Hicham: We just got back from The Empire State Building to have our supper at Applebee’s just next door to our hotel room at Hilton Times Square when the power went off. It was around 5 pm, at first I thought it was just a power off for a few minutes, but then I realized it was a blackout when the lights didn’t go on that night. Our hotel had generator, so we didn’t have to worry about going up and down 38 floors. It was exciting to see all this happening, I saw it in the movie but this was real, a lot of people in the streets waiting for the power to go on, people honking their cars, sirens from fire trucks, police, ambulance, you name it. We had to stay another night because the bus terminal was closed, and I was hoping there would be another blackout before we took the midnight bus on Saturday back to Montreal, but, it didn’t happen. I’ll never forget it and I’m glad I was there.
Amira: I was a little scare thinking of 9/11. I thought maybe it was terrorist attack again. I wanted to call my grandma (Goo Goo Jen), but a lot of people were using the phones and some didn’t work. My mother told me it was okay, it wasn’t a terrorist attack, it was something that broke and it had to be fixed, I felt better. Phew. But I was still scared to go to the washroom in the dark. Thanks to my brother Hicham and my cousin Dakota, they escorted me to the washroom every time I said “Securities.”
They’re my heros. I was scared when we went out again to see what was going on. This is something that I have to talk about in school. I know they won’t believe me, but, I was there.
Dakota: It was my first time in New York City and it was a great experience to be there during the blackout. We went out at 7 pm to see what was going on in the streets. There were a lot of people, the stores were closed and it was hot, it was hard to find cold drinks and their ice creams were melting, I think they were giving it away for free. We went back to our room when it got dark, and I was glad because I got a little scared out there. We were sitting by the window from the 38th floor of our hotel room. A lot of people (I mean a lot) in the streets with flashlights on. It was crazy. I can’t wait to go back to Mistissini and tell my friends this story. Hicham, Amira and I wished there would be another blackout before we went back to Montreal. But, our wish didn’t come true. One thing I felt bad about is my video camera, we couldn’t recharge the battery.
