On volunteering

Ok, this one may be a bit worthy, but I have been thinking a lot about the whole volunteering process given that that is what I am spending my 'work' time doing here. The systems are different, of course, but it is also having more time to commit to these things that have got the cogs whirring.

The voluntary projects I have taken part in at home have had varying degrees of success. The two London Twestivals were very hard work, but rewarding - in terms of the money raised but also the sense of achievement and the chance to work with some truly inspiring, excellent people. This is probably the only way I have ever actually 'networked' and I didn't even have to try. Working with the Monday Club at the Camden Society (a social club for adults with moderate to severe learning difficulties) was doubly hard work, given that it was every Monday night, but the adults I worked with showed real progress over the six months I was there, and I was completely touched by how much I was appreciated and valued. Honestly, if you get nothing else out of volunteering, the sense of self-worth it inspires is reward enough.
Other projects I have tried to be involved in have never got off the ground. If there's one thing a charity should get right, it's volunteer relations. While this is easier for bigger charities (who will have people dedicated to this very task), smaller charities are often missing this aspect. I don't mean you have to have someone dedicated to this if your resources need to be used elsewhere, but even a sign on a website saying "We are a small team and it may take some time to get back to you." and then someone actually getting back to me. It is similar to companies who underestimate how far good customer service goes - even if someone can't immediately help you, being told that someone will help you soon placates and removes the feelings of being ignored.

The American system of volunteering is very different to the UK system. In the UK I have waited up to six months to start a volunteering post, mostly due to the systems of obtaining a clean Criminal Record check for each different volunteering post. Maybe because I have kept a squeaky-clean record (not even a speeding ticket, guv), I am pretty much invisible to the Criminal Justice system. In the US, despite my not being a citizen here, I tick a box on a form declaring that I have no criminal record and start volunteering the next day. This is a huge improvement on my part. There are obviously arguments for and against this system in terms of security, though I am never left alone with any vulnerable people. I am sure they are checking my background, though I am not sure how much they will find internationally.

I have been lucky to be pointed in the direction of 826NYC and the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, a mere block from my house. They provide free after-school tutoring, homework help and workshops about creative writing, film making, script writing, journalism and all sorts of other things for 6-18 year olds. The space is inspiring and fun, and the atmosphere relaxed. The idea is to inspire children in surroundings that are completely different to their school or library in order to make them more inclined to learn and create. It is a wonderful idea, replicated in many locations in the US, and soon to be arriving in London. I hope to be involved with that project on my return to the UK.

Recently, I did a stint with Meals on Wheels in hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This was useful to me in many ways, not least that I got to see an area that I am not familiar with and was taken to see 'projects' - the equivalent of UK council estates - that were socially miles away from the uber bars, galleries and music venues the area has come to be known by. My guide on this sunny morning was a Puerto-Rican ex-gang member. He had been in prison, and part of the condition of his parole was that he do community service, so he reluctantly started delivering Meals on Wheels (on foot). This was three years ago, and he now works six days a week for them. He credits the volunteering system with keeping him on the straight and narrow, and seeing the genuine affection he shares with the old people he delivers to, I can completely believe it. There must be hundreds of volunteering stories like this one - where the joy and recognition you get from helping basically (and apologies if this is twee) makes you want to be a better person.

I wonder if the system in the UK could be changed to make it easier to volunteer? With widespread cuts to the public sector becoming a depressing reality, volunteers will need to pick up the slack in areas such as mental health, childcare and help for the elderly. Everyone is tightening the purse strings, so monetary donations are inevitably going down. Without the means to employ people, charities will need more volunteers to help with the administration and practical aspects involved, not to mention marketing, social media etc. This can be done remotely in a lot of cases, so anyone with a computer and minor admin skills can help. Those with specific skills in PR and marketing should check out Bright One - an agency helping small to medium charities set up by the ridiculously-motivated Ben Matthews (also a Twestival co-founder).

This post is not meant to be a rallying cry to make more people volunteer, but I know I have got an awful lot out of it. I am lucky in that I do not have a demanding job, or children to look after, or studies to complete, so I know that these things complicate matters. But if it has inspired you or nudged you, feel free to visit a site such as Timebank in the UK, or I use New York Cares in the US. Your fellow countrymen need you!

Observations

I was thinking the other day that I needed to express some observations as well as give you all a yawnsome run-down of my comings and goings. So here's a few things from the brain of Sarah - feel free to dismiss at will...

- Everyone jaywalks here. This came as a shock to me, as the last time I was in the States, I was in California, where they are very strict. But NYers walk out regardless, which often makes for witnessing lots of scary near-misses between pedestrians and taxis. And everyone pretty much drives like a maniac too, in Manhattan at least.

- The 'art' of the wolfwhistle and car horn toot to express delight in the female physique is alive and well. This surprised me, given that it has all but (happily) disappeared in London.

- People stare more here than in London. I don't know whether it is because I wear different clothes (though we're not talking anything outrageous here), or because I am very VERY white, even compared with all the other white people, or because I am a stone-cold fox (ahem), or if everyone is just more open about looking.

- If you talk to a single man in a bar or cafe (or launderette or library) it is assumed you are chatting him up. By both him and those around you.

- Things the NYC subway does right: runs all night, air-conditioned, machines to check how much credit you have on your travel card. Things the NYC subway does wrong: confusing maps, changes to the service without warning, people going in and out of the same barriers.

- The declaration of calories on menus takes the fun out of going to get something trashy from a cafe. I realise this is the point.

- EVERYTHING has high-fructose corn syrup in it. Including my gherkins. Perverse.

- You can't buy everything you want from one supermarket. Really. My friend goes to four different ones to get the things she likes/needs. If it's strong on cheese, it's lacking in bread, and so on.

- The approach to brunch here should really be adopted more wholeheartedly in the UK - you start at around 11am, eat nice food, drink cocktails and gossip with your friends. It's like the pub Sunday roast, but for the summer. Embrace it please, London!

- The NHS *really* shouldn't be taken for granted, UK-dwellers. Having to self-diagnose and interpret stupidy complicated medical insurance means people don't really go to the doctor even if they need to. Erk.

More as and when they occur to me.

All that jazz

I couldn't decide whether to make a reference to Chicago the musical or Chicago the band as the title to this post. Either of these suggest how very cool I really am...

So, yes, I spent five lovely days in Chicago visiting some very dear long-term friends of mine. It was really rather lovely to spend time with people who know me - no explaining myself, no small talk, no backstory. I didn't talk too fast for them to understand my accent (which seems to happen in NY). Ace.

It was my first visit to Chicago, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone - lovely city. It feels like New York For Grown-Ups - skyscrapers and bars and stuff, but also clean and safe, with the lake coming right up the side of the city, adding an airiness to the whole thing. They have a rather excellent art gallery in the centre which has lots of very well-known paintings in it (as well as being featured in Ferris Bueller, the mark of true cultural greatness). It was also free on the Thursday evening that we went, and we all know how much I love a bargain.

I also went up the Willis (nee Sears) Tower, and only got a small wobble of vertigo when I stepped out on to the viewing platforms that have a glass bottom so you can see directly down. We ate Chiacgo deep-dish pizza (which was not as appealing to me as normal thin-crust - sorry, Chicago) and went on a boat tour where the architecture was explained by a very keen and annoyingly perky kindergarten-school-teacher-in-training. The sun shone and we ate lovely food from the farmer's market. I had my first breakfast panckaes of the trip, and my first meatloaf ever (I think). We went out for my first curry of the trip, though were left unsatisfied by the strange poppadoms - apparently it's not something they really eat in the States, which is a shame as it's often my favourite part of the meal. We also went to a barbecue on the 42nd floor of an apartment block - I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who lived in such a tall building before. Lovely folks, too.

All-round brilliance, basically.

Missed connections

Last week, I took a trip down to Coney Island, which is at the southern point of Brooklyn. It is the Russian area, and there are apparently some brilliantly soviet cafes littered around the place, so I shall have to go back to explore those properly. The reason for my visit was to see the New York Aquarium which is positioned right near the beach front, which I suppose makes sense. The Aquarium is quite small, and not exactly super high-tech, but it did have some MASSIVE walruses (walrus? walrii?) and some very hypnotic jellyfish tanks.

In the evening, I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs the World, which was, ummmm, *ok* (I realise I am basically going against everyone else in the universe when I say that). On exiting the cinema, I was dismayed to find that it was absolutely chucking it down with rain, so I sheltered under the awning for a few minutes to see if it would ease off. A very charming man started talking to me and then kindly gave me a spare umbrella he happened to have in his bag. How very gentlemanly. It has been pointed out to me that I really should have offered to buy him a coffee in return, and yes I realise that now. I am kicking myself a little bit that I didn't say anything, but if I have learned anything from romcoms, it is that our paths will cross again someday.

They're not going to, are they? Damn.

Other notable events since the last post include doing a voluntary stint at Visions, which is a community of blind people. We were helping with arts and crafts, and I met some really funny ladies, including one who started 'watching' Meerkat Manor as it had been advertised as being more dramatic than The Sopranos, and it took her several episodes to realise it wasn't humans interacting on the screen. She was the same woman who had decided there were no black people in England. I'm not sure where she got that idea from, but I soon set her straight.

I visited the Cooper-Hewitt Museum near Central Park, which is part of the Smithsonian collection of museums, this one focusing on Design. It was very interesting, and highly recommended for a visit. I went to the Brooklyn Flea, which is held every Sunday in Downtown Brooklyn - there were lots of vintage-y stalls for clothes and jewellery, so I shall definitely go back there should I decide I want to spend some money. I spent a morning in a branch of the Brooklyn Library, helping to alphabetise the children's books and marvelling at my fellow volunteers and their grasp of the alphabet. I finally had a Shake Shack burger, which was amazing, though I chickened out of getting their double Shack burger as it seemed a little excessive for lunch. And I finally met the mini-Duncan Bannatyne when I went round for a lovely dinner with my sister's friend Jenny and her husband Stef at their amazing apartment in DUMBO.

Whoops

It's been a while, huh? Sorry about that. I guess as I do fewer touristy things and more 'normal life' things, I don't really want to bore everyone with the details of my everyday life.

So, on Sunday 8th I got to experience a proper New York brunch. I met JC at his in Alphabet City and we walked down the river front and across, through Little Italy to Chelsea. There, we met up with some of his work coleagues, who had been drinking since midday (this must have been about four o'clock) at an oyster and champagne bar that had the interior of a cruise ship. It was also playing 80s hair rock, mostly, so a lot of fun was had there. Three of us then moved on to a hotel straddling the High Line Park - it was a German bierhaus, so the bar staff had t-shirts with leiderhosen on - like the t-shirts from the 80s with tuxedos on them. Odd, but good. We rounded off the night by eating some deep fried chicken with rice and beans, Argentinian-style - really very good, but I probably shouldn't have been eating it at midnight. So, I went out for brunch and got home in the small hours. I'm not sure how people do that and still go to work the next day.

The next day I met up with my sister's friend Jenny, who lives in DUMBO with her husband and baby. It was lovely to see her, actually - she appears to have taken on the big sister/motherly role for my time in NY. I didn't realise I was missing that until I saw her. DUMBO is lovely - really nice to be by the water, lots of art galleries. Jenny has promised to have me round for dinner to meet her baby, who according to my sister, is like a mini Duncan Bannatyne. This I have to see.

On Wednesday, I went back to the Met to see their second floor, which is mostly the paintings and sculptures. They have a large modern art wing, which has two paintings by one of my very favourite artists, Chuck Close. He was actually tucked away in a deserted mezzanine floor with no one there looking at his work, which is a shame. His photo-realistic work is actually awe-inspiring. Go. See his stuff.

On Thursday I took ‘the best bargain in New York’ – the Staten Island Ferry. Completely free, and used by commuters from Staten Island who work in Manhattan, it gives great views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. But Staten Island itself – hmm. I was determined to do more than just get off one ferry and straight back on another, but probably found things to entertain me for about half an hour. I wandered along the promenade, looked at the (admittedly very moving) September 11th memorial (yes, I had a bit of a weep – I make no bones about the fact that I am becoming my mother) and, well, ran out of things to do. I’m sure if I had a map and a bus map and was more prepared, there could be more exploring to do, but otherwise, it was vastly underwhelming. The ferry was well worth it, though. And, yes mum, I sat near the life-jackets.

On Saturday, I did a volunteer stint for Housing Works – a chain of thrift stores that raise money for HIV/AIDS charities, especially focusing on homeless people. I was helping to sort clothes at their clothing warehouse in Queens, which meant I got to tick off another borough. This was fairly tedious work, though notable for being run by Joe, who was a Queens native born and bred, and basically like a kindly uncle. If I had any Italian-American uncles from Queens. What a lovely man. On Saturday night, I went out with some friends in Williamsburg, and was once again slightly underwhelmed by the place. It wasn’t TOO hipster-y, and maybe it was the places we were going or the time of year, but everywhere was very quiet. Not the people-spilling-out-onto-the-streets feel you get in Shoreditch, for example.

Boats and beers

Apologies for the lax blog-updating/photo-uploading this week. I suppose it's a sign of my social life picking up a bit, which is definitely A Good Thing.


On Tuesday, I met up with Jenny, who is a publishing friend of Katie's. We went to a tapas place called Sala One Nine in the Flatiron district, which was slightly different from the sound of most of the places in Flatiron, as it actually has a bit of character to it. Jenny recommended the almond-stuffed prunes wrapped in bacon, which were delicious, though they didn't really do enough to soak up the two large sangrias I had, so I went home a little wobbly if I'm honest. But Jenny is lovely, and I hope to see her for dinner again soon.

On Wednesday I walked through Brooklyn to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass - catchy, huh?), which is the area under and between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. It's an arty, pretty area, with lots of independent galleries and cute cafes, and some great views across to Manhattan from the water.
In the evening, I went and met Eddie, who lives in Williamsburg, which is the NY equivalent of Hoxton or Shoreditch. He lives there, so offered to show me round and steer me away from anywhere too uber. It's pretty much what I expected - lots of asymmetrical haircuts and checked shirts. We had a wander round the main streets, then went to a bar called Lucky Dog, where there were at least two dogs. And some lovely beers and good music. I'd definitely go back there.

On Thursday I met up with the rather fantastic Mr JC, who has moved here for his job. He wanted to have a mostly booze-free evening, so we started off going to a free tango lesson in the West Village. I was a bit apprehensive, I have to admit, given that I am pretty two-left-feet-y and making an arse of myself in front of an audience brings me out in a cold sweat. But it was actually a lot of fun. JC had done it before, so I danced with him first, then an awkward man who could neither lead or keep time but was very sweet, then a very tall (and rather beautiful) Brazilian man, and then a very serious middle-aged guy who was rather forceful in his leading. But definitely something I would consider doing again.
We then wandered over to a bar called Frying Pan, which is on the Hudson at Chelsea on a converted boat. Very crowded and noisy, but the views are spectacular of the Manhattan skyline and they do obscenely large burgers which definitely hit the spot. JC then showed me his 'hood (as they say over here) - he's over in the East Village, right near the water on the other side in Stuyvesant Town, a complex of flats that just appear as a big blank space on my map. Nice apartment, but his room is basically a slightly-walled off area of the living room. Apparently, that's not that unusual in New York. Not sure I could cope with that, to be honest.

On Friday I headed to Chelsea again, this time for a voluntary stint through New York Cares. The project this time was helping at a deprived elementary school - we were basically just playing with the kids and doing crafty stuff with them. It was fun, but incredibly tiring, particularly as I ended up looking after two particularly naughty young boys who would not sit still for love nor money (or more accurately, bribery nor threats). Exhausting.
In the evening, I met up with Eddie again and we went to watch Big at the outdoor cinema on Pier 46, again in the West at Hudson River Park. Lovely to watch the sun setting over New Jersey, and I can always watch Big, though for the first time since I've been here, I was actually cold. I'd forgotten what that feels like. Really yummy Thai food followed, and a few drinks at a scrungy rock pub on the Lower East Side before I got the G Train home late. It's hard to get used to an underground that runs all night. The G Train is variously known as the Ghost Train (due to the sporadic nature of it turning up) and the Ghetto Train (due to, erm, some of the destinations it calls at - don't panic, Mum!). It's slightly hairy doing it on your own, but you just have to exercise the same caution you would with using the late tubes/night buses. Street-smart, me (she said, hopefully).

"Yeah, yeah I'ma up at Brooklyn..."

Thanks Jay-Z.

So, Friday was a lovely Brooklyn-based day of fun. In the afternoon I went to the Brooklyn Museum, which is a wonderful old building fused with some new, glass modernist sections. It works very well, and it's a lovely space. They are currently showing an exhibition of works from the last ten years of Andy Warhol's career (and life). It was interesting stuff, showing how he moved away from the pop-art creations that had made him famous through expressionist stuff (which went over my head) to film and television output. His television programs seemed to consist of him talking to famous people of the time and his friends, and filming inside the nightclubs they frequented. All hideously self-indulgent, but a fun look at hipster fashions of the time. Which are pretty close to hipster fashions now, in fairness.

The other floors of the museum displayed an American fashion exhibition, which had some beautiful pieces, and an extensive African art section. I need to go back to have a better look at their painting collection, though I did see the marvellous Rodin sculptures in the entrance hall and plaza.

On Friday evening, I went to Prospect Park to watch the Low Anthem and Swell Season play a free gig as part of Celebrate Brooklyn! - a series of events to raise money for the local area and draw attention to it. I met some very friendly women in the queue - two psychologists who lived on the Upper West Side and a chatty girl from the Dominican Republic who lives in Spanish Harlem. She has offered to show me her neighbourhood, so I may well take her up on that. The Low Anthem were great, as usual, and Swell Season (which is one of the guys from The Commitments and the girl who was in Once with him) were gentle and easy to listen to. Lovely stuff.

Saturday brought more art in the shape of MOMA, which was mind-boggling in its scale. I tend to think of Modern Art galleries to be like Tate Modern, but this went a little further back than that. If I have any advice, I would suggest starting on the 5th floor and working your way down. The 5th and 4th floors are the painting floors, and they have some really wonderful (and well-known, perhaps unsurprisingly) stuff. I went with a Chinese girl I met on the walking tour last week, as she gets in free for working for the UN. We went to a Matisse exhibition (she had never heard of Matisse), then wandered through the paintings floors, with me explaining who some of the artists were (she hadn't heard of most of them) and who Marilyn Monroe was (there was a Warhol portrait). I suppose you take for granted that people will know these things, but she grew up in rural China, so it's not that surprising that her knowledge of Western culture would be limited.

After taking a break for lunch (beef gyros from the food stand in the market outside), we visited the photography, architecture and design floors (which was fantastic), then a Picasso exhibition and the very beautiful and peaceful sculpture garden. What a brilliant place. Shame it usually costs $20 a visit.

Sunday was my day of rest, and then today I decided to walk to midtown. This took three hours of walking in a (mostly) straight line. There I watched Rosemary's Baby at the free outdoor cinema in Bryant Park (which also has petanque and table tennis tables - must remember that). It was rather lovely, marred only by a snogging couple on one side of me and a bickering couple on the other.

Catching up

I seem to be seeing New York segment by segment. So Monday brought the Upper West Side. The UWS contains Columbia University (which I didn't visit), the American Museum of Natural History (which I didn't visit) and various other things that I did visit.
The top part of the UWS borders Harlem to the east, and it certainly felt slightly 'edgier' than its counterpart in the east. My first stop was Cathedral Church of St John the Divine. Work on this massive structure began in the 1890s, and optimistic estimates put the completion as being in 2050, due to various bankruptcies and fires and general bad luck. I happened upon an organ recital, which appeared to be freestyle jazz noodling. It's actually a pretty progressive cathedral all round, with AIDS memorials and work with the local schools and homeless. They run stone carving workshops for the local community, with some of the work being displayed in the gardens.
I then wandered down the west side of Central Park, stopping to have some lunch (and phone Ma), before heading down to the Lincoln Center (sic), which houses the Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York Public Library for the Dramatic Arts (which I must go to one day - they have some great collections of film and music).

On Tuesday I had my first afternoon at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. I learned how to use the Devillainiser, The Mind Reading Machine and the Cape Tester (a series of fans for people wanting to try on capes and strike poses). It was mostly quiet, but I got to talk to lots of very sweet children doing the film-making course out the back of the shop in the workshop area. Several of them came in covered in (hopefully fake) blood, so I think there's a slasher movie afoot.

On Wednesday I visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which is basically a tenement preserved in the style it would have been in during the 1870s and in 1935. My tour guide was a frustrated thespian who thought that bursting into song at any given opportunity was the best way to portray the suffering and poverty endured by new immigrants to America. Small fact: in 1908, the Lower East Side was the most densely-populated place on the planet. And with no running water/sanitation/electricity, that must have been a fun place to be! I really like the Lower East Side - a bit scrungy, lots going on, different cuisines and cultures everywhere. It feels a bit like Soho or something.

On Thursday, a friend of my flatmate had spare tickets to an exclusive VH1 event. Having nothing better to do, I was happily set up on this 'blind date'. And while Tim was a perfectly pleasant guy, there was just no spark or chemistry, so the afternoon seemed to go on forEVER. He took me to see Train do an acoustic set. All very gentle, and a nice diversion, but a more middle-of-the-road, mum-rock band you'd be hard pushed to find. In the evening, I went to see The Kids Are All Right, which is Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple. They were actually refreshingly convincing, going by all those lesbian couples I know. Oh.

Downtown (where all the lights are bright)

It's been a few days since my last post, so I shall try to be brief so this doesn't get too epic.

On Thursday I went to the downtown area, and specifically Battery Park City and Tribeca. Tribeca is a chichi area full of designer shops and expensive restaurants, though I did also track down the fire station that was used as the headquarters in Ghostbusters, which I got a little overexcited about.

Battery Park City is built on land reclaimed from the river by the use of landfill (a lot of which was dug up while making the World Trade Centre), and is a promenade of massive skyscrapers and gardens curving round the botttom part of Manhattan. It was all quite awe-inspiring, really, though the hole at Ground Zero was omni-present. Still, a beautiful and peaceful place, only marred by running into a big crowd of Spurs fans 'singing' chants outside a Starbucks. I walked quickly past and temporarily pretended not to be able to understand what they were saying.

Friday was another stormy day (it seems to be a trend at the moment) so I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Upper East Side. Wow. You are supposed to give a suggested $20 donation but I walked through without anyone stopping me (I'll give money next time, I promise). It's fantastic stuff. I spent about four hours in there (admittedly taking my time) and did maybe a third of one of the two and a half floors. So I only saw the ancient Byzantine (lots of gold), European pre-renaissance (lots of gold and scarily adult-like baby Jesuses) and the armor and arms sections. I ran through the American sections to find the cafe and the ladies. Apparently, their modern art collection is really special, and there is a huge bamboo sculpture on the roof that you can climb up, so I will definitely go back for at least seconds, if not thirds.

On Saturday, I tried to go for a free walking tour around Wall Street, but my guidebook was out of date and it was no longer running. However, I started talking to a helpful girl who rang them and we arranged to go on a different tour later in the day. Big Onion do loads of tours around the city, all lead by post-graduate history students. Ours was called Andrew, and I would have considered him attractive had he not mimicked my accent any time I asked a question. Grr. Anyway, we covered the stock exchange, loads of the history of Wall Street and the history of the evolution of New York into a major trading port, through the Dutch and English colonial times through to the present day. Very interesting, though half the names were lost on me, so I really must brush up on my American history.

Today seemed like it was going to be a nice day, so I went up to Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. When I got there, however, I discovered that it was free entry on Tuesdays (instead of $8 today) so instead I went to Green-Wood Cemetery. This is a huge cemetery full of famous Brooklynites. It was beautiful and sombre and peaceful. That is, until a huge thunderstorm started and I found myself at the wrong end of the cemetery to get out. So I huddled in the doorway of a family tomb as my white summer dress got more and more see-through and I tried to convince myself that neither a zombie apocalypse nor an axe-murderer were about the round the corner and get me. Don't worry, they didn't.

Have a super day!

So it looks like I am going to be working an afternoon a week at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, which is part of a charity that runs creative writing classes for children and young people. The shop itself is a lot of fun - they basically sell anything a superhero would need, from maps of where all the baddies live, to capes, to jars of invisibility serum, to x-ray specs, to kits for changing your identity. The classes take place out the back of the shop, and I hope to get involved in these once they start again after the summer break. I think it's a brilliant idea, and was recently informed by Katie that they are looking to set up a similar thing in London with a different theme (there are also shops in San Francisco and Seattle with pirate and space themes respectively), so I will definitely keep an eye out for that on my return.

It will also be nice to have a bit of structure to my week. I'm already finding it harder than expected to remember what day I am on (I could have sworn today was Tuesday). I have also put my name down to volunteer for Housing Works, who run a series of trendy thrift shops across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Sadly, their book shop has a three month waiting list for volunteers, but I would be happy to work in a clothing one instead. I am also awaiting orientation with New York Cares, who list loads of different volunteering opportunities across the city every week, including taking kids to the funfair at Coney Island, which would be so much fun. I'm still not sure what restrictions apply in terms of if I am allowed to work with vulnerable people, so it may turn out I end up doing gardening in the parks instead, which would be fun and interesting (and a challenge seeing as I can barely keep cactii alive...).

Anyway, the last few days have been pretty quiet. Yesterday I went and did laundry, food shopping, 'life admin' stuff. I also paid a visit to Target, which I guess is something a bit like Woolworths used to be, only with sub-Primark clothes thrown in. And still no hat!

Today I headed to the Meatpacking District, which is the Western edge of the West Village. I guess the nearest thing I can compare it with in London would be Spitalfields - old industrial units that are now home to swanky designer shops and expensive delis. The reason for my excursion there was to go to the High Line park (on the recommendation of Alex following this article in The Guardian) and it was well worth it. Built along the old industrial rail tracks, the girders have been filled in with all sorts of different plants, plus a few sculptural installations. Plus, it's raised above street level, so you get to look down on the buildings below a little bit too. They are still working on it, so at the moment it only stretches as far as Chelsea, but once it's completed, it will be brilliant.

I also popped in to the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. They have a free exhibition, with changing themes throughout the year, regarding the history of fashion. At the moment, the focus is on environmentally suatainable fashion techniques, which doesn't necessarily interest me, but they had some really beautiful pieces from the early 1800s right up to 2010. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to take photos, and they had no postcards.

This evening I tried to go and see Inception due to lots of people raving about it but, alas, it had sold out by the time I got there. So I switched tack completely and went to see Toy Story 3 instead. I have to admit, going to see a film about separation from the things you love when you're feeling a little homesick is probably not the best move. I actually blubbed a little bit (though not as much as Up, you'll be relieved to hear Katie). Still, it was a lovely film, with some genuinely funny moments where I laughed out loud. On my own. In the cinema. This is a rare thing. Two observations: 1) the air-conditioning in US cinemas is RIDICULOUS - I wished I'd taken a jacket and 2) Americans talk at the cinema. They *talk* during the *film*. Grrr.

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

Good lord, it's hot. I have (too much information coming up here ALERT) been sweaty pretty much constantly since arriving. Whew. Thankfully, it seems the New Yorkers are just as unused to dealing with the stickiness as I am.


So, the weekend has been and gone. Saturday was spent much as I would spend a sunny Saturday in London - getting very pink legs in the park with my flatmate, then drinking wine with her in the evening. We actually ended up in a sports bar, where I showed off my complte lack of sporting knowledge by talking to some real-life jocks who were friends of my flatmate. Yes, these people do actually exist. At least I could offer some half-convincing World Cup banter, which they were all surprisingly in to, despite having to watch the matches at strange times due to the time zones.


On Sunday I met up for brunch with Dara, who is a friend of my friend Jenn's - what a delight that was. I hadn't quite realised how much I was missing talking to people on a similar wavelength. Brunch is a big Sunday thing here. Dara was explaining that it basically happens any time between 11 and 3, and usually involves cocktails. I passed on the cocktails, given how hot it is and how generally dehydrated I am at all times at the moment. We went to a place near my flat, as Dara used to live on the same street a little bit further up. The place is called Rose Water, and despite being a little pricey, was really very nice and highly recommended. I had scrambled eggs with roast potatoes, bacon and a minted pea and rocket salad - basically, the nearest thing this place does to a full English.


Dara then showed me some of Brooklyn - her neighbourhood, Boerum Hill, plus some really lovely bits of Brooklyn Heights. We came across some Bastille Day celebrations - basically, lots of people playing petanque in the street whilst drinking Pernod. Again, I turned down the booze.



Today I decided that, as I woke up to thundery rain, I would go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is one of only a few of the big museums that has a suggested donation rather than a hefty ticket entry price. Sadly, it is closed on Mondays (READ THE BLOOMING GUIDEBOOK, SARAH) so instead I wandered through Central Park, stopping to eat my packed lunch by the boating lake. I then walked down 5th Avenue to Bloomingdales, stopping at FAO Schwartz to take a picture of the Big piano.


Bloomingdales did not have a hat that I liked, so I kept walking down to the New York Public Library which, sadly for me, was completely swathed in scaffolding so I have no nice pictures of the outside. I shall have to go back at some point later in the trip to take some.





The NYPL is very different to the British Library, in that it is housed in a beautiful old building made of marble. Inside, the corridors are quiet and calm. The reading rooms were very beautiful, though I wasn't allowed to take pictures in them sadly. You'll just have to take my word for it. Something I also wasn't supposed to take pictures of is the Declaration of Independence handwritten by Thomas Jefferson. I didn't realise this until after I had been told off by a surly security woman, but I did get one blurry shot:



Anyway, I have been here nearly a week now. It feels like a really long time - not because anything is terrible, just because every day there's new stuff to look at and learn about. I have been laying the foundations to get my voluntary stuff under way, so hopefully will have some stuff to report back on it that area soon.

They're already showing 'back to school' ads

After a lazy day yesterday, I was ready to have a more active day today. I felt my way into Manhattan on the Metro, more by luck than judgement. Honestly, the Metro is incomprehensible to me. All the lines in my area are practically the same colour. There are Express trains and Local trains. If you go down the entrance on the wrong side of the road, you have to exit (and pay again), cross the road and go down a different entrance. I'm sure it will all eventually become scond nature to me, but at the moment it's frustrating bobbins.

Exiting on Grand Street in Chinatown, I had a wander throught the Lower East Side, passing the very-uber New Museum of Contemporary Art, which had this lovely artwork/message on the outside:

I shall have to go back once the weather turns bad again.

I then wandered through the East Village, stopping for lunch at Porchetta. They're famous for their pulled pork sandwiches, and it really was delicious. I shall have to get used to eating at the counter. I went looking for a hat (my fair-skinned face and dark hair are suffering in the heat) and found the US equivalent of Primark, Century 21. It has a similar clientele to Primark as well, but I got a necklace for $1.50, so I shouldn't complain. For curiousity's sake I stuck my head into Topshop, staying long enough only to note that it was even more overpriced and arrogant than it is at home.

I stopped in Madison Square to try the Shake Shack shake. According to the guidebooks, Shake Shack has become an institution in New York for their burgers. I didn't try one, still being full of pork, but had a frozen custard chocolate milkshake instead. It was brilliant and worth every calorie. Lots more walking (and sweating) later - I hopped confidently onto the Metro, only to find that I had got on an Express train and ended up 30 blocks further south than my house. Balls. Foiled again.

Tomorrow it looks like I am hitting the beach with Judy the flatmate, then Sunday brings brunch with Dara, a good friend of Jenn's who used to live in the area. Nice to have some plans that involve other people. I realise these will come more and more as I get settled, but at the moment it's all looking a bit, well, solitary. Still, mustn't grumble.

Slow down, you move too fast

I am finding it very difficult to slow down. Anyone who knows me (and if you don't, why on EARTH are you reading this drivel?) knows that my life in London is lived at a bit of a pace. I walk fast, drink quickly, think quickly, sleep little. Now I am having to actively slow down my walking pace - I have no real place to get to, after all.

Today it wasn't raining for the first time since I arrived, plus my feet and dodgy ankle were really complaining after all the walking yesterday, so I went to Prospect Park, which is only four blocks from my house. Oh, and I am trying to get used to thinking about locations in squares, which doesn't sit well with my non-spacially-aware brain. Prospect Park was designed by the same guys that designed Central Park, but is much more leafy and country-sidey. You can actually completely forget you're in the city. This may have to become somewhere where I go and hide every now and then. Though my flatmate jogs around it every day, so I guess I could try to get into the habit of doing that. Ok, walking really fast round it. The main things of note were the albino squirrel (and the kid getting severely bollocked for chasing said squirrel), and the fact that I got a tan line on my legs. My alabaster legs got some colour!

This evening I decided to go to a gig recommended to me by Tom (note to self: sign up to some listings alerts) of She Makes War. This lady actually played at Twestival in the spring, but I missed her due to running around like a crazy thing/hovering by the karaoke instead. I have never been to a gig on my own before, so I girded my loins and set off towards the nearest Metro station, figuring that it must all be quite straight-forward and I'd pretty much be ok if I got on the right train from the off. Hmm. I didn't do that. The Metro system is made more complicated by the fact that they only have one map in each carriage, plus my guidebook one is tiny, so to find out where I was, I would have singled myself out as not having a clue (the cardinal tourist sin in my eyes). Pride comes before a fall, peeps, as we all know.

I ended up working out that if I got off one train, walked a couple of blocks and got on another line, I wouldn't have gone too far out of my way. I also accidentally stumbled across the Bowery Ballroom in the process, which is handy. The train I got ended in Queens, and the train was packed with people talking, listening to music out loud, laughing. It felt like the last tube home on a Friday night in London, only it was 8.30 on a Thursday night. I got out at the stop where the bar was, and immediately felt like I may have been in the wrong place. I mean, it was the right stop for the bar but it was like Coming To America made flesh. To say I stood out in my flip flops and little dress was an understatement.

Anyway, I found the bar, but had missed She Makes War due to all my silliness. I had one beer, talked to a man carrying a very cute baby wearing headphones and slunk back home with my tail between my legs. But at least I got to know the Metro system a little better. Silver linings and all that.

(Dis)orientation Days

So here I am. 'Here' being New York, or more specifically Brooklyn, or even more specifically Park Slope. I am still jetlagged and getting used to stuff, so please forgive typos and blathering for the time being.

I arrived here last night (which I *think* was Tuesday) after an extended flight due to adverse weather conditions. The extra hour in the air did nothing to help my hidden fear of flying, nor did the turbulent, stormy conditions that caused the extra flying/panicking time. Anyway, after sweaty-palming my way through Immigration (they have my fingerprints - I can never get away with 90 1/2 days now) I caught a taxi into the city. As I was going from JFK to Brooklyn, I didn't actually see anything that was New York 101 - no bridges, or skyscrapers, or ladies holding torches. I did see a Drive-Thru MacDonald's proudly proclaiming 'Over 99 billion served'. I sincerely hope that was worldwide, and not just that particular Long Island branch. But basically, I got the back end of Long Island and Brooklyn.

The apartment I am staying in is really quite lovely. My room looks like this:

and the living room is like this:

I even have a proper American iron fire escape outside my window, as demonstrated in this fuzzy picture:

The apartment is on 5th Avenue, a main street of bars and shops in Park Slope, the yummy mummy annexe of Brooklyn. The bars have dog bowls outside them, due to all the canine companions about. This is the Brooklyn my inner middle-classedness (and my mother) was hoping for.

My 'roommate' (no, no, no, people - she's my *flatmate*, dammit) is a Hungarian nanny called Judy. She's an ex-professional gymnast, a gym bunny and, by all accounts, a little bit strange. But fun. The first thing she did when I got here, after showing me around, was to take me for a very strong gin and tonic at a lovely bar up the road. The handsome barman at Slow Dive on 5th was very generous with the gin, and put The Clash on for me when he heard my accent. We'll be going back there. We then went on to a party of a friend of Judy's who is moving to Australia. The people there were very nice, but, I felt, were very studied in their hipness - lots of wilfully obscure bands on the stereo to accompany the intellectual/nerdy chat. I shouldn't be too mean, as they welcomed (the frankly bedgraggled and faintly smelly) me into their home and gave me pizza and nice wine. We left when my long day caught up with me and I went a bit cross-eyed.

This morning I went to get groceries, which is probably a whole other blog post in itself - suffice to say that, if I lived here permanently, I'd either get scurvy or be broke, with fruit and vegetables comparitively *really* expensive. This places oozes Type II diabetes. I think I'll mostly be living on air while I'm here.

I then set off into Manhattan, trying to get my bearings by walking there through Downtown Brooklyn. It was quite the walk in the heat and humidity, with sporadic thunderstorms punctuating the walk. At one point I stopped at a Starbucks, mostly to use the 'restrooms' (see, I'm learning) but felt I should order my usual Americano with milk to make up for using their conveniences. I don't know whether the lady misunderstood me (my accent *is* pretty thick) or if my order got mixed up with someone else, but instead of my 10 calorie coffee (yes, they have they tell you the nutritional information on the menu) I got something with lots of milk, sugar, cocoa and possibly vanilla. My teeth almost immediately fell out.

Aaanyway, I rounded a corner and caught a glimpse of this:



which made everything ok.

I then wandered around Chinatown, took some photos of some dragon fruit, much to the consternation of the lady selling them and ambled back, in the process accidentally walking past Beacon's Closet, a rather wonderful vintage/second-hand shop that was recommended to me by the lovely Jenn. I shall have to return there when I have my full rummaging strength.