Growing up in the world of plenty, many American adolescents don’t realize just how privileged and insulated they are.  They take food, shelter, and clean water for granted and rarely consider the true diversity of our world.

In a day trip through New York City, our suburban tweens had a chance to think about what it’s like to grow up in a different environment.

Our first stop was at the United Nations where we went on a 45 minute guided tour.  I was concerned that visiting the UN might be boring for these kids since they have never heard of this organization, or its work. 

After the tour, I asked my 11-year-old daughter for her opinion.  Apparently, she really enjoyed the tour because the guide explained how the UN addresses the dire needs of children around the world.  She was struck by the idea that every week as many people die from hunger, as were lost in the 2004 tsunami disaster.

I suspect that another exhibit - on child soldiers - may haunt us.  It’s hard to comprehend a world where children are kidnapped and forced to fight.

We went from learning about self-determination and human rights, to learning about the history of TV broadcasting in an NBC studio tour.  This was just pure fun.

After a short movie highlighting some of the funniest moments in TV history, we went on to visit the Saturday Night Live studio where we kept hoping to see Carrie Underwood (as she is this week’s musical guest and Thursday is reserved for musical guest rehearsals.)  We didn’t spot any celebrities, but we enjoyed learning about the fast-paced elements of the show’s production. 

We couldn’t leave the Rockefeller Center area without a stop at an international store that is the must-see place for video game lovers of all ages - Nintendo World.  While they couldn’t afford to actually buy anything, these kids loved trying out the games on the plethora of DS Lites and Wiis. 

Personally, I found the historical display of Game Boys interesting.  In one of the cases there is a Game Boy that survived a Gulf War bombing, and still works.  So why is it that my son’s DS Lite died after just one fall on a concrete floor?  The rest of the display included increasingly smaller, and jazzier, Game Boys.  The girls were impressed by the display of the wide variety of DS Lites that are only available to purchase in Japan.

Meal times were an opportunity to explore international flavors.  For lunch, the kids insisted on the All-American hot dog and Coca-Cola.  Hey, at least I picked up a Middle Eastern shish-kabob on pita sandwich from the neighboring vendor.

Dinner; however, was in Chinatown.  After some light shopping, we settled in for a family-style meal at Amazing 66.  What a delight!

All around us the tables were filled with Asian families.  We were fortunate to be seated before the line of eager patrons formed.  I guess that at 6:30 PM we were a little early for dinner.

As always, we over-ordered: a pot of green tea; dumplings; spring rolls; seafood soup with noodles; beef lo mein; sesame chicken; orange beef; and garlic greens. 

Nothing fancy, just some simple food that the kids were willing to try.  They loved it, but now we have enough left-overs for at least 2 meals. 

Of course, we left a little room for dessert in Little Italy.  Just a short walk away from Chinatown, we visited Ferrara Bakery & Cafe for cappuccino, hot cocoa, and pastries.  It was a sweet ending to an enlightening day.

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