Finding the jet-set feeling without the plane

Last semester, I studied abroad in Paris. I also had the opportunity to visit Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, Florence, Milan, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, Riga, Kiev, and Tel Aviv—all within six months. What would have cost me thousands of dollars, had I made individual trips to each of these places from the United States, ended up costing me under a thousand (thank you Ryanair, easyJet, and Eurorail).

While New York offers us plenty of diverse cultural options—from Ethiopian food to Japanese art—we often forget that there are plenty of neighborhoods in the area that can transport those who don’t necessarily have the opportunity to study abroad to an entirely different part of the world. With a MetroCard and a little bit of spending cash, students can hit Russia, India, and Greece in less time than it takes to write a five-page paper.

Hop on the 1 and then the Q to the Brighton Beach stop, and you’ve entered Moscow in just under an hour and a half—well, maybe not Moscow, but definitely a conglomerate of several former Soviet cities.

One of the more unusual cultural experiences of Brighton Beach is the Royal Palace Bath (614 Sheepshead Bay Road), one of the biggest banyas (Russian sauna) in the country. This banya comes fully equipped with over six different steam rooms, cold pools, ample veniki, or birch tree brooms used for whipping fellow banya members.

There’s a restaurant and bar there, but the best choice on a budget for sampling Brighton Beach cuisine is a trip to the Little Odessa area for a selection of hundreds of casual restaurants serving authentic Russian cuisine, like borscht and vareniki.

No trip to Brighton Beach is complete without a visit to the famous St. Petersburg BookStore (230 Brighton Beach Ave. at First Street). This Russian megastore sells thousands of Russian novels, movies, and children’s books to eager Russians and Russophiles. This is where all of the Russians from the tri-state area go. And I’m almost positive no one in there speaks English.

An hour-long trip up to Jackson Heights, Queens on the N train will bring students to a completely different area of the world. Known to many as “Little India,” Jackson Heights is home to hundreds of Indian establishments, from supermarkets to restaurants to sari shops. Patel Brothers is a gigantic Indian supermarket where students are bound to find any Indian spice, as well as foods that one can only get in India. For Indian clothing, India Sari Palace has an enormous selection. They also have very high-quality fabrics.

Rajbhog Sweets is one of the best places to go for authentic Indian desserts. At a dollar a piece, the gulab jamun, a fried dough ball soaked in rosewater syrup, is one of the best things on the menu. Rajbhog also has a version of the gulab jamun stuffed with cream. If dessert isn’t enough, a trip to the canteen in the basement of the Hindu Temple of Flushing has delicious and inexpensive South Indian food.

Queens gives students the possibility to visit yet another country—Greece. Although Astoria is not as “Greek” as it used to be, it is still one of the only places in the area that caters to the tri-state Greek community. The St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church is one of the oldest in the area, and it still plays a prominent role in Astoria’s cultural life. Stamatis (2909 23rd Ave. at 29th Street) and Agnanti (19-06 Ditmars Blvd. between 19th and 21st streets) restaurants serve the best authentic Greek tavern food in the neighborhood. Surprisingly, most of the food at both places is under $20, with the exception of the whole grilled fish, which is priced per pound, and Agnanti’s lamb chop at $22. If you’re hungry for authentic Greek cuisine, a 20-minute ride on the M60 won’t be a waste of time or money.

But Astoria’s Greek food isn’t the only thing that attracts Greeks and Greek Americans from all over—it’s also the thriving nightlife. Caprice, possibly the most-visited bar in Astoria due to a late closing time (6 a.m.), caters to a young Greek crowd. The music playing is a mixture of house, electro, and popular Greek hits. And just like in Athens, almost everyone is Greek. Admittedly, it’s not exactly the same cultural experience as studying abroad, but it’ll get you pretty darn close, given the restrictions.