to work as a last time on Friday and leave Monday morning.

----

I went to see other Turkish work and travel participants who are working 8 miles away from Thendara. I couldn't find the bicycle in front of the Van Aukenn. Thus , I hitchhiked two times. Thankfully 2 men took me where Turkish students worked.

I stayed there for 2 hours. We had lunch together and spoke about our current situations. They were glad to see me and me too .

On Monday morning I hitchhiked again, thank Allah swt, he brought me to train station.

on the way

We talked about lots of things. 

When we arrived I thanked and went inside to the train station. I bought my ticket to Penn Station, NY and dropped my luggage off. After that I went to downtown and aplied for social security number. I will be able to apply another job with this number.

After I arrived to New York City, Fatih brother picked me up from the station. We had spoken on the phone when I was at Utica station.

We went to his home and I settled. Fortunately it was one day before Ramadan. We could go to masjid and prayed teravih.

Last night we started fasting by 3 o'clock and this evening I went to the same masjid again but on my own this time. I met with Fatih brother and others. He came there from work.

IQRA MASJID 

Everything is going well now, I hope to find my job and continue living here.

Starting Job ; 2 July

Today I met with other workers and boss. They are friendly and kind. 

My boss said that I would start working at 5 pm. So I went upstairs to relax until work time.

Before I started, I gave some presents which I have brought from Turkey. She liked all of them and thanked so much. 

After that I went to kitchen and started doing the dishes. I didn't wash all of them exactly, I put them into a smart machine and it cleaned all of them. 

We can eat or drink whatever we want as free. That's very convenient. 

Closed : 1 July

I didn't know that it was closed on Mondays. So today Van Aukens Inne was closed. Almost nobody was there.

I got up early in the morning. Time was hardly passing. I tidied my room in case my boss would come to welcome me.

I went downstairs and couldn't see any one. Possibly people were sleeping. The exit door's open and I went out.

Today a worker showed us where the kitchen and laundry were.

Van Aukens Inne

We  also went to Old Forge by car. We saw gas stations, banks, shops, etc.

We were given a bike. Although it was rainy I went out to discover  places. It's fun to ride in rainy weather.

I liked here and I'm getting used to living.

3rd day; Going to Old Forge

I got up early and prepared my suitcase. I checked off at 11 am. After that I went down and took taxi to Penn Station.

When I arrived there, it was very crowded. I followed the directions to luggage drop off area. And then I waited on the waiting area for a while.

I quickly found a masjid near here on google maps and went out. Fortunately I found it and prayed...

I returned to Penn Station, waited here for one hour. Eventually I got on the train. It was floody so we had to travel slower.

Finally we got to Utica. My boss's sister welcomed me. It was 11pm. Ohh! What a long journey !

She was generous, paid a meal for me. While we were coming to Old Forge, I ate it.

They showed me a room to stay and went to bed.

Second day in New York

Today, first I went to Franks Bike Shop as I planned. I rented a bike and started riding. Hours and hours I rode.

There are lots of bike roads in New York City. I liked that obviosly people respect you evertime.

I visited Central Park. It was huge and I could't finished the track completely. There were numerous events and people were having fun. I stopped under a tree and had lunch.

I couldn't find my hotel for a while but I asked. By the way, it was hot like it's boiling. Eventually I found Washington Square Park which is near to the hotel. I locked my bike to a tree and then tried to enter NYU. Unfortunately it's closed. 

I despairingly decided to continue to the hotel. I barely found it. After having a shower, I left the bike. While coming, I entered a pharmacy and bought sunglasses and deodorant. I also bought some drinks from a grocer.

The weather was increadibly hot. I thought that I urgently needed something very cold like ice cream. It wasn't easy to be honest but I found a queue for ice cream and bought a small cup. It made me feel better.

Central Park

I think I've seen 75% of Manhattan today. It's a different experience.

First day in New York - 28 June

When I arrived in JFK Airport, because of my gps didn't work I couldn't find any masjid. So I decided to find my hotel and then pray. By the way a taxi driver came and offered me a lift but it was very expensive ; 65 $ .

I asked staff if there was any majcid. She pointed at AirTrain. So I passed to AirTrain station.

I checked the map and got on the train to Jamaica. There was a good guy (he was like a lawyer). He helped me to get on the right train and paid for me.

After I got off, I asked an old man to help me to take a taxi. He willlingly helped me. The traffic was terrible so he dropped me off near Bowery Street. I continued walking down the street and found it-checked in.

My room wasn't very big but convenient. I left my suitcase here and changed my clothes. I prayed and searched for mosques and masjids near here on google map. Fortunately, I found a masjid at New York University. I took a screenshot and left quickly.

At first, I couldn't find the masjid but I asked. There's a good masjid on the second floor. I prayed and took some photos. Becasue the scene was wonderfull. 

I walked on the streets, went to a supermarket, took some photocopies. After all I visited Washington Square Park and turned back hotel.