Ten of New York's Best

While researching things to do in New York City, I realized that the opportunities are endless. This made creating a list of only ten things very difficult. After a lot of research and tough decisions, I came up with ten places I would absolutely love to go. 

1. Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is a short stroll with fantastic views. Located across the lower East River, the Brooklyn Bridge offers stellar views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.  After walking the bridge and arriving in Brooklyn, an area known as DUMBO (Down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass) offers an array of delicious restaurants, unique art galleries, clothing boutiques, and music opportunities. I love waking, but I love it even more when there’s an interesting destination with delicious food at the end of the walk.

2. September 11^th, 2001 is a date that will forever live in the hearts of Americans as a horrific tragedy. Growing up in the post 9/11 era has influenced me in innumerable ways. Although I was unaware of the significance of 9/11 when it occurred, I have come to recognize the impact these attacks had on not only the United States, but also the world. Each time I am reminded of the September 11 attacks, I am filled with sadness. I know visiting the memorial will be a very sad and emotional experience, but I feel that it is extremely important to never forget the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives on that infamous date.

3. The bustle of activity in Times Square makes it one of New York’s most intriguing tourist destinations. Like Simon, I would love to go to Times Square at night to experience the endless billboards and flashing lights. It also occurred to me that we will be in New York exactly six months after New Year’s Eve. I would love to go to Times Square then, on June 31st, just for the irony of it.

4. Theatre on Broadway is the essence of New York City entertainment. The idea of going to a show excites me beyond words. Artists preforming on Broadway are the best of the best, insuring a magnificent experience for the audience.  I would be absolutely thrilled to see any show but a few of my top choices are Matilda, The Book of Mormon, and The Lion King.

5. Located in the center of a gigantic city, Central Park offers a scenic alternative to urban New York. The idea of taking a summertime stroll in the park sounds absolutely amazing. During the summer, Central Park is home to SummerStage where musicians preform for free nearly every night. I would love to end a stroll in Central Park with a free concert!

6. The Statue of Liberty is an American icon of Freedom. Each time I see a picture of it, I am reminded of the millions of immigrants who came to America in hope of a brighter future and saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. For them, it gave assurance that their journey across the ocean was complete and new beginnings were just around the corner.  It is a magnificent structure, and one I would love to see up close.

7. I absolutely love views. Anytime there is the opportunity for an outlook, I take it. The top of the Empire State Building is arguably the best urban viewpoint in the world. Tickets for the main deck (82^nd) floor of the Empire State Building are relatively inexpensive and well worth the cost!

8. Usually I don’t get too excited about going to museums, but I definitely feel differently about the MoMA. The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) promises to intrigue nearly any visitor with its diverse collection of world-class pieces. I have always been interested in abstract expressionism, so I can’t wait to view the whole floor of the museum dedicated to this single theme. Throughout elementary school, my art teacher was constantly talking about the influence of Picasso. It will be fascinating to actually see one of his original pieces!

9. The Guggenheim is worth seeing for its exterior alone. Designed by the great modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim is one of the most aesthetically appealing buildings in the world. Inside the building there are thousands of fabulous artistic pieces from hundreds of renowned artists. It’s spiral ramp interior makes walking through the museum a unique and unforgettable experience.  

                        

10. Listening to good, live music is definitely one of my favorite things to do. The Bowery Ballroom offers all this, but at a fraction of the price of most other venues. It hosts popular bands in a small, not-too-crowded setting. The Bowery Ballroom would be a great place to spend a few nighttime hours in New York City!

This assignment really got me excited about the trip ahead. I now have a better understanding of all that New York has to offer. There is absolutely no way that I will be able to see everything but, thanks to Ms L for giving us this assignment, I now have some top priorities. Summer is just around the conner and I can't wait!  

The NYC Top Ten

Two weeks ago, the Columbia cohort received its first assignment - to detail the top ten places we want to visit during our stay in NYC. Visiting the Big Apple means big opportunity, so I'm excited to share my own list.

Woman I Willem de Kooning

1. The top of my list is easily the MoMA. Art is a great interest of mine, and when the opportunity presents itself, I always spring for the chance to visit an art museum. I have yet to visit the MoMA, and to me is a New York - MUST! The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) contains a vast collection of famed contemporary works, creations by artists from Picasso to Warhol to Kahlo. I personally look forward to seeing Woman I by Willem de Kooning, and (hopefully) other works of his. The works of Roy Lichtenstein, whom I have been artistically inspired and influenced by, are also present at the MoMA.

2. Similar in nature yet different in content, my number two on this list is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met contains a more classical collection of art, featuring more traditional sculptures and paintings from all ages. Some of the better-known artists whose works are displayed include Monet, Rembrandt and Cézanne. The Metropolitan Museum of Art contains works collected from all over the world, countless cultures and the highlights of artistic eras - such as Ancient Greek and Roman statues, biblical murals from the Renaissance and immense oil portraits of European leaders from the 1400s onward.

3. Laughter! Tears! Romance! The dramatic world of theatre lies to be discovered in the heart of New York's entertainment - Broadway. Hundreds of plays and musicals have been performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway for decades - where the classics were renewed and reenacted, the hits born, and the infamous flops bombed. Though I really don't have any real preference as to what I see on Broadway (it's all good stuff!) I would love to see the following shows : The Book of Mormon (Award winning comedy hit), Mamma Mia (the Broadway musical must-see), and the Lion King (the theatrical adaptation of Disney's classic animated film.

4. Never before have I taken a stroll through Central Park, the wooded park around which the urban expanse of New York City is situated. Big and beautiful, Central Park is the peaceful escape one might seek in a city as busy and bustling as New York. Both the tranquility and fame of this park make my number 4 choice a given.

5. Now I'm an Atlanta Braves girl straight to the bone, but I love me a good ol' game of baseball all the same! The Yankees have themselves an impressive record right now (I'll give 'em that), and a (very!) nice stadium to boot. A day of baseball-watching and peanut-munching at Yankee Stadium sounds to me like a day well-spent. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see them face off the Rangers or the Orioles in one of their upcoming series this June/July.

Yankee Stadium

6.  Surprise! Not to mix things up or anything, but number 6 on my list is the MoCCA, or Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art. I'm definitely going to check out the traditional art museums of New York - the MoMA and the Met are further up on my list, but as far as my personal deviations into art go, I'm pretty much infatuated with comic art - I love how different artists have their own stylized ways of drawing people, and a combination of that and how the human body looks in action is beyond interesting to me.
Something that my research led me to discover is that the MoCCA offers walk-in life-drawing sessions every Tuesday and Thursday evening. I would be thrilled to be able to add the activity to my schedule and pursue my hobby while I study in the city.

7. SoHo is a neighborhood located in Lower Manhattan chock full of things to do. One can shop, eat, listen in on some music and visit art galleries, all in SoHo. I'd love to stop by just to get in some city shopping, but the fact that I can go from a boutique to an art show right across the street is too sweet.

8. The Statue of Liberty may be NYC's most famous landmark, let alone the United States. Lady Liberty means a great deal to us Americans and our history, but she is most famous for being the first glimpse of freedom that immigrants to America would see on their journey across the Atlantic. The first bit of American soil that these immigrants would stand on was Ellis Island, where thousands of people became US citizens. My own great-grandmother was processed through immigration on Ellis Island, her name on record inside. If the island had not been indefinitely closed (following the damaging events of hurricane Sandy), it would be the next must-visit location on my list, but the Statue of Liberty itself should be impacting enough to see.

9. The Bowery Ballroom is the go-to spot for inexpensive music listening. An always-booked music venue, the Bowery's schedule is full of events, gigs and concerts. One night, I'd like to go listen to some live music in at the Bowery and perhaps soak up some NYC culture.

10. The Empire State Building is another classic NYC landmark. 103 floors and an extra-tall antenna topper made it the tallest skyscraper ever built back in the day. With observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors, that probably makes it the best panoramic lookout spot in the city. Who would risk missing out on a breathtaking view from the highest spot in the city?

Now that I have a good idea of what I want to cross off of my tourist list while I'm in New York City, I can start worrying about how I'll manage to do so, what with my busy schedule. Now it's off to my next assignment, until next time!

A TENtative First Look at New York City!

At our recent cohort meeting in the park, Ms. L gave us our first assignment. We were to come up with a list of our “top ten” places we wanted to visit in New York while we are there. She told us the only requirement was that there be at least two museums included in our list. The rest was up to us. 

I spent a lot of time carefully thinking and doing a lot of online research to narrow down my list of top 100 things down to a list of top 10 things to do. New York is a vast city and the island of Manhattan has so much to offer. It was difficult to eliminate the multitude of amazing opportunities available to us all. In the end I decided on these ten things. Where some of these choices I have made come from a touristy “Oh I HAVE to go there” standpoint, a few of my choices are motivated by my interest in history and photography. I hope we will be able to visit a few of my choices while we are there! My list is in no particular order, and I would love to visit all these places if I could. 

Times Square at night is almost twice as incredible looking!

1) My first choice is a rather obvious one: Times Square. This is one of those places you just cannot go to New York and not visit at least once. With theaters, great stores and an equal amount of great restaurants, Time Square is one of the most lively spots in New York City. However I do not want to go there just to spend my money, I want to go there to take photographs. The buildings covered in billboards, lights flashing everywhere, yellow taxis, people, they all make for an amazing photographic opportunity. If anything, I think it would be even more amazing to visit Times Square twice, once during the day and once during the evening. When it is dark out the lights and the signs will pop that much more and make for an unforgettable sight.

2) My second choice is also motivated by photography, but is slightly more obscure. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a pillar of architectural beauty. I love taking photographs of buildings, and I think the Guggenheim is just asking to have its photograph taken. The museum also has a number of interesting exhibits that will be on view while I am going to be in New York. These include an art piece, by the well known contemporary artist James Turrell, using the main circular rotunda of the museum and showering it with natural and artificial light, constantly changing the colors in the room. The Guggenheim Museum was designed by one of my favorite architects, Frank Lloyd Wright. This museum looks incredible, and I love the way that it looks. I even have a special edition Lego version of the museum on a shelf in my room!

The Guggenheim Museum.

3) My third choice is also a museum, this one more widely known: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is, like Times Square, a symbol of New York City. It is one of those places you just have to go to. I really would love to visit the Met and see its extensive collection of famous paintings, sculpture and photographs which are on display (it would take multiple trips to see it all...). In fact, the Met has more than 2 million works of art throughout it, all spanning over 5000 years of human history. Doing further research I found that there will be an exhibit while I am in there of the Civil War and American Art. The Civil War is one of my favorite topics to learn about in American history. Not only is the Met a staple of New York, but it houses the story of humanity as a whole. I love learning about history, and what better way to learn it then to see it in person!

4) This choice is also motivated by photography, and the desire to see something I will never forget: the NYC skyline. Now when most people want to see the skyline of New York they go straight to the Empire State building. I only have one problem with that. If you are on the Empire State building than it will not be in any of your photographs! What is New York without the Empire State building? I would much rather take the elevator to the top floors of Rockefeller Center. They have viewing decks on the 67, 69, and 70th floors, perfect for a view of the city with its most iconic building still in the frame.

Who does not want to see this sight!?

A beautiful sandwich from Katz's.

5) What is New York without its delis? Coming from the Bay Area where there are little to no good old fashioned delis, I have been craving a good corned beef sandwich on rye bread, stacked high with meat. The place to go is Katz’s Delicatessen. Katz’s has been around for a long time in New York, and even though it is on the opposite side of Manhattan (on the lower east side) from Columbia, the food they serve is worth it. Everything from bagels and matzo ball soup to the largest sandwiches I have ever seen, Katz’s deli is one of those delis that I have been craving. The store front does not look like much so I will include a picture of the food instead...you will see why I want to go!

6) My next choice is the Statue of Liberty and a visit to Ellis Island. Not only is the top of the Statue of Liberty, along with the whole statue itself, PERFECT for taking incredible photographs, but the island is rich in its history. Millions of immigrants passed by the Statue of Liberty as they came as immigrants into the United States. The museum on Ellis Island tells the story of those immigrants and lets you explore what their lives were like. The museum also houses a huge data base of names of almost all the people who passed through the customs and immigration house on Ellis Island. Here you can search your name to see if any of your relatives came through the island and saw the Statue of Liberty themselves. This is both an incredible lesson in history, and a great way to spend an afternoon!

7) A more serious option of mine is the 9/11 memorial and museum, built directly where the World Trade Center Towers once stood. I was in kindergarten on September 11 and what I clearly remember, as a five year old, was that school was cancelled on that day. But I do know that the impact of 9/11 is still affecting me today. I have seen photographs taken during the attack, and I have read books and articles about how America reacted afterwards, but to see this memorial in real life is entirely different. The world and the United States has changed since the 9/11 attacks, but it is important to never forget that day and those who lost their lives, and I think it will be an emotional experience to see where that change originated. 

This photograph shows the emotion found at the 9/11 memorial.

8) My next choice is a park. No it is not Central Park if that is what you expected. I want to visit the relatively knew High Line Park. The High Line is one of the more unique parks in the world today in that it is not on the ground. The High Line is built over an old decommissioned freight rail line through the West Side of Manhattan. The park has grass and walkways for bikes and pedestrians, flowers and benches, and all of it is way above ground level. An added bonus is that every summer the High Line hires unique and interesting food carts and vendors to sell their cuisine in the park. Maintained and created by the neighborhoods’ residents, the High Line is an interesting park that looks normal...except its above ground! 

9) Getting close to the end...my ninth choice to visit in NYC is the United Nations. The United Nations is the proof that different nations can indeed get together to solve their problems. It is also in New York City! I would love to visit the United Nations given my interest in law, history and politics and I think it would be a very educational experience as well. To see the place where almost all the countries of the world get together and work together to maintain order and peace in the world would be both amazing and excellent to witness and plus the building is worthy of a few snapshots!

10) My final choice. I chose the third museum because I like art. This time I went for a more contemporary museum, the Museum of Modern Art or MoMA. MoMA is a central hub in the world of contemporary art, with modern paintings sculptures and photographs. In fact MoMA has photography collections from before the 1920s to the present year of 2013. The museum also has an incredible glass facade that would be excellent to take pictures of. I think MoMA would also contrast very will with the ancient history inside the Met. It would show the comparison that can be made between the old and the new.

I am so excited to be a part of the ILC and now that I have done my research, I am even more excited to visit as many of these places as possible as well as ones suggested by my cohort. I think this assignment was a great way to begin to learn about NYC and all that it has to offer. Thank you Ms. L for coming up with this assignment!  I only wish our program could be longer so I could ensure that I visit all these places and more.

Hit the Ground Running

I was unable to make my cohort's potluck because I was out of town that weekend, so today my mother, Mrs. L and I went to Starbucks in order to go over a few things before the trip. We will be leaving California to go to New York on June 18, so there is very little time left. As Mrs. L says, "We will hit the ground running," because in our first week, we will be doing college tours and dining with admissions officers. There will be barely any time to rest but we will have to get our blogs in.

Speaking of time, Mrs. L stressed the importance of learning how to manage one's time.  Personally I think this is a necessary skill to be successful because we will have to prioritize and figure out how we are going to complete all our assignments and have fun. I will try my best in the upcoming weeks before the departure to improve my time management skills. I want to do good in my class but I also want to time to do fun things in the Big Apple. 

I am so glad that Mrs. L had this meeting because I think that it made my mom feel a lot more comfortable about the trip.  She was okay with it before, but now that Mrs. L has explained how Columbia has safe dorms and a safe campus, she feels a lot better.  Also she is aware now that Mrs. L will do the best she can to make sure that all of us stay safe.  Mrs. L explained everything today from how the dorms work to how much money to bring. Without this meeting, I think I would not have been well prepared for Columbia. Now that I have more knowledge I can make better preparations. 

I would like to thank Mrs. L for taking time out of her day to meet my mother and I at Starbucks.  She did not have to come to little Hercules but she took time out of her busy schedule and put us in it.  Thank you once again Mrs. L.  With you as our chaperone, I think this summer will be great and everything will happen smoothly. 

This meeting has increased the anticipation that I am feeling. The excitement in me is increasing day by day as we get closer to the departure date!  I can not wait to go and meet all the new people, from all around the world! It is going to be a great experience, I can tell. I am so honored to be a part of the Ivy League Connection. I can not wait until the dinner where I will be able to mingle with not only my cohort, but the adults making this entire thing possible. 

The Exciting World of Blogging

I arrived at the tutorial with twenty minutes to spare so I assumed that the day was off to a good start but alas, I was wrong.  From the get go there were many problems at the tutorial. First the SAT ended later than planned so some of the ILCers were late to the tutorial.  Also, the internet was not working for those with laptops. After we spent a good amount of time trying to connect our laptops, we decided to just use the computers in the lab. Once we got those working the fun began!

Everyone working on their blog

Right when we got on to the computers we were hard at work. We had a lot of ground to cover and so little time! We went through the basics of blogging.  From setting up our accounts to inserting our pictures, we learned so much. Everyone was fascinated by the new information that we were learning. We were all extremely focused on getting our blogs to work and to make sure that we were following each and every rule. We were told to only use Times and justify the writing.  When compared to posts that use other fonts or aren't justified, it makes complete sense to do so. 

Overall the day was full of new knowledge gained. We went over our responsibilities as ILCers; what to do and what not to do. For example, being on time is a must and we must conduct ourselves as adults. However, we also went over some rules that we all laughed at, but someone had actually done those things like steal a bus. Lastly we went over the checklist for our trips to our colleges. We will be allowed one check in bag that can hold about 42 lbs, and a carry on.  Also, we received a check list that we should use to help us pack. The hard part is getting all the stuff we need into our bags. After this tutorial I feel even more excited for the trip! Now I can't wait to get to go through all the dinners and meetings, and finally get to Columbia.  It all feels so much more real now!

Blogging Tutorial 101





De Anza High School

Today marked another big milestone on my   long road to Columbia University. I, along with  about ten other ILCers gathered together in the computer lab of De Anza High School to take part in a tutorial on blogging and a few other key elements we would need to know for the trip.

The day did not start off exactly how most of us would have wanted it to, sadly. Right from the beginning we had trouble with the internet access at the school. None of us could get connection to the Wi-Fi. Worse of all was that many of us could also not get the Ethernet connection to work with our laptops.  Consequently, after almost thirty minutes of failed attempts to get the internet access to work for our laptops, the majority of us were forced to use the slow, out dated school computers.

Once our technical problems were semi-resolved, Don  began with many important details about blogging, including the all essential do's and do not do's. Various pictures and few grammatical errors are a great way to help create a good blog. Aside from tips on what to write about, Don also gave us a very detailed and informative presentation on the proper form for the blog post, including: correct font size, spacing and format. We were also taught how to add both images and videos to make our post look even better and interesting. The one thing that was most emphasized was that we should always double check our final work. I very much agree with this because it is something that should always be done to ensure the most professional looking work as possible. 

 

After, Don began giving us an informative lesson on photography. He discussed why a camera, even the simplest point-and-shoot camera, has a much better lens than that of a normal phone camera.  Therefore, a picture taken with a camera will be much better than one taken with a phone. It is the reason why some cameras can cost more than $10,000 while a phone can average from free- $200. Next he discussed with us some of the basic organizations techniques for our photos, files, documents etc. I found these to be very helpful considering the amount of photos and documents, considering the amount we will probably be keeping on our laptops when we head back east. Don also taught us some photo editing tricks in order to get an outstanding looking image, such as cropping and photo image resolution. 


Everyone hard at work improving their blogging skills

With new invigorating knowledge about blogging and photography, Don gave us all the assignment of creating a practice blog post. Before this tutorial I had no idea of how to make a nice, professional looking blog post. However, after attending the tutorial session, I found myself knowing exactly what and how to do the key things for creating a good blog post.

 

Towards the end, Don began going over some the key events that would be coming up in the next couple of weeks, including: dinners, city council meetings and school board meetings. He also addressed what would be expected of each of us at those events. Lastly he talked about some of the things we would need to pack for our trip. He handed out a very detailed checklist (which I found extremely useful) for all of us to get the basic idea of what we would and would not need. Some of the items, we were told, we could buy once at our respective schools. Along with that Don also explained that he could loan out many of the items on the checklist. Along with a pack list, he also said there were going to be things that we would need to practice for, such as doing laundry or learning to use the programs on our laptops. Thankfully for me I have, slowly through the years, gained much practice with doing laundry.  

 

Enjoying every minute of blogging practice

After attending this tutorial I felt more confident in my blogging skills as well as my photography skills. When I first walked through the computer lab doors at De Anza High School, I had absolutely no idea how to do half of the things Don taught us all. I really learned a lot by attending this tutorial and found it to be an extremely educational experience. Throughout the entire tutorial, with each new topic, the thoughts of all the possible adventures  that are soon to be had began coming to my mind. New York is a very large and incredible  place to visit. With countless landmarks and sites,  I  am fully sure that will never run out of material to take photos of nor stories to be told. This idea makes my mind race and my excitement elevate to the point where I can not wait until the day I leave for Columbia and officially begin one of the greatest adventures I will ever have in my life.



So This Is Blogging...

A 6:30 wake-up call from my alarm clock on a saturday morning could only mean one thing - the ILC tutorial was today. We were out the door by 7:30, allowing us a good chunk of time to locate De Anza high in time to get started at 8 o'clock sharp. Though technical difficulties in the computer lab delayed us for a short period of time, we were eventually able to get down to business. 

Don started right away by telling us his 3 big ground rules - punctuality, following directions, and checking/responding to emails. He made these points very clear, and clearer still the consequences, which would be acted upon by Don's infamous alter ego, who we've yet to meet (and hopefully never will have to) - Evil Don.

After these rules were established, we dove right into blogging- what, when, how and why? We familiarized ourselves with the blogger toolbar and all the nifty little tricks that come with it. As soon as we were sure we knew how to hit the keys and post a blog, we did just that, and got down to writing up some practice blogs.

The rest of the tutorial consisted of what-to-do's (go to class!) and what-not-to-do's (bus stealing is generally frowned upon), along with a packing list. Don placed particular emphasis on the fact that we will, in fact, be doing our own laundry once we go abroad. Obviously my all-knowing mother has foreseen my participation in the ILC because, thanks to her, I've been prepared to do this for years.