i lose track of the days, and for that, i apologize. monday was a good day, one that seems like such a blur! we were pretty much all over the lower east side yesterday, met a jewish white man who is married to a filipina lady and turns out that he owns a little filipino restaurant close by in gramercy. delicious! i also realized in that conversation that so happened to turn out to be a 15 minute convo, that whenever me, mary and michelle travel anywhere, an expected 5 minute stop turns out way longer than expected. our stories are complex, and even just the simple question, "what do you do out here?" turns into a drawn out conversation and explanation about our mission and ministry with mother cabrini. haha, welp! that's the way it goes!
the guys at cvs know us, we make friends with the people at walgreens, dunkin donuts love mary...but let's be honest. we gotta do what we gotta do. we're missioners. :) we also played in central park yesterday! well, we had a little picnic and rewarded ourselves with baskin robbin ice cream! so good. gold medal ribbon, you are DELICIOUS, so tasty!
today was a good one...michelle and i had to attend a catholic teacher conference for the catholic school teachers in the archidiocese of new york. i know, you're jealous. that was pretty much the whole day, attending a keynote speaker and a couple of workshops, and then went off to treat ourselves at dylan's candy shop! yes. that's right, be jealous. i got birthday cake ice cream in a sugar cone of course, and my heart was happy with that decision. we practiced our child labor skills by sweeping in front of our good ol' place of living and refuge, and i find that whenever we partake in this chore, i always meet the most random people.
haha the best is when i let the strangers know we live there, and then their first question is, " are you a nun?" - no - "are you going to be one?" - i don't know? no? - hahaha it's awesome. we made sister names for ourselves, and since sister crystal just does not flow well...mine is sister mary grace, if that ever comes to be a reality. EVER. grace is my middle name...so we'll see about that one! THEN....the night began...AND we did free salsa...in the street. YUP. be jealous...mary got us into it, and michelle knows her stuff, and now i like it, after dancing with an old asian man who was turning me and salsa-ing me for a good 20 minutes straight. shoot.
ANDDDD turns out i will be continuing my capoeira practice!! woohooo! i just need to talk to the mestre and see how i can volunteer my time in exchange for free classes a couple of times a week. :) YUP...done and DONE. brazilian martial arts, here i come....<3
...and THIS is my ministry. :)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
going faster than a rollercoaster...
Indeed, I am still alive and still actively wandering the streets of new york city. Sometimes I don’t even know where the days go, and I seem to have lost track, multiple times throughout the span of even a mere hour. I have learned to start crossing the streets while changing a song on my ipod, and texting a friend, and last night, even though I was late in meeting Ryan due to the L train being held up on the track (someone fainted on the train), I still managed to help someone find their way to upper Manhattan.
All he said was, hablas espanol? And boom, I tried the best I could to get him to where he needed to be. As if I knew how to even use the train systems, taking into account transfers and all this NYC subway stuff, I succeeded, and he finished the conversation and said thank you, by giving me a high five. It was sweet! I was nice…I even exited the subway station with him and told him how many blocks and what direction to go in to get the train he needed. Yay!
I then proceeded to the lower east side with ryan– the typical pianos, and of course, the Bryant park hotel where Jose hooked us up. Yeah, it was a great night of burning off calories. That’s for sure. Two stamps, a sharpee figure of a couple of jumbled hearts, and a glow in the dark x. memories.
The weather is unpredictable, as are the different people I see everyday. I will walk, and sometimes stare at people, in pure curiosity, wondering where they came from, and why their faces look the way they do – some look real sad, some look real happy, and others just are. I would love to know what everyone is thinking in their own heads…on the subway, in the park, and in alphabet city. I mean, what percentage of these people actually live in new york?
I am looking forward for my ministry to actually start, especially in the school setting. There is a lot going on this year, and it will all happen just as it should, but it is a very restless time while I am in the waiting period until the students have their butts in seats.
Going to mass tonight in harlem was something that I definitely needed. It was wonderful to be with Kristen again and to debrief about life, and love and why. Having a familiar face, and hearing stories of her GSV experiences, it’s all good and great, and I am so lucky to have her here. We walked through the campus of Columbia, and it was just interesting to be on a college campus again. THOSE were the days.
Oh life…there’s so much going on…what’s next?
All he said was, hablas espanol? And boom, I tried the best I could to get him to where he needed to be. As if I knew how to even use the train systems, taking into account transfers and all this NYC subway stuff, I succeeded, and he finished the conversation and said thank you, by giving me a high five. It was sweet! I was nice…I even exited the subway station with him and told him how many blocks and what direction to go in to get the train he needed. Yay!
I then proceeded to the lower east side with ryan– the typical pianos, and of course, the Bryant park hotel where Jose hooked us up. Yeah, it was a great night of burning off calories. That’s for sure. Two stamps, a sharpee figure of a couple of jumbled hearts, and a glow in the dark x. memories.
The weather is unpredictable, as are the different people I see everyday. I will walk, and sometimes stare at people, in pure curiosity, wondering where they came from, and why their faces look the way they do – some look real sad, some look real happy, and others just are. I would love to know what everyone is thinking in their own heads…on the subway, in the park, and in alphabet city. I mean, what percentage of these people actually live in new york?
I am looking forward for my ministry to actually start, especially in the school setting. There is a lot going on this year, and it will all happen just as it should, but it is a very restless time while I am in the waiting period until the students have their butts in seats.
Going to mass tonight in harlem was something that I definitely needed. It was wonderful to be with Kristen again and to debrief about life, and love and why. Having a familiar face, and hearing stories of her GSV experiences, it’s all good and great, and I am so lucky to have her here. We walked through the campus of Columbia, and it was just interesting to be on a college campus again. THOSE were the days.
Oh life…there’s so much going on…what’s next?
Friday, August 28, 2009
call it what you want... :)
So the past two days have been a blur – a good one for the most part…well, kinda. One of the days we woke up super early and headed on over to Westchester, new york, so that we could visit some of the older sisters at the Cabrini Nursing Facility in Dobbes Ferry. They had scenic views of the Hudson river, and it was such a beautiful place. It was great to be near some of our favorite sisters again, and even though some of them did not remember who we were or what our names were, we were still able to cherish the memories and the moments that we had with them back in Philly.
Coming back that day, it was so disorienting because it was only probably noon or so, and it really felt like it could be like 4pm. Haha, but it was a good time, and we had some Chinese food to celebrate sister pat’s birthday. Woohoo!
The other day michelle and I went to visit our high school up in the heights and it was so good to be in the place that I was going to be teaching! Woohoo! I keep having these moments though, of realization that I am going to be teaching. What that looks like in the next two weeks, I have no idea, but it’s going to be something good. God has been the ultimate provider in pretty much everything that has to do in my life and there should be no reason not to trust in that…I just gotta keep reminding myself of that major detail. Haha!
Brooklyn was a situation. A great one, absolutely awesome. Get some Hawaiian punch, some frozen fruit, and let the party begin. So good to be with the brother for the evening/early morning. I’m beginning to see how new york works…hang out at one place, end up at another, then another, and before you know it, you are in Williamsburg, you meet someone from Canada, and the rest is history…haha a great history it is. A history of 5:30am. Haha, welp!
So I’m learning that you meet people in new york, but most the time, the people don’t even live in new york. Haha hmm…soo you gotta make the best with what you got and who you meet…but it’s important to also keep in mind, as long as it’s life giving, and worth the time, then why not pursue it. HAHA…and that, is that. more to come. Get excited.
Coming back that day, it was so disorienting because it was only probably noon or so, and it really felt like it could be like 4pm. Haha, but it was a good time, and we had some Chinese food to celebrate sister pat’s birthday. Woohoo!
The other day michelle and I went to visit our high school up in the heights and it was so good to be in the place that I was going to be teaching! Woohoo! I keep having these moments though, of realization that I am going to be teaching. What that looks like in the next two weeks, I have no idea, but it’s going to be something good. God has been the ultimate provider in pretty much everything that has to do in my life and there should be no reason not to trust in that…I just gotta keep reminding myself of that major detail. Haha!
Brooklyn was a situation. A great one, absolutely awesome. Get some Hawaiian punch, some frozen fruit, and let the party begin. So good to be with the brother for the evening/early morning. I’m beginning to see how new york works…hang out at one place, end up at another, then another, and before you know it, you are in Williamsburg, you meet someone from Canada, and the rest is history…haha a great history it is. A history of 5:30am. Haha, welp!
So I’m learning that you meet people in new york, but most the time, the people don’t even live in new york. Haha hmm…soo you gotta make the best with what you got and who you meet…but it’s important to also keep in mind, as long as it’s life giving, and worth the time, then why not pursue it. HAHA…and that, is that. more to come. Get excited.
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