Law and Order

This week I got sent on my first mission to the court house. I had to file an order (a multiple step process), deliver it to a judge in a different court house, and pick it up the next day. I was pretty intimidated at first, since first you have to go through security like you do at the airport, and then find the right room, stand in the right line, hand in the right papers, etc. Most of the people were really nice, and explained things to me as I went along. There were just a couple of people that got annoyed when I asked a simple question. Oh, the bureaucracy. 

Nonetheless, it was pretty cool to be doing these errands. The court houses are all old inside and out. In one of them the elevators are even run by operators! Here are some of the pictures I took with my phone:

This is the first court house I went into. They film Law and Order on those steps all the time:

This is the statue in the center of Foley Square, where the court houses are:

Here is another court house. I didn't have to go in here:

My Internship (So far)

This past week I began working at my internship. I'm working in a small law office. It's really laid back (be jealous, I get to wear jeans), and so far my projects have been pretty cool. My boss is really nice, and seems to trust me and the quality of my work already, which is great. I like that it is low key, but the commuting is rather tiring. I have to take a bus, a train, and another train before I get to work. The commute is about an hour each way. If I can get I seat, I pull out a book to read. On the way home, however, the trains have been really crowded. I'm sure within a week or two I'll get used to it. 

One of the great things about my job is the location. It's on Park Avenue right on the corner of 34th street. On that street there are lots of restaurants and places to shop. Ever heard of Macy's, the world's largest store? It's just a few blocks down. When I got out of work the other day, I took a walk down 34th. Since I'm on a tight budget, I only let myself buy things in Sephora, where I had a gift card. I figure if I can save most of my money for the end of the semester I can go crazy then. I also hope so see at least a few shows while I'm here, so I'm saving for those as well.

Other than that there hasn't been anything else exciting going on. The weather has been pretty bad lately (tons of snow!), so I don't feel like leaving the house unless I have to. So far it looks like this coming week is going to be sunny! I can't wait for that. Also, I would love some visitors! Just something for you all to keep in mind :) 

Lazy Days & My First Class

The past few days have been pretty boring for me. I don't start my internship until tomorrow (yay!) so I have been hanging around the house pretty much. This weekend there were only a few of us in the house. We made the best of it, though, and went to the Museum of Natural History on Saturday. It was really cool! The place is huge, and there is so much to see. It is really tiring, though. Students get in for a suggested donation of $12, but that means that if you don't want to pay anything you don't have to. You can check out the museum's website here for more information. Here are some pictures that I took:

Some "animals" from the Africa exhibit:

Wooly Mammoth fossils:

T-Rex fossils:

Blue whale (sorry about the dots, don't know why that happened):

Yesterday I had my first class at Fordham. I'm taking The US Congress. It will transfer credits over to my Political Science major. The class is just under 3 hours long since it's only once per week. My professor is a Bronx native, and a Democrat. That's always great to know! The class seems really easy so far, and the professor is really laid back. I have a few chapters to read for my next class, but most of it seems like review from a class I took freshman year. One thing I also noticed about Fordham is the diversity. My class not only had a number of students from different ethnicities, but there were some adults studying as well. I have been craving this diverse classroom setting! It should be a great semester. 

Lesson 2: Pay Attention to People on the Sidewalk

Yesterday was a great day here in NYC. First, we all went to the United Nations together. We took an audio tour, which was actually very informative. The tour was rather short, but definitely worth it. The stuff we learned about was right up my alley. I care a lot about human rights, and we got to see a lot of quotes and artwork that I found inspirational. Here are a couple pictures that I took:

General Assembly room, where all of the countries meet:

Some artwork displaying quotations on human rights (this took up the entire wall):

An intricate weaving that took up the entire wall. This is the center of it:

After we finished our tour, we began to head back home instead of staying in the Times Square area like we thought we were going to do. Rather than return to the house, Mary (another one of the students here) and I stayed in the city for a little while. As we were walking down Times Square, a lady with a clipboard asked us if we wanted to be on MTV. Out of habit, we said "No thanks" and continued walking about three steps before we realized, "Of course we want to be on MTV!" 

The next thing we knew, we were entering the MTV studios building, going through all of their security procedures, and sitting in the audience at the show called The Seven. The celebrity guest was Olivia Munn. It was such a great experience that we almost missed out on because we tend to ignore those people on the street that ask you different questions and hand you different flyers. Sure, many of them are asking you to pay a ridiculous price for some tourist trap, but sometimes you get to be on TV! For our first week in NYC, this was definitely very exciting. You can also get tickets to go on MTV's The Seven by checking out its website: here.

Lesson 2: Listen to the people asking you questions on the sidewalk. You can find great opportunities hidden in a mass of flyers on trips to the Empire State Building. 

Orientation Week

During our first week, we originally had a bunch of plans to do a lot of tourist destinations. Unfortunately, the weather has been so bad that we had to cancel a number of them. We missed out on the Museum of Natural History and the tour of downtown Manhattan. Tomorrow we are still planning to go to the Grand Central Terminal, the UN, and Times Square. I'm really hoping the rain stops so we can do that! Our activities for Friday have already been cancelled because we are getting a huge snowstorm. I don't know why New England gets such a bad reputation for weather-- it's just as bad here! 

Today we were able to go to the Bronx Zoo in the morning. It was nice, but started raining harder as we walked around. A lot of the animals weren't outside because of the weather, but here are some photographs I took of ones we did see.

Crocodile from Madagascar

Tigers- The one on the top is a younger tiger than the one on the bottom, which was much larger. 

Bears- That were in quite the fight!

I hope I'm able to go back in the spring when a lot more animals are out. The zoo was huge and had a lot to offer. I definitely recommend going when the weather is nice. Wednesday is also suggested donation day. That means you get in for free, but it's nice if you make a donation to the zoo. They suggest $16 for adults, which is the regular admission fee.

Lesson 1: Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Well, I'm here! I moved in today. The house where I'm living is old, but nice. My room is absolutely huge! It feels so empty right now. Plenty of room for overnight guests! I was afraid that it was going to be cold here, but it's actually really hot. I guess since my room is in the front of the building it gets overheated, but the rooms in the back don't get the heat. My RD is trying to figure out the solution. For now I have the window cracked, but I might possibly turn on the air conditioning. I'm not sure if I'll need that. 

The first lesson I have learned in NYC is that things are not always what they appear to be. My dad took me out to lunch before he returned home, and I was quite surprised by the experience. From the outside, all of the restaurants and shops looked so tiny and shabby. And sure, some of them are. But when we walked into the Italian restaurant I was completely surprised. The front was a small cafeteria style restaurant, but we kept walking to the back and found a nice dining room. I couldn't believe it! Hidden behind what I thought was a complete hole-in-the-wall was a nice restaurant. The food, by the way, was absolutely amazing. 

Lesson 1: Things are not always what they appear to be from the outside. Give things a chance before you judge them. 

T - 3 Days

Only a few more days until I move to the city. I have been doing lots of laundry and packing like crazy. Yesterday I got an email from my new RD (Residence Director). She included a tentative schedule for our first week in NY. It's going to be a hectic orientation schedule. We'll pretty much be learning the ropes of the neighborhood and the subway, and hitting a bunch of the tourist destinations. It will be good to get those visits out of the way and to spend some time meeting the other students I'll be living with. Some of the stops include: the Museum of Natural History, Downtown Manhattan (Ground Zero, Wall Street, etc.), Bronx Zoo, United Nations, and Times Square. I am really exited to go to the UN! That should be really interesting. I've wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo as well, but it should be a little weird going to a zoo with all of the snow we have been getting lately. I have to make sure I charge my camera! 

I'm also getting a bit nervous about the textbook for my class. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but because of the snow storm we got it is late. I just hope it comes before I leave on Sunday! Otherwise my mom will have to ship it out to me, and that is such a waste of money. Wish me luck!