I am sitting at gate 14 at JFK aiport in New York. "Feliz Navidad" is blasting from the speakers, interrupted by frequent passenger calls and announcements. With my laptop on my lap (what a fitting name) and connected to a wireless hotspot, I feel very jet set.
A 4am alarm clock this morning ended a great 10-day Thanksgiving break, and I am heading back to Babson, bracing myself for two more weeks of non-stop stress and a couple of all-nighters before I wrap up my semester.
Photos are still on various cameras (my own was left behind in DC and will be sent to me soon), but while I am waiting for uploads I will give you a little report of my whirlwind trip.
1st stop: New York, comme d'habitude.
Refusing to spend money on a cab, I dragged my big suitcase through the pouring rain in Chinatown. After being soaked from head to toe, I gave in and took the subway to Bleecker Street. This time I shared a (queen size) bed with Sascha for lack of his neighbor's mattress. When we were lying next to each other and I told him "This is what it must feel like to be married", he did not seem amused. He graciously offered to build a wall of books between us for propriety reasons, but I declined. We're both skinny people, and the night ended up being quite comfortable.
On Friday morning I donned my business suit and zipped around various Manhattan locations all day, interviewing for internships. I think they went well, and decisions will be made this week. Walking into various gigantic corporate buildings and having your bags checked several times made me a bit nervous. But stopping for a take-out cup of coffee on Dag Hammaskjold Plaza does feel cool.
2nd stop: Silence
Nevertheless, I was glad to change into my jeans that night and hop on a train with Colin for a two-day retreat at "the nuns" in upstate New York. The days were quiet, peaceful, and mainly spent in the chapel, going for walks along little streams, reading and drinking tea.
3rd stop: Washington D.C.
Walking all over the Mall, stopping over in the National Air and Space Museum and the Museum of Natural History (where we used to spend many a Sunday exploring space shuttles and skeletons), and finding our old house on Massachusetts Avenue brought back many memories. I hadn't been back since we moved away in 1991, which makes it fifteen years! The house looked a lot smaller, our favorite climbing trees and sand box were gone, but it's funny how you can still remember things so vividly after such a long time.
4th stop: Pittsburgh
After Christian has visited me in Cairo and Vienna, it was about time to check out his 'hood. He and his family took me on a tour of everything from his old school and office to major Pittsburgh sites like the Cathedral of Learning and Mount Washington. We had a huge Thanksgiving dinner with 18 people, watched videos from our time in Spain and Egypt, hit a few bars in South Side, and even got to see a hockey game - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins! I decided to forsake my temporary hometown and cheer for the Pens ... and they lost. Memorable tidbits of American culture included: Pancakes at Pamela's Diner, pumpkin pie, turkey carving, glimpses of a tailgate party, watching football on TV, standing for the national anthem in the stadium, cheerleaders, rides in Christian's Mustang, and many more.
I feel refreshed and ready to take on that last bit of school. It will be quite a challenge to juggle papers, exams, presentations, visa extensions, room search in NY (any ideas?), and saying goodbye to Babson, but I'll hang in there and get it over with.
Alright, we're boarding. Photos coming soon!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Turkey time
Over the next week, most people will be worried about THIS...
I say, bring it all on - the big bird, the gravy, the sweet potatoes, the pumpkin pie.
I will be back online in ten days or so with many stories to tell.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I say, bring it all on - the big bird, the gravy, the sweet potatoes, the pumpkin pie.
I will be back online in ten days or so with many stories to tell.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Le weekend en photos
(I just realized that I've been going increasingly international with my post titles lately.)
Anyway, weeks are increasingly filled with work as there are only three (!!) weeks left of the term if you count out Thanksgiving holidays. This means papers, group meetings, assignments and a lot of desk time.
Last weekend, the J/Ge(o)ffs from New York came to visit. I met both of them through the World Youth Alliance while I was interning in Brussels in the summer of 2005, and they hooked me up with Meaghan here in Boston. We had a great time hanging out by the banks of the Charles on a beautiful autumn day, cooking Kaesnockerln (Austrian food) and going out for salsa and swing dancing. Here's the photo coverage:
Get Your Own! |
Plans for the Thanksgiving break: An interview for a possible internship in NYC on Friday (keep all available limbs crossed!), a little retreat, a trip to Washington D.C. to revisit memories from my childhood fifteen years ago (I feel old), and a few days in Pittsburgh, visiting Christian and spending Thanksgiving with his family.
Can't wait!
Anyway, weeks are increasingly filled with work as there are only three (!!) weeks left of the term if you count out Thanksgiving holidays. This means papers, group meetings, assignments and a lot of desk time.
Last weekend, the J/Ge(o)ffs from New York came to visit. I met both of them through the World Youth Alliance while I was interning in Brussels in the summer of 2005, and they hooked me up with Meaghan here in Boston. We had a great time hanging out by the banks of the Charles on a beautiful autumn day, cooking Kaesnockerln (Austrian food) and going out for salsa and swing dancing. Here's the photo coverage:
Get Your Own! |Plans for the Thanksgiving break: An interview for a possible internship in NYC on Friday (keep all available limbs crossed!), a little retreat, a trip to Washington D.C. to revisit memories from my childhood fifteen years ago (I feel old), and a few days in Pittsburgh, visiting Christian and spending Thanksgiving with his family.
Can't wait!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Salsa y chocolate
You know what latinos are really good at. Lovin'? Yeah. Salsa? Duh. But CHOCOLATE??
You wouldn't have thought, would you.
On Thursday night, Julian, Erminela and I attended our first-ever chocolate tasting event at Babson College. If you've done wine tasting before, you sort of know what it's like - minus the buzz. A plate with six different, delicious (albeit tiny) pieces of chocolate, crackers and water to cleanse your palate, accompanied by a rundown of the chocolate making process and input from Edison, a Quechua from Ecuador. The Kallari initiative works with the local cocoa farmers and makes sure that (unlike all other chocolate producers, even FairTrade!) ALL revenues flow back into the region. Also, dark chocolate is actually healthy! It lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, and can prevent heart desease and even cancer. So throw out the Hershey Bars, this is the real thing!
The Latin mood continued when Meaghan and I met a bunch of her friends on Saturday for dinner and salsa at the Havana Club. A large ball-room, live music, classes to brush up on your rusty merengue, and largely creep-free dancing until the early hours of the morning. Who needs gyms when you can work your legs, hips and abs on the dance floor? Trust me, you work them. I realized when I limped home from Meaghan's house the next morning - after a delicious omelette breakfast, of course. You've got to stock up on calories.
And, speaking of calories, I had the most enjoyable project group meeting ever yesterday when we headed down to Harvard Square to conduct some market research interviews at Burdick's Chocolate Cafe.
Of course, some extensive product tasting was in order.
You wouldn't have thought, would you.
On Thursday night, Julian, Erminela and I attended our first-ever chocolate tasting event at Babson College. If you've done wine tasting before, you sort of know what it's like - minus the buzz. A plate with six different, delicious (albeit tiny) pieces of chocolate, crackers and water to cleanse your palate, accompanied by a rundown of the chocolate making process and input from Edison, a Quechua from Ecuador. The Kallari initiative works with the local cocoa farmers and makes sure that (unlike all other chocolate producers, even FairTrade!) ALL revenues flow back into the region. Also, dark chocolate is actually healthy! It lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, and can prevent heart desease and even cancer. So throw out the Hershey Bars, this is the real thing!The Latin mood continued when Meaghan and I met a bunch of her friends on Saturday for dinner and salsa at the Havana Club. A large ball-room, live music, classes to brush up on your rusty merengue, and largely creep-free dancing until the early hours of the morning. Who needs gyms when you can work your legs, hips and abs on the dance floor? Trust me, you work them. I realized when I limped home from Meaghan's house the next morning - after a delicious omelette breakfast, of course. You've got to stock up on calories.
And, speaking of calories, I had the most enjoyable project group meeting ever yesterday when we headed down to Harvard Square to conduct some market research interviews at Burdick's Chocolate Cafe.
Of course, some extensive product tasting was in order.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Black and white
Over the past few days, I've made my first experience with how Americans (or at least those on this campus) deal with racism.
On Halloween night a white Babson student wore a Paul Pierce basketball jersey, an afro wig and black face paint to the campus party. It was later discovered that he had posted several offensive comments and pictures about black, Asian and hispanic people on his Facebook page. This incident has resulted in a wave of protest, and, quite frankly, I don't know what to make of it. The Babson Free Press is full of angry articles, the Student Government Association held a giant protest rally yesterday, reiterating over and over again that racism has no place on the Babson campus, and we spent our entire Social and Political Philosophy class discussing events.
I have talked about this story with several people: Lance, who is half native American, has started a group called "We're not going to protest". He thinks taking racist comments personally puts you in a position of weakness, and he does not want to let his life be ruled by fear of rejection. Alvin, president of the Student Government Association, formerly head of the Black Student Union, told me that many black students, coming from a largely black environment to a predominantly white campus, feel out of place and need black role models. Rebecca, editor in chief of the Babson Free Press and native Hawaiian, is very concerned about racism on campus, which, she says, has been an issue for a while.
Here is what I have come up with so far.
1) Racism is wrong, no doubt about it - and above all, it is simply stupid. It is nothing more than hatred and aggression grounded in false stereotypes about a group of people. In my opinion, it is usually the result of a bad experience or, more commonly, a way of compensating for a lack of self-esteem. There is no place for it in any environment, especially, one should think, in an environment where people think of themselves as educated.
2) If there are people on campus that feel afraid and marginalized because of their race, religion or sexual orientation, this is a problem that needs to be addressed - in my opinion, by each of us individually more than by the college as a whole. I do not believe in institutionalized tolerance, because it is hardly ever genuine. I believe it is about being respectful and considerate of our differences, but, more than anything, about accepting the person as a whole, and showing an interest in who someone is and why they think the way they think.
3) Shunning someone who obviously has racist tendencies to a point where he is refused a sandwich in the campus dining hall is as wrong, if not worse, than the racism we are trying to fight. What is happening here is that someone, again, is marginalized for his beliefs. True, his beliefs are obviously wrong, but lets think about the future. If this kid is expelled from college, and even if he is allowed to stay, he will be hostile towards both the college community and black people for the rest of his life, because in his view, they have made it miserable. It will definitely not help him realize that he is wrong.
What he needs is not for people to shun him, but to sit down and discuss his views with him. Again, it is about accepting the person, while rejecting the act. This is an important distinction, and, as far as I see it, the only solution that will break the vicious circle.
Wow, I think I sound like a political activist.
Any thoughts?
On Halloween night a white Babson student wore a Paul Pierce basketball jersey, an afro wig and black face paint to the campus party. It was later discovered that he had posted several offensive comments and pictures about black, Asian and hispanic people on his Facebook page. This incident has resulted in a wave of protest, and, quite frankly, I don't know what to make of it. The Babson Free Press is full of angry articles, the Student Government Association held a giant protest rally yesterday, reiterating over and over again that racism has no place on the Babson campus, and we spent our entire Social and Political Philosophy class discussing events.
I have talked about this story with several people: Lance, who is half native American, has started a group called "We're not going to protest". He thinks taking racist comments personally puts you in a position of weakness, and he does not want to let his life be ruled by fear of rejection. Alvin, president of the Student Government Association, formerly head of the Black Student Union, told me that many black students, coming from a largely black environment to a predominantly white campus, feel out of place and need black role models. Rebecca, editor in chief of the Babson Free Press and native Hawaiian, is very concerned about racism on campus, which, she says, has been an issue for a while.
Here is what I have come up with so far.
1) Racism is wrong, no doubt about it - and above all, it is simply stupid. It is nothing more than hatred and aggression grounded in false stereotypes about a group of people. In my opinion, it is usually the result of a bad experience or, more commonly, a way of compensating for a lack of self-esteem. There is no place for it in any environment, especially, one should think, in an environment where people think of themselves as educated.
2) If there are people on campus that feel afraid and marginalized because of their race, religion or sexual orientation, this is a problem that needs to be addressed - in my opinion, by each of us individually more than by the college as a whole. I do not believe in institutionalized tolerance, because it is hardly ever genuine. I believe it is about being respectful and considerate of our differences, but, more than anything, about accepting the person as a whole, and showing an interest in who someone is and why they think the way they think.
3) Shunning someone who obviously has racist tendencies to a point where he is refused a sandwich in the campus dining hall is as wrong, if not worse, than the racism we are trying to fight. What is happening here is that someone, again, is marginalized for his beliefs. True, his beliefs are obviously wrong, but lets think about the future. If this kid is expelled from college, and even if he is allowed to stay, he will be hostile towards both the college community and black people for the rest of his life, because in his view, they have made it miserable. It will definitely not help him realize that he is wrong.
What he needs is not for people to shun him, but to sit down and discuss his views with him. Again, it is about accepting the person, while rejecting the act. This is an important distinction, and, as far as I see it, the only solution that will break the vicious circle.
Wow, I think I sound like a political activist.
Any thoughts?
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