In the beginning...

Hi, Natalie, Djola, and any other readers!

I moved into 35 W 92nd Street on Sunday, February 21st at 3:30 PM. The drive to New York felt surreal after months of planning and waiting and midnight adrenaline rushes, not to mention my sudden bout of mononucleosis that delayed my move for three extra weeks.

Watching the scenery of cows and mountains evolve into buildings, I had two battling thoughts in my head. On the one hand, I was so incredibly excited to finally be doing this field study term that I worked so hard to whip up out of nowhere. It really feels like the right time for me to be in New York and not the right time for me to be in classes, where after a year of pushing myself as hard as I possibly could, I still felt like I was falling short. My hope is that this semester will, in part, help to remind me that I love learning and that there isn't just one way to learn. My second thought was an intense worry that I wouldn't know my boundaries in the beginning of the semester and end up getting myself sicker. I'm afraid that I'm too weak for the sort of lifestyle that I"m used to in New York, aka one that requires constant commute. However, the excitement eventually won out, and as I greeted my friend on the sidewalk outside the BEAUTIFUL, parkside apartment that I'll be staying in, I felt a rush of Allie-like energy that I haven't felt in a while.

In terms of work, I went into my youth movement headquarters, which will herein be referred to by its rightful Hebrew name, the "lishka". There, I had a meeting to discuss my job. I'm in charge of coordinating and helping to plan all activities for kids who live in New Jersey, as well as the major, day-long activities for all campers that will occur in the city, probably twice this spring.

I don't start working with Henry Street until Tuesday, but I'm really looking forward to starting my internship!

More to come when more stuff happens!

-A.L.G.