A New Beginning

It has been quite some time since my last post. I've now been in New York City for 3.5 months...still loving it. My job has been somewhat frustrating, and after much deliberation, I have decided to switch to a new site, where I will (hopefully) be working in a pregnancy prevention program through a community health center, the Ryan Center, in high schools and middle schools. I'm really really excited about it, because as I understand it, there will be a lot of opportunity to do what I want...create what I want.

My apartment has proven to be awesome. My roommate is great, and has definitely made my transition and time in the city more enjoyable and safe/home-feeling. Plus she has a really fascinating life story...always cool...and is a true citizen of the World. My room is a bit small, but I make do, and the living room is really large and I've managed to accommodate both my parents (separately...) and 3 friends at the same time.

The other people in my VISTA program are also pretty cool. It's taken a while for us to really sort of warm up to each other, but I think more recently we've been more friendly as a group, which is nice. It adds a little structure.

I've gotten to see the Halloween parade on 6th avenue (almost as good as Franklin St. :-)), and made an appearance at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We got there a bit late, so we couldn't see very well. I've gotten to know the city fairly well and pretty much memorized the Manhattan part of most of the subway lines.

After MUCH ado, I managed to obtain food stamps which I am sure will be quite a blessing, and hopefully will push me to get better at cooking. I've also gotten over my ridiculous "sickness" (who knows what it was...I'm still convinced it was not allergies) through my lovely acupuncturist.

I do want to update my blog more often--hopefully I'll be more excited about some of the stories in my new job, though there are a few I could share about my current job...and I was obviously really excited (and still am) about the election--both the NC representatives and our wonderful President-Elect Obama. Well it is quite late, so I should go to sleep. Much love!!
Shan