First Week in NYC Recap!!

I can't believe its been over a week since I arrived in New York! I love exploring my new surroundings and venturing into the different boroughs. Most of my explorations have been done on foot however, I have tackled the train, tube (or metro as it is known here) and, seeing the infamous yellow cabs. I have fallen in love with the city, and I am so excited to spend the year here!

This week, we had the exciting opportunity to attend a talk from the Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby). It was a very intimate setting with only 30-40 people in attendance. He shared personal stories with an overarching focus on the role of peacemaking. He then went on to talk about the role of young people in a modern world society and their role in peacemaking activism. I felt very inspired by a statement he made encouraging us all to get involved in the peacemaking movement - sitting in silence is suggestive of favoring violence. The message was then compared to that of Jesus, a figure that did not sit back in silence and let wrong doings of others go unnoticed or without consequence. Jesus put himself in precarious and potentially dangerous situations to advocate for peace.

On Saturday, it was my 22nd birthday! This was the first birthday I have spent away from friends and family; however, my housemates were so kind and made sure I had a lovely day. In the morning, we introduced ourselves to the Presbytery of New York on zoom. We then braced for the rain and headed to the American Museum of Natural History. Despite having to queue for about half an hour in the down pour, the museum itself was worth it! There were so many artifacts and displays from all over the world. There was so much to behold, we all felt we needed to pay another visit and explore what we didn't get a chance to see (and we agreed to not go back on a rainy Saturday afternoon as it was so busy). We were surprised to learn that the film "Night at the Museum" wasn't actually filmed in the museum. Yet so many of the film's iconic statues and displays are not present in New York.

When we came back to the apartment, we all had dinner together. Juliet had baked a delicious rainbow sparkle cake which didn't last very long! We then finished off the day by watching "Night at the Museum", as we were inspired by the afternoon’s activity.

On Monday I had the pleasure of volunteering with Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church to help them serve meals to members of the community. Despite the rain, there were over 100 guests who came out to receive a hot plate of food. I really enjoyed serving the guests and meeting the other volunteers.

As much as I am enjoying my time in New York, I am very keen to get busy with my placement. I feel as though have rested and acclimatized enough that I am ready to regain a much-desired structure. I thrive on the fast paced and busy lifestyle and am excited to start my placement routine. I met my supervisor Ryan on Friday which really made the prospect of starting so much more a reality and exciting (as if being in New York wasn’t enough of a reality already). I am keen to get stuck into working with the World Council of Churches. The prospect of learning and developing in a lesser-known area to myself invigorates me more to do the very best I can. I have also found myself missing friends and family from home this week. I hope that when I am busier during the weeks with placement that these feelings will suppress. I have loved catching up with friends and family from home via facetime this week, but I am excited to make some New York friends to spend time with too!!