Act I: This is not my beautiful city.
Day 3 of officially living in New York. I have found, so far, that as long as I choose to accept New York and everything it is, it continues to accept me and everything I am. As such, I think this will be a divine friendship.
Don't get me wrong, I miss Seattle so so much. Every few hours I can't believe how horrible it is that I left my friends and family and home to get another degree. It's not like I was on a dead end track or anything. Listen, I know it's good that I'm back in school and it's totally fine to be far away again, it just seems like such a drain of resources when I could be on the west coast where plane tickets to Phoenix are not so expensive and where I can decide to drive down to see my dad or brother over the weekend.
Beyond the existential, NY feels so different. It's too short to be downtown, too residential to be capitol hill, too busy to be SoDo. Not to mention, though they're both in Manhattan, where I'm living and where I'm going to school feel like two completely different cities.
I will explore this dichotomy through a new pastime of mine: trying to find a reasonably priced coffee shop in which to rest one's feet and read or perhaps write.
Where I live, there is no such thing as a cafe. Legit, the closest thing is Dunkin' Donuts. There are, however, several Delis. I don't think I'll ever understand how there can be so many Delis in one neighborhood. I mean, at my prime I could have 8 cups of coffee in a day. I've never been able to have 8 sandwiches in a day. Actually, maybe I could have. Maybe I can. Anyway it's weird. The "cafe"s here are, in actuality, really pricey restaurants.
Where I go to school, there are a ton of cafes. Most of them are too rich for my blood, but at least they're actually cafes. Many of these cafes advertise gluten free or vegan options. Instead of Delis there are Organic Grocery Stores which are essentially convenience stores with raw macrobiotic bars and bulk trail mix.
Cafe searching has also led to my realization that, yes, NY is totally more expensive. I'm a little unsure as to how I'm going to make this work, because when you take out housing, I'm supposed to live on essentially what I was supposed to live on as an AmeriCorps volunteer, which i barely got away with. This plus reasons to be discussed in Act II lead me to believe that I may have to job it.
Act II: I'm sorry, you said you wanted us to jump how high?
Orientation started on Monday. Monday left me feeling so so confident that I'm at the right school. Day 1 and Harvard has been ridiculed for it's closed mindedness and the Economics Dept Head has commented on the lack of the word "capitalism" from Mankiw's text book. I could not be happier about my choice.
I am also warned on many fronts about how well I need to structure my time. Not my strong suit. Interestingly, I will not have class before 6pm on any day. Which means I have all day to get it together. And honestly, I think this will work well for me -- having uninterrupted mornings for buckwheat groats and readings.
Yesterday, I had a brief and helpful meeting with my adviser to solidify my schedule. I am currently pursuing a Master's of the Arts. I've been considering since making this decision if I should pursue a Master's of the Sciences. Speaking with my adviser allowed me to discern what that really means.
Here, one takes 3 classes a semester. Sometimes less if studying for an exit exam or taking a not-for-credit language class (which are free btw !!). Essentially, an M.A. is three semesters of class plus a paper or internship. I am not interested in writing a paper in that little time. I would be alright with an internship. An M.S. is approximately 5 semesters of classes, typically done over 3 years and an exit exam. For either program, I will use an elective on the international affairs program and spend June/July of this year abroad. Which I think counts as a couple more courses and means getting either degree done a little quicker.
The way the M.A. is set up, I would have so little room for electives that I would not really be able to nest myself in what I want to study, nor would I have the time to make sure I understand the basics on a solid level. However, if what I want from this program is a quick boost into the professional realm and to get more real world experience, this would maybe be good. Plus, I'm already terrified about spending 2 years here, much less 3. But then again, when I consider the work I really want to be doing after this: developing new models of exchange and new indicators for policy development, an M.S. makes much more sense... especially as I can imagine myself then transferring to *gulp* a PhD program. omg... Then again, I have no plan for where the funding for a third year would come from. But then again, that's what T.A.ing is for? I just have to be really awesome at this.
Act III: This disaffection really affects me.
Okay. To all of you who were like "you'll totally love the village," I admit it, you were totally right.
On Monday, in between orientation topics, I ended up wandering around to Washington Park and then up 8th, coming across THE coolest thrift shop I have ever experienced. I wanted to pick up something small, but in the interest of conserving money, I decided to leave it up to Chance and see if it would be there when I came back.
Yesterday, post-meeting with my advisor I decided I actually couldn't wait and walked all over Greenwich Village trying to find it. Of course, I totally couldn't. Anyway, in the process, I absolutely fell in love with that neighborhood. It is covered with ivy and bricks and bicycles and beautiful people peeking out of curtains. The restaurants in this village have tiny plates sold in the single digits to help people maintain the illusion that they are really so broke. The buildings are short and European in feeling. Even the trees seem healthier.
Greenwich Village makes me want to make a stupid amount of money so that I can do stupid things with it. Despite the fact that I've lost any craving for it, the village makes me want to pick up smoking again, just because cloves make any outfit look and smell classier or more indie. The village makes me almost forget how important it is to be socially responsible.
For a neighborhood in the middle of the city that considers itself the middle of the world, the village is so thoroughly removed from reality. More than in the glazed-over eyes of its superficially apathetic residents, the village pretends that the business of the city, located a few blocks out in either direction, has no business there. Bars and apartment buildings are plastered with the notice that this is a residential village and please respect that by keeping sidewalk noise to a minimum. There is a $350 fine for honking. And most remarkably, there are absolutely no homeless people. Just to the East in Union Square, neatly-ironed business people dot the streets outlined by overpriced chains and exorbitant boutiques while the homeless people, socks worn through at the heel and a callus that grows beyond it, have determined it useless to try to attract your attention.
I'm not sure I'll ever love this city more than I hate it, but it certainly knows how to tempt me.
Day 3 of officially living in New York. I have found, so far, that as long as I choose to accept New York and everything it is, it continues to accept me and everything I am. As such, I think this will be a divine friendship.
Don't get me wrong, I miss Seattle so so much. Every few hours I can't believe how horrible it is that I left my friends and family and home to get another degree. It's not like I was on a dead end track or anything. Listen, I know it's good that I'm back in school and it's totally fine to be far away again, it just seems like such a drain of resources when I could be on the west coast where plane tickets to Phoenix are not so expensive and where I can decide to drive down to see my dad or brother over the weekend.
Beyond the existential, NY feels so different. It's too short to be downtown, too residential to be capitol hill, too busy to be SoDo. Not to mention, though they're both in Manhattan, where I'm living and where I'm going to school feel like two completely different cities.
I will explore this dichotomy through a new pastime of mine: trying to find a reasonably priced coffee shop in which to rest one's feet and read or perhaps write.
Where I live, there is no such thing as a cafe. Legit, the closest thing is Dunkin' Donuts. There are, however, several Delis. I don't think I'll ever understand how there can be so many Delis in one neighborhood. I mean, at my prime I could have 8 cups of coffee in a day. I've never been able to have 8 sandwiches in a day. Actually, maybe I could have. Maybe I can. Anyway it's weird. The "cafe"s here are, in actuality, really pricey restaurants.
Where I go to school, there are a ton of cafes. Most of them are too rich for my blood, but at least they're actually cafes. Many of these cafes advertise gluten free or vegan options. Instead of Delis there are Organic Grocery Stores which are essentially convenience stores with raw macrobiotic bars and bulk trail mix.
Cafe searching has also led to my realization that, yes, NY is totally more expensive. I'm a little unsure as to how I'm going to make this work, because when you take out housing, I'm supposed to live on essentially what I was supposed to live on as an AmeriCorps volunteer, which i barely got away with. This plus reasons to be discussed in Act II lead me to believe that I may have to job it.
Act II: I'm sorry, you said you wanted us to jump how high?
Orientation started on Monday. Monday left me feeling so so confident that I'm at the right school. Day 1 and Harvard has been ridiculed for it's closed mindedness and the Economics Dept Head has commented on the lack of the word "capitalism" from Mankiw's text book. I could not be happier about my choice.
I am also warned on many fronts about how well I need to structure my time. Not my strong suit. Interestingly, I will not have class before 6pm on any day. Which means I have all day to get it together. And honestly, I think this will work well for me -- having uninterrupted mornings for buckwheat groats and readings.
Yesterday, I had a brief and helpful meeting with my adviser to solidify my schedule. I am currently pursuing a Master's of the Arts. I've been considering since making this decision if I should pursue a Master's of the Sciences. Speaking with my adviser allowed me to discern what that really means.
Here, one takes 3 classes a semester. Sometimes less if studying for an exit exam or taking a not-for-credit language class (which are free btw !!). Essentially, an M.A. is three semesters of class plus a paper or internship. I am not interested in writing a paper in that little time. I would be alright with an internship. An M.S. is approximately 5 semesters of classes, typically done over 3 years and an exit exam. For either program, I will use an elective on the international affairs program and spend June/July of this year abroad. Which I think counts as a couple more courses and means getting either degree done a little quicker.
The way the M.A. is set up, I would have so little room for electives that I would not really be able to nest myself in what I want to study, nor would I have the time to make sure I understand the basics on a solid level. However, if what I want from this program is a quick boost into the professional realm and to get more real world experience, this would maybe be good. Plus, I'm already terrified about spending 2 years here, much less 3. But then again, when I consider the work I really want to be doing after this: developing new models of exchange and new indicators for policy development, an M.S. makes much more sense... especially as I can imagine myself then transferring to *gulp* a PhD program. omg... Then again, I have no plan for where the funding for a third year would come from. But then again, that's what T.A.ing is for? I just have to be really awesome at this.
Act III: This disaffection really affects me.
Okay. To all of you who were like "you'll totally love the village," I admit it, you were totally right.
On Monday, in between orientation topics, I ended up wandering around to Washington Park and then up 8th, coming across THE coolest thrift shop I have ever experienced. I wanted to pick up something small, but in the interest of conserving money, I decided to leave it up to Chance and see if it would be there when I came back.
Yesterday, post-meeting with my advisor I decided I actually couldn't wait and walked all over Greenwich Village trying to find it. Of course, I totally couldn't. Anyway, in the process, I absolutely fell in love with that neighborhood. It is covered with ivy and bricks and bicycles and beautiful people peeking out of curtains. The restaurants in this village have tiny plates sold in the single digits to help people maintain the illusion that they are really so broke. The buildings are short and European in feeling. Even the trees seem healthier.
Greenwich Village makes me want to make a stupid amount of money so that I can do stupid things with it. Despite the fact that I've lost any craving for it, the village makes me want to pick up smoking again, just because cloves make any outfit look and smell classier or more indie. The village makes me almost forget how important it is to be socially responsible.
For a neighborhood in the middle of the city that considers itself the middle of the world, the village is so thoroughly removed from reality. More than in the glazed-over eyes of its superficially apathetic residents, the village pretends that the business of the city, located a few blocks out in either direction, has no business there. Bars and apartment buildings are plastered with the notice that this is a residential village and please respect that by keeping sidewalk noise to a minimum. There is a $350 fine for honking. And most remarkably, there are absolutely no homeless people. Just to the East in Union Square, neatly-ironed business people dot the streets outlined by overpriced chains and exorbitant boutiques while the homeless people, socks worn through at the heel and a callus that grows beyond it, have determined it useless to try to attract your attention.
I'm not sure I'll ever love this city more than I hate it, but it certainly knows how to tempt me.
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