fascinating!  i can't stop watching (you can refresh the page and get a new taxi).  when i lived in NYC i took taxis very rarely (they were so expensive compared to the bus or subway, and i was a grad student): to or from the airport about half the time (it was twice as fast as the bus, but literally 10 times as expensive), or sometimes when it was late at night.  nyc taxis: a day in the life.

stories from my year in new york city

as my time in new york has wound down, i've thought about what i've written about the city and what i haven't.  what is missing from my account of this year?

these are some stories that i don't think i've shared before; they say more about new york than they say about me.

here's a little portrait of new york city, through my eyes:

i helped a little old lady cross the street.  this boy scout cliche happened after our big snow storm in february.  the streets had been plowed, but walking was messy: as you crossed a street you had to go over the piles of snow that had been pushed off the road by the plows.  i was crossing a street behind an older lady with a cane, and ahead of us was packed, slippery snow before we could get onto the clear sidewalk.  i pulled out my earphones; "can i help you?"  "yes...can you put out your arm like this?" she held my forearm and inched across the snow.  "thank you."  "it's not a problem!"

*

old people and disabled people in this city make me so SAD.  i imagine their existence is hard, having to walk a lot to get groceries or fill prescriptions or go to their job.  it makes my heart hurt watching an old man with a cane struggle across the street or a hunched over old woman push her walker down the sidewalk, both things that i see every day.  a friend in my program believes the opposite: that it must be empowering for the elderly to be able to walk places, to not have to rely on a car that you might not be able to drive as you age, to have everything you need very close by.  maybe it's a matter of perspective - those who grew up in a city want to grow old there?  me, no.  please no.

*

to get to JFK airport by public transportation you have to take the subway to its second-to-last stop in queens.  on my way to JFK this fall the train car emptied out gradually until it was just me and a big burly man across the car from me.  this must be rule #1 of subway safety: don't be alone on a car with someone.  he was sort of sleeping but also sort of looking at me, and i trained one eye on him as i nervously pulled my bag closer and hoped the last few stops would bring more people onto our car.  they didn't.  when we arrived at my stop and i stood up to get off he smiled at me and said "have a good flight!"  oh, the assumptions we make about people.  let it be noted that no one talks to strangers on the subway, so his kind words were even more unexpected.  i hope he didn't guess the assumptions i was making about him.

*

that's the thing about new york: there are people everywhere.  that's what made the subway ride to the airport so weird.  there is safety in groups; walking with (female) friends through a deserted street in charleston late one night this spring was more nerve-wracking that new york city at the same time of night.  when i moved to new york i asked some friends, "okay: how late is TOO late to safely ride the subway?"  they sort of thought about it and gave an answer of around midnight or 1am.  let me say, though: there are just as many people on the subway at midnight as there are at 10 in the morning.  other than the time the guy sitting next to me fell asleep and graaaaaaadually slumped onto my shoulder - and no amount of shifting woke him up, so i let him sleep there for the couple stops until i got off - nothing weird has happened to me on the subway at night.  i love that.  i love this civilized city.

*

this is a city where people (myself included) will wait 15 minutes in line to check out at trader joe's.  in atlanta, if a line had more than two or three people in it, i thought it was long.  the trader joe's i go to on the upper west side has 29 (!) cashiers and routinely there are probably 100 people in line when i arrive.  people stretch around from the check out area through the store in line, so i do about half my shopping from the line.  we pass the prepared foods, the vegetables, the fruits, the sweets...all while standing in line.  trader joe's, i learned, sells everything at the same price in every trader joe's in the country.  i thought they were reasonably priced in atlanta; here it is like getting food for free.  for cheap, delicious food with no preservatives, i will stand in line for 15 minutes and then schlep my food on the subway almost 50 blocks.  my second favorite thing (after the price) is how nice the cashiers are.  you've waited in line for a while and then you get to a nice, friendly cashier, who takes the time to say hi and chat with you a little while they bag your groceries.  it is calmness amidst chaos.  i love it.

*

i will not miss the trash truck picking up trash outside my window six days a week at 7am.  i will not miss my 109 square foot room with a shared kitchen and bathroom.  i will not miss the trash on the sidewalk, the rats on the subway tracks, the homeless people who ask for money.  i will not miss walking through the city in the rain.

*

i will miss the reliability of public transportation, a system that goes everywhere you want it to go.  i will miss catching glimpses of the statue of liberty at unexpected times (from a plane, from the high line, from the brooklyn bridge, from the car ride back from coney island).  i will miss the ease with which my program allowed me to make friends, and the many wine and board games nights with those friends.  the food: i will very much miss the food.

*

i am sure i will truly miss being a student, but for now i am so excited to be a teacher again.

graduation!

graduation was a two part affair.

part 1: teachers college graduation in the cathedral of st. john the divine (8 blocks from teachers college) on tuesday, which mom and dad came up for (yay!)...

getting ready to process in:

the enormous and beautiful interior:

with mom and dad at the reception afterwards:

and then part 2: columbia university's commencement on wednesday...

um, there were lots of people there.  this was my view of the proceedings:

and this is a pretty awesome photo from the top of butler library that i got off the teachers college facebook page:

(i am in the big set of risers on the right side of the photo - and then all the way to the front side of those risers, which was actually pretty close to the action.  all the blue people are the graduates.)

both graduation ceremonies were wonderful, and i have lots more to say...but i'm pretty tired at the moment.  more in the coming days.  tomorrow i drive to DC and friday i drive home to NC.  onward to new adventures!

brooklyn bridge + grimaldi's

on tuesday talia helped me check another thing off my new york city list: walking across the brooklyn bridge as the sun goes down...

...and eating dinner at grimaldi's, a pizza place sort of under the brooklyn bridge that is famous and delicious.  becky took me here when i visited her once, so i had been before, and the pizza was as good as i remembered it.  actual conversation between me and talia when our large pizza arrived:

me: "that's a lot of pizza!"
talia: "don't you think we'll eat it all?"
me, without pausing: "yep!"

and we did.  YUM.

chocolate babka

a huge seinfeld fan, i love this scene, where jerry and elaine want to take a chocolate babka to a dinner party but an old lady in line in front of them gets the last one.  but as a southerner a "babka" was a foreign concept to me.  what is it?  a loaf of bread?  a dessert?  i have never known.

 

um, today i had some chocolate babka.  and it was IN. CRED. I. BLE.

a babka is like a huge loaf-sized croissant, filled with chocolate or cinnamon.  it is a dessert that isn't super sweet.  this is my favorite kind of pastry.

one of my professors this semester fits all my stereotypes of new yorkers.  she is jewish, wears crazy high heels every day, talks very loudly and with her hands, and is only 39 and is a super accomplished lawyer and a dean at the columbia law school.  she initially totally intimidated me and now i love her.  she has taught us to advocate for ourselves in negotiations and difficult conversations, and you can tell she cares about us as individuals and about our work as educators (her husband is the head of a jewish day school, so she understands our jobs).  today was our last class together, and she brought bagels...and chocolate babkas and cinnamon babkas.  WARM.  warm baked goods is the way into my heart.

and now this seinfeld episode makes even more sense.  a babka cannot be replaced by another item from a bakery.  a babka is worth the freak-out that jerry and elaine have when they don't think they can get one.  i am a babka convert.

a photo a day

some friends and i went to coney island today!  it was colder than we wanted it to be.  it's may!  the weather should cooperate.

we rode a rollercoaster called "the cyclone" that was built in the 1920s.  charles lindbergh apparently called this ride "more thrilling than flying."  it was scary as SHIT.  this is us before the ride:

and after.  AT LEAST I LIVED THROUGH IT.  it was a pretty traumatizing 3 minutes.  we got margaritas afterwards to calm ourselves.

the boardwalk, with the hotdog stand where everyone else had a hotdog and i had some delicious cheese fries:

such a fun day!  glad to have done this in my last month in the city.

a photo a day

picnic in central park!  i wish i could have one of these every day from now until when i move...it makes me so happy to sit in the sun and people-watch.

grilled tofu sandwich...

and a doughnut topped with glaze and coconut flakes, both from the cinnamon snail, a vegan food truck.  yum.

then there was some lying against a tree and reading...

with this as my view.  life is good.

do yourself a favor and have a picnic soon.

happy friday, all!

9/11 memorial

i finally made it down to the 9/11 memorial today, along with one million tourists.  seriously: this must be on everyone's list of things to do when they come to new york.  people everywhere!  i should have guessed.  it was a perfect spring day, too, so i imagine that upped the numbers.

i'd seen the world trade center site from airplanes, which is pretty breathtaking, but it was very cool to be on the ground and look down into the memorial pools and up at the new buildings.

one world trade center, the new building that will be 1,776 feet tall:

the south memorial pool:

the sound of falling water is very peaceful, and it drowns out the street noise around you.  i'm sure this was on purpose, and it's a great effect.

the edge of the north pool:

as many people as there were, the site is huge and it didn't feel crowded.  the museum hasn't opened yet, so it doesn't take much time to walk through the whole site.  definitely glad that i made the trek downtown (it took an hour by subway to get there - makes you realize how big manhattan is!).

i leave new york in 7 weeks. here's what i want to do before i leave:

walk across the brooklyn bridge at sunset and then eat pizza at grimaldi's

go to the world trade center memorial.  (stop putting it off because you know it will be sad.)

see book of mormon

see matilda

walk the high line when it's warm and sunny outside

go to coney island

go to the natural history museum

go to the rooftop garden at the met

have another picnic in central park

[new yorkers: what else should be on my list?!]

a photo a day

after hours upon hours of basketball watching yesterday, i needed to get out of my building and get some exercise today.  it is hard for me to get motivated to go outside when it's so cold, but i managed to take a chilly (39 degrees) walk through riverside park this afternoon.  it's still stark and winter-like...

...but with tiny patches of spring emerging!

i feel much better after some exercise.  now, back to basketball!

the high line

on monday my college friend rachel was in town and we went for a walk on the high line, which is a park in new york city that is on an old elevated railroad line.  it was really cool!  a new perspective on that part of the city, since you're not at street level but a couple stories up.  in this photo you can see the old railroad line on your left with the rest of the walkway on your right.  in some areas they've built the pathway right on the train lines, and in others (like here) you walk to the side of them...maybe to show you what it used to look like?  you can also see, from this photo, how immersed you are in the city.  in places you could reach out and almost touch an apartment building.

a particularly pretty graffiti-like mural off the high line:

at one point we could see the statue of liberty in the distance!

the website has a lot more (and better) photos...and i'm sure it's even prettier in the spring and summer, as they've planted lots of trees and flowers on the high line that were sad and barren this week.  i will definitely be going back once the weather is nicer!

a lot of this feels so so true, and i've only lived in new york for 6 months: here is everything i learned in new york city (a little bit not safe for work).

one of my favorite parts:

Summarizing What I Learned in New York Is Impossible 
I learned how to live in 200 square feet of space. I learned not to blink at loud noises. I learned what pierogies were, what chicken biryana is, what an egg cream and tagliatelle and knishes and rice balls and fish cakes should taste like....I did not learn how to walk and text at the same time, because if I had, maybe I wouldn’t have dropped and cracked my iPhone (twice). I learned that cats can have supernatural powers of comfort, and that to give someone your full and undivided attention is one of the greatest gifts you can offer. I learned to avoid the subway at rush hour. I learned to tip cabbies and servers well. If you see something, say something. Buckle up. Stand clear of the closing doors.

be impressed that i made it all the way to february 17th

today is the day: i'm officially so tired of winter.  22 degrees and a fierce wind as i walked down broadway?  NOT AMUSED ANY MORE.

new york fun / a photo a day

today was a touristy day in new york - hooray!

when i've visited new york around christmas time in the past, one of my favorite things i've done is walk along 5th avenue and look at the fancy window displays.  this afternoon i rounded up three friends and we set off to see three stores that my new york city guidebook recommended.

first stop: barney's.  at first i was confused...why are there tv screens (um, excuse me - i have just learned that they are called "microtiles") in the window?  where are the elaborate displays involving mannequins?  are we at the right place?  and then a 5 minute long animated video began, complete with sound coming from outdoor speakers, that was incredible.  minnie mouse is walking down 5th avenue and sees a pretty dress in a window.  begin dream sequence where she buys the dress and has a runway show with the black disney princess (tiara), daisy duck, and cruella de villa (don't ask questions about why it is these people in the show - logic is not important).  when it was over, we leave the dream sequence and mickey has bought the dress for minnie in real life.  aww, mickey.

actually, you can watch the video here!  (of course it's on the internet...)  it's got nothing on the surprise and excitement of seeing it on the sidewalk this afternoon, though!


(not pictured: obligatory stop at fao schwartz.)

next stop, bergdorf goodman, which was pretty incredible and exactly what i was imagining.  (we got the traditional and the 21st century version of a window display in the span of 20 minutes - pretty cool.)  this was my favorite window - poodles in a circus!

cartier, looking all pretty:

then past rockefeller center!

and then to saks 5th avenue, which was lame compared to the other two and not worthy of being photographed.

it was so festive to walk down 5th avenue with hot drinks from starbucks and gawk at the beautiful windows.  you may have gathered from reading this blog that the little things in life make me SO happy sometimes, and one of my friends here, dominique, is the same way.  we were pretty ridiculously giddy the whole afternoon.  it was crowded, but not claustrophobically so, and felt so christmas-y.  good day.

i thought this would be my last day in new york before heading home to NC on a 12noon flight on friday, but i got 5 (literally) automated voicemails from delta while i was at a party tonight informing me that my flight was canceled and i was now on a flight on saturday that was not direct, but had layovers in both DC and atlanta.  um, NO.  i called and they very quickly and easily switched me to a flight on friday night...and the only seat available was first class.  i have never flown first class before!  this is very exciting and i am pretty sure my new silver status on delta may have assisted in the ease with which this change was made.  woo hoo!

so, bottom line: i have an additional 7 hours in new york tomorrow, so i will be plotting more fun touristy things to do!  stay tuned!

a photo a day

after my class today, i went to the met!  columbia students get in for free (most other students have to pay a reduced price, but somehow columbia is special), so this was an extra incentive to go.

i learned that tourists like the met.  it was packed with accents from many languages.

the indoor space is set up beautifully - lots of natural light in various atriums (atria?):

two of my favorite pieces of art: this is a crocodile from egypt around the year 0.  i liked him.  i also liked that he got to sit above some water in the egyptian hall.  i bet he likes being near the water.

there was an andy warhol exhibit and this was my favorite piece from it.

i also really liked the matisse and picasso stuff they had, but i forgot to take pictures.  oops.

hooray for a new york adventure on my first day of freedom from school!

all my papers are DONE!  after my ethics class tomorrow morning i'm done with classes, too. first semester, you're almost complete!

this is bittersweet - it has been a busy and at some times hectic semester, but i love my cohort and my friends here and my classes, and it's crazy to think that in another 5 months i'll probably be moving away from new york.  part of me really doesn't want this year to end.  another part of me has started to miss teaching and working in a school.

in the 3 hours since i finished my paper, i have gotten bored.  bored!  i am ridiculous.  apparently i don't know what to do with myself when i don't have papers and reading assignments hovering over me.  i've made plans, though: tomorrow afternoon i'm going to the met, and thursday i'm going to see the tree at rockefeller center, look at the window displays on 5th avenue, and maybe take a walk on the highline.  a new york day!  i can't wait.

friday i fly home, which i'm also very much looking forward to.  baking* + eating + time with family will just be the start of my awesome winter break.  hooray!


*family, get ready.  i plan to bake up a storm - i miss it so much and i have lots of recipes saved up for us!

a weird thing about new york (an occasional series by miss claire)

on thursdays i walk half an hour into harlem for my field project, where a classmate and i are helping design a lower school social studies curriculum at an independent school.  (is this an awesome project?  yes.  is it the subject of this blog post?  not really.)  the school is small and doesn't have a cafeteria, so for lunch my classmate and i walk to a nearby...okay, this is the point of the story.

facts, according to me:
1. harlem does not have many real restaurants.  do you want a panera bread or something like it?  doesn't exist.
2. harlem has a lot of...7-11s.  but without the gas station part.  little stores that sell all the foods you would find at a gas station (chips, candy, sodas, beer, cigarettes) PLUS they are apparently required to have a sandwich counter.

it is at this sandwich counter where we get our lunch.  well dressed white people?  ah yes, we stick out like a sore thumb.  no one cares, though, which is awesome.  so we go up to the counter and order a sandwich and of course there is nothing vegetarian, so i get (POINT OF THE STORY!) an egg and cheese on a roll.

that is what you say.  "i want an egg and cheese on a roll, please."  a roll is hamburger bun sized, but smaller than a hero.  that is important to know so you don't get an absurd amount of food. but egg and cheese on a roll is available everywhere, even for lunch...no one bats an eye.  the cheese is american (duh), and the sandwich is delish.  today's egg and cheese on a roll cost $1.75.  one dollar!  and seventy-five cents!  it is the only food item in this city that costs less than you think it will.

this post is inspired, and my lunch choice validated, by my new smitten kitchen cookbook:

flying into new york tonight on a tiny little plane from vermont:

as we were descending towards our landing, i look on the window of the plane, and it looks like we're right above manhattan.  the view out the window is gorgeous: skyscrapers all lit up at night, bright lights that mark the road, all seemingly SO CLOSE - maybe we were 3,000 feet up at most?  (my only measure is that the new world trade center memorial building is going to be 1,776 feet tall, and we didn't seem too much above that.)  it's breathtakingly beautiful, new york city at night from the air.  i am talking to the city through the airplane window like a loony person.

as we get further south i realize i should be confused, since laguardia airport is now north of us.  i realize later that we must have been asked by air traffic control to circle for a couple minute to buy time - i can't imagine any other reason we would have taken this route.

then manhattan is dark - huge buildings on the south end of the island are totally black - the power outages that remain because of the storm.  poignant at night.

then we're over brooklyn and queens and i can still see the city (those people on the right side of the plane MISSED OUT), though it's further away at that point.  then we swoop into our landing.

i made you a pretty picture (i am basically a professional artist) to show our path - it was SO COOL to be able to figure out where we were as we were doing it - i felt like i was a real new yorker.

four freedoms park

today i went on an adventure to roosevelt island to see the newly opened four freedoms park.  i wanted to do some exploring and it was fun to have a destination in mind.  plus, you know, HURRICANE'S A-COMING, so i wanted to get outside before the four days of rain that are being predicted.

view of manhattan (the weird rectangular building is the UN) from roosevelt island:

new baby trees at the FDR memorial:

the memorial is really simple, but the views from the memorial are gorgeous.  i like that idea: to allow people to appreciate FDR in a place where they can also appreciate the world around them.

CREEPY SMALLPOX HOSPITAL on the island:

i am a creepy hospital:

friday afternoon walk

yellow and green on the same tree:

i live 3 blocks from grant's tomb!  who knew this was a real place and not just a riddle?  (apparently grant is not BURIED in his tomb, but entombed in his tomb.)

black kitty cat who posed for me.  happy halloween!  i hope you have a home, little kitty.

riverside park:

one orange tree, overlooking the hudson: