Lady of Liberty, Ellis Island and American meeting

I’m not very punctual.  I am sure my previous boss’s would attest to that; friends, family members, anyone who has ever needed to meet me would agree.  As usual, we were getting off to a rather late start to get to see everything we had hoped to see in New York City that day.  It turned out to work out okay because just before we were rushing off to catch the next train, I got an email from our Peace Corps placement officer.
Would we be available to leave in June instead of July?  We’d still both be teaching and in Africa…just one month earlier than planned. 
There were a lot of things to consider.  First of all, we’d planned our road trip to see friends and family BEFORE we go to Peace Corps.  We’d planned to see my sister graduate from her master’s program which has engulfed her life for the last two years and we are so proud of her.  We had a lot of awesome camping trips planned in the west.  When in June would we go?
But, we’d be foolish not to take it.  We’d only budgeted to July.  Everything you read about applying as a married couple to Peace Corps informs you that it takes anywhere from one year to fifteen months to get placed.  We could get placed in just 11 months if we take it and or if not, possibly have to wait nearly half a year for something else.  
We discussed it and responded to our placement officer…yes, we’re available to leave in June.  Then, much to my chagrin because I really wanted to wait for a response from our placement officer, we rushed out the door to catch our train.
The whole way to NYC, I was contemplating where could we be going?  How are we going to recalculate our trip?  Is this for real?  Are we going to beat out the odds and actually leave earlier than expected?  We took another 40 minute ferry to get to battery park.   It only took two minutes to buy our tickets to the statue of liberty, yet we had to wait in a large line to get on the ferry…like a two hour line.
Did you know that the Statue of Liberty is managed by the National Parks Service?  I didn’t, but as a result we got to go inside the Lady of Liberty because we have a national parks pass.  Lucky us!  We saw the original crown which is held inside of the statue and got great views of New York City.  I was shocked at how impressive this icon actually was.  I’ve been all over the world, I’ve seen the pyramids, the ancient city of Angkor, century old temples and shrines, I really didn’t think that I would be impressed by the statue of liberty.  I was so wrong!  So many photos show her off in the distance and she looks sort of boring.  I kept telling Jon how truly impressive she was with her grandeur presence and her stone cold face that is supposed to somehow be welcoming immigrants.   
We took the ferry over to Ellis Island.  Jon’s mission was to find his family’s names etched on the walls behind the museum.  After much research and questioning the staff, we called Jon’s mom and found out how to locate them.  Finally, we could use the museum’s information to locate his mother, his aunt, and his grandparents.  It was pretty cool and such a reminder of how unique the United States truly is. 
We caught the last ferry back to battery park and hurried to meet an old friend of mine for dinner (late again!).  Corey is a friend who I studied abroad in Australia with, visited in Korea, and he visited me twice in Japan.  We met for the first time in the United States on this day….continent #3 for us.  I introduced Jon and Corey to each other and we enjoyed a great Korean buffet dinner.  It was supposed to be just dinner and some drinks, but we ended up having a great time and missed the last train.  We all bounced from bar to bar, including a bar that was as if we were back in the ADKs until we finally crashed at Corey’s beautiful apartment and slept for a few hours to get a train back into Long Island.
After a long, hung-over trip back to Erin’s…I opened my email and happily read that we had been invited to serve in Peace Corps and that our official acceptance with further information was coming in the mail!!!!!

The Empire State Building

We woke up “early” one morning to work on some Peace Corps paperwork and it took nearly half the day to get it done.  This left us with very little planning time to figure out NYC and the best way to see everything we wanted.  I
We got on the LIRR which took us from Erin’s city on Long Island to Penn Station.  If you’re at all familiar with the layout of NYC, you probably realize that the Empire State building is just blocks from Penn Station.  Did you know that the Lonely Planet USA book is about 1,215 pages long?  This was our guide to NYC.  Talk about New York natives looking ridiculously like tourists.  However, I am adamant about maps.  I feel completely empowered and safe when I have a map of an unfamiliar area to me.  Without one, I feel totally powerless.
We paid (very pricey!) and took the elevator to the 108th floor where the observation deck allows for excellent views of all of New York City.  I was surprised that this particular deck did not scare me.  I hate heights.  When we were in the Space Needle in Seattle, I felt very uncomfortable at the viewing deck.  I don’t know if it’s true, but the Empire State Building felt higher for me, yet less scary.
Following our visit to the top of NYC, we walked down to Rockefeller Square and over to Times Square.  The sun started setting and it was cold.  Thankfully, it was time for me to meet Meghann, my old friend from Japan in St. Mark’s Place for some half off sushi.  Best sushi restaurant ever.  You  can get 4 sushi choices (that’s like 25 pieces of sushi) for $10.  Our bill came to around $22 for both us to eat tons of sushi including tax and tip.  It’s called Sushi Lounge and you definitely need to get it!

Fire Island

 

Fire Island is very close to Erin’s apartment and we went to the only part accessible by car, Robert Moses State Park.  We were lucky because in just three short days, they were going to start charging to park there. 

The weather was extraordinarily nice for us.  After living through numerous cold and long winters in Plattsburgh, being outdoors in late March and not freezing was heavenly.  All of us went for a nice boardwalk walk.  The boardwalk was raised over sand surrounded by pine trees.  Our destination included a tall, red lighthouse.  During the summer, people can go inside. 

After viewing the beautiful lighthouse, we walked to the beach where it was incredibly windy.  Although it was cold and windy, it was so nice to be next to the ocean, hearing the waves crash onto the sand.

We left to enjoy a dinner prepared by Erin and saw a phenomenal sunset on our way home. 

The City that never sleeps via LIRR

When Jon and I discussed how we wanted to travel, we had to compromise with Jon’s usually frugal ways and my attitude of we only live once.  In other words, I want to do everything and anything in the event that I never make it back somewhere.

A city like New York City is super difficult to do everything all at once, so we chose 4 things to add to our “bucket list”.  These are tourist things that we feel if you go to NYC, you have to do these things. 

1.  The Empire State building
2.  Go to the Statue of Liberty
3.  Ellis Island so Jon could find his mom and family’s names
4.  See friends

We were staying with my old college roommate, Erin, who lives on Long Island, so we definitely wanted to see places on Long Island as well.  There is a great state park only about fifteen minutes from Erin’s apartment and we immediately took advantage of the proximity.

Big Toshiba, baby Toshiba

Well folks, I’ve got some good  news and I’ve got some bad news.  The bad news is that my computer broke.  It was unusable except if it was plugged into the wall.  Sure, sure, I could have just bought a new battery.  However, the blue toshiba that was my “congratulations, you’ve received your bachelor’s degree” gift from my parents reached it’s ripe age of 5.  That’s pretty old for PC laptop years.

I was wavering…should I get an apple or just one of those little netbooks?  Peace Corps was supposed to make that decision for me.  I was not about to buy a super expensive apple computer and bring it to Africa at the risk it would be stolen.

The good news is...I haven’t written about it yet, but yes, it’s true, Jon and I have been officially accepted into Peace Corps!  So, we got a new toshiba, a netbook.  It’ll be going to Tanzania with us on June 15!

And so that also means I can actually blog more regularly.  I have a mini computer that has a cool feature called Windows Live Writer.  It lets me write my blog and then publish it when I get internet access!
I’m back folks!

The Whistling Kettle

From Boston, we made a pit stop in Albany on our way down to New York city. Jon and I went to Albany for a short weekend to reminisce our undergraduate years. He went with an old college friend and I went to stay with my friend, Shelli.  We always had tea time when we lived next to eachother in the dorms.

I've been to Albany numerous time.  Although the Capital region has never been a place I call home, I still feel like I can get around pretty well like a local.  However, Shelli guided me to a elegant and unique place in Ballston Spa, just north of Albany.  

It's called the Whistling Kettle and I would definitely go again.  The menu is vast, it takes easily 5 minutes to determine what tea alone you want.  After selecting your desired tea, it takes a good 5 minutes to determine what type of meal you would like to order.  I went with the bowl of soup, quiche, and scones special.  You could alternate some of these options with salads or different types of quiche, or you can get tea bread.  This is supposed to be modeled after Great Britain's high tea experience.  I think that the Whistling Kettle is a hidden gem just south of the Adirondacks or just north of Albany.  I highly encourage anyone in this area to seek it out!

In addition to his great restaurant, Shelli and her husband brought us to Napoli Italian Bakery in Albany.  It was what a true bakery should be; delicious breads, sweets, desserts, you name it!  We bought some to bring with us to our next stop...Long Island!

Full Circles

Boston is a place for me where life comes full circle.  It's very similar to Plattsburgh in that essence. I altered the major course of my life by selecting Plattsburgh as my college of choice, met my future husband, left, came back and married him.  That's some pretty good closure when leaving an area you lived in for 7 + years.

Plattsburgh connected me to my international love.  I studied abroad in Australia and so Plattsburgh altered my life by giving me a desire to permanently continue exploring new lands.  So, I applied to JET.  I interviewed in Boston for JET.  What do you know, my interview went well and I spent two years in the beautiful land of Japan.

Jon and I went back to Boston to visit his sister and my friend, Ben.  When we arrived to Boston, our future was still uncertain.  Our worries were the same, will Peace Corps give us  more information?  Are we in or should I start looking at graduate schools?  Who knows?  But, everything reminded me of how my life ending up in Japan all began in Boston.

We arrived in the afternoon on Monday and relaxed with his sister.  On Tuesday, I was getting antsy about Peace Corps.  According to their website, they should at very least be reviewing our information.  I made a few phone calls and they told us they weren't going to review us until July.  However, we're supposed to leave in July!  I was shocked and upset that no one told us this new information and slightly panicky because we didn't budget for such a drastic change in departure dates.  Well, life goes on and we all went to see a Boston Bruins game.  Hockey is the only sport that I will ever consider watching on TV and by far the only sport I thoroughly enjoy in a large arena.  Although I am a Sabres fan by hometown preference, I was excited to experience being in the cheap seats for a Bruins game.  The crowd, in comparison to Montreal Canadiens fans were much tamer.  I attribute this to the fact that I could actually understand what was going on around me.  The Bruins won and it was great.

On Day 3 of our time in Boston, we walked the freedom trail. Full Circle: You see, I flew to Boston for an orientation 2 days before we departed for Japan.  After my orientation, I had done the freedom trail on my own.  All the historic landmarks, from the gravestones of very important founding fathers to buildings where people met to protest the British monarchy, to passing the Borders store which I bought my first Japanese dictionary from after I completed the freedom trail in 2006 left me with all the memories and excitement I felt before departing from Japan.  The only sad part of this time for was saying goodbye to Jon.  Full circle: here I am with Jon, waiting to hear more about my next international experience.  I went to Plattsburgh, experienced international, met Jon, experienced international, married Jon,....what's next? Waiting for full circle to happen in Boston.

Our favorite part of the freedom trail definitely included the bell in hand tavern, which is the oldest tavern in the USA.  That's us, drinking history more than reading it.  I certainly enjoyed following the red bricks and paint throughout Boston, but it would have been far more enjoyable above 35 degrees farenheit.  Over beers at the bell in hand, we decided on what our "story" would be when people asked what we are doing.   When we tell them what we're actually doing, we usually gets looks of confusion or disbelief.  I don't think it's a big deal, but most people can't relate.  So, anyways, I'm an aspiring travel writer finding material and Jon's my photographer.

We took the T to visit my college friend Ben.  Cambodian food was what was supposed to be on the menu, but the restaurant wasn't open yet.  Thankfully, Cambridge is full of great food and we decided on Japanese/Asian fusion.  We had dinner with Ben's friends where Jon and I got to practice our "aspiring travel writer/photographer" story.  It wasn't totally necessary because his friends understood where we were coming from quite well.  Ellie Goulding, a UK artist was in town and that was our plan for the evening.  To keep a long story short, I hear she was good, but only from Jon and Ben who explained it to me as I lay hungover on Ben's couch barely remembering anything.

Finally, we get back to Jon's sister's apartment and we sleep.  I wake up the next morning to Jon hovering over me with a large smile on his face.  He said, "Peace Corps has changed our status".  I didn't believe him at all.  But, it's true, they sent an email to let us know something is coming in the mail for us, our medical review is complete.

We quickly get ready for the day and go visit his sister at her school.  We tell her of this elusive email from Peace Corps which is confusing since they said we wouldn't be reviewed until July.  I'm convinced it must be bad news, why would they send a letter so quickly?

After singing the Banana Song I used to teach to my Japanese students to her 7 special education students, Jon and I headed back to his sister's place.  Email from Peace Corps.  A very positive email...we've been medically cleared!  We need to send updated resumes, but our health is fine.  You have to understand that this is the biggest hurdle to get over in Peace Corps!!!!

We're in Boston.  I interviewed for Japan here and now I am discovering that we're pretty much good to go for Peace Corps.  Still lots of stuff to do before we go, but they've nominated us because of our skill sets and personality and now we're medically okay to go.  We're like 80% of the way there!

We went to the Sam Adam's brewery.  Free beer in always a great way to celebrate!  The tour was nothing exciting, nothing more than 15 minutes and no new information that you wouldn't know if you've been to any other brewery.  I'd go for the free beer and glasses, but definitely not for a tour experience.  Dinner was at PF Chang's which was better than my expectations and finally, we ended at a comedy club.

When we arrived to Boston, I was still nervous about Peace Corps, nervous we'd made a mistake in cutting our security net.  When we left Boston, I was elated and confident that we've made the right decision.  Boston, I am confident somehow, through some energy makes it all come together...full circle for me.