The City So Far....

Monica, Andrea, Lindsey, Natalia and I in Chinatown

I really enjoyed orientation because it definitely allowed me to become familiar and comfortable with the city (at least a bit of it) and the subway. Moreover, I think it was really a good opportunity to become closer with the people in our group.
The ethnography experience and China Town were a ton of fun. I thought China Town was a really incredible place. I was especially struck by the age differences in the Asian population living there. I observed a lot of older men and women, and very few younger men. Moreover, during the time we were there we observed lots of younger women assisting elderly women (grandmother,aunt,etc?). I dont know why this is, or why it seemed that the population was getting older... but during the panel discussion I gathered that it might be due to a migration of younger people out of the area. This is particuliarly interesting to me from a policy perspective as for what it might mean for China Town, and for the areas that are now being populated by those who leave the China Town area....
I think I learned more during the Sunday walking tour than I have learned in some of my classes during an entire semester (not really... but close). Bob was incredibly knowledgable and interesting - it was amazing to me that he could know SO much about such an enormous range of topics and areas. I had never seen Ground Zero, and I thought he did a great job with details and with showing us the specific ways the city has structurally responded -- hardening, etc. I cant wait to go back to Stone St. and too the South Street Sea Port.
Last Tuesday I went to a Mets game with my cousin which was a great NY experience. Though the Mets lost in the 12th inning it was a great game and I got a great feel for what it is like to be a Mets fan. All baseball teams have different types of fans... and what I like most about Mets fans was that there was absolutely no negative cheering whatsoever. If someone on the Mets struck out/had a bad inning/etc. there was no negative comments from the stands, and the crowd was just so genuinely behind the team. It was cool.
This weekend I had another sporting experience in the area. I went to the Belmont Stakes Saturday in Elmont, NY (right off the LIRR). It was a ton of fun and I bet the winning horse:-) (I only won $10.50 but still...)
Last week and this weekend I also got to spend some time in the East Village, the Upper West Side, the Meat Packing District and Little Italy. I love this city so much. Everyday I kind of feel like I'm in Disney World.