Day 6 – Internship day
I have officially given birth to cankles. The past two days I’ve seen my feet become sausages and it’s not pretty. Especially when they gave mini births to many blisters. Flip flops and NYC do not get along. Neither do non-supportive sandals and swanky Converse.
We once again ventured to the same bagel shop for the amazing bagels. Sarah and I had our internship together at an organization that deals with domestic violence.
Since the location is sensitive, it wasn’t written in our listing of organizations and all we had at that time was the idea that it was near Wall Street. Exhaustion trumped my preparation. Once we go directions, we successfully maneuvered the subway on our own. Victory! The subway was graced with the music that reminded me of my beloved Honduran brothers in New Orleans. 
Bypassing some beautiful architecture, 
we made it. We were in fact a half hour early. Once we got in and met with the director of volunteers, we met the corporate organization that was also doing their Impact Day. They had just had their huge annual fundraiser so the staff was pretty weary but once the corporate firm was given their task, the fantastic director Emily came and spoke with us. She was truly interested in what we experienced and, as a doula herself, was interested in our reproductive justice day. She set us up with the amazing Leah who is in charge of the Butterfly Boutique. They had revamped a closet into a boutique shop where women can get clothes for their children and themselves. It was such a cute space! Sarah and I took boxes of donated clothes, separated them by season and restocked the empty boutique. While simple, the task was hugely satisfying. Leah is a one woman power behind the donations and giving the women and their children a beautiful place to what could be a demeaning task – accepting donated good to simply clothe one’s self. Emily and Leah were both thankful for the work we did although I didn’t get to make as much of a dent as I wanted. The work they do is so amazing and necessary and I was so thankful for been given the opportunity to help out. Anytime I am in NYC I will be back to help in whatever way I can. Their parting gifts touched my spirit in so many ways. That is the heart to heart connection that bypasses everything. True, honest warmth from within emanate from these women and I was honored to be there. I was also happy to spend the day with Sarah who is a freshman. Interestingly, she is the youngest and I am the oldest student at the camp. I cannot wait to see the wonderful work she will be accomplishing back at UTEP!
As we wandered after our internship, we found ourselves in front of the Stock Exchange.
We saw that there were cameras at the Federal Building
and wandered over to see what was going on. There was a group surrounding a woman speaker so we tagged along to see what was up. Unknowingly, it was the end of a walking tour…how so New York to tag along!! Ha Ha.
We made our way back to the hostel and I had a rare moment of vegging in the room, much to the thanks of my feet. After a couple chats on the phone the fellow campers reconvened and we got to hear each other’s tales of interning. Some good, some not so good. Amy, Katie and I decided to venture and after finding that the Casa Frida Kahlo was just the name of the building, we decided to find where John Lennon was shot.
As we walked around the area we came across 2 New York women that showed us that it was the next building over from where we stood. They let us know that the Dakota was named such because when it was built most people lived on the other side of town so the owners said they may as well be out in the Dakotas. They suggested hopping across the street to Central Park to Strawberry Fields.
A few pictures later, we went into the park and found the beautiful mosaic in his honor.
Beautiful.
We walked around Central Park, debated taking the carriage ride until we found out how much it was, the ladies were gracious in camping it up for the camera,
found the French film being shown in the park, saw the gondola ride and made our way out the other side. Hungry, we looked to find cheap eats. Then we realized we were on Madison Ave, Park Ave and 5th Avenue. We didn’t think cheap eats were going to be found here. There were 2 older couples dressed very elegantly enjoying an after dinner walk together. They said their goodbyes and we then witnessed one elegant couple chase down the bus that was approaching. I loved it!!
We found a deli and had more yummy NY pizza and fab dessert. We were going to stop by a jazz club that was outside the subway stop near the hostel but alas, it was Friday night and they had a $30 cover. Welcome to NYC.
A shower, chat on the phone, and we attempted passing out…which proved challenging due to the international students chatting loudly on the balcony outside our window until the wee hours. Welcome to hostel living.
I have officially given birth to cankles. The past two days I’ve seen my feet become sausages and it’s not pretty. Especially when they gave mini births to many blisters. Flip flops and NYC do not get along. Neither do non-supportive sandals and swanky Converse.
We once again ventured to the same bagel shop for the amazing bagels. Sarah and I had our internship together at an organization that deals with domestic violence.
Since the location is sensitive, it wasn’t written in our listing of organizations and all we had at that time was the idea that it was near Wall Street. Exhaustion trumped my preparation. Once we go directions, we successfully maneuvered the subway on our own. Victory! The subway was graced with the music that reminded me of my beloved Honduran brothers in New Orleans. 
Bypassing some beautiful architecture, 
we made it. We were in fact a half hour early. Once we got in and met with the director of volunteers, we met the corporate organization that was also doing their Impact Day. They had just had their huge annual fundraiser so the staff was pretty weary but once the corporate firm was given their task, the fantastic director Emily came and spoke with us. She was truly interested in what we experienced and, as a doula herself, was interested in our reproductive justice day. She set us up with the amazing Leah who is in charge of the Butterfly Boutique. They had revamped a closet into a boutique shop where women can get clothes for their children and themselves. It was such a cute space! Sarah and I took boxes of donated clothes, separated them by season and restocked the empty boutique. While simple, the task was hugely satisfying. Leah is a one woman power behind the donations and giving the women and their children a beautiful place to what could be a demeaning task – accepting donated good to simply clothe one’s self. Emily and Leah were both thankful for the work we did although I didn’t get to make as much of a dent as I wanted. The work they do is so amazing and necessary and I was so thankful for been given the opportunity to help out. Anytime I am in NYC I will be back to help in whatever way I can. Their parting gifts touched my spirit in so many ways. That is the heart to heart connection that bypasses everything. True, honest warmth from within emanate from these women and I was honored to be there. I was also happy to spend the day with Sarah who is a freshman. Interestingly, she is the youngest and I am the oldest student at the camp. I cannot wait to see the wonderful work she will be accomplishing back at UTEP!As we wandered after our internship, we found ourselves in front of the Stock Exchange.
We saw that there were cameras at the Federal Building
and wandered over to see what was going on. There was a group surrounding a woman speaker so we tagged along to see what was up. Unknowingly, it was the end of a walking tour…how so New York to tag along!! Ha Ha.We made our way back to the hostel and I had a rare moment of vegging in the room, much to the thanks of my feet. After a couple chats on the phone the fellow campers reconvened and we got to hear each other’s tales of interning. Some good, some not so good. Amy, Katie and I decided to venture and after finding that the Casa Frida Kahlo was just the name of the building, we decided to find where John Lennon was shot.
As we walked around the area we came across 2 New York women that showed us that it was the next building over from where we stood. They let us know that the Dakota was named such because when it was built most people lived on the other side of town so the owners said they may as well be out in the Dakotas. They suggested hopping across the street to Central Park to Strawberry Fields.
A few pictures later, we went into the park and found the beautiful mosaic in his honor.
Beautiful.We walked around Central Park, debated taking the carriage ride until we found out how much it was, the ladies were gracious in camping it up for the camera,
found the French film being shown in the park, saw the gondola ride and made our way out the other side. Hungry, we looked to find cheap eats. Then we realized we were on Madison Ave, Park Ave and 5th Avenue. We didn’t think cheap eats were going to be found here. There were 2 older couples dressed very elegantly enjoying an after dinner walk together. They said their goodbyes and we then witnessed one elegant couple chase down the bus that was approaching. I loved it!!We found a deli and had more yummy NY pizza and fab dessert. We were going to stop by a jazz club that was outside the subway stop near the hostel but alas, it was Friday night and they had a $30 cover. Welcome to NYC.
A shower, chat on the phone, and we attempted passing out…which proved challenging due to the international students chatting loudly on the balcony outside our window until the wee hours. Welcome to hostel living.
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