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.