newbies

Today I volunteered with the Move In Welcome Crew at TC. My job was to greet the new residents as they came into Whittier Hall, direct them to the right places, and answer questions. I also got to help keep anxious parents calm, direct traffic, run back and forth between guards delivering messages about illegal parking, and eat free bagels for breakfast. I had so much fun, and I got a huge kick out of seeing the hundreds of dazed faces, and, more so, out of seeing the enormous piles of stuff everyone brought. Remember how big my room is? About 10' by 10'? Well, people came with U-Hauls! The trucks themselves are bigger than some of the rooms! I'm curious about where those students are sleeping tonight...

I've only been here for two months, but I felt so knowledgeable and helpful today! (Patrick was right. I do know more than I realized.) Most of the questions I answered were things like:

Where do I get my ID card?

Where's the bathroom?

What's the best way to get to the eighth floor?

I just got here; what do I do first?

The harder questions (i.e. my room doesn't have a phone, my housing contract was never sent to me), I answered with "I really don't know. I'm just supposed to smile and point to the ID card place." But I tried to help as much as I could. And now all those hundreds of new students recognize me as that nice person they met first when they got here. Cool beans!

I also took a group of about thirty people up to Target this afternoon and answered questions and chatted all the way there. I'm really excited to see how many people are going to be living in the dorms; several of the girls I took to Target moved onto my floor today. This is good. I was tired of never seeing anyone around! (The bad part is there is a lot more noise.)

Another fun thing was that several people I met at the Admitted Students Weekend back in May came in today. Many of them recognized me and were surprised to see me helping out already. Tomorrow we have orientation, which I'm both attending and helping out with. More fun coming soon!

I'm still supposed to be writing that paper. It's due tomorrow, and I have about two more pages to go. I didn't really start it until about 9:15 tonight. Oh well... Back to it!

cream puffs, parks, and dog poo

This afternoon I met the Columbia Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group at the 116th gate to get cream puffs and visit Central Park. I ran across the event while browsing the clubs section of the Columbia site. Most of the Intervarsity events specified undergrad, but this one didn't, so I decided to show up. Well... I heard more than once, "Oh. You're a grad student? I thought you looked a little old... Ha ha." :-) Gee, thanks, guys. I found out later that most of them were returning students and that they expected the new faces to be freshman. I'm ok with looking older than a freshman in college. And even though I was the only grad student, they were all very friendly and I had fun.

We took the subway to 79th and stopped at Beard Papa's for cream puffs. They were delightful! Each puff is filled with fresh vanilla custard after it is ordered. They don't use any preservatives, so they say their treats should be eaten within 24 hours. Not a problem! The group leader bought three big boxes, and we walked over to Central Park to devour them and to chat. Check out their website for the full scoop: http://www.muginohousa.com/creampuffs.html.

Only downside to the afternoon? I stepped in dog poo. Not so delightful...

some things

Seventh Heaven is on TV right now. Did you even know that show is still running?

One good thing about living in a dorm: I just put seven loads of laundry in all at the same time.

I have a friend who I talk to sometimes, and every time I talk to that friend I end up crying afterwards. Maybe I should stop talking to that friend.

Today is Lani's birthday. Happy birthday, Lani!

I helped clean the Lutheran church on Saturday, and we found a singing Kermit the Frog doll. Now he's sitting on my bookshelf.

Yesterday I was in a rather foul mood. Not really loving life here. Today I'm in a fair mood.

Healthy Choice frozen meals really aren't so bad.

I told a friend I didn't have anything to look forward to this week. Now I've changed my mind. I'm helping with the Welcome Crew for new students moving in on Thursday, and I'm taking a group to Target in the afternoon.

Kevin, a guard here, is really nice.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! (Friday, August 25)

I'm a Christian Chicken. That's according to pastor last night at RPC. Sometimes we don't trust God and His plan for our lives. That's me.

There are fruit flies in my room. Yuck!

I'm supposed to be writing a paper. Am I? Not yet...…

i'm a knitter now

I had my first lesson, and I'm really learning how to do it! It's actually easier than I expected it to be. But I also think it was a good experience because it reminded me what it's like to try something completely new, with no prior knowledge or skills. Yes, my teacher brain was on. I was really identifying with those beginning readers. I felt completely inept at the beginning; my hands were even shaking as I tried to get the feel of it. But I did about five rows before my lesson ended. Thanks, Amy for teaching me! Amy says I'm a real New Yorker, now. Check out the picture!

I also went to Barnes and Nobel today. I could live in that store! If you're wondering what to get me for my birthday next month, I sure wouldn't mind a gift card to the bookstore... I spent a couple of hours browsing books that were recommended at the Reading Institute this week. I also considered a book recommended by a classmate, one he uses in his high school English class - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and I visited the Christian living section to check out Max Lucado books. I had a 15% off coupon burning a hole in my purse, and I ended up buying The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins. There were several others I wanted, though, too. I also bought Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Williams. It's a cute kid's book my small group leader, Gravity, used to demonstrate some of the techniques this week. I looked at the book and saw the price and decided I could live without it for now. But on my way out of the kids' section, I spotted it on the discount book shelf (minor damage to the corner) for 1/3 the price! By the way, if you're curious... Gravity's parents were hippies, and she attributes her name to that.

Thank you, God, for another beautiful, wonderful day in New York. I'm loving this city!

project runway

The most interesting thing I learned today in the Reading Project Institute is that Fountas and Pinnel, the gurus of guided reading and leveling books, are not two dead white guys as I thought. Rather they are women, Irene and Gay Su, and they are probably in their late fifties. Huh. Who would have thought?

Alison has gotten me hooked on watching "Project Runway" on the Bravo channel. We talked about last night's episode over lunch today. Then, this afternoon, I went downtown to do some shopping. I walked past Macy's on 34th Street, and, from across the street, I saw a window display that said "Project Runway." I went across for a closer look, and there was the dress that won last night's challenge! It was amazing to see something happen on TV and then see it on display the very next day! I realized how very much we are in the middle of things (fashion, television shows, etc.) here in New York. Pretty cool!

I shopped at H&M, Old Navy, Macy's, Payless shoes, and several other shops. I ended up with a great new outfit from H&M. I think it's going to be one of my new favorite stores while I'm here in New York. Also, I'm almost positive I saw Janie Wallace, who I went to high school with in Kansas, at the store! Small world...

birthday

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here's hoping your day is a great one! With love...

encouragement

I went to the RPC fellowship group tonight, after e-mailing back and forth with Megan several times. There were only five of us there, but it was such an encouragement, both spiritually and socially! Megan and Laura (both of whom I met at church) live on the Upper West Side, so we rode the subway uptown together and spent time getting to know each other.

Today was also day two of the Reading Workshop Institute, and I should be doing my reading and working on the paper due Thursday. I'm learning more about the organization of the Columbia Model, as some call it, which Lucy Calkins developed. I think many of the things we're talking about can be used in the Four Blocks model, or in any balanced literacy program. Yes, I know - teacher talk. Sorry. I also chatted today with some girls who teach in New York. Their schools require them to use the model, and I'm shocked and appalled by the stories they're telling of how controlled by policy, law, and administrators they are in their classrooms. Another girl I met teaches in California, where basal readers are mandated, and she told me she's going to use the model secretly. I'm becoming more and more convinced that I will never be able to teach in public schools in the US! However, I'm also getting fired up and encouraged to teach, and I am disappointed to know that I won't get to do that this year.

ALSO...

Happy Birthday, Bryson! (August 20)
Happy Anniversary, Mr. & Mrs. v! (August 20)
Happy Birthday, Uncle Bret! (August 22)

cold

I caught a cold last night. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe, I couldn't hear, and I had a sore throat. I don't know where it came from! But it sure made it hard to concentrate in the workshop all day today. Yes, mom, I took AirBorn and I drank tea and orange juice all day. Now I'm going to bed for awhile, and hopefully the cold will go away.

sunny day sunday

It's Sunday, and I went to church three times today. I guess I was making up for other weeks! Actually, I thought I was going to meet some friends for church at RPC at 10:30, but they decided they wanted to go to a later service. I was already up and out bright and early, so I went to Dunkin' Donuts for my Lutheran breakfast ;-) and then I went to the Lutheran church. Today was the first day I've ever gotten there before the service started! Before the service I made tentative plans to meet with Amy for my first knitting lesson on Friday afternoon, and after the service I signed up to help with the clean-up day next weekend.

Then I walked down to the Times Square area where I met my beautiful friend Jenn (who I worked with in China), her new *friend* Dave, and her cousin. We walked for a bit and then enjoyed a fantastic Italian lunch at DaRosina on 46th Street. Their three-course meals were $16, and we had our choice of everything on the menu. I chose a tomato and mozzarella salad, penne ala vodka, and ricotta cheesecake and coffee. Delicious! After lunch we went to Times Square Church for the 3:00 service. Again, quite an experience. They did 70 baptisms during the opening songs. After church, we walked around for a bit and had some more time to catch up on friends in China.

When we parted ways, I hopped on the subway and headed up to RPC for the 7:00 service. I'm definitely a creature of habit. :-) Tonight I actually knew some of the songs we sang. Every service there is like going to a show on Broadway. Well, the offertory music is, anyway. They have been blessed with some amazingly talented musicians at that church! At the end of the service, the pastor told everyone to greet someone new, which they don't usually do. I guess God told him I needed a little help in meeting people. Earlier in the day I lamented to Jenn that, though I have enjoyed the services, I haven't met anyone because the church is so big! She told me more than once that I need to get involved in a fellowship/study group. Well, tonight, at the pastor's urging, I met two girls, Megan and Beth, who invited me to their group! At first I was inclined to say no because of my class schedule for the fall, but then I realized that Tuesday nights, when their group meets, is the only weeknight I don't have class. We exchanged e-mails, and I think I'll check it out. Again, I see God at work.

After the RPC service, I continued with my usual Sunday schedule and went to Starbucks for a drink and some reading - fun reading this week! Unfortunately, I realized just as I finished the coffee that I forgot to ask for decaf. Hopefully I'll be able to go to sleep soon, because I have to get up for the Reading Project Institute in the morning. At 8:00!!! Yes, I am excited, and yes, I will have trouble getting up...

livin' in harlem

That's right. According to Will, I live in Harlem. He says everything north of 96th Street is Harlem. Who would have thought? I met Will at the Harlem Week Festival. After searching the Internet for something to do today, I settled on the festival, on 135th Street at Malcom X Blvd, and I invited Alison to go along. We left about 3:30, took the 1 subway down to 96th to catch the 2 up to the festival, and walked around checking out the booths and listening to the music. There were lots of booths with jewelry, a few with books, some with traditional African clothing, some with Black pride T-shirts, and lots with delicious looking food! They had fried chicken, fried shrimp, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, collard greens, mac & cheese, red velvet cake, carrot cake, and all sorts of yummy southern cooking. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for my waist), it wasn't dinner time yet, and we weren't hungry. Of note, I probably saw at most ten other people with white skin! I felt a bit out of place, but completely safe, and I definitely enjoyed it.

After the festival, Alison and I took the 2 back to 96th Street, where we got off to look around. We walked up to 103rd, and got on the 1 to 116th. There we parted ways. I went to a Chinese restaurant for dumplings and Chinese beer for dinner. Then I rode the subway up to Target in the Bronx. That place on a Saturday evening is like Carrefour on a Sunday afternoon! (Shanghai people know what I'm talking about...) It was crazy! Nothing was in its place, and they had run out of lots of things, including Diet Coke and toasters! I had to stand in line for about 30 minutes to check out with my half-full basket. From Target, I rode the subway back up to 116th and did a bit of grocery shopping at Morton Williams. Now I'm enjoying My Fair Lady on TV. All, in all, a nice Saturday.

tourist

Classes for the Summer B Session are officially over! As usual, I have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - but this time I'm really free! No reading or writing assignments to swallow up my time. So I decided to spend today as a New York City tourist.

I went to bed at midnight last night after finishing the last of the assignments. Then I got up at 3:00 and Alison and I headed to Bryant Park to stand in line for the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series. Christina Aguilera was singing, and Alison wanted to see her. I knew I'd never make it to one of the concerts unless I went with someone, so we ventured out bright (or dark) and early this morning. We arrived about 4:30, were allowed in at 6:45, and the concert (3 songs) started at 8:20. They were done by 9:00. After the concert, we walked up to the Times Square area, and had bagels for breakfast. I'm not sure they were real NY bagels, as the shop was called Seattle Cafe. It was cheap, though. Breakfast for $3.14! Pictures from the concert are below (one also shows Chef Emeril).



This afternoon, I took a little nap, visited the student accounts office to give them more money, and went to the Reading and Writing Project Office to make sure I'm enrolled in next week's institute. Then I hopped on the subway again and headed down to the South Street Seaport. What a beautiful day it turned out to be! After exploring there for a bit, I went to Wall Street, where I saw the New York Stock Exchange. Then I rode the subway up to 34th Street. I wanted to visit H&M, a clothing store I often see on TV shows. The clothes and prices were great, but the experience... not so much. A lady walking down the aisle behind me threw up all over the floor and my feet. Yuck, yuck, yuck! She just kept walking! I told one of the employees, and while he went to get someone to clean up, a lady with a cane slipped in the mess. Yuck, yuck, yuck again. A nice bystander gave me a wet wipe to clean off my feet. The afternoon perked back up after that. I walked up to Times Square (42nd Street) through the Fashion District. I had dinner on the second floor of the Olive Garden smack dab in the middle of Times Square, with a great view of all the passers by and of the lights as they were turned on for the night.

Pictures below include several around the South Street Seaport, me in front of the Brooklyn Bridge, a New York River Taxi, the New York Stock Exchange building, a police officer in front of the JP Morgan building on Wall Street, and a sculpture of a button and a needle in the Fashion District.

not a bit

I didn't do a bit of work today, and I don't feel even a little bit bad about it! That's how I want my year in New York to be.

This morning I got up and went to the Lutheran Church. Liza's in town for a trade show for work (http://aidtoartisans.org/), so I called her and left a message asking if she wanted to meet for lunch. (She didn't get my message until later in the afternoon, as she was working.) Her hotel turns out to be right across the street from the church! After church, I stayed talking for about 45 minutes. Again, there were only 26 people there, including the pastor and the kids. When they share the peace, everyone shares with everyone! Anyway, I talked with Amy, who I met on my first Sunday there. She's a women's fashion designer for Elliott Lauren and she used to be an LCMS teacher. I think she might try to teach me to knit this fall! After chatting with her and with lots of other really nice people, who are starting to recognize me, I took the subway up to Lincoln Square, and went to Barnes and Nobel to buy a fun book. I've given up on reading for class. Then I went across the street, picked up a salad, and walked to Central Park. What a beautiful day for a picnic and fun reading outside! I got a bit sunburned, and then I moved to the shade to make some phone calls and catch up with friends from home. After a short nap and cleaning up back at the dorm, I met Liza and her work friends for dinner on Bleeker street. They all have a stipend for food, so they picked up part of my tab. And I have leftovers! Then we went for coffee at a cute little coffee shop with rustic wooden floors and tables and an embossed tin ceiling. Along with some great, relaxing conversation, there was a bit of excitement with a guy who was either on drugs or severely ill, who the proprietors were trying to get out of the shop, and with a woman who knocked over a table outside and broke all the dishes on it. I had such fun with the girls, many of whom have traveled internationally and all of whom seemed closer in age and life than some of the people I've meet so far at TC. Now I'm back at school, and it's just after midnight. I think I'll put off work on the paper for just a bit longer... After all, class isn't until 4:40, and life is meant to be enjoyed!

saturday

This morning Alison and I got up and trekked to Target in the Bronx. I have to admit, I was overly excited to discover how easy it was to get there! The subway ride itself only took 17 minutes! And we got to cross over the river and get a great view of the city. I just picked up a few things, as it was more of an exploration expedition than a shopping expedition. It's an absolutely beautiful day, especially compared to the extreme heat we've had over the last couple of days. So, I definitely didn't want to sit inside and work on the papers and projects I should be doing. Instead, we went to a deli, grabbed a sandwich, and sat on the Columbia campus for an hour or so. We people-watched and sky-watched. There were five planes writing an ad in the sky for Geico. After lunch, we went to the public library, where I picked up Bartholomew and the Oobleck for a presentation on Tuesday. This afternoon I've been catching up on other people's blogs and surfing the net. I found a fun site where I uploaded a picture of myself and they matched me with celebrity pictures. I don't know that I actually see the resemblence, but it was fun anyway...

the end is near

I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up with the blog, and I have to blame it on all the end of term projects and papers. Suddenly there seems to be a ridiculous amount of work! Look at this schedule:

8th - group presentation on two curricular lenses (We chose constructivism & interdisciplinary.)
9th - present my "artistic response and call to action for a social justice issue" (Which actually turned out pretty cool and which I got printed for free at Kinkos because their printer made a little mark on the paper.)
10th - turn in a scrapbook with memories of the curriculum I had in kindergarten through 12th grade (And I can't even remember all my teacher's names! But I do love how its looking. I worked on it in the lounge the other night, and everybody who walked by seemed really intrigued...)
15th - group presentation on science curriculum examined through those two curricular lenses AND a visual representation of the history of a curriculum issue (such as testing, small schools, etc. I don't know what I'm doing for that...)
16th - 15 page paper on multicultural curriculum and presentation with a partner on multicultural lesson plans

And that's in addition to the many pages of reading each day. It's crazy! But the good news is: The term ends one week from today! YAY!

I'm also in the process of registering for the fall and spring semesters, and those schedules are looking pretty bare. It seems like I'm going to have lots of free time to entertain all you visitors! Start making plans now... Another highlight of the week: It looks like I may be able to finish in time to graduate in May! Woo Hoo!

today's five

It's Today's Five Things' birthday, so, in honor of Patrick and T5T, here are five random things.

1. It's exactly 25 steps from the door of my dorm building to the cafeteria door. That means I only have to suffer through the heat for a few steps in order to get to the rest of campus and class or the library.

2. Broadway in the Park was cancelled because of the "heat wave" and we're all being urged to conserve power because it's been 101 degrees. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 80.

3. I bought more underwear. You all remember what doing laundry in college was like, don't you?

4. My printer smells like Fritos. Well, the paper that comes out smells like Fritos. It doesn't before it goes through, only after. I think it's the ink.

5. There are exactly two more weeks of class in the summer term! Yay for that! Boo for all the big projects and fifteen page paper I have to do before August 16.