New York City is incredibly segregated. This morning, as I've done many times, I rode the N train from my neighborhood into Manhattan. When I boarded in south Brooklyn, there were no seats available and the train was full of Chinese (I'm not being racist, though I could be, it's just having lived amongst the Chinese, I can tell you these people were not "Asian"). As we approached the 3rd stop, Canal Street, the train virtually emptied, and an uncontrollable smile came to my face as I mused just how true to form all humans are. We try to be inclusive and diverse, but truthfully, like is drawn to like and Canal Street in NYC is a haven of Chinese culture, thus no matter if they stay out in south Brooklyn, they work and "live" on Canal Street as evidenced by the subway ride each morning. This truth is clear when speaking to a Queens family about 3rd generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic on the upper Upper West Side of Manhattan. The family from Queens knew because of where the DR family lived that they were not Mexican or Puerto Rican or of any other Hispanic origin because "Dominicans tend to live up in that neighborhood." As I ride the bus through a particular section of Queens, I sit behind a guy who looks like a typical 20-something New Yorker until he speaks perfect Russian into his cell phone and I'm reminded that there are Russian businesses on both sides of the street, but also a bank called the Polish-Slovac bank in that neighborhood.
So, I'm constantly fascinated by my surroundings, and this morning, the mass exodus at Canal Street provoked me to write about it. Not that I have any profound or revelatory thoughts on the matter. Just that living in a city of 9 million people affords everyone the opportunity to find the place in which they feel most at home and live, shop, bank, and go to church (a few of them) there. It's not government imposed segregation, but self-imposed based on personal comfort, which is a human desire, as I said earlier, to be surrounded by someone who thinks, eats, talks and even looks like you. Zzzzz...kind of boring. But, I also understand, on some level.
Well, it's Tuesday and it's been more than a week since I posted. I've been absolutely slammed with tutoring, with little energy to even unpack my room which is a disaster as a result of it. However, as I said in the last post, I can see the end in sight and I know it will all change again soon. Although I've got no further clarity on what to do this summer, I have a little more peace and know that it's in God's hands no matter what. So, thanks for any prayers you've offered up on my behalf.
I had a great weekend, in the midst of tutoring for 4 hours on Friday, 9 hours on Saturday, and 3 hours on Sunday, I got to be at Brooklyn Tab's choir recording on Friday night and Sunday from noon til 6 and it was awesome. You're going to be blessed by this CD, if you buy it. (I also got to go to an early showing on Friday morning of "The Taking of Pelham 123" which was great fun as I chose a place on the Upper West Side where some serious movie buffs were attending the first showing of the film, and they clearly had scrutinized the original film. They anticipated, laughed loudly, whooped and hollered at appropriate places, and it was fun for me, the lone fan, to watch.)
Yesterday was a long day, tutoring 3 hours with Kenny from noon, then Gerald and Sheyla back to back 1.5 hours each, and topped off with Janelle from 7 to 9:30. Eight and half hours of tutoring with four children at different levels and varying motivations, sent me home by 11 and in bed not long after. Today, it's Emmaluisa and Lenise for a total of 5.5 hours. I will explain more about these children in the very near future, so you can pray for them and their families.
Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by.
Until next time,
Larissa
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sundays in Brooklyn...
most of the time they look very similar...get up at 9, get out of the house by 10:30, get to church by 11, sometimes stand in line, sometimes walk right in, connect with about 4 or 5 people who sit in the same location each week, enjoy the ministry at the noon service, eat some lunch, then come back for the 3:30 service (usually something different at this service), then leisurely make my way back home after 5:30, maybe go uptown for a bite, or occasionally meet with a friend.
Today is Sunday...and it's a little different. I got up early and made it to the 9:00 service (not at 9) in time for the choir (still blows my hair back every week) and the preaching. There was a guest today (Pastor Cymbala gets lots of opportunities to preach elsewhere), Pastor Gary Simons from Bermuda. He must have a special relationship with the church because he speaks at a number of the meetings they have on a quasi-regular basis. I heard him at the Singles meeting about 6 weeks ago, and he's a solid witness and man of the bible. So, today was awesome! And now...
I'm sitting in a restaurant before I head up to tutor my 7th grader, Kenny, who is only able to meet with me on the weekends because his parents both work and he attends an afterschool program for sports. But, his folks knew he needed help in math and reading, so they signed him up for tutoring. I meet with this boy every Saturday for 3 hours, and about every 3rd Sunday afternoon for 2.5 hours, and it's not easy, but by God's grace we make it through. So, today is one of our Sundays (truthfully, we'll only end up having 3 or 4 Sundays, so it's not too bad.) After Kenny, I'll commute from Queens to the far upper west side of Manhattan to a predominantly hispanic neighborhood called Washington Heights, where I'll tutor my 9th grader, Lenise, from 6 to 9. She's desperately in need of math tutoring, so I have to see her about 3 times a week. All this ends in another 3 weeks, since it's contractual and tied to the school calendar. Thus, I'm writing this blog entry...
As I sat in worship this morning, in the balcony 'cause I was late, and alone, I got a true sense of what I've been doing here in the past four months as an extension of God's love to the people in my circle of influence. I was humbled, again, and became aware of needing and wanting to finish strong. (In education, everyone gets weary at this time of the year. Motivation falls off, attitudes start to present themselves in more and more negative ways, and it just becomes easier to "opt out" of giving our best. So, I know, I need help to finish well.) I'm going to try to profile my students in this blog over the next few weeks and also to share a slice of life on a weekly basis (or so) in order to get your prayer support in a more specific way. I appreciate it so much, and am thankful to be partnering with you in this great venture of life. This is the beginning of my Brooklyn Blogging, and I hope it will encourage you to pray and be strengthened by what you hear God is doing in NYC. Time is always short, and all the more so today since I'm on a commute, more or less...so I'll close for now. I am blessed and thrilled for God to use me here. As you pray, please ask God to provide for more direction after the contract is finished. I need to either find a summer job, or a fulltime position in a place of God's choosing, and it's unclear to me at this point. Thanks again.
Until next time,
Larissa
Today is Sunday...and it's a little different. I got up early and made it to the 9:00 service (not at 9) in time for the choir (still blows my hair back every week) and the preaching. There was a guest today (Pastor Cymbala gets lots of opportunities to preach elsewhere), Pastor Gary Simons from Bermuda. He must have a special relationship with the church because he speaks at a number of the meetings they have on a quasi-regular basis. I heard him at the Singles meeting about 6 weeks ago, and he's a solid witness and man of the bible. So, today was awesome! And now...
I'm sitting in a restaurant before I head up to tutor my 7th grader, Kenny, who is only able to meet with me on the weekends because his parents both work and he attends an afterschool program for sports. But, his folks knew he needed help in math and reading, so they signed him up for tutoring. I meet with this boy every Saturday for 3 hours, and about every 3rd Sunday afternoon for 2.5 hours, and it's not easy, but by God's grace we make it through. So, today is one of our Sundays (truthfully, we'll only end up having 3 or 4 Sundays, so it's not too bad.) After Kenny, I'll commute from Queens to the far upper west side of Manhattan to a predominantly hispanic neighborhood called Washington Heights, where I'll tutor my 9th grader, Lenise, from 6 to 9. She's desperately in need of math tutoring, so I have to see her about 3 times a week. All this ends in another 3 weeks, since it's contractual and tied to the school calendar. Thus, I'm writing this blog entry...
As I sat in worship this morning, in the balcony 'cause I was late, and alone, I got a true sense of what I've been doing here in the past four months as an extension of God's love to the people in my circle of influence. I was humbled, again, and became aware of needing and wanting to finish strong. (In education, everyone gets weary at this time of the year. Motivation falls off, attitudes start to present themselves in more and more negative ways, and it just becomes easier to "opt out" of giving our best. So, I know, I need help to finish well.) I'm going to try to profile my students in this blog over the next few weeks and also to share a slice of life on a weekly basis (or so) in order to get your prayer support in a more specific way. I appreciate it so much, and am thankful to be partnering with you in this great venture of life. This is the beginning of my Brooklyn Blogging, and I hope it will encourage you to pray and be strengthened by what you hear God is doing in NYC. Time is always short, and all the more so today since I'm on a commute, more or less...so I'll close for now. I am blessed and thrilled for God to use me here. As you pray, please ask God to provide for more direction after the contract is finished. I need to either find a summer job, or a fulltime position in a place of God's choosing, and it's unclear to me at this point. Thanks again.
Until next time,
Larissa
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