'Til I Come Into New York Town

Hello hello!

Lets see, I last left you two Mondays ago, right? The rest of that week was pretty quiet. We went to a Jewelry Making class at the Library one night which was a lot of fun! And then we had our Day of Reflection retreat that Friday, so we had a short week—always a nice treat! We drove over to Hartford for the retreat, and spent the day reflecting on Community (what it means, how we are connecting to the communities we are part of so far, etc). The site we were at for the retreat was lovely, and it was a great opportunity to stop and really think about how things had been going so far. As far as community goes, I could not be more grateful. I live with the most incredible 5 women I could have hoped for and I love the community we are building with each other so much. I am completely blessed. I also feel like I’ve been able to start becoming part of the Bridgeport community over the past 2 months, so that’s been great. I ride the bus to and from work every day, which I love. I’ve started to develop relationships with my bus drivers and some of the people who ride the same routes as me every day. I like meeting and chatting with people in the community, whether it’s once or repeatedly. It’s a great way to get to know the city, to become immersed in it.

We also took advantage of the lovely retreat site for some great frolicking, tree climbing and creek jumping. Let the wild rumpus start! All in all, not a bad way to spend a  Friday

Saturday we hoped on a train and headed for the big city! You know. New York. The Big Apple. That big city. And it was amazing!!

We stayed with the Harlem JV house. It was super convenient, and it was great to see them again! We haven’t seen some of them since orientation. Saturday we went to the Met, which was, in a word, sublime. Gosh it was cool. I could spend days there! We saw pieces by Monet and Van Gough and Degas (one of my favorites!), and a really cool Andy Warhol exhibit and a bunch of Greek and Roman sculptures and so much more! There was also a cool exhibit of the roof and a really amazing view of Manhattan. It was magical. J

We got slices of pizza for dinner, swung by the Met again to use the bathrooms (and of course got a bit side tracked…it is the Met.) After we finally pried ourselves away we walked through Central Park, which was awesome, and then came out at Columbus Circle. In the middle of Columbus Circle there is a big pillar with a statue of Columbus on it (where ever did they get the name Columbus Circle I wonder…). Recently an artist built a living room around the statue. As in a wood floor, four walls, a ceiling, couches, bookshelves, a TV, the whole 9 yards. And then Columbus, just hanging out in the middle of it all. Tickets are free, but they are timed and you have to get them in advance. We had no tickets. But somehow managed to get some from one of the guys checking tickets at the door. I still don’t really know how that happened. This is not real life.

But hey, who are we to complain? We took our tickets and headed on up! The living room was really cool and rather silly. Photos to come, eventually. It also had a pretty great view, being up at the top of a pillar and all.

After visiting Columbus we met up with some of Hannah and Sophie’s friends from Fordham and hung out with them for a while, and then we went out dancing! On our way back to Harlem we passed by the theatres where Once and Lion King are playing (!!!!) and then walked through Times Square—completely unreal! My life these days, I tell you what.

Sunday we headed back into central Manhattan, found some tasty bagels and then headed to the Museum of Natural History! I love a good history museum. Actually, I just love a good museum! So that was very fun. At about 3:30 we cut across Central Park and met up with the Peace Walk (remember, our reason for being in the city). The Walk was really beautiful. We all wore white sashes and walked silently single file up and around the edge of Central Park. It was a really great chance to slow down (not easy in NYC, let me tell you what) and reflect and pray. It was also just a really powerful image, hundreds of people from different backgrounds coming together to be silent together, to hope for peace. I really enjoyed it. At the end of the walk we all came together in a big circle and held hands, just remaining silently together for a moment. Then we broke into small sharing circles and shared our experiences on the walk with each other. It was really beautiful. I loved it.

We went for Mexican food after that. I had—wait for it—a hard shell taco, wrapped in cheese, wrapped in a soft shell. YUM.

We got cupcakes at a bakery across the street before heading back to Harlem to grab our stuff and say goodbye to the Harlem JVs. Then there were a few final Subway rides, a train from Grand Central and car ride home. What a mad, wonderful weekend. NYC is absolutely intoxicating.

Last week Pat, our program coordinator, stayed with us for the week. He accompanied us to our work sites, met with us one on one (bought me deep fried mac and cheese too—best friends for life) and participated in our community with us. It was fun to have him here and to share our life with him for a week!

Let’s see, what else. Adrienne and I went to a poetry workshop at a gallery in downtown Bridgeport on Tuesday night. It was really great! Coming from being in one writing class or another basically constantly for the last four year to having no writing classes (ah the life of a graduate) has been very strange. It was cool to sit down with other writers and work on some poems together. The gallery was really great as well. The current exhibit is called Make Art Not War. Any of you who know me can immediately tell why I liked that so much I’m sure. J

This Saturday we went to a fall festival in Milford called Pumpkins on the Pier. We got to watch It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (we may or may not have been the only adults without small children…) and see a bunch of carved pumpkins lining the pier—so pretty. John Ratzenberger (Cliff on Cheers, Ham in toy Story, etc) was there as the celebrity guest, so that was really cool! He’s a Bridgeport native (and now lives in Milford), so we get the impression he kind hopes from event to event in these parts. Our (my) goal for the year is now to meet him. I’m cool like that.

I’m still working on finding a home church to plug in to. We tried to go to one that looks promising yesterday, but of course it happened to be the Sunday that they met somewhere else (I think they had an outdoor service somewhere…I’m not really sure). So it was not to be. Alas. Next Sunday it is!

And that’s about it. We have a JVC recruiter spending a few nights with us this week while she is recruiting in the area. So that’ll be fun. She just finished up a year in JVC in DC.

Original October is in full swing and going quite well! Here are some of the more notable things I have done:

Mattress surfing down the stairs

Prayed with my bus driver (long story)

Jewelry making class

Wore a bow tie

Visited the Met

Peace Walk

Said the alphabet backwards (this has been our go to when someone gets to about 11:45pm and realizes they haven’t done anything that day yet…haha)

Poetry Workshop

Made Beer Bread

Tried Quinoa

Watched Wizard of Oz while listening to Dark Side of the Moon (Try this. Seriously. It is so cool, I can’t even describe it. Pink Floyd man, I tell you what)

Saw John Ratzenberger

Tried Vegetable Masala and Naan

So that’s some of what I’ve done so far! It’s been fun, and I’m excited for the next half of the month! Suggestions are welcome!

As always, I hope you are all doing well! Find something pumpkin flavored and curl up under a blanket! We’ve still got half of the best month of them all to enjoy!

Don’t be a stranger; I’d love to hear from all of you!

God bless,

Aimee

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Happy October everyone!

It’s beginning to feel like Fall out here, which makes me very happy. The leaves have begun to change a little bit and it’s getting chillier. I think that it should always be Fall. It is by far the best season of all. J

Life has been rather exciting since I last updated. Last weekend Hannah and I got the opportunity to drive down to Virginia and see President Obama speak live! We left Thursday night after work and drove down. We got to drive through DC, which was really cool, and we saw the Washington Monument and the Capitol. The President spoke on Friday at a minor league ball park in Virginia. It was a great speech, and just such a cool opportunity. It was all very surreal. What is my life?

The drive back was really pretty. The leaves along the highway were just starting to turn kind of dusty, with some hints of yellow and red. Get out your sweaters and bake something pumpkin, it’s officially Fall folks!

This weekend was a little quieter, which was a nice break.  Everyone needs a good lazy weekend every now and then. On Sunday we went to Mass at Fairfield University, where Father Mark (our Jesuit connection in the area) was taking his final vows as a Jesuit. It was a lovely service and afterwards there was a reception, complete with cookies baked by his mom. Yum!

I suppose that’s about it. We’re looking forward to a trip into New York City next weekend for a Peace Walk through Central Park (which I am personally stoked about). This Friday we have a short retreat in Hartford with the JV’s from Hartford and Pat, our area program coordinator. Next week Pat will be spending the week at our house, accompanying us to our work cites, joining us for community and spirituality nights and checking in with us to find out how we are adjusting into life as a JV so far. So those are some exciting things we’ve got coming up. We will also be participating in “Original October”, where you do something you’ve never done before every day for the whole month. It should be a grand adventure! I haven’t decided what my first original thing is going to be yet, but the day is still young! I’ll let you all know some of the cooler things that I/we do this month.

I hope everyone is doing well. Remember, I love getting letters and emails! Phone calls and texts are great too! Keep me updated on your lives. J

I miss everyone! I love you all so much and I am praying for all of you.

Enjoy the best month of all the months!

God bless,

Aimee