COMMON Ground

A few nights after I got here, I was a bit bored. Since I had nothing better to do, I attended the I-Muslim meeting for residents to learn about the Muslim faith.

Personally, I knew nothing - except they believed in Mohammed and jihad. The moderator, of Egyptian descent but born and raised in Mississippi, explained the five pillars of their beliefs. An interesting faith, and sad, that they are so firmly steeped in the belief that there can be no other prophets, which contradicts in my opinion from what was shared about their God. 

I believe their purpose was to dispel the misconceptions that they are a “jihadist” people, with extreme beliefs and behaviors. A point that the moderator and others wanted to emphasize was that culture came before religious belief, and that the extremists (treatment of women, lack of education, etc.) is the reason for the disparity among the different Muslim communities. Their example was that the women in attendance and from the areas they all came from, women are encouraged to be educated and excel. They honored their women, and considered them more spiritual than men. So much so, they were not required to attend prayers on Friday nights, because they said the men needed it more!!!

All in all, it was a good experience for me in learning from those of the Muslim faith. Afterwards, two of the young women came up to me, curious about me and the questions I asked. They assured me that Muslim women were just as interested in fashion and style. You only had to look at the clothes they wore under their outer clothing. Talk about chatter-boxes!

Something that I have learned while being here, people respond to kindness or a smile. One of the Muslim ‘brothers’ made a comment, in which I agree with, look for the things in common rather than the differences. 

That is a recipe for living harmoniously with others.

My House

This is my house while living in NYC, the International House. 

I went to Europe many years ago. Our High School marching band was invited to an international marching band competition. While in Vienna, Austria, our housing accommodation was a university building that was made into a dormitory for over 400 of the students.
It was European, historic and old. 

The architecture of I-House reminds me a lot of Europe and what I saw there. 

But what most impresses me most are the international students that reside here. 

While in Vienna, many of the students were international as well,

it was an enjoyable experience getting to know them.

I still have the little red boot that one of the Czech students gave me, 

it was a token of what their area was known for - boots and shoes. 

Sunday night, the I-House had a special dinner called Sunday Supper. 

It is a tradition that has been in place since 1924. The founder of I-House noticed that many of the international students were lonely so he invited them over for Sunday supper. Apparently this tradition continued for many years. Now the tradition happens at the end of the semester along with the candle ceremony. 
After the dinner and entertainment  are finished, there is a person who lights his candle, and in turn, passes the flame to everyone at the table. There were over 200 guests at the dinner.
It was impressive.
It was a reminder that those at I-House, though from many different nationalities, could live in harmony with one another. I thought that was pretty significant.
The I-House borders the Hudson River to the west, Harlem to the north, the 'projects' to the east and Columbia University to the south.
This week I hope to get to know the area around where I live better. Grant's tomb is directly across from where I live, and the world''s largest Gothic cathedral is directly south of me.

This is my room. which is much bigger than the other students have.
You will notice some color! I decided to bring along a little home with me - a quilt that I made.

 I also have a bouquet of flowers that my husband sent me for Mother's Day. I will post a picture of the beautiful flowers in another post. But is does liven it up a bit - don't you think?

A Canal Street with NO Water.

Since my purse broke, I needed to purchase a purse - that was cheaper than the $200+ beauties that I kept seeing in the windows of NYC. I had been told that there were vendors on the streets of NYC that sold purses, and later told I needed to go to Canal Street. So after a session at the Manhatten Temple Saturday morning, four of us made the trip to Canal Street. The mission - find a purse for Ann.

These little beauties greeted us as we got off the train. White Fiats with a tree growing out of them. 

After visiting about four stores - they all began to look the same with the same products. Reminded me a lot of Mexico border shopping. Only this time the vendors and street hawkers were made up of different ethnic backgrounds. Some other interns made a trip to Canal Street as well. They succumbed to the enticing "whisperers" on the street. They would come up to you and say "Louis Vitton, Chanel, Couch. Come with me." And they did. Three young single women. They followed this strange whisperer across the street and down an alley. The whisperer was cautiously watching to make sure no one was following them. He then pointed for these young ladies to go down the stairs and to knock on the door, which they did. Another man opened the door and looked to see if anyone was following them, and then ushered them inside the door and locked it. One of the girls told me at that point they may have made a mistake. Then they were taken down a hallway to another door which they entered and went inside a dark room. Again, the door was locked. At that point the lights went on to reveal a room full of Louis Vitton, Chanel, Couch and many other designer labeled knock-off purses. My friends got a great deal on some knock-off products. Would they do it again, I think so!!!

Again - lots of PEOPLE! Packed and jostling each other to move forward, backward to wherever they were going. I found a purse. Been to Mexico, and now been to Canal street - time to go. But wait - the east side of Canal Street began to change to China Town. OK, been to San Francisco China Town, now NYC China Town - time to go. But wait - they had MORE restaurants and they even had a Chinese Bakery?

My friends decided to try these yummy looking treats. Not quite what they expected. And that is what NYC is about - NEW Experiences - right?

And just as we were to leave Canal Street - I saw this vendor's store front. Notice the young man. His father was bargaining for a fashionable accessory piece for his son!

The Sign says "Keep Your Pants Up. Help stop cracks. It's the law."

Times Squared

Friday after work, Leesa and I headed on down to Times Square to check things out. Can I say PEOPLE, and you know what I mean? I have a point and shoot camera, so the quality of my pictures are not great. And besides, unless you have the time and space to frame your shot, nothing gives justice to the magnitude of Times Square or New York for that matter.

Me in the middle of it all.








We went down just so we knew where to go and have an idea as to what we wanted to see later. It really was a walk-through. Definitely going back at nighttime for all the lights.

Times Square New Years Eve Ball.

A play I hope to see.

Next two pixs are of the same building - just different light graphics.

Something sweet. When we walked past - people had these two-foot long Hershey bars that they were purchasing!

How I Travel

 

This is where I am twice a day - Subway stop at 125th Street and Broadway.

It is an elevated platform. When I first saw it I thought,

 "Oh, no! I have to climb how many stairs?" 

Luckily there is an escalator up/down from the the white and green platform, 

then once you enter you climb up a flight of stairs to the trains.

I lean on this sign every morning. It is a nice view.

I am glad it is not winter. 

We aren't far from the Hudson River, and there is always a breeze.

This is a Metro Card. It gets me where I need to go. 

With a few exceptions, you have unlimited access to all the trains and buses for 30 days.

I have a special place near to my heart for this card.

My only wish for this card was that it had 

an elevator and quick and immediate access to the right train!.

This is the subway map.

It is crucial to understand the difference between a 1 train and a Q train.

You might end up in a neighborhood you hadn't planned on. 

It could be a pleasant surprise, or a long wait till you find the correct train!

Times Square transfer station is huge. It is easy to get lost there

Who would have known there could be such a labyrinth

of passageways under the streets of New York.

The TRAINing Experience

Ghetto

April 28th - 

When I came home last night, the train was packed. As soon as a seat came available I went to sit down. However, the seat was between a very large African-American young woman, and two very large working men. It was going to be a squeeze. So as I sit down, I have to wiggle to get in, so I jokingly said, “Guess I need to wiggle my fat behind to get in here.” The young woman just ignored me and didn’t budge, while the men at first looked at me funny, then cracked a smile, and started wiggling as well so I could fit in. 

At that point the gentleman next to me, in his thick Bronx accent makes a comment about the young woman having to wiggle her behind to sit down too. 

Well, what proceeded from there was clearly a short-fused reaction and inconsideration of others at the end of the day. The young woman was quick in her response, with a lot of four-letter expletives telling the man to be quiet. Apparently this working man did not hear nor understand her request as he came back with another comment, referring to her origins as “Ghetto.” I could tell that was a fighting word as all around us in this packed train, moved away, quickly. This descriptive and colorful exchange of words went on for about three minutes. Another learning experience as I learned a lot of new words and phrases. 

Finally there was a lull in the conversation, so I quietly told the man sitting next to me that I thought that it probably was a good time to stop. I smiled and winked at him when I said this. He smiled at me again and nodded in agreement. After it was quiet, I decided to ask about these two gentleman’s work, hoping to diffuse any more tension. When I got ready to leave the train, I had made two new friends.