Leaving with a Bang!

Last day of work, last day of New York City, for a time at least. I cannot even tell you how much I love this place. I have made so many new friends In New York; I have had so many fantastic experiences here. Thank you God! It definitely will be hard to top New York City for our next spike. We are headed to back to Vicksburg, MS tomorrow, but we will stop in Lexington, KY, for a night, which is an hour away from my home. I cannot wait to see my family; my mother, cousin, my grandmother and grandfather will be having dinner with me. I am so happy for them to come and see me; definitely the most challenging thing is being away from my family. I am ready to see them and hug them. I never really appreciated my family, but I feel like I have a greater appreciation for them all. My father just visited me last week; I have to say it was a great visit together, we Saw Jersey Boys, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History, went on a boat tour around New York, had lunch at a fantastic Mexican restaurant Toloache 82 and went to a Jazz/soul concert at the Marble Church downtown. We have a 10 hour drive tomorrow, how excited I am to head to the South, I sure do miss it. We are trying to get to NOLA April 5th, so that will be fun. Thanks for all the love and support! Sarah ELizabeth New AmeriCorps video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg7QNeos3Fc\ Nicole Zuraitis Jazz/soul concert at the Marble Church downtown: http://www.nicolezuraitis.com/videos.asp

Fried Duck and Noisella

Wonderful things have been happening these past weeks. I have been to so many amazing places, have served so many people, and best of all I have been served with an amazing slice of a New York City. I made it a priority to go to church about every Sunday, I really enjoy the services. It has helped me deal with team problems, let go of pent up emotions, to think about the person I want to be, and to just check in with myself. I look forward to my Sunday adventures! I am attending the Unity Church of New York for the second time and the service was on "Prosperity Bullsh**t and Other Spiritual Traps" which was hysterically perfect for this spike. The minister Paul Tengalia was right on the money, when he was talking about others, he said "send them love and let them go". I recently read "God Never blinks" by Regina Brett, by far the best book I have ever read. My favorite part of New York City by far is Central Park, it’s simply incredible. The trees are so tall and beautiful, many rock formations cover the park; I just can’t help but to whistle while I walk along the rocky path. The street performers also amaze me, doesn't matter if your homeless, doesn't matter what you look like, doesn’t matter what your talent is, you show your uniqueness to NYC and people love it. I love the drummers in the subway station and the singers on the train because they bring happiness and life to a smelly dingy train station. I saw Matt Vorzimer in a subway station, on the way to church, this man has talent, and this man put his soul into his music. He is a drummer that remixes popular songs and just gives the song a new sound. So I am standing in the subway station and just tapping along to the beat in amazement. A homeless woman comes up and smiles and dances like no one was watching, just dances and is completely absorbing and loving the new sound, and right before she leaves she pulled out the few coins from her pocket and put it in Matt's guitar bag. I love street performers because they play on the wild side, they do what they love, and they take risk. I have been to so many delicious restaurants lately; my new favorite food is Noisella, like Nutella but a little chocolatier. I found this fantastic spread at a French restuant I visited on a Sunday afternoon. I have been to many great Italian restaurants, a Thai/Japanese restaurant had some awesome fried Duck. The 911 Memorial was an incredible Service Learning Project that I was in charge of. I recently went to Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim exhibit was fantastic. I have seen a few musicals including Avenue Q, Chicago, and I am going to see Jersey Boys this Thursday. If you have any suggestions to go anywhere, please tell me!! Love, Sarah