What I Hear

I decided to take my soundwalk and walked a path from my house to a friend's house about 6 miles away. It was interesting because I actually had to cross several neighborhoods and the sounds alone were a blatant representation of all of my surroundings. It was around noon, so everybody was awake and active and there were a lot of people about doing their own thing.

The start of my soundwalk took place at 179th street, Hillside. Nine different buses, the F train's last stop, three schools and a bunch of fast food restaurants are over there so it's generally busy regardless. I could hear constant traffic and the footsteps of a lot of people. There were some high school kids outside filling the air with various conversations of their classes and studies. The biggest source of chatter was probably from the lines of people waiting for the buses.

As I eventually left that neighborhood the sounds started to fade and it became much more quiet. As I reached a more residential area I mostly only heard the wind. A couple of people sitting outside their homes either talking on their phones or their neighbors or getting ready to drive off were pretty much the only other notice-able sounds. I also became increasingly aware of the sound of my own footsteps.

The house is located in another residential area, but this area was noisier than the previous ones. A family in one of the houses I passed was having a very loud prayer ceremony. Leaves rustled loudly and I could hear the traffic from one block over. The final noise heard on my soundwalk was the ringing of the doorbell as I arrived to my destination.