A New York Resident

Well, I am officially a resident of New York City! Orientation for the most part went smoothly. I had a few rocky points where I questioned whether or not I was making the right decision - giving up a year - but after calling my poor mother 3000 times and crying a little bit I realized that the community of past Augustinian Volunteers, the program, and my roommates are all amazing and although this year will be challenging in numerous ways it will also be extremely rewarding.

Our program has six different sites; four domestic and two international:
Bronx, NY
Chicago, IL
Lawrence, MA
San Diego, CA
Peru
South Africa

All of the volunteers for the 08-09 year were at orientation so we were able to make connections with them, and hopefully be able to keep in contact over the course of the year and beyond.

As far as NYC goes... our apartment is amazing. We are on the 3rd floor of a building that is connected to a magnificent church. The first and second floors of our building house an ESL program and classrooms. In our 3rd floor apartment we have 5 bedrooms for just the four of us which works out nicely. Three bathrooms (2 showers) which works out even better considering we are all females. We have a small kitchen in our apartment and a larger one that has a stove and oven, only downfall is that it is located on the first floor, and as I said...we are on the 3rd. We have a living room with a TV and another room solely for sitting. That room has become an amusing hang out area, as we all like to listen to the sounds of the street and peek out the windows to see the individuals who are out at all hours of the night. We also have a computer room/library.

Our driveway is a sight to behold. We have a locked gate at the entrance and then the maze begins. The road is barely wide enough for our very small car to fit through --with probably 2 inches wiggle room on either edge of the car. There are a few extremely sharp angled turns that you must make in order to successfully get to the parking spot. There are numerous areas of the buildings that have carpet running up the side of them to protect the sides of the cars --if that gives you any idea of the tight quarters we are dealing with. If nothing else this year will teach me excellent maneuvering skills.

As I said before, I LOVE NEW YORK CITY...I can not even begin to explain how much I love living on Andrews Ave. The place is filled with culture, music, amazing food smells and just life. There are people out walking around the street at all hours of the night. Numerous evenings we have found ourselves sitting on our stoop (because we have a stoop!! drinking a glass of wine taking it all in.

Our travels have taken us into Manhattan two times, the first to take in the sites as tourists (Times Square, Central Park, Canal Street, The Museum of Modern Art etc.) and the second to attend a Mass at a nursing home with a community called Sant'Eguidio, and then we explored around the Lower East side. One evening we met up with my college roommates brother who attends Fordham University which is just up the road. He showed us around his school and took us to a local bar where we met a few of his friends (one girl from Burlington which was amusing).

Mostly my three roommates and I have just hung out together exploring our neighborhood - Fordham road which is always busy and filled with shops, people and food - or just sat outside and talked to our neighbors; mostly two young guys Rico and D. They are both from the Bronx and have been giving us the ins and outs on where to shop, where to hang out and what there is to do

Work starts tomorrow morning which will be exciting. I have to walk a few blocks up the street, take the train for about 10-15 and then walk a few streets down to Siena House which I'm sure will prove to be exciting.