Things have been absolutely crazy here in New Jersey for the last month or so. I went to a friend's home over our short
Thanksgiving break. I loved her family, right down to her little
brothers. They were a large Spanish family, and it was loud, but so much
fun. They made me feel so welcome, right form the moment I got in the
car to travel to her home. We went to an anniversary celebration for the
pastor at her church Wednesday night, which I was looking forward
to until I realized the entire service was in Spanish. I don't speak
Spanish, at all. There was a huge meal afterwards and since the majority
of the congregation is Spanish, most of the food was different from
what I was used to, but I loved it. The next day, Thanksgiving, we all
went into New York and froze at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It
was a blast, but it was so cold, even with the layers we were wearing.
Thank God for a Starbucks right there. One of the wonderful things about New York, is the fact that there is a
Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts is on pretty much every street corner. Coffee is a perfect warm up when you're freezing. We
did not stay for the whole thing, as we were all frozen, but what we did
see was pretty cool. As soon as I get my new laptop, pictures will
come.
We visited the World Trade Center memorial afterwards, and
Stephanie's younger brother-a first grader- kept asking us why it
happened. How do you answer something like that for a first grader? Later in the afternoon, we went to her Grandparent's place upstairs,
where they had the rest of the family and Friends and neighbors all
gathered for huge Thanksgiving feast. I swear the table was close to
collapsing under the weight of all that amazing food. Not only were we
incredibly full after the main meal, but later, they brought out at
least seven different desserts, from traditional pumpkin pie to a
traditional Spanish dessert, which I loved.
Thanksgiving break was not long enough by far, and we came
back and started the downhill slide into finals. Throw in a few get togethers with friends in there and the rest of the semester
was amazing. I introduced another friend to Wicked, with fairly cheap
tickets and we spent an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
which was all decorated for Christmas, and the famous Christmas Tree
housed there was absolutely gorgeous. We spent a few hours there, which
was by far not long enough to see the entire museum, but we saw a few
interesting exhibits, including ancient musical instruments. I was
particularly interested in the Horn and Trumpet which began looking
nothing like they do today. After our trip to the Met, we walked all the way from
the Upper East Side down to Time's Square and found a small out of the
way cafe where we ate dinner before we went to see Wicked. Once again, I
have officially gotten someone else obsessed with it.
A couple weeks ago, I got together with a few other NSE student
and we went to Bryant Park in the city and went ice skating. I haven't
ice skated in years, despite growing up on a lake. After one bad fall
and a rough start, I finally figured out again what I was doing and had a
blast. The decorations in the city for Christmas are so pretty and with
the first snow of the season, it looked amazing. We went to a small
pizza place afterwards, and New York thin crust pizza is amazing. Much
better than what you get at Sbarro's or some place similar. We finished eating and
went to Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree and took pictures at the
ornament and light sculptures before we actually got to the tree. The
tree was huge, and beautiful, but it was an absolute mad house with
people literally pressed wall to wall. It was worse than Times Square.
Again, once I have my own computer, pictures will be posted.
I did not do much this past week, other than going out for
dinner and with a friend to the movies. I still find it funny that people out here, when they ask about home, treat it like its a foreign
country. They also have a hard time believing I am twenty-one, almost twenty-two until I
tell them. The general consensus is I look seventeen. I am looking forward to
Christmas and seeing my family and all my Eau Claire friends again, but I
am sad to be leaving the East Coast. I hope it is not a permanent
goodbye and have made some truly wonderful, and lasting friendships,
memories and career advice. For now though, it is time to pack the bags
and head to the airport in a few days and head home. Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year to all my new friends here on the East Coast and I
will miss you this semester. I love you all and had an amazing journey
this semester.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
SoHo, cold weather and Thai food
On Sunday, a bunch of us got together to go explore SoHo in New York.
The weather was extremely cold and windy, and we weren't too happy about
that, but it made it all the more fun, as we came up with some pretty
inventive ways to stay warm, and take our minds off the cold, including
belting out show tunes from Les Mis and Wicked. Del, who had set up the
trip misled us about where we were going to eat, so we went on quite the
adventure in SoHo. He told us once we got off the subway, it was only a
couple blocks from where we had gotten off. Try at least twelve. I don't mind walking, but it was cold and we weren't all dressed for the cold. We won't
let him live that one down.
We finally made it to our destination, a tiny out of the way Thai restaurant. I have never had Thai food before, authentic Thai food, not something you get from the mall. I was a little dubious, but decided it was worth a shot. I ended up getting a sweet and sour shrimp dish and I surprisingly really enjoyed it. We were goofing off while we were there and somehow the topic of birthdays came up, and we started teasing one of the group and singing Happy Birthday while teasing her about it being her birthday...even though it wasn't.
After we were all done eating, the waitstaff came out with a desert and candle for her and sang happy birthday, making the rest of us burst out laughing. No one had asked the staff or told them about the "birthday" but they did it without us knowing. We felt kind of bad, but it was definitely a cause for laughter. We paid the bill, not really wanting to go back outside in the cold, but we did. We took the light rail to Hoboken and ended up having to go back to SoHo briefly as a couple ticket machines weren't working and two members of our group missed the train. Thankfully it runs every fifteen minutes, so we stayed on and rode the train back, this time making sure we had everyone. In Hoboken, we stopped at this little burger joint, reminiscent of the 50's and ordered milkshakes all around even though we were already freezing. Each table had a little juke box and nickles provided to play the songs on the box. The on at our table didn't work, but it was a cool idea. The shakes we ordered were huge. Not only do you get the traditional glass, but they give you the metal mixing cup, full.
It was definitely a cold night, but we all had fun and it was nice to try something new. I told them all I want an apartment somewhere in SoHo, but it was kind of half joking. I would probably never be able to afford one.
We finally made it to our destination, a tiny out of the way Thai restaurant. I have never had Thai food before, authentic Thai food, not something you get from the mall. I was a little dubious, but decided it was worth a shot. I ended up getting a sweet and sour shrimp dish and I surprisingly really enjoyed it. We were goofing off while we were there and somehow the topic of birthdays came up, and we started teasing one of the group and singing Happy Birthday while teasing her about it being her birthday...even though it wasn't.
After we were all done eating, the waitstaff came out with a desert and candle for her and sang happy birthday, making the rest of us burst out laughing. No one had asked the staff or told them about the "birthday" but they did it without us knowing. We felt kind of bad, but it was definitely a cause for laughter. We paid the bill, not really wanting to go back outside in the cold, but we did. We took the light rail to Hoboken and ended up having to go back to SoHo briefly as a couple ticket machines weren't working and two members of our group missed the train. Thankfully it runs every fifteen minutes, so we stayed on and rode the train back, this time making sure we had everyone. In Hoboken, we stopped at this little burger joint, reminiscent of the 50's and ordered milkshakes all around even though we were already freezing. Each table had a little juke box and nickles provided to play the songs on the box. The on at our table didn't work, but it was a cool idea. The shakes we ordered were huge. Not only do you get the traditional glass, but they give you the metal mixing cup, full.
It was definitely a cold night, but we all had fun and it was nice to try something new. I told them all I want an apartment somewhere in SoHo, but it was kind of half joking. I would probably never be able to afford one.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Wicked's 10th Anniversary
As everyone who knows me knows, I am obsessed with the musical Wicked. the
show opened in 2003 and last night (October 30th) it celebrated ten years on Broadway. I was extremely lucky and I am eternally grateful
that I had the opportunity to be there for this performance. I left
school in the afternoon and met up with fellow Wicked fans and good
friends I had met through social media. Elizabeth and Tess, thank you
for making yesterday as amazing as it was.
We started the day by going to a theatre hangout/bakery, Schmakary's and getting their Wicked themed cookies. Double chocolate chunk with emerald green icing is definitely a plus in my book. They were pretty reasonably priced too, at two giant cookies for $5. We took our cookies back to Times Square and sat on the steps in front of the New Year's Eve ball. We sat there just enjoying talking to each other for a while as we had several hours before the show. Eventually we went to dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. That place was really entertaining. So many Broadway stars got their start there, and Rachel Potter, in the top 12 on the X Factor is a former staff member there. The entire staff sings live as you are eating, all from memory. They dance, they walk around on top of booths and are all around amazing. I will be posting a couple videos of some portions of the staff singing on my facebook account.
Finally, we made it to the theatre about an hour and a half early, but we knew it was going to be packed. The show was sold out, which means there would be over were over one thousand people in that theatre all trying to buy merchandise, pick up tickets, search for famous Broadway stars, take pictures, etc. We took numerous pictures outside of the the theatre with murals of Elphaba and Glinda.
We went inside, and I had an e-mail from the theatre company that told me because I had ordered my tickets from the site I did, any apparel purchase came with a free complimentary gift. I had planned on buying a t-shirt anyway, and I was expecting a free gift like a key chain or poster or something. I was not expecting a $20 reusable Wicked themed tote bag. That was just one thing that helped make the night an evening I will never forget.
Finally, we all found our seats and the lights dimmed. As soon as the curtain came up, the house started cheering: all 1800 plus of us. I have seen the show before, but the two people sitting next to me (not my friends, we all had different seats in different areas of the theatre) were seeing it for the first time and it made the night all that much more special to talk with them and watch their reactions as they fell in love with the show that has spoken to millions of people across the globe. I can't even begin to describe how I was feeling as I sat there and watched the show I know so well. Alli Mauzy (Glinda) made her entrance and once again we all started cheering. Every major entrance, including the green baby at the beginning of the show was met with cheers and applause. It was extremely exciting to be part of that. There was even huge cheers for the actress playing Elphaba's mother as she has been with the show from day one, ten years ago.
The cast finished the first song and the audience would not stop cheering. Alli, in an interview today, stated that she was worried about that due to various issues. "I had a moment where I [thought], 'We might be here all night if they keep applauding,' but I also thought, 'If we go past union [time constraints for the] musicians, this can be a problem. So I knew I had to move on at some point, but the audience just didn't want to stop applauding [at] the notes and the chords and the word 'Wicked.'"
As if that wasn't enough, we reached Defying Gravity and the end of Act 1. Not only did we all start clapping and cheering, again, intermission began with a standing ovation.
The second act was just as amazing and I was reduced to tears in For Good. I was not the only one. On stage, Lindsay (Elphaba) and Alli (Glinda) were both in tears also.
There were numerous former cast members in the audience, but I could not find them. Winnie Holzman (She wrote the book for the musical) and Gregory Maguire (author of the original Wicked novel) were both there also, but unfortunately due to the sheer number of people there last night, I did not see them and get to meet them. After the show, Tess, Elizabeth and I headed to the stage door along with about half the audience, but were only told the cast was not coming out that night as they had an after party to go to, and that was not open to the general public unless you felt like shelling out a ton of money.
I am so truly thankful for this opportunity to go to a celebration like this. It went above and beyond a normal Broadway performance.
The night was truly magical and I want to send out a huge and heartfelt thank you to the cast, crew and creative team of Wicked for making a musical that has spoken to me and many others, and will for years to come. To be cliche (even if it is true), because of Wicked, I have been changed, for good. Cheers! Here's to another 10 years and beyond!
We started the day by going to a theatre hangout/bakery, Schmakary's and getting their Wicked themed cookies. Double chocolate chunk with emerald green icing is definitely a plus in my book. They were pretty reasonably priced too, at two giant cookies for $5. We took our cookies back to Times Square and sat on the steps in front of the New Year's Eve ball. We sat there just enjoying talking to each other for a while as we had several hours before the show. Eventually we went to dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. That place was really entertaining. So many Broadway stars got their start there, and Rachel Potter, in the top 12 on the X Factor is a former staff member there. The entire staff sings live as you are eating, all from memory. They dance, they walk around on top of booths and are all around amazing. I will be posting a couple videos of some portions of the staff singing on my facebook account.
Finally, we made it to the theatre about an hour and a half early, but we knew it was going to be packed. The show was sold out, which means there would be over were over one thousand people in that theatre all trying to buy merchandise, pick up tickets, search for famous Broadway stars, take pictures, etc. We took numerous pictures outside of the the theatre with murals of Elphaba and Glinda.
We went inside, and I had an e-mail from the theatre company that told me because I had ordered my tickets from the site I did, any apparel purchase came with a free complimentary gift. I had planned on buying a t-shirt anyway, and I was expecting a free gift like a key chain or poster or something. I was not expecting a $20 reusable Wicked themed tote bag. That was just one thing that helped make the night an evening I will never forget.
Finally, we all found our seats and the lights dimmed. As soon as the curtain came up, the house started cheering: all 1800 plus of us. I have seen the show before, but the two people sitting next to me (not my friends, we all had different seats in different areas of the theatre) were seeing it for the first time and it made the night all that much more special to talk with them and watch their reactions as they fell in love with the show that has spoken to millions of people across the globe. I can't even begin to describe how I was feeling as I sat there and watched the show I know so well. Alli Mauzy (Glinda) made her entrance and once again we all started cheering. Every major entrance, including the green baby at the beginning of the show was met with cheers and applause. It was extremely exciting to be part of that. There was even huge cheers for the actress playing Elphaba's mother as she has been with the show from day one, ten years ago.
The cast finished the first song and the audience would not stop cheering. Alli, in an interview today, stated that she was worried about that due to various issues. "I had a moment where I [thought], 'We might be here all night if they keep applauding,' but I also thought, 'If we go past union [time constraints for the] musicians, this can be a problem. So I knew I had to move on at some point, but the audience just didn't want to stop applauding [at] the notes and the chords and the word 'Wicked.'"
As if that wasn't enough, we reached Defying Gravity and the end of Act 1. Not only did we all start clapping and cheering, again, intermission began with a standing ovation.
The second act was just as amazing and I was reduced to tears in For Good. I was not the only one. On stage, Lindsay (Elphaba) and Alli (Glinda) were both in tears also.
There were numerous former cast members in the audience, but I could not find them. Winnie Holzman (She wrote the book for the musical) and Gregory Maguire (author of the original Wicked novel) were both there also, but unfortunately due to the sheer number of people there last night, I did not see them and get to meet them. After the show, Tess, Elizabeth and I headed to the stage door along with about half the audience, but were only told the cast was not coming out that night as they had an after party to go to, and that was not open to the general public unless you felt like shelling out a ton of money.
I am so truly thankful for this opportunity to go to a celebration like this. It went above and beyond a normal Broadway performance.
The night was truly magical and I want to send out a huge and heartfelt thank you to the cast, crew and creative team of Wicked for making a musical that has spoken to me and many others, and will for years to come. To be cliche (even if it is true), because of Wicked, I have been changed, for good. Cheers! Here's to another 10 years and beyond!
Friends and surviving the subway system
This was one insane weekend. One of my friends flew in from Wisconsin on
Thursday night for the weekend. I asked a huge favor from a friend here at William
Paterson and she drove to Newark with me to pick up Breanna. I got a
phone call from Breanna on the way to the airport saying she was there
and was "scared" because there were so many people. I told her to wait
until we went to New York on Friday night. We did not do anything until
Friday night as I had an afternoon Friday that I was unwilling to skip as it was my only class of the day. After class we quickly changed and
got ready for a trip into the city to catch a show. We had tickets to see A Time to Kill on
Broadway.
We got on the bus and an hour bus ride turned into a two hour ride, with the last hour spent sitting outside the Lincoln Tunnel. Apparently there had been an accident in the tunnel, which blocked traffic. We finally made it to Times Square with ten minutes before curtain. We literally ran through Times Square and made it to our theatre with a few minutes to spare. The show was phenomenal and if any of you ever get the chance to read the book A Time to Kill or see the movie, I highly recommend it. After the show, Breanna and I went to the stage door where I got to meet one of my numerous Broadway idols-Sebastian Arcelus. It was rather awkward at first. My first words to him were literally "I'm sorry, is is really awkward." However, once I relaxed a bit I got to talk to him for a while about several things. I offered a hand for a handshake once we were done, and he ignored it and asked for a hug instead. I was extremely excited to get a hug and a picture with him. He was really nice and really funny once we got to talking.
On Saturday we went all over the city to shop. We went to 5th avenue and several of the high end stores like Saks. We also took the subway down to SoHo to visit Top Shop which apparently only has 3 stores in the U.S. We went to a MAC store also, which provides a ton of high end makeup. On an interesting side note, the company also provides the green makeup that is used in Wicked for Elphaba. I know, I know, obsessed Wicked fan right here. We took the subway all over the city and it took Google and asking several transit employees which trains to get on, but we successfully navigated the subway system without getting lost. We were actually quite proud of ourselves. The night ended with a huge dinner at Applebee's which was really good.
Sunday we went to Central Park and it is absolutely gorgeous! We took a peda cab (bike cab) around the park for a whole lot cheaper than they wanted. It is impossible to ignore the drivers selling their services, but we successfully vetoed 3 of them before we got one for $60. It was a beautiful day with a cloudless blue sky and warm weather. We saw pretty much all of the park and also saw the Plaza Hotel as well as several penthouses from the outside. We saw the penthouse of John Lennon's widow and the place he was killed. There are several places in Central park that have been used in movies, including the song/dance scene "That's How You Know" from the movie Enchanted. The fact that I recognized it just went to show how much of an Amy Adams fan I am. We also stopped at the Central Park Zoo and saw the Tavern on the Green, Strawberry Fields and other attractions. All in all it was a wonderful weekend topped off with dinner at the cheesecake factory and the bus driver getting lost on the way back to campus.
We got on the bus and an hour bus ride turned into a two hour ride, with the last hour spent sitting outside the Lincoln Tunnel. Apparently there had been an accident in the tunnel, which blocked traffic. We finally made it to Times Square with ten minutes before curtain. We literally ran through Times Square and made it to our theatre with a few minutes to spare. The show was phenomenal and if any of you ever get the chance to read the book A Time to Kill or see the movie, I highly recommend it. After the show, Breanna and I went to the stage door where I got to meet one of my numerous Broadway idols-Sebastian Arcelus. It was rather awkward at first. My first words to him were literally "I'm sorry, is is really awkward." However, once I relaxed a bit I got to talk to him for a while about several things. I offered a hand for a handshake once we were done, and he ignored it and asked for a hug instead. I was extremely excited to get a hug and a picture with him. He was really nice and really funny once we got to talking.
On Saturday we went all over the city to shop. We went to 5th avenue and several of the high end stores like Saks. We also took the subway down to SoHo to visit Top Shop which apparently only has 3 stores in the U.S. We went to a MAC store also, which provides a ton of high end makeup. On an interesting side note, the company also provides the green makeup that is used in Wicked for Elphaba. I know, I know, obsessed Wicked fan right here. We took the subway all over the city and it took Google and asking several transit employees which trains to get on, but we successfully navigated the subway system without getting lost. We were actually quite proud of ourselves. The night ended with a huge dinner at Applebee's which was really good.
Sunday we went to Central Park and it is absolutely gorgeous! We took a peda cab (bike cab) around the park for a whole lot cheaper than they wanted. It is impossible to ignore the drivers selling their services, but we successfully vetoed 3 of them before we got one for $60. It was a beautiful day with a cloudless blue sky and warm weather. We saw pretty much all of the park and also saw the Plaza Hotel as well as several penthouses from the outside. We saw the penthouse of John Lennon's widow and the place he was killed. There are several places in Central park that have been used in movies, including the song/dance scene "That's How You Know" from the movie Enchanted. The fact that I recognized it just went to show how much of an Amy Adams fan I am. We also stopped at the Central Park Zoo and saw the Tavern on the Green, Strawberry Fields and other attractions. All in all it was a wonderful weekend topped off with dinner at the cheesecake factory and the bus driver getting lost on the way back to campus.
Free Food and Childhood Memories
Hey everybody! Not too much exciting to share for the past couple of weeks.
There haven't been any trips into the city since the first one. I will be
going again though. As of right now there are tentative plans with
friends to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art next weekend.
This past week was Homecoming. It was definitely different then homecoming at Eau Claire, but I did enjoy not being bombarded by people saying "vote for me!" and shoving useless trinkets in my face. There were a few posters around but not too many. The school gave out so much free food this week, that I actually did not need the entire fifteen meals per week on my meal plan. There was pizza, BBQ chicken wings, burgers, hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream, cotton candy, and a bunch of other food that college students tend to go for. There were quite a few events sponsored throughout the week, but most of them did not interest me, mostly because they cost money to go to. There was a free movie night, but it was a comedy that I had seen previews for and had no desire to see.
Saturday was game day. I did not go to the game as football holds very little interest for me, however I was happy to know we won, especially as this has apparently been a pretty bad season for the Pioneers. There was a free carnival next to the football field though that a friend and I did go to. There was more free food there, which made both of our days. Its nice to get free food, and that takes care of a meal, saving money for later. There was also ice cream and cotton candy. The cotton candy brought back a lot of child hood memories of going to parades and the circus with my family, and the happy times I had there. There were a couple carnival games, but mostly a climbing wall and inflatable toys, like bounce houses, an obstacle course and a gigantic slide. These may be geared toward little kids but that did not stop us. I raced my friend through the bouncy obstacle course. I lost, but I still had a blast. I made up for that in successfully climbing to the top of the climbing wall, barefoot, when Aubrey barely made it a couple feet up. We called it even-she won the race, and I climbed to the top of the wall. I played one of the carnival games and won a tiny toy dog. You have no idea how excited I was about that. I am pretty sure Aubrey thought I went nuts. All in all it was a pretty fun day.
Today I slept in and meant to do some of my homework for the week. I did a little bit, but unfortunately not as much. as I had wanted to. I did get together with a friend tonight for the season premier of Once Upon a Time, a show we both absolutely love watching. I think its safe to say I never thought a person could squeal as much as she did when out favorite male characters came on. We have decided its going to be a weekly thing to get together to watch the episode which is fine with me!
All of my classes seem to be going well, but the first test of how well I am actually doing comes this week in the form of two quizzes and a test. I also have my first paper to write. It should be pretty easy to write as its only supposed to be about 700 words and its on the show Graceland, which is another favorite of mine, even if I have only seen the first 4 episodes, but I adore Aaron Tveit, so what can I say?
Well like I said, not to much exciting this week but I am still alive and perfectly fine!
This past week was Homecoming. It was definitely different then homecoming at Eau Claire, but I did enjoy not being bombarded by people saying "vote for me!" and shoving useless trinkets in my face. There were a few posters around but not too many. The school gave out so much free food this week, that I actually did not need the entire fifteen meals per week on my meal plan. There was pizza, BBQ chicken wings, burgers, hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream, cotton candy, and a bunch of other food that college students tend to go for. There were quite a few events sponsored throughout the week, but most of them did not interest me, mostly because they cost money to go to. There was a free movie night, but it was a comedy that I had seen previews for and had no desire to see.
Saturday was game day. I did not go to the game as football holds very little interest for me, however I was happy to know we won, especially as this has apparently been a pretty bad season for the Pioneers. There was a free carnival next to the football field though that a friend and I did go to. There was more free food there, which made both of our days. Its nice to get free food, and that takes care of a meal, saving money for later. There was also ice cream and cotton candy. The cotton candy brought back a lot of child hood memories of going to parades and the circus with my family, and the happy times I had there. There were a couple carnival games, but mostly a climbing wall and inflatable toys, like bounce houses, an obstacle course and a gigantic slide. These may be geared toward little kids but that did not stop us. I raced my friend through the bouncy obstacle course. I lost, but I still had a blast. I made up for that in successfully climbing to the top of the climbing wall, barefoot, when Aubrey barely made it a couple feet up. We called it even-she won the race, and I climbed to the top of the wall. I played one of the carnival games and won a tiny toy dog. You have no idea how excited I was about that. I am pretty sure Aubrey thought I went nuts. All in all it was a pretty fun day.
Today I slept in and meant to do some of my homework for the week. I did a little bit, but unfortunately not as much. as I had wanted to. I did get together with a friend tonight for the season premier of Once Upon a Time, a show we both absolutely love watching. I think its safe to say I never thought a person could squeal as much as she did when out favorite male characters came on. We have decided its going to be a weekly thing to get together to watch the episode which is fine with me!
All of my classes seem to be going well, but the first test of how well I am actually doing comes this week in the form of two quizzes and a test. I also have my first paper to write. It should be pretty easy to write as its only supposed to be about 700 words and its on the show Graceland, which is another favorite of mine, even if I have only seen the first 4 episodes, but I adore Aaron Tveit, so what can I say?
Well like I said, not to much exciting this week but I am still alive and perfectly fine!
IV:XLG and the Big Apple
So at first it seemed like this week was not going to be too exciting,
business as usual with classes, but then I was invited to IV:XLG with
the WPU Intervaristy Christian Fellowship. IV:XLG stands for
Intervaristy Extra Large Group and was held at Essex County College in
Newark, New Jersey. We carpooled from campus, and I quickly discovered I
do not do well in the backseat in city driving. I was incredibly happy to
get out of the car and find out they had free water bottles being handed
out to the students, which helped with the motion sickness.
The gorup itself consisted of six or seven different IV chapters from New Jersey and New York that met for a night of worship and a sermon. The theme of this year's message was Human Trafficking and was extremely eye opening in the vulnerabilities of young girls and women and how easy it is to fall into the trap of human trafficking and how easy it is, especially for children to fall into the never ending cycle. My previous knowledge of this issue was definitely lacking and most of that came from Liam Neeson's movie Taken. The speaker gave his testimony and his experiences with exploiting women and how it took a second look at a music video for him to figure out that maybe the culture he had been raised in was not beneficial. It scared him when he saw a woman mostly naked pole dancing, thinking it was his sister the first time he viewed the video. He then went on to explain how the majority of these women in music videos probably have a history of sexual violence and then segued into what that means for us as Christians. He then talked about us and practicing our faith and what it means to truly be a Christian and not just go through the motions. I do not have to words to describe how his message impacted me. I can only say that I was definitely overwhelmed and extremely glad to be part of such an awesome chapter of Intervarsity while on the East Coast.
On a completely different topic: New York. What comes to mind when you think about NYC? I had a vague idea of what to expect, but it was definitely a shock. It was gritty, loud and crowded, and I loved every minute of my time in the city yesterday. Everyone is selling something, and I mean EVERYONE. From comedy shows to ripped off Broadway tickets to "here have my CD, oh and tip me for it." I went with James into the city and throughout the afternoon we counted twenty-four Elmos (from Sesame Street) four Cookie Monsters, two Woody's from Toy Story, several Marvel characters, Mario, and other assorted characters wandering around for photo opportunities. I caved and took a couple pictures with Elmo and Cookie Monster. We spent most of the day in Times Square. Seeing the number of people there yesterday really puts into perspective how many people fit in there for New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop. The ball is out year round and I was actually able to see it. We were also able to get $77 tickets for Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre Box Office and had fantastic seats. I was surprised to get them that cheap spur of the moment, as any experience I had with shows was over $100 for one ticket. Lindsay Mendez, Derek Klena, and Katie Rose Clark did an amazing job and as it was Jame's first time seeing it, we were both blown away. Walking around Time's Square, it is also easy to get cheaper tickets for the majority of shows on Broadway and it is easy to find any given theatre, leading me to understand why it was called the theatre district. There is everything in Times Square including a huge Toys 'R' Us with a Wonka candy headquarters located inside and a gigantic Ferris wheel inside the store, which blew me away. Most stores we went in (Disney, Hershey, M&M, souvenir shops) are all multiple floors, which I kind of expected, but was suprised to see there were multiple stores in one building. The only other time I'd seen something like that is going to the mall.
I will for sure go back into the city to explore some of the museums and attractions we passed, like a free museum about the NY area and a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. I do want to go to the Met, Central Park and Ground Zero. We did have some slight issues with bus timing, but thankfully it did not affect us getting back to campus.
That's all for this week, now off to do the homework I still have for the upcoming week.
The gorup itself consisted of six or seven different IV chapters from New Jersey and New York that met for a night of worship and a sermon. The theme of this year's message was Human Trafficking and was extremely eye opening in the vulnerabilities of young girls and women and how easy it is to fall into the trap of human trafficking and how easy it is, especially for children to fall into the never ending cycle. My previous knowledge of this issue was definitely lacking and most of that came from Liam Neeson's movie Taken. The speaker gave his testimony and his experiences with exploiting women and how it took a second look at a music video for him to figure out that maybe the culture he had been raised in was not beneficial. It scared him when he saw a woman mostly naked pole dancing, thinking it was his sister the first time he viewed the video. He then went on to explain how the majority of these women in music videos probably have a history of sexual violence and then segued into what that means for us as Christians. He then talked about us and practicing our faith and what it means to truly be a Christian and not just go through the motions. I do not have to words to describe how his message impacted me. I can only say that I was definitely overwhelmed and extremely glad to be part of such an awesome chapter of Intervarsity while on the East Coast.
On a completely different topic: New York. What comes to mind when you think about NYC? I had a vague idea of what to expect, but it was definitely a shock. It was gritty, loud and crowded, and I loved every minute of my time in the city yesterday. Everyone is selling something, and I mean EVERYONE. From comedy shows to ripped off Broadway tickets to "here have my CD, oh and tip me for it." I went with James into the city and throughout the afternoon we counted twenty-four Elmos (from Sesame Street) four Cookie Monsters, two Woody's from Toy Story, several Marvel characters, Mario, and other assorted characters wandering around for photo opportunities. I caved and took a couple pictures with Elmo and Cookie Monster. We spent most of the day in Times Square. Seeing the number of people there yesterday really puts into perspective how many people fit in there for New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop. The ball is out year round and I was actually able to see it. We were also able to get $77 tickets for Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre Box Office and had fantastic seats. I was surprised to get them that cheap spur of the moment, as any experience I had with shows was over $100 for one ticket. Lindsay Mendez, Derek Klena, and Katie Rose Clark did an amazing job and as it was Jame's first time seeing it, we were both blown away. Walking around Time's Square, it is also easy to get cheaper tickets for the majority of shows on Broadway and it is easy to find any given theatre, leading me to understand why it was called the theatre district. There is everything in Times Square including a huge Toys 'R' Us with a Wonka candy headquarters located inside and a gigantic Ferris wheel inside the store, which blew me away. Most stores we went in (Disney, Hershey, M&M, souvenir shops) are all multiple floors, which I kind of expected, but was suprised to see there were multiple stores in one building. The only other time I'd seen something like that is going to the mall.
I will for sure go back into the city to explore some of the museums and attractions we passed, like a free museum about the NY area and a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. I do want to go to the Met, Central Park and Ground Zero. We did have some slight issues with bus timing, but thankfully it did not affect us getting back to campus.
That's all for this week, now off to do the homework I still have for the upcoming week.
Syllabus week
Hey guys! There was a lot of exciting events going on this week and I was
definitely kept busy! I arrived here in Wayne, New Jersey about 1:30
East Coast time. I got from the airport to school by cab, and I am incredibly glad I was not the one behind the wheel. The New Jersey
Turnpike is insane! It took a little while for the cab driver to find
the dorm, but the campus police, and campus football players were
helpful with directions and assisting with luggage. I knew going in I
would have the room to myself the first night, but as of right now, it
looks like I will not have a room mate which is quite nice. My room is a
typical two person dorm room, but pretty big. For those of you who know
the size of the rooms in Towers in Eau Claire, the rooms in High
Mountain West are even bigger. I share a bathroom with only 2
other girls, who are room mates in the room on the opposite side of me. They are both
returning students, and are both of Caribbean descent. Its nice when when they have music going as its usually reggae or theatre as
Shauni is double majoring in Public Relations and Theatre. I can see New
York from the study area in front of our rooms, which is commonly known as the pod. The fact I can see the skyline is a huge excitement for someone like me, coming from a small town where the tallest building is the high school.
I have yet to actually go into New York, but the fact that I can see quite a bit of the skyline from my dorm is awesome. Another awesome reason to have returning students living so close to me, is the advice they can give. I had no idea how to get into the city, and they were more than willing to tell me how to get into the city without having to deal with trains or switching buses. Apparently there is a shuttle that picks up outside my dorm and goes directly to the Port Authority Station on 42nd Street-a block away from Times Square.
The campus here is gorgeous. It is very green and the buildings are all red brick and beautiful. Campus itself is fairly small, making it easy to get to everywhere I need to go. The food in the dining hall is wonderful, but that could be because I am so used to the cafeteria food at Eau Claire, which leaves much to be desired. The meal plan I am on also has a certain amount of Pioneer Money (which is similar to the Blugold Dollars at EC), but the nice thing about this money, is that it can be used at local businesses such as CVS, a few pizza delivery places and other nearby business. CVS is handy at a five minute walk, for snacks, toiletries and other minor things I was unable to bring with me. I did not have to spend any of my own money, and just used the Pioneer money.
Classes this week were fairly boring, but as any college student knows, the syllabus and class expectations are always boring. However, my Geography professor is insane and very flamboyant. He is always running late and shouts his lectures, which can be a bit much as the class is really small with only seven students. He is from Taiwan and talks about it quite a bit.
Campus has a great time to mingle with other students from 12:30 to 2, outside of class, called common hour. This week there has been a lot of free food and music during it and its not uncommon to see groups of guys just break out and start dancing. The student affairs group on campus has organized a lot of activities on campus this week, plus other things I was able to discover on my own. I found Intervaristy which made me incredibly happy and PK (Pastor Ken) is amazing! The other students were so welcoming and genuinely happy to meet me, which made the inevitable awkwardness of meeting new people fade pretty quickly. I also met a few new people at new student/transfer student activities and there are a few that we have just hit it off really well.
Today I was waiting for the bus for a school sponsored trip and did not know anyone else in the group, aside from one girl who wasn't there yet, and a guy came up and was like, "You look a little lost. Would you like to join me for the day?" He was with another friend, and was gracious enough to invite me, so the three of is pretty much spent today together at the Fun Plex about an hour away. We paid the school $7 for this trip which included unlimited go-karting, laser tag, $40 worth of arcade tokens for the arcade games, bumper cars, carnival rides and food for the day. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to start to get to know some of my class mates.
For now its time to go meet some friends for dinner and probably do what little homework I do have. See you at the next post!
I have yet to actually go into New York, but the fact that I can see quite a bit of the skyline from my dorm is awesome. Another awesome reason to have returning students living so close to me, is the advice they can give. I had no idea how to get into the city, and they were more than willing to tell me how to get into the city without having to deal with trains or switching buses. Apparently there is a shuttle that picks up outside my dorm and goes directly to the Port Authority Station on 42nd Street-a block away from Times Square.
The campus here is gorgeous. It is very green and the buildings are all red brick and beautiful. Campus itself is fairly small, making it easy to get to everywhere I need to go. The food in the dining hall is wonderful, but that could be because I am so used to the cafeteria food at Eau Claire, which leaves much to be desired. The meal plan I am on also has a certain amount of Pioneer Money (which is similar to the Blugold Dollars at EC), but the nice thing about this money, is that it can be used at local businesses such as CVS, a few pizza delivery places and other nearby business. CVS is handy at a five minute walk, for snacks, toiletries and other minor things I was unable to bring with me. I did not have to spend any of my own money, and just used the Pioneer money.
Classes this week were fairly boring, but as any college student knows, the syllabus and class expectations are always boring. However, my Geography professor is insane and very flamboyant. He is always running late and shouts his lectures, which can be a bit much as the class is really small with only seven students. He is from Taiwan and talks about it quite a bit.
Campus has a great time to mingle with other students from 12:30 to 2, outside of class, called common hour. This week there has been a lot of free food and music during it and its not uncommon to see groups of guys just break out and start dancing. The student affairs group on campus has organized a lot of activities on campus this week, plus other things I was able to discover on my own. I found Intervaristy which made me incredibly happy and PK (Pastor Ken) is amazing! The other students were so welcoming and genuinely happy to meet me, which made the inevitable awkwardness of meeting new people fade pretty quickly. I also met a few new people at new student/transfer student activities and there are a few that we have just hit it off really well.
Today I was waiting for the bus for a school sponsored trip and did not know anyone else in the group, aside from one girl who wasn't there yet, and a guy came up and was like, "You look a little lost. Would you like to join me for the day?" He was with another friend, and was gracious enough to invite me, so the three of is pretty much spent today together at the Fun Plex about an hour away. We paid the school $7 for this trip which included unlimited go-karting, laser tag, $40 worth of arcade tokens for the arcade games, bumper cars, carnival rides and food for the day. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to start to get to know some of my class mates.
For now its time to go meet some friends for dinner and probably do what little homework I do have. See you at the next post!
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