today on my lunch break i decided to go for a walk around the block.
i am attending my Pre Service Orientation (PSO) for VISTA this week in the lower east side of Manhattan and while the trainer is excellent... trainings are long. so i thought stretching my legs and getting some fresh air would put me back on my "a" game for the afternoon session.
while strolling down my first block i noticed a big sign on the sidewalk that read "SAMPLE SALE---70,80,90% off top labels." For those of you who know me you know I really do not have much style--let alone actually follow designers-- but i thought i'd check it out. i am in nyc.
the sale was taking place in an empty building that they had erected make-shift tables and shelving through out a giant front room. right when you entered the door you were confronted by two men with thick, black mustaches and puffs of chest hair peaking through their tight tshirts.
as an individual raised in the Midwest, i am still getting adjusted to people not smiling or nodding when you pass by, and because i was so distracted by the men's amazingly thick mustaches, i forgot my new vow to fit in and cheerfully said hello.
that was the end of it; they knew they had a tourist
(yes. i am considered a tourist. i have been told by multiple life long residents of NYC that until you have lived here at least 5 years--you are a tourist).
before i knew it everything i was looking at they were there telling me how pretty it was, how pretty i was, how pretty it and i would be if we were together...bags, shoes, tank tops, dresses etc. normally i am an assertive person and fend off this type of attention easily, but the compliments and the cheap labels and just the atmosphere of the city got the best of me.
i began my walk of shame back to training with a new Kenneth Cole tote under my arm. it wasn't anger or guilt from the price of the bag i was feeling because it really wasn't that expensive, but it was the fact that i felt a bit betrayed. Betrayed by my Midwestern characteristics that had freely handed me over to these new york sales men--with thick mustaches and visible chest hair no less. next time i can only hope that the weight of the bag on my shoulder will remind me to NOT SAY HELLO! :)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
strategy
being new to a city can be tricky.
it is hard to move across the country, learn new routines, and begin a job. it is easy to miss all the old habits and comforts from home.
something i realized very quickly though is that a good strategy to combat the loneliness of all the above is to move in with two other ladies who are in the same situation as me and will have no choice but to be my friend. :)
enter roommates sally and amanda. lots of people have asked me where i came across roommates in a city i had never been to. craigslist was a little too scary for my taste, so i went for the next best thing in a 20-somethings life... facebook!
facebook has an application entitled the "market place." People can buy and sell nearly anything on this site--including themselves. so i decided to advertise myself as someone in need of roommates. i found a cute picture of myself, wrote a clever description, and waited. within hours i had many replies, but the first one to catch my eye was miss. amanda from down south.
amanda too had decided to join the americorps and was going to be working in the mayor's office. she is loud, articulate, kind, and full of positive energy. she did much of the leg work in looking for places to live and found us our fabulous (sometimes interesting) apt. amanda even volunteered to leave work early and pick me up at the airport the night i moved to nyc.
after a couple more days of sifting offers to join our team, i got an email from a young woman named sally. sally is a fashionista. she has survived fashion internships that would make you laugh, cry, and shudder. sally is quiet, sweet, generous, and creative. her heroic tales of the subway provide us with nightly humor.
new city, new friends, new adventures. not a bad start.
it is hard to move across the country, learn new routines, and begin a job. it is easy to miss all the old habits and comforts from home.
something i realized very quickly though is that a good strategy to combat the loneliness of all the above is to move in with two other ladies who are in the same situation as me and will have no choice but to be my friend. :)
enter roommates sally and amanda. lots of people have asked me where i came across roommates in a city i had never been to. craigslist was a little too scary for my taste, so i went for the next best thing in a 20-somethings life... facebook!
facebook has an application entitled the "market place." People can buy and sell nearly anything on this site--including themselves. so i decided to advertise myself as someone in need of roommates. i found a cute picture of myself, wrote a clever description, and waited. within hours i had many replies, but the first one to catch my eye was miss. amanda from down south.
amanda too had decided to join the americorps and was going to be working in the mayor's office. she is loud, articulate, kind, and full of positive energy. she did much of the leg work in looking for places to live and found us our fabulous (sometimes interesting) apt. amanda even volunteered to leave work early and pick me up at the airport the night i moved to nyc.
after a couple more days of sifting offers to join our team, i got an email from a young woman named sally. sally is a fashionista. she has survived fashion internships that would make you laugh, cry, and shudder. sally is quiet, sweet, generous, and creative. her heroic tales of the subway provide us with nightly humor.
new city, new friends, new adventures. not a bad start.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
so what are you doing again?
one last note for the night and then i will be done. i just need to brag though about what an awesome program i get to work for.
my americorps position is for the community education department of Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in the bronx. i have been assigned to their Start Strong program.
Start Strong is a national initiative that has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 11 different cities across the US (bronx included). The goal of the program is to increase awareness and eduction among 11-14 y.o. tweens about dating violence and healthy relationships. There is also an emphasis on working with community members and parents who are involved with student's daily lives (go to http://www.startstrongteens.org/ for more information).
Each site has to full fill certain requirements--have a teen advisory board, run a Domestic Violence Awareness Month event in october, work with community partners, etc--but largely each site is allowed to pursue their own creative avenues for their community.
For the upcoming year Start Strong Bronx has a handful of exciting projects being launched.
my americorps position is for the community education department of Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in the bronx. i have been assigned to their Start Strong program.
Start Strong is a national initiative that has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 11 different cities across the US (bronx included). The goal of the program is to increase awareness and eduction among 11-14 y.o. tweens about dating violence and healthy relationships. There is also an emphasis on working with community members and parents who are involved with student's daily lives (go to http://www.startstrongteens.org/ for more information).
Each site has to full fill certain requirements--have a teen advisory board, run a Domestic Violence Awareness Month event in october, work with community partners, etc--but largely each site is allowed to pursue their own creative avenues for their community.
For the upcoming year Start Strong Bronx has a handful of exciting projects being launched.
- We have developed a strong partnership with clergy in the bronx and in the month of October each congregation will have a service dedicated completely to healthy families and relationships.
- Start Strong's Teen Advisory Board is doing a performance inspired by personal stories of dating violence in the month of October.
- 5 middle schools in the community have agreed to have Strong Strong come in to do a 21 week curriculum about healthy relationships for their 7th and 8th grade students.
I get to have 2 projects to focus on for the first half of the year:
- Conducting a needs assessment and then implementing necessary programing to a local Boys and Girls Club on the issue of teen dating violence.
- Building collaboration tools and network an already existing teen dating violence program in the bronx community--RAPP (relationship, abuse, prevention program).
First Week of Work...
ok. i have completed my first "week" (it was only 2 days) of work!!
i got into the city on tuesday night and was to start at the hospital on thursday morning. i thought that wednesday would be a great day to practice going to work. i bought a subway pass; navigated my way through brooklyn, manhatten, and the bronx; and got myself all the way to the hospital's front doors in one piece (it only took an hour and 15 minutes)!
so wednesday i laid down to go to sleep--all excited for my first day on thursday-- and as i started to close my eyes.. i kept them closed and kept them closed and kept them closed a bit longer but nothing. no sleep. i laid awake most of the night tossing and turning in true neurotic/anxious maria fashion.
the alarm did finally go off at 6:30, but i guess to my subconscious it wasn't important for me to get up, so i shut the alarm off and kept sleeping. at 7:07 i sat up in bed, looked at the clock, and screamed. I had to leave at 7:30.
while running to the subway i wasn't too frazzled because i was so happy that i was able to grab a cup of coffee to go. i went for that first sip and noticed the arm of my shirt was wet. I smelled it. My coffee had leaked on the arm of my cardigan. No biggie right? Just take it off. While standing on the subway though i looked down and saw that my beautiful white khakis were now designed with brown coffee spills down both legs.
Just take them off? :)
i got into the city on tuesday night and was to start at the hospital on thursday morning. i thought that wednesday would be a great day to practice going to work. i bought a subway pass; navigated my way through brooklyn, manhatten, and the bronx; and got myself all the way to the hospital's front doors in one piece (it only took an hour and 15 minutes)!
so wednesday i laid down to go to sleep--all excited for my first day on thursday-- and as i started to close my eyes.. i kept them closed and kept them closed and kept them closed a bit longer but nothing. no sleep. i laid awake most of the night tossing and turning in true neurotic/anxious maria fashion.
the alarm did finally go off at 6:30, but i guess to my subconscious it wasn't important for me to get up, so i shut the alarm off and kept sleeping. at 7:07 i sat up in bed, looked at the clock, and screamed. I had to leave at 7:30.
while running to the subway i wasn't too frazzled because i was so happy that i was able to grab a cup of coffee to go. i went for that first sip and noticed the arm of my shirt was wet. I smelled it. My coffee had leaked on the arm of my cardigan. No biggie right? Just take it off. While standing on the subway though i looked down and saw that my beautiful white khakis were now designed with brown coffee spills down both legs.
Just take them off? :)
Day 4
Day 4.
So far life in the city is good. There is so much. I can not even begin to describe the people, the buildings, the communities... I feel so lucky to be here and expand how I see the world.
Definitely though there are frustrations. My apartment is probably the #1 pain. Our landlord is a dork. The big "renovations" our building has been going through has left us without power, water, or gas at random times. Every room in the apt has an Internet jack in it, but when the Internet man came to hook us up... he found that behind the jacks was nothing. It was just a face plate on the wall to make it look like there was a jack there. The cupboards in the kitchen have been installed every way, but the right way and are lacking handles so you can't open them without scrapping your nails down the front.
Most of the time we just laugh.
So far life in the city is good. There is so much. I can not even begin to describe the people, the buildings, the communities... I feel so lucky to be here and expand how I see the world.
Definitely though there are frustrations. My apartment is probably the #1 pain. Our landlord is a dork. The big "renovations" our building has been going through has left us without power, water, or gas at random times. Every room in the apt has an Internet jack in it, but when the Internet man came to hook us up... he found that behind the jacks was nothing. It was just a face plate on the wall to make it look like there was a jack there. The cupboards in the kitchen have been installed every way, but the right way and are lacking handles so you can't open them without scrapping your nails down the front.
Most of the time we just laugh.
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