I went to New York City in March

First, I must note the context in which I am writing:

• It is way after midnight, which is like 3 hours past my normal bedtime
• I had two rather large cups of caffeinated coffee a few hours ago... in order to stay awake... in order to write a paper due tomorrow (technically, it's today)
• I rarely have caffeine... Rarely
• Late at night and with larger-than-normal doses of caffeine, I become paranoid
• I saw a vicious spider in the bathroom
• I became more paranoid
• THEREFORE... there's NO chance that I'm falling asleep any time soon...
  Why not write about my experience in New York City?
  Bear with me and my caffeinated mind. 

And, so.
Begin blog!

Yes, I went to New York City in March. Yes, it was awesome. Yes, I stayed on Times Square. Yes, I saw Jim Carey. No, I did not see the restaurant from Seinfeld. 

This semester, one of my courses-- Philosophy of Peace with Justice-- had an optional travel component to go to New York City to visit the UN, meet with a couple NGOs (non-governmental organizations), attend some sessions on the Commission on the Status of Women, and experience the city that never sleeps (except for Tuesdays... it sleeps on Tuesday nights). 

I tried to journal while I was there, but I literally had no time to do so. From Tuesday to Friday of my spring break, it was go go go GO GO! No stopping for journaling or thinking. None. ...Which is rather unfortunate. To recall my experience, I do have some pictures and a few notes from our meetings with the NGOs and sessions.... which would probably bore you. However, somehow you are still on this page and still reading. I must have drawn you in. Mwahaha.

Tuesday
The rain was a nuisance our first day as we walked around the neighborhood, getting familiar with the layout of Manhattan's Times Square/Mid-town East/Theatre District areas. Despite the rain, I was having a grand time catching myself mesmerized by the bright billboards and amazingly huge buildings. We all (the 6 of us: me, 3 classmates, professor, and his wife) went to lunch at a super yummy Thai restaurant-- Bangkok House-- on 'Restaurant Row.' So good.

You can barely see the tops of the buildings thanks to the fog in Times Square

Rainy Rockefeller Center

Haley and Me - Times Square 

Julia, Haley, Me - Times Square

I'm SO HAPPY it worked out to meet up with TWO of my Belfast Erasmus friends! Julia (from Germany) was in NYC at the exact same time participating in Model UN and Haley (the other American) lives near Philly, which is fairly close to NYC. We met up the first day I was there, which was a very wet and rainy day. After riding the ferris wheel and goofing off in Toys R Us, a huge dinner at Carmines, and lots of catching up, we were all tired from an exhausting day.

Tried going out with my classmates on Tuesday night, but all the clubs and bars had closed or were not busy at all. Where were all the people in the city that supposedly never sleeps?

Wednesday
The next day started nice and early with a tour of the United Nations building. I had been here before when I went to the Preaching in Action Conference. Honestly, though, I didn't take away much from the UN experience on that first trip-- except, I was not impressed with the UN restrooms. This time around was much different. (Also, the bathrooms were a lot cleaner.) I was able to connect with more because of the preparation we had in our class and I got more out of it.

Reminded of this... 

This quote on the wall, in the Millenium Development Goals section of the UN Tour, is one of my favorites that I saw on the tour. It can mean different things to different people. However, to me... this is why I travel-- to see and experience other cultures, meet new people, learn about myself... then, bring all that back home and share it with others. Whether its a dialogue about Latin American Liberation Theology, or a picture of a tree that inspires my mom to paint, or making connections over a funny study abroad experience-- that is why I travel. To share with others the fruits of my contemplation. Can it get more Dominican that that? :)

Jorge, Alex, Cecilia, Vince, and Me - Entrance of the UN 

After a great visit at the Quaker House (an NGO) and a rather disappointing session at the conference, the rest of the afternoon was ours to explore. 

And explore I did...

Stood in two places at once: International Territory and the US 

The rush of Grand Central Station 

New York Public Library 

My face on a billboard! (I'm in the upper left-hand corner)

Sunset in Central Park

Once the Musical - such a cute show! 

Thursday
Seeing Jim Carey's animated face started my morning on Thursday... a pretty good start to the day :)

Apparently he was waiting to be interviewed

After briefly being star-struck by this funny guy, we met with Sr. Margaret at the Dominican Leadership Conference, another NGO with the UN. Our conversation with her could have gone on all day. I appreciated the chance to speak with Sister Margaret with the Dominicans and Camille with the Quaker House. They both seem like down-to-earth people that have a passion for change and social justice. Non-governmental organizations such as these take a grassroots/bottom-up approach contrary to the top-down approach taken by the government or even the United Nations. In doing the grassroots method, NGOs are listening to the people and responding to the needs of the people by working with the member states of the UN. One thing that Sister Margaret said in our conversation with her was that “Everything has been said, everything has been written down. What we need to do now is act and do something.” It will not help to write another declaration or act. What will help us now is to use these documents that we already have and put them into action. I really related to this idea presented by Sister Margaret. No matter how much we write and say about human rights or social justice, it only means something and has importance if we have some action to support it.

During the afternoon on Thursday, a couple of us went to Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty to see what was going on there. Later that night a couple of us went to a local brewery for some dinner and craft beer (of course!).

The 9/11 Memorial is in the process of being built right now, but there's still a lot of visitors and a few things to see. 

Almost got lost. If only we would have followed the signs... 

There are two memorial pools to commemorate all the people who died at the North and South Towers. 

One of the new (big) buildings on the site

There she is! 

We took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Since Ellis Island is completely closed due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, this was the best we could do.

Flight of the craft beer -- doesn't compare to our beer in Wisconsin! ;) 

For me, this experience was a total success even though it was a very short trip. I had fun, got to know my classmates, saw a lot of New York, met up with some good friends, and was able to learn a little bit in the midst of it as well. 

This picture of Big Bird in Central Park sums up a good lesson I learned on the trip: amidst the craziness of life, never underestimate the power of just sitting on a park bench and enjoying some peaceful solitude.