Beach Day! (finally)

Ahhhh, finally... I made it to the beach. For someone who loves the beach so much it is hard to imagine that it took me so long to make to the Atlantic!

Erica, Kathy, & Mika at Rockaway Beach, NY

Last Saturday I went to Rockaway Beach in Queens. The beach is the nation's largest urban beach, and it is supposed to be New York City's best. It is difficult for me to see why it is the best beach around since I have nothing to compare it to - well except the beaches of Maui, California, Barcelona, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, and Brazil, which, by the way, Rockaway Beach sadly ranks last. I am so spoiled when it comes beaches. It is not that this beach was the terrible, just that all of the other beaches I have been to are so nice!

On the bright side, I got to hang out with a group of nice girls (Kathy and her two friends Mika and Emily). Also, the water temperature was perfect for combatting the 101ºF heat. Unfortunately the beach is littered with trash. I could see the water line by following the streak of debris snaking across the beach - luckily there was no trash floating in the water, although Kathy did have to rescue a plastic bag that blew into the water from the shore (woman after my own heart with that move!). I did get a nice tan and although it was not the best beach of all time, it was still pretty great and I had an excellent day!

One of my favorite parts of the day (besides swimming around in the ocean - I am such a water child) was actually the train ride to and from the beach. Despite the nearly two hours it took to get there by train (even though it is only 20 miles from Manhattan, 26 from my house), the A line goes through part of the 26,000-acre Gateway National Recreation Area and 9,155-acre Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, home to a few hundred bird species. The train ride through those areas was very lovely. JFK is also situated near Jamaica Bay and one of my favorite things to do it watch airplanes take off and land, so that was fun as well. Complications have arisen because JFK is so near to the bird sanctuary creating a battle between technology and nature. I'm sure you remember the miracle Hudson River landing by Captain Sully Sullenberger of Flight 1549 - that crash was attributed to birds getting caught in the plane's turbines. As a reaction to the crash, New York City has just given the ok for over 170,000 geese to be euthanized - that is 1/3 of the current population. The city also recently killed four hundred Canada Geese with carbon monoxide in Prospect Park. I agree with State Senator Eric Adams - there is a more humane way to deal with the birds.

But back to the bright side. My beach day the past Saturday was excellent overall. Tomorrow I will update my blog to include my trip to the Brooklyn Museum and Botanic Gardens that I took the following Sunday.

The day I met Bill Clinton

Erica and Bill Clinton

Yesterday I met Bill Clinton. He lived up to all of my expectations - eloquent speaker, friendly, charismatic. I've been told that even when he has a schedule laid out by his aides he will always do what he wants to do. For example, besides the fact that he was late, he was supposed to walk into the conference room from the front door where was would all see him, at which point we were supposed to stand and applaud. In reality he walked in through the back door, and luckily I had been looking back behind me right as he walked in. So he came in, most everyone else unaware, then me with my mouth said, "Well hello there!" I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have heard this phrase come out of my mouth and know exactly how it sounds. Well in a silent room it sounded quite loud. I got a little bit of a sideways look from him and laughter from Kathy and Kevin, then started applauding while everyone else was in silence. Not quite the planned entrance, but memorable for me nonetheless.

After about 10 awkward seconds of nobody knowing what to do (he walked almost all the way to the front of the room in near silence) everyone else caught on and stood up to applaud him. He then began his talk. He first started talking about an HIV/AIDS conference he just attended. Saying that it was full of good news as well as bad news, which called a metaphor for the world today. I would go into details, but he was speaking off the record, which means I can't get detailed. But what I will say is that my favorite part of his talk was when he said, "The world is not gonna stop spinning and you can't get off."

I loved that statement because that is how I feel about life. Life is a ride where you can't just decide you don't like it anymore and hop off, and when it is your turn to leave, the world will still keep spinning. So all we can do now is make the most of our lives, move forward one step at a time, do the best that we can do, and be grateful for every bit of it.

Kevin, Erica, Bill Clinton, & Kathy

After his talk we went into a Q&A session. I submitted a question but it didn't get the most votes - oh well. I think the best question came from the very small group of high school interns. They asked something to the extent of, "Looking back to when you were our age, what was the best piece of advice you received?" He sat for a little bit and thought. It was the first time I had seen him stop for a beat and really ponder. He then went on to tell us three stories from his pre-teen and teenage days. All three of them involved teachers - which is where I have to point out the value of teachers, not necessarily for the value of their teaching, but for those golden nuggets of wisdom and advice that they drop, often unknowingly, which, if you catch, will be carried with you for the rest of your life.

I won't recount the stories here, but I will tell you what he calls, "The best advice I have ever received and have ever given."

• Never be afraid to fail
• Everyone wants to feel beautiful
• Always do what you love

Never be afraid to fail. This makes sense. He has this Abraham Lincoln photo with a list of all of his failures, and there were many of them, and at the bottom is ends with, "Elected President of the United States" (something similar to this and this). He explained that even if there is a huge chance of failure (he related it to failure in the eyes of the media) but there is a chance to at least make progress towards success you should go for it, because that progress will mean something to somebody.

Everyone wants to feel beautiful. He explained that just like you or I, everyone else has the desire to feel beautiful, to feel important. He explained that this is why he will walk way out of his way in a huge crowd, with secret service trying to move him along his way, to go and shake the hand of a person in a wheelchair who can't make it to the front of the crowd - because that person too wants to feel beautiful and acknowledged just like everyone else (and from what I hear he does this all the time to the discontent of the secret service and his staff who are trying to keep him safe and on schedule). He said that this is also why you have to really listen to what people tell you. Get to know where they come from and learn about their culture. This in not only to make people feel like they have value but it is also to be able to create solutions that make people feel like you have listened to and incorporated their hopes, wants, and desires.

Always do what you love. People often concentrate on their weaknesses rather than their strengths. This is not how it should be. Usually you are good at what you love and this is where you should focus your efforts - not on how to improve you Chemistry grades, but on enjoying and further exploring the American Literature you love, for example.

The great thing about his advice is that I feel that I already incorporate all of it into my life - so I think I am on a pretty good track.

After Q&A came photo time. Pretty much we got lined up and walked one by one to take a photo and have a short chat. I told him my name and told him that I am a Clinton-Orfalea Fellow. He said, "Nice to meet you," we turned smiled and I was on my way. But Kathy, Kevin, and I asked if we could get a photo of all of us to send back to the Global Studies Program and Paul Orfalea. We were supposed to leave the room directly after taking our photo, but I lingered, and got at least two secret service men telling me hey you need to leave.. to which I replied, "Just hold on." I doubt they hear that very often. I later apologized for sounding so rude - they just laughed, so I don't think it was a big deal. We also got to chat with President Clinton about Paul Orfalea for a little bit and "what a great man" Paul is.

And then like that it was over and I was back on the 4 train on my way home. What a great experience.

Yes, it's hot - but I'm still enjoying this city!

Yesterday, despite the record breaking heat, Kathy, Kevin, and I went out to dinner with the Mohantys (two professors from our graduate program) who are in NYC visiting family. We went to this AMAZING Thai restaurant and with five people you end up trying a little bit of everything! I usually get curry and pad thai but this time I also got to try papaya salad (green papaya, carrot, string beans, tomato, peanut, and lime juice), crispy whole red snapper topped with sweet tamarind chili garlic sauce, panang curry, yellow curry, pad thai with squid, and something else that was delicious but I'm not sure what it is called. Then Mano ordered a desert of sticky rice and mango, which sounded really strange, but  is incredibly delicious! What a great night - excellent food with wonderful people!

Professors Manoranjah & Bidyut Mohanty, Kevin, Kathy, & Erica

People have been asking me about the heat wave that has settled over the East Coast - yes it is hot, but I have spent a few summers in the tropics and I grew up where the thermometer can reach over 115ºF so for me it is hot, but definitely bearable. Last night I had to run the air conditioner for the first time because it has been difficult to sleep when it is so warm and I really wanted a good nights rest (I only used it to cool the room then shut it off and turned on the fan). The gal I am subletting from also gave me a good tip before she left for France - sleep with frozen water bottles wrapped in cloth. I did that last night and it works really well! I will probably do that again tonight, although the breeze has kicked in and the temperature today was only in the 90s. By Friday it will be back in the 80s. One thing I do love about the hot weather is that the sorbet people come out and sell small refreshing cups of it for only $1. It is a perfect cool down treat to take down into the sweltering subway tunnels (the trains have air con, though).

I am still enjoying work. Right now I have 3 projects, well the third one starts tomorrow. They are keeping me busy, but I like it that way. Kathy and I are still working on the new filing system, I am running an online test forum that I created (which I think is starting to come along quite nicely), and tomorrow I start doing some research - basically finding ways that the same amount of money can reach more people with HIV/AIDS (value for money). It is shaping up to be a good summer and a good internship...it is true what they say, internships are what you make of them, and I plan to make the most out of this opportunity.

A Walk in the Park

View of Midtown Manhattan from Central Park

Another seemingly never ending day at work, but really I can't complain - nice office, nice people, nice view. Getting tired of going through stacks of documents, but somebody's got to do it, and it is rather interesting I suppose. On the plus side there are nifty projects that I am starting on the horizon.

Betjhesda Fountain's Angel of the Water, Central Park

Anyways, after watching Paraguay kick Japan out of the World Cup I went down to the Clinton Global Initiative's midtown office for Career Day. Since we were the ones who got to ask all the questions, I decided to take the opportunity to ask a few things that relate to what may become my thesis topic. I went there quite excited, but the answer I got to my question was a bit of a let down. I mean, it was a very politically neutral answer, which is good, but boring. I will have to reword it to be more specific and concise, especially if I want to make this question the one question I ask President Clinton.

There was one woman who was very helpful, though - Judy. I had heard that she is a resumé expert so I handed over my resumé and she pretty much tore it apart and restructured it. I love when people who are smarter than me destroy my work and help me produce something better - it's a real learning experience as long as you don't get offended and are willing to take their advice in stride.

Central Park, New York City

After Career Day Kathy and I headed to Central Park for a afternoon walk. Luckily it wasn't too hot or humid out. It was just perfect for a walk. While we were walking we saw this boy juggling and doing Chinese yo-yo tricks, and he was actually really great! After stopping to watch him for a bit we continued on out way until we go to the Bethesda Fountain with the Angel of the Water sculpture. In front of the fountain there was this guy making giant bubbles and nearby a small choir was singing beautifully. I could have sat there all day it was so relaxing and wonderful. The best part was when a bubble popped over my head, splashing me with bubble ooze. Kathy started busting out laughing at me and the next thing you know she takes an unexpected bubble to the face! Instant karma - ha!! I happened to capture it on video - I think it is pretty hilarious! After spending quite a while watching the bubble man and listening to the choir we moved onto a nicely wooded area and saw a bunch of squirrels and raccoons. If it wasn't for the sounds of the city I could have easily forgotten that I was in New York City. One thing that I found awkwardly stunning was the contrast between the trees and greenery of the park and the towering buildings nearby peeking over the horizon. Beautiful and disgusting at the same time.

Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

Goodbye Chelsea. Hello Bronx!

Today I packed my bags, left Chelsea - an area that I adore, by the way - and headed to The Bronx, where I'll be living until early August. Kathy (friend, classmate, and fellow CGI-er) was nice enough to accompany me on the subway ride there to drop off my stuff. After I officially moved in, we headed to Williamsburg so Kathy could deicide on a space for her, which didn't work out - thankfully, in my opinion.

Afterwards, we headed to a pizza parlor to eat and watch Spain vs. Honduras - how beautifully Spain plays! - then headed to Prospect Park. This time my goal was to make it to the lake, because the last time I was there I was dead tired and could barely lift my feet to make it to the metro stop. After waiting for over a half hour for the bus (we wanted to ride through this highly orthodox Jewish community, rather than go under it), but after two scheduled busses failed to show up, we cut our losses and hopped on the metro instead.

Erica & Kathy in Prospect Park

Once at lovely Prospect Park we took a nice walk to the southern end to find Prospect Park Lake and a gaggle of giant geese! People were relaxing on the grass in the shade, families were barbecuing, others were fishing (catch and release only). I laid out my sarong under some nice shade trees next to the lake so we could enjoy the breeze and cool off a little. Of course, I did a couple of sun salutations and a few minutes of meditation. Again, there is never any silence in New York City, although I am getting rather good at filtering out the sounds of the city and picking up the sounds of water, wind, and birds.

After relaxing for an hour or so it was time for the long ride home. That is the only problem with living in the Bronx - it is a little bit out of the way. Oh well, that just means that I will need to spend some time getting to know what this area has to offer. The map shows that I am surrounded by parks, the New York Botanical Gardens are only 6 blocks away, and I believe there is a zoo somewhere around here as well. Plus, I actually enjoy riding the subway. It is a nice time to observe the people of New York. It is a time for thinking and a time for clearing my mind of all thoughts. The subway is also where I plan to get a lot of reading done. I need to start thinking about my thesis, begin research, and make a dent in my reading list. Right now I am reading Joseph Stiglitz's book, Freefall, which I really enjoy (thanks Aashish!) - three more chapters to go, and I think these three will be the most interesting.

Tomorrow I start work. It should be fun, but if we don't have to stay the whole day I'd like to go to the Museum of Natural History so I can totally geek out! Oh, and tomorrow I'll be rooting for Mexico and Argentina!

Prospect Park Lake