What I Hear

        WEEEEEE WOOOOO WEEEE WOOOOOOO! is the first sound I hear as I exit the building of Hunter College around 4:00pm. Without looking, I can attest that it is the millionth ambulance to ride down Lexington today, and it is piercing my ears. I make my way down Lexington to participate in my first "sound walk", something I experience everyday but never took note of. Joined by crowds of people, I can distinguish who’s a native New Yorker and whose not. To my left I hear what I assume to be a middle aged woman on the phone with her other middle aged friend: "Okay Sharon, I'll see you later. Bye. Okay bye. Bye, bye, see you later, bye, okay buh- bye, bye." Behind me I hear clacking heels hitting the concrete so heavily, they might as well be bricks. I think to myself "Hm, business woman?" I turn around only to discover it's just an over dressed student in cocktail dress. I keep walking. WEEE WOOO WEEE WOOOO, okay ambulance #1,000,001. I tune into what's happening in the street. I hear large buses screeching as they come to a halt at a red light. I hear cars honking at one another while at this standstill (something that would only be acceptable in Manhattan). I tune back into the sidewalk I’m walking on to listen to the people around me. I hear different dialects and languages all over. Not being able to make out a few of these conversations, I realize just how vastly cultivated Manhattan is. I try closing my eyes to focus more on such sounds, but inevitably end up tripping on my own feet in attempt to do so.