… Chinatown

I wasn’t in Chinatown this weekend, but I’m going through old photos and came across this one that I took inside a Chinatown building ages ago.  I think it’s pretty hilarious they need to remind people not to spit indoors.

                        

... just another street fair

Today I checked out the Japan Street Fair along Madison Ave, looking forward a 'slice of Japan' as promised by this blog. The map they display (shown right) makes it look quite extensive: Japanese chefs, cuisine, kimonos, travel, calligraphy, and more! Turns out it was just your average NYC street fair (cheap jewelry, arepas, fruit, t-shirts, etc), but there was one interesting & authentic sighting while we were there: Harajuku girls (and boy!)

… the dark room

Well, maybe not the dark room, but I did spend some time in Picasa fiddling with my pictures from Guatemala, and have now posted them on my flickr page. Unfortunately they are in random order right now, but at least you can get an idea of things. I will try to add captions and some sequencing this week.

... a rush

Note: I'm in a rush to finish this because the internet is shutting down soon, and I also had two nice Guatemalan boys chatting with me while I was writing this (polite social cues are lost on them). So sorry in advance for any errors!!!

Ah, I can´t believe this trip is almost over already! It has met or exceeded my expectations in almost every way, and now that it´s time for me to start disconnecting from things... it´s hard!

Mish-mash. That would describe my last two days here. On Wednesday I split time between the clinic and observing English classes. The big project in the clinic was de-lousing a bunch of long-haired girls. What a hilarious, reeeeediculous production this was. I also treated some warts, and did bits of translating here and there. My time in the English classes was less eventful, but it was really great to see the different teaching styles of all the volunteers and how the kids responded to each. The best part of my day was at the very beginning. In the morning I crossed paths with a boy named Hugo who had been in clinic yesterday afternoon. He has a big gash on his foot that the nurses had dressed and redressed several times, but it wasn´t healing well because he would then walk around the muddy grounds in flimsy sandals, caking the dressing with dirt. The sandals were his only pair of shoes, and if he continued this way the wound would undoubtedly get infected. So on Tuesday night I went into town to buy him shoes that would cover him up, and settled on a pair of knock off Crocs. I can´t tell you how good it felt to see him walking around in them on Wednesday, his wound protected, with a big smile. While some of the kids there can be unappreciative, you could tell he really felt special that I´d made a special trip to town to buy some shoes just for him. Every time I see him now, I still feel incredibly warm and fuzzy inside. It makes me wonder of the idea of altruism is BS... helping people just makes you feel damn good and you want more of that feeling.

Wednesday night was great as well, as all the volunteers went out for dinner, drinks and dancing. We went to a place called La Bendicion, reputed to be some of the best local food in Fronteras. I asked for the menu after my roomies and I arrived, and was directed to look at the plates of the voluntters that had arrived before us. There I saw I had two options: eggs with maduros, cheese, beans, and tortilla; or steak with cabbage, sauce and tortilla. I love that it was only either/or! Then we went back over the bridge to our hostel, Hotel Backpackers to hit the bar. One of the volunteers had his moped, and after much prompting, I joined him and another volunteer on the ride back. I regretted the decision almost immediately as each bump we hit inched my butt closer and closer to popping right off the back... oy!

We had a great time at Backpackers though... drinking Gallos (beer), dancing (not me), dancing on the bar (not me), and finishing the night with a swim in the river (again, not me). The volunteers are truly awesome. People from Spain, France, Brazil, Germany, Israel, the US, Australia, England... all very kind and total characters.

Today I was kinda tired and dragging for the morning... some clinic, some English, some third grade, some phys ed. There wasn´t a whole lot to do because a lot of classes are in exams. I´m learning the art of being firm and administering tough love. Had a lot of fun shooting hoops during gym with some of the girls. Getting pretty sad about leaving :( Today was the last day of one of the long term volunteers, and it was reeeeally tough to watch her saying goodbye to her kinder class.

Some things I´ve enjoyed or found amusing over the last week...
Hearing Spanish spoken all around me and speaking it myself :) The 12 million things that happen here that would NEVER EVER happen in the states (ie, kids working with machetes in their agricultural class). The terrible service in the restaurant at the hotel (ask for things and either you never receive them, or receive something else entirely). The fabulously quirky German volunteer who teaches English and for a week wore a mustache like Hitler`s. The way the kids prounce ice cream: ee-say-krem.

... skin covered with 'picaduras' :(

Thus far, this trip has been exactly what I wanted. I definitely haven´t sat on my arse on the beach with a drink in my hand... I definitely haven´t felt comfortable and at ease the majority of the time... I´ve definitely been outright scared at times... basically, I haven´t experienced anything like this before, and that is just perfect.

Yesterday I spent the day with the Kinder group - 7 kids ranging in age from 2.5 to about 6. Carlitos, Yessica, Tania, Elvira, Harrison, Diego & Mariana. We worked on pronouncing & writing vowels, did some coloring, a little arthimetic, and some play time. I worked on- on-one with some of the kids who require extra attention, and while they practiced their math or writing, I got to practice my ability to be instructive and firm. This was tough as I am not naturally authoritative in the least. It´s been a struggly to get these kids, esp the sassy ones to do things sometimes. And after a kid has sassed me, it always shocks me so much that it´s tough for me to regain my composure. There is skill involved, no doubt, and by trial and error and observing the other volunteers, I am learning...

The Kinder class was great, but difficult to get really focused because of the very young ones that are just thrown in there (for lack of a better place to put them). Carolitos isn´t even fully potty trained yet! Unfortunately this extreme differences in skill levels is holding the group back, but it´s just the reality of things here. There is only so much (little) money, and few resources.

Traditionally short-term volunteers like me are placed in one particular spot for their entire stay, but I decided to make up my own itinerary today. After all, it´s my `vacation´, and I´m going to do what I want to do! So I spent all of today in the clinic, and was kind of surprised by just how much I enjoyed it... much moreso than being in the classroom with the little ones yesterday. La clinica is made up of a large waiting/triage area, two exam rooms, a storage room for meds, and a bedroom for the two nurses. Right now there happen to be two nurses there,
a

Helen from Australia & Carmita from Barcelona (pictured above), but most of the time there is only one - or sometimes even none. This morning was busy as there were about 25-30 kids & staff that needed vaccinations. I was responsible for running high and low throughout the grounds to track down these people who I would surely not recognize. I loved it though because I got to see every inch of the place, including the agricultural area, the small workers village and the local town of Brisas that lies at the edge of the Casa Guatemala ´campus.´I´m sure it was pretty strange for Israel, one of the workers on the list for vaccinations, to see the tall gringa appear out of no where in the field before him to request his precense in the clinic.

Have to write more tomorrow because the internet is about to expire! Oh, and skin covered with 'picaduras' refers to the mosquito bites I have all over my body! I´ve been using my 35% strength deet, and the even stronger stuff for my clothes, and even though it burns my skin and makes me feel feverish all day long, that´s still not enough for these little buggers!!

... dia numero uno

I´m not sure what to put down here given that it has to be short & sweet, but I´d still like it to give you some insight into what I´m experiencing here. I´ll start with the kids; the reason I came in the first place!

They are amazing in many ways....
1. Adorable -- today all us new volunteers were warned about which ones were so cute that they´d garnered themselves an overflow of attention that is now stunting their development. I got this warning only after unknowingly doting on one of the culprits for the entire morning... they certainly are hard to resist.
2. Happy -- they really are happy kids that enjoy their life here. They don´t seem to feel sorry for themselves in the least, and yet they have so little compared to others.
3. Easily contented -- I mean in comparison to kids in the US who need constant stimulation & entertainment. These kids can play outside, with eachother, for hours without complaining that they´re bored.
4. Smart -- They are bright, and really understand how things work. They know how to use new volunteers to their best advantage, which can certainly be frustrating...

Weekends at the orphanage there are no classes, only 'actividades,' so this meant that I spent most of the day playing in a park with the Ninas Pequenas. Mid morning we took a break to watch a series of Reggeaton videos (I didn´t feel so good about this, despite the fact that the kids really seemed to enjoy it and were mezmerized by the tv), mid-day we had a simple but tasty lunch of rice, green beans, and a tortilla. Mid-afternoon we broke for a papaya snack followed by a swim in the river, and then it was time to hop on the motorboat and come back to the hostel.

Before departing at the end of the day, I donated the gently used clothes that my coworkers generously brought to me. It was nicely received, and I got to see the inside of the 'bodega' as a result. This is where they store everything that has been donated until it´s needed. They had a pretty good storehouse of shoes, clothes, games, etc.

Now it´s time for dinner at the hostel (pictured below) with my roommates. 'Raquel, la Otra' is a nice girl from upstate New York. She is blond as well and the kids ask if we´re sisters. She has the suffix ´'la Otra' (the other) because there is a Nina Pequena named Raquel, and the girls differentiate her this way. Rocio is another nice girl from Madrid. She´s made me realize that I´ve missed Spainairds!

...Guatemala!

I made it, finally :) It was a solid 15 hours of almost constant transportation today: cars, planes, & buses. I am happy to report I didn´t get sick once... dramamine is my new bff.

I´m too tired to write anything substantive, so I´ll add some random highlights before I sign off:
* No idea how I´m going to sleep in this humidity
* There have already been two cockroaches in my room -- I killed one of them! Without screaming like a girl either.
* Traveling alone is not as easy as I thought it might be!

… a state of excitement!

I can’t believe I leave for Guatemala on Saturday.  Traveling by myself, communicating primarily in my native tongue from a previous life, working in the ‘jungle,’ seeing what life is like in an orphanage… it’s all very exciting, and of course a little scary. 

Right now I’m loading up my throw-away iPod Nano (gift from an ex) with my fav tunes and some audiobooks on Guatemala.  I figure I’ll take the Nano instead of my prized full-size iPod so that if it’s stolen I won’t be heartbroken.  In fact, I would enjoy the thought of some tough thief walking around with an iPod that has BABYFACE inscribed on the back of it.  Yeah, I said it, that was my pet name.  Try not to vomit.

It seems like my trip to-do list is in constant flux… as soon as I pare it down it expands again.  But I think I have the most important things done at this point: I know where I’m going, who’s receiving me, and what sights I MUST see, as well as those I’d like to squeeze in if there’s time.  For this, I have to give a big thanks to one of my ‘UCB’ friends, as well as many strangers on the Casa Guatemala facebook group.  It is so great how former volunteers are so willing to share their experiences and offer advice.  One woman wrote out the equivalent of 3 pages, responding to every single question I had in meticulous detail.  How did people do anything before facebook???

I need to stop blabbing and get some sleep.  I guess it’s hard for me to disengage from preparation cuz this is a big big trip for me on many levels.  I will add a link for a slideshow of the kid’s latest production of The Lion King, and leave it at that for tonight :)

… kill and conquer mode

If I had to chose one thing to do for the rest of my days, it would without a doubt be traveling.  I think it is the best possible use of one’s time and money.  Preparing for traveling, on the other hand, is no fun at all!  Anticipating all that you’ll need, purchasing all that you don’t have, cleaning up your piles of clothes and papers so that you can actually pack what you do have, planning how to get from point A to B… it’s just so much work and too much detail!  I generally prefer a more hands-off approach where I just show up and fly by the seat of my pants.  “Spur of the moment” is one of my favorite phrases, and I think the unplanned and unexpected are just so delightful!

But I guess because I’m traveling alone for the first time, without companions to lull me into a false sense of security (or do the planning for me ;)), I’m making extra efforts to be sure I know what I’m doing and where I’m going.  I don’t want to experience the dark side of the unplanned and unexpected!  So here I am trying to wind myself down from ‘kill and conquer mode'.’ For a bit I’m not going to think about annihilating my travel to-do list and just chill.  Maybe my cat will get off my belly and allow me to read my book (it took me 15 minutes to write this cuz she has mastered the art of Being in the Way).

... the stinking mud

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I attended All Points West tonight for the second year in a row. Last year I had a great time, despite rain showers, and thought that Liberty State Park was quite possibly the best venue I've ever seen any concert in. Cat Power, Ben Harper & Jack Johnson were all awesome. I couldn't wait to get back this year, despite the hefty price tag ($100) and inconvenient commute to LSP (more than an hour each way!).

While last year was great, this year turned out to be unforgettable; for good reasons... and bad.

Let's start with the bad, and here's a hint: the entirety of LSP now needs to be re-sodded. That's right, there is not a square foot of in-tact grass left because all this summer rain combined with hoards of people converted the park into a GIGANTIC MUD PIT. We're talking mud so viscous and deep that it would rip your sandals right off your feet and hold tight to your footwear, only to have later generations discover it during archaeological digs. The prospect of trudging around in the mud for 5 hours may not have been so horrible if the stink of cow manure didn't permeate the air. I'm not kidding, it reeked!! For all I know, I was literally walking around in dirt and cow shit for 5 hours. Hence my beautiful expression.

I tried to fight it for a good hour and a half after we got there, but it was futile. The mud won in the end, and we all ended up sinking our toes into it (I dare you to pick out my sandals in the photo on the left). Yes, yes, I can now admit that it was freeing and felt good to let go of my footwear, but God did I do my best to fight it! To think how me, Roomie & Roomie's Man scoffed at the silly barefoot concert-goers as we walked from the Light Rail to the field. "Where do these hippie kids think we are, the beach??" Turns out it wasn't an act of stupid, willful youth after all; they had simply been here the day before and were smart enough to dress appropriately for the conditions.

Given the disgusting conditions, Coldplay was under a LOT of pressure to put out an amazing performance that would make this all worthwhile. As you can gather from the pictures, my positive attitude was DOA, and I kind of wanted to go home before they even got to the stage. However, I have to say I was not disappointed!! They really put out an amazing performance. I heard all the songs I wanted to hear, they were high energy, the camera & video work was awesome, AND... halfway through they marched out to the middle of the mud field to play a few songs right in front of us dirty, stinky people (they weren't standing IN the mud, but on a small stage of course). We were pretty close and it was definitely super cool, esp when they played my fav song (Green Eyes) and MJ's Billy Jean! And even though I think Chris Martin is crazy, I may have a small crush on him now...

Related articles

• All Points West 2009 Day Three: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (pastemagazine.com)

… wait, do I really miss the South??

Is it possible that I've missed the South these last 6 years, but hadn't even realized it? Not only have I thought I don’t miss it, but I would almost say I haven’t given it a second thought since I graduated. I didn’t have a bad time down there; it was a great, wonderful experience, but after leaving U.Va. I guess I was just eager to move on to the adventure of living in NYC. Being back down here for this conference has definitely reminded me of a lot of the charming aspects it contains: space, pace (like SLOW), beauty, manners, and a focus on family. I had almost totally forgotten what life down here was like, and I’m reminded that I think I could be happy here. It’s just odd to me seeing as I love New York SO much. You’d think the two would be mutually exclusive.

While I do feel renewed warmth toward my Southern neighbors, I have to say that for the stage of life I’m in now, I am very happy to be where I am. I met a woman from the Wake Forest study site today, who, upon introducing herself and asking me my name, noted the lack of ring on my left hand and said:

“I see you’re not married.”

My reply: “It’s nice to meet you too!”

This incident is indicative of the culture down here. People here get married pretty young, make babies pretty young, and enjoy talking about their marriages and babies, and/or their kids’ babies. It’s what dominated our dinner conversation tonight! I’m just grateful for all my wonderfully unengaged and unattached friends. Yay for living in a culture where I’m not a freak cuz I’m single!

... North Carolina

Came down to Winston-Salem today for a week long work conference. I was initially half-dreading the trip -- who wants to deal with NC heat in mid-July!?? -- but after arriving at the Graylyn and enjoying some Southern hospitality, I don't think things will be so bad. This place is beeeeeeeaaaauuutiful!

Oh, and one thing I missed about the South: 'yes ma'am'

'Yes ma'am'
'Yes ma'am'
'Yes ma'am'
'Yes ma'am'
'Yes ma'am'
'Yes ma'am'

Everywhere you go, that's what you hear.

… wide open spaces

Well, a wide open space by Manhattan standards anyway ;) Last night my Party Animal friend threw a huge party to kick off her budding event-planning business. It was held at Safe Harbor NYC, a nice big loft space in SoHo. I will only say that I had a great time… probably too much fun!

... zebra print

Last night, Roomie, Roomie’s Man and I got to hang out in one of the nicest NYC apartments I’ve seen yet. In the heart of the West Village, this was a penthouse with a beaauuuutiful roofdeck, complete with hot tub and a view of the Empire State Building. Not only was the roofdeck perfect, but the interior was spacious and well-appointed: at least 20-foot ceilings, 2 full bedrooms and baths, and an amazingly gorgeous kitchen. To give you an idea of the scale, the master bath was the size of my current bedroom (which I had considered fairly sizeable until last night). Ah, to be well-off in New York! If I lived there I don’t think I’d ever leave.

The zebra print came into the picture when it was time to ascend to the hot tub. Our gracious host gave Roomie a leopard print robe, and me a zebra print robe, to put on over our swimwear so we could make the trek from downstairs to upstairs in the utmost of class. Curses for not taking any pictures!

A pretty close approximation of our view of the ESB (in between the cloud cover)

... love

I would say (and have said) that I’m in love with New York. And one of the many things I love about it is the random stuff you see all the time. Never before in my life have I witnessed things that truly grab my attention – or even stop me in my tracks – as regularly as I have here. I know, I know, it’s to be expected, but I still get a kick out of it. I wonder if that will ever go away… Points to me for not being a (completely) jaded New Yorker yet!

Anyway, on my commute home from work tonight, I saw three things that made me smile. First, in the Union Square subway station I saw a 50-something hippie playing Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” on his electric violin while grooving along with his feet. The large group of people surrounding him seemed to be fascinated with his odd and poorly-chosen musical stylings. Then as I trekked down 14th St., two 6-year-olds whizzed by me on skateboards. Despite the fact that the boards were almost as big as they were, they were actually quite good. Sure, they teetered a bit here and there, and then one of them lost his balance and sent his board shooting backwards into my shin… but I didn’t mind cuz they were so cute! And finally just steps before I walked into my building, I noticed a woman with huge tattoos on each of her feet. Gracing her right foot: JC’s visage in all its holy glory. On her left: well, I couldn’t make that one out.

PS – You see where I’m going with the post titles, right? A Jersey Girl in… the blogosphere. A Jersey Girl in… love. So clever, right!?

… the High Line

Today Roomie, Roomie’s Man & I took a stroll across town to check out the new High Line Park, where about a mile of elevated train tracks have been converted to a public park area. I was really excited to see it, but the throngs of people everywhere put a bit of a damper on things. Apparently there was some sort of festival going on, although we couldn’t find ANY evidence of it other than the approximately 12 million people trekking down the Line with us. Nothing says ‘festive’ like massive overcrowding!

Despite the throngs, it was pretty cool and I’d definitely like to return. The greenery is cool - kind of wild, unkempt and natural looking - the benches are copious, and there are even nice wooden lounge chairs for sun bathing or snoozing. In the pics below you’ll see there’s also a little outdoor ‘theater’ where you can sit directly above 10th avenue and watch the traffic through a large pane of glass. There was something oddly relaxing about doing that…

... the blogosphere

Here I am, blogging again (hooray!)

The original title of this blog was “A Jersey Girl in Queens” but since I’m back in Manhattan and no longer living in Astoria, a change was in order. “A Jersey Girl in Manhattan” just doesn’t have the same ring to it though... So, I settled on the flexible option of “A Jersey Girl in…” which I can then follow up with wherever I am or whatever I’m up to.

At first I thought this was sooo clever. Then I realized it was the same concept as facebook status updates or twittering. So much for being innovative!

... solitude

The highlights of my day:
1. I ate dinner alone in a restaurant tonight. "One is the Loneliest Number" played on the stereo as ate my meal. No joke.
2. A large, buff black man named Kojo with bulging muscles and big hands cleaned my teeth today, for the second time in a year. Much to my initial surprise, he really is one of the gentlest dental hygenists I’ve ever had.
3. I saw Paul Simon in Central Park this afternoon. Funny thing was that I haven't seen his face in ages, but I recognized him instantly. As my Wu-nderful friend put it, he sure is a wee man!

... the subway

After work today while I stood patiently waiting for the R, I was forced to observe the passengers inside the W car immediatley before me. Of note was a woman about my age: a petite brunette, fairly rocker-chic-cute, holding onto the center pole with one hand and thumbing through the most recent issue of Playboy in the other. Seems like an odd choice to be reading in the public domain, but hey…

Needless to say, this attracted some attention. Just before the W got moving, I saw her abandon her scholarly reading to respond to someone speaking to her on the bench. Next, an arm extends into the frame of the window in front of me, inviting her to sit down on the formerly over-crowded, at-capacity bench. As the train pulled off, I could see through the door window that two guys at the end of the bench were eagerly smooshing themselves aside to clear a space for the lovely girl with the Playboy. Apparently there’s always room for a girl with porn!

... the cineplex

Go see a dorky movie!

Last night Ms. Wu-nderful & I went to see "The Future of Food." It made me never want to eat anything again. If you crave that type of anorexical motivation, go see it. www.thefutureoffood.com