The SUNY Cortland Pride Club went on their annual trip to NYC. We visited the Stonewall memorial and enjoyed our time exploring and shopping in the city.
Every year, the SUNY Cortland Pride club hosts a trip to New York City. The trip is all-inclusive and all are welcome. This year we went from March 28-30, leaving on Friday and coming home on Sunday. There were about 20 of us, and we split off into three vans.
After we arrived on Friday, we checked into the hotel and dropped off our belongings. We then went as a group to the AIDS memorial and Stonewall monument. I hadn’t known how big of a deal the Stonewall riots were until this trip. It was really powerful to see in person.
One of the best parts of the trip was the food. We were able to get reimbursed which was such a blessing. We got $32 a day to spend across all of our meals. And there was so much good food to eat too. Friday evening, eight of us went to this incredible ramen restaurant called Kyuramen. The portions were huge and worth the money; couldn’t even finish it. Voice Office Representative and upcoming President Dahlia Spilka mentioned that there was a message at the bottom of the bowl, and some people won prizes depending on what was written there. However, the bottom of all of our bowls just said “ありがとう” (arigatō) or “thank you”.
We visited several bookstores as well. We visited a huge Barnes and Noble with five floors. We just window shopped but it was so fun to look at everything. We ended up visiting a manga store called Kinokuniya, which had the best selection I’ve ever seen. So many series I had never heard of, and so many classics that I’ve been meaning to read. I ended up getting volume one of “Oshi no Ko”, a subtle sci-fi manga about a young idol pursuing her career while having children. The first couple chapters are so good and I’m eager to finish it.
One of my favorite locations was visiting the New York Public Library. If you are a resident of New York State, you can get a card for free! The main building that everyone takes pictures at is actually only for research, but you can check out books at any of their branches across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. There are 92 branches and the closest one is across the street. I visited there last August and they have a great young adult section. They also have a great DVD selection, I was so excited to see all of Sailor Moon on DVD.
We stayed at the Martinique hotel in Koreatown. I was shocked to see my favorite k-pop store right across the street! My friends and I visited K-pop Narna and Koryo Books. At the latter, I got another copy of my favorite Kep1er album “Doublast”, and incredibly enough it was 50% off. Koryo Books has a large selection and I recommend it to all k-pop lovers.
Also in Koreatown, my friend Atlas and I went to two asian stores: H-Mart and Teso Life. If you’re looking for Asian snacks of any kind, these are the stores to visit. They have a huge selection of ramen, chips, mochi, sweets, drinks, and so on. My favorite of the two would be Teso Life. They have a great selection of food but also have a great selection of cute collectibles and stationery. The two of us got matching Sanrio notebooks: I got Cinnamoroll and Atlas got Pochacco. To top it off, they bag your items with great reusable bags at no extra charge! Definitely a must-visit.
If you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally wanting to make some new friends, you should definitely consider joining the Pride Club! We meet weekly on Thursdays at 7PM in the Voice Office. Meetings are chill and casual, and we do all kinds of activities from Jackbox games, to candygram making, and presentations on topics in gay culture. For updates, feel free to join us on Instagram or join our Discord. Our next trip is in September to Raquette lake, so if you’re interested feel free to join us this Thursday in the Voice Office!