I'm settling in, slowly but surely. Kicked off my thesis project and took my last course ever. Caught up with most of my friends - including Aglae with a big belly (son due in June) and Isabel, the brand new fiancée (wedding in September). Spent the weekend shovelling gravel at the Mill and enjoyed the company of my family, minus Anna who is still working as a nurse in a hospital in Jalandhar, India.
Back to the busy life.
However, Easter is around the corner, and I'll be hopping on a bus to Medjugorje on Friday to spend a long weekend in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but shrubs, hills, silence and prayer. Given that about 40 of us are going, there will surely be time for fun as well, but I am really looking forward to some peace and quiet, and some quality time with the Man Upstairs.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
I'm home
Back to the city of Käsekrainer, coffee houses, horse carriages, church bells, bakeries, grumpy waiters, and slow pace. The place where walking for five minutes actually gets you someplace. Where your cup of coffee comes with a complimentary glass of water and a silver spoon. Where you can live on thirty euros for almost a week. And where no one wears sweats.
Yet, I am missing things.
The buzz. Skyscrapers. Sushi. Food deliveries. Warm, fuzzy towels fresh from the dryer. Central Park. Diversity. Lights and colors. Ziploc bags. Paying by credit card. Grand Central Station. Dog walkers. Smiles. The sea. Yellow cabs. Conversations with strangers. Free refills. Fireplaces. Friends.
What I don't miss:
Coffee in paper cups. Having your check slammed down the second you swallow your last bite. Overcrowded subways. Trash. Paying for received calls. Dodging deadly umbrellas on crowded sidewalks when it rains. Smoke detectors. Doors that lock "the wrong way". The things they call bread. Taxes. Skim milk.
Funny how it takes a while until home feels like home.
Yet, I am missing things.
The buzz. Skyscrapers. Sushi. Food deliveries. Warm, fuzzy towels fresh from the dryer. Central Park. Diversity. Lights and colors. Ziploc bags. Paying by credit card. Grand Central Station. Dog walkers. Smiles. The sea. Yellow cabs. Conversations with strangers. Free refills. Fireplaces. Friends.
What I don't miss:
Coffee in paper cups. Having your check slammed down the second you swallow your last bite. Overcrowded subways. Trash. Paying for received calls. Dodging deadly umbrellas on crowded sidewalks when it rains. Smoke detectors. Doors that lock "the wrong way". The things they call bread. Taxes. Skim milk.
Funny how it takes a while until home feels like home.
Monday, March 19, 2007
See you, New York
A fun brunch with 20 friends
St. Paddy's Day parade watching
Conversations by the fireplace
A long walk in the park
Some pub-hopping and Guiness-drinking
Breakfast and brunch, consecutively
Two churches
Coffee at Penelope's
Wiener Schnitzel
Emma
Hugs
And a few tears.
I'm going home, but I'll be back.
St. Paddy's Day parade watching
Conversations by the fireplace
A long walk in the park
Some pub-hopping and Guiness-drinking
Breakfast and brunch, consecutively
Two churches
Coffee at Penelope's
Wiener Schnitzel
Emma
Hugs
And a few tears.
I'm going home, but I'll be back.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Quirks
New Yorkers are a breed of their own. If you pay a few bucks extra, you can get anything you want here - and directly to your doorstep, too: the paper, food, drinks, groceries, videos, you name it. In fact, I recently saw a sign in a shop window: "I want it all, and I want it delivered."
It gets better, though.
Try nine-year olds at beauty salons, getting their nails done.
Or rain coats, "party collars" and faux fur (!) designer coats for dogs.
But think what you may, citizens of the Big Apple do have a sense of humor, paired with real dedication to the cause. Here are a few examples I stumbled upon myself in the past weeks.
The Naked Cowboy, who stands on Times Square, rain or shine, in white speedos, boots and a Stetson, playing his guitar and posing for tourists.
A young guy I recently spotted on the subway one early Saturday morning, carrying a long black bag on his back. When asked what he was carrying, he pulled out a giant, "custom-made" light saber and demonstrated a few moves he had learned in his light saber fighting club.
Missed that photo op, unfortunately.
A loving fiancee who dedicated a bench in Central Park to her future husband:
And, lastly, a scribbled response to a graffiti statement:
Gotta love it.
On a different note, between trips to Yale, DC and last minute errands, time is flying by. The next blog (including pictures from the past weeks) might already be written from my room in Vienna - hard to believe!
It gets better, though.
Try nine-year olds at beauty salons, getting their nails done.
Or rain coats, "party collars" and faux fur (!) designer coats for dogs.
But think what you may, citizens of the Big Apple do have a sense of humor, paired with real dedication to the cause. Here are a few examples I stumbled upon myself in the past weeks.The Naked Cowboy, who stands on Times Square, rain or shine, in white speedos, boots and a Stetson, playing his guitar and posing for tourists.
A young guy I recently spotted on the subway one early Saturday morning, carrying a long black bag on his back. When asked what he was carrying, he pulled out a giant, "custom-made" light saber and demonstrated a few moves he had learned in his light saber fighting club.Missed that photo op, unfortunately.
A loving fiancee who dedicated a bench in Central Park to her future husband:
And, lastly, a scribbled response to a graffiti statement:
Gotta love it.
On a different note, between trips to Yale, DC and last minute errands, time is flying by. The next blog (including pictures from the past weeks) might already be written from my room in Vienna - hard to believe!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
In short
It's been a while, and a lot has been going on. Just a few snapshots:
Work. I wrapped it up last Wednesday, and it has been a good experience. Met amazing people, made valuable contacts, learned a bit more, and had many opportunities to observe how nonprofits are managed around here, which in many ways seems fundamentally different from the way it is done back home. I've streamlined my questions for my thesis a little, and I am ready to go when I get home. I was spoiled rotten with a tasty Japanese farewell lunch and a Starbucks mug with the NY skyline on it, courtesy of David, the cool program director.
Meetings. One of the great results of my time at Babson and the internship is the fact that I kept meeting people who were interested in performance measurement in nonprofits (my thesis topic) and were willing to share what they know. This morning, I had the chance to meet with Michael Caslin, who teaches a course on Social Entrepreneurship at Babson this semester and works for NFTE, an amazing organization committed to teaching entrepreneurship to disadvantaged youth. I had 20 minutes to get as much as possible out of him, which was tricky, but worth it. I have a few more interesting meetings coming up before I leave the Big Apple on the 19th.
Pia. Her visit significantly raised my museum, opera and concert quota, and I think I have become a bit of a culture buff under her supervision. However, it was the fact that we could meet for coffee or lunch any time we wanted and have quality conversations that was the real treat. After having had an ocean between us for two years, it felt really good to have her around for five weeks. Her, Colin, Bill and I made a fabulous team and had a ton of fun together - these times will be missed! We said goodbye with a suitably Bavarian Weisswurst brunch at Zum Schneider.
Classy. On a whim, Colin and I joined Bill for the Frick Ball last Thursday. The museum was festively decorated, we were served shrimps and champaign by the water fountain and wandered around among the Rembrandts, Bellinis and Holbeins in our tuxedos and evening robes. My H&M and Cairo bazaar combo was not nearly as classy as the designer robes of the other female guests, but it's the attitude that counts, isn't it? Here's the official account - don't take it too seriously.
Now I have a little less than two weeks left to wander around, read, think, see people and wrap up the six months in the land of hot dogs and oversized milk cartons.
They will be well spent.
Work. I wrapped it up last Wednesday, and it has been a good experience. Met amazing people, made valuable contacts, learned a bit more, and had many opportunities to observe how nonprofits are managed around here, which in many ways seems fundamentally different from the way it is done back home. I've streamlined my questions for my thesis a little, and I am ready to go when I get home. I was spoiled rotten with a tasty Japanese farewell lunch and a Starbucks mug with the NY skyline on it, courtesy of David, the cool program director.
Meetings. One of the great results of my time at Babson and the internship is the fact that I kept meeting people who were interested in performance measurement in nonprofits (my thesis topic) and were willing to share what they know. This morning, I had the chance to meet with Michael Caslin, who teaches a course on Social Entrepreneurship at Babson this semester and works for NFTE, an amazing organization committed to teaching entrepreneurship to disadvantaged youth. I had 20 minutes to get as much as possible out of him, which was tricky, but worth it. I have a few more interesting meetings coming up before I leave the Big Apple on the 19th.
Pia. Her visit significantly raised my museum, opera and concert quota, and I think I have become a bit of a culture buff under her supervision. However, it was the fact that we could meet for coffee or lunch any time we wanted and have quality conversations that was the real treat. After having had an ocean between us for two years, it felt really good to have her around for five weeks. Her, Colin, Bill and I made a fabulous team and had a ton of fun together - these times will be missed! We said goodbye with a suitably Bavarian Weisswurst brunch at Zum Schneider.
Classy. On a whim, Colin and I joined Bill for the Frick Ball last Thursday. The museum was festively decorated, we were served shrimps and champaign by the water fountain and wandered around among the Rembrandts, Bellinis and Holbeins in our tuxedos and evening robes. My H&M and Cairo bazaar combo was not nearly as classy as the designer robes of the other female guests, but it's the attitude that counts, isn't it? Here's the official account - don't take it too seriously.
Now I have a little less than two weeks left to wander around, read, think, see people and wrap up the six months in the land of hot dogs and oversized milk cartons.
They will be well spent.
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