"Alright, Jersey, Show Me What You've Got . . . "

Until last Saturday, my only impressions of New Jersey were from movies. After Coyote Ugly and Garden State I wasn't sure at all what to expect, but in the past nine days, three have been spent in Jersey. What I've learned since then (feel free to argue if you don't agree):
1. It's super close to NYC, but sometimes it takes a LONG time to catch a train.
2. The PATH (train connecting NYC and Jersey) station at the World Trade Center site is gorgeous, but a bit creepy (it's built RIGHT in the middle of the site . . . the only thing there and surrounded by construction trailers).
3. Hoboken is very cool: apartments are about the same in price (a bit cheaper) and size as NYC, but quieter--kind of like a small, Midwestern city. If I were to live in the NYC area and not in Manhattan, Hoboken would be the place.
4. The Jersey Shore is fun--the surfing is definitely cool (although I didn't try it). It's a little overcrowded, though (although I guess ALL beaches in the summer are packed). You have to pay $7 for a beach "tag" to walk onto the beach. There are many beaches "houses" that have beer-gut-belly fraternity boys and over-bronzed girls.
5. Jersey City is a little scary: rent is definitely cheaper and just as accessible as Hoboken, but it's not as busy. Some apartments are HUGE and gorgeous. Out of all the places I've been in the NYC area, this is the place I felt least safe. I wouldn't want to walk around by myself at night. But Gretchen (a fellow Harlem RBI teacher) has for the past two years, so maybe it just looks creepy.
6. It's called the Garden State because of all the gardens that were made when it was founded. The route from Hoboken to Jersey Shore is green and lush. They wanted the guardrails to rust so as not to look as industrialized as the cities/turnpike look.
7. The Backstreet Boys played in New Jersey last night.
8. You cannot pump your own gas in Jersey.

So, this is what I think I've discovered about the Garden State. I've also posted more pictures to my kodakgallery account. They include: the Hair Supply/Mr. Brownstone concert, Tina and her guitar before our jaunt to the Jersey Shore, the Jersey Shore, a picture of the Empire State Building and pictures of the World Trade Center site (I didn't want to take them; I felt guilty, but a lot of my students in LA wanted to know what the WTC site looked like now--I took them to post to my students' blog but figured some of you may be curious as well), Matt and Amie at brunch, Gretchen on her birthday and the Backstreet Boys concert (Tina had free tickets!).