Happy Monday!

After dodging tourists and NYC bus tours salesmen, a grin pops on my face. Every morning before I go to FAIR, just as I walk to the subway I see a newspaper man. 

I swear, he is probably the happiness man in the city and I started getting the paper from him last week.

He always has a huge smile, laughing and always talking to someone. 

He stands at the top of the stairs, handing out newspapers and wishes me a good day at work. 

"Happy Monday! Happy, happy Monday! Have a good day at work, young lady!" 

Just one nice person can really brighten your day. 

No One Deserves Hate: Discrimination on the Subway

I walked down the stairs to the subway on Friday. I was on my way to see my friend Annie for lunch in Union Square, when I saw a woman yelling.

Her hair was tousled and unkempt, her clothes and backpack dirty. She was yelling. At first I thought she was just yelling in general, about the subway or something, but then I noticed that she was following a family as they went up the stairs.

I don't know how it started, but everyone on the platform was watching, and I was still on the stairs, creeping my way down slowly. The husband walked slowly and spoke back to the woman - distracting her as his wife held their child's hand and headed up the stairs.

The family quickly left and the woman followed them - yelling - and spat in their direction. At that point I was on the platform. Everyone still watching.

You can already tell that she was targeting them, trying to make her presence and feelings known. Just think, you and your family are traveling and someone comes and is very aggressive to you? What do you think would cause such a thing? In this case, it was clear discrimination.

What I didn't tell you, is that the family was Muslim. At least, that's what the angry woman thought. The wife was wearing a light blue hijab and the woman aggressively commented on it. The woman also said something along the lines of "people like you shouldn't be in this country."

Recently at FAIR, I have been looking at how Islam is portrayed in the media. I am not a specialist on religious studies or media, but in a class last semester I learned how the media over time has picked specific groups to, in lack of a better words, "call the bad guys" or consider "the other," meaning that they are not accepted. Media does this by portraying a group as unfavorable which prolongs discrimination. This happened with newspapers in the 1800's - 1900's that promoted lynchings and slavery. People fought against discrimination by creating their own newspapers, like The Liberator, in order to have an alternative voice.

We, the media, have such a great power; we shape society's ideas and ideologies, we inform and educate, and overall send a strong message.

Right now, commentators say intolerant things about practitioners of this religion, and all the while push ignorance and fear onto the public. "Our" message, is a message of hate.

On Friday, though, I saw this hate embody itself in a woman confronting a family on the subway.

I keep playing this scene in my head, and I wanted to jump into action on the platform.

One idea I had went like this: I would confront the angry woman and explain everything to her. The media is lying to you! This family didn't cause 9/11, it was extremists that many believe do not honor Allah. I would tell her that she is perpetuating hate that we are trying to overcome. We live in America and this country belongs to this family as much as it belongs to you and me. 

Probably not the best idea. It is very difficult to try to convince someone that what they are doing is wrong in a peaceful manner. One way to stop this hate is through education, but I am not particularly good at this. It's difficult for me to articulate ideas when under pressure.

I also hate to say this, but Michelle pointed it out last night when I told her about this situation. When traveling alone in NYC, my main priority should be to keep myself safe. Confronting this woman, who was very aggressive, would question my safety.

The second way I could have handled this is more realistic. I imagined myself going onto the side of the stairs that the family was on, and block the wife and child from the woman yelling at them. At the top of the stairs, ask them if they were alright and see if they needed anything. Then, I would head down, and the angry woman would probably recognize me and start yelling. I would tell her, "No one deserves hate, no one deserves to be discriminated against." Yes. That sounds very heroic - like a movie or advertisement, but I believe that statement is true.

But, no. I didn't do a thing. No one did anything, they just watched, shocked at what was happening and then everything just ended. People quietly discussed how weird that was and started talking about the musician sitting on the platform, as if nothing happened.

I saw them at the top of the stairs and watched. They were alright. Upset, but alright. And then they just walked away.

All I could think about was that family; what I should have done. Regret lingered with me all weekend. I knew that it only takes one person to get a group of bystanders to act, but I didn't have the courage at that moment. Now, I think the only way I can change this type of hate is by making sure my work does not promote it.

Weekend Sightseeing (Part Two): Sunday Funday

I know what you're thinking: No, Clement and I did not go bar hopping on Sunday. Instead we did a bunch of other cool things.

The Intrepid! 

I have visited the USS Intrepid about three or four times since I was little, but it was great to go on a warm day with Clement. The Intrepid is this beautiful aircraft carrier that is now a museum.

Usually, my parents drag me out of bed early so we beat the lines, but Clement and I didn't do that. Sunday is my one day off, so I wanted to sleep in! We showed up at the museum an hour after it opened and only waited a few minutes to buy tickets. I think it is usually pretty busy on the weekends, but it's best to go before lunch to avoid large crowds. We also purchased student tickets, which are slightly discounted ($20). They're still a bit pricey but -- hey -- you're going on an aircraft carrier. It's worth it on a college budget.

The Growler submarine.

If there aren't a lot of people ahead of you, you should go on the submarine. I've never been on it because, well, I'm not sure how to put this lightly but my Dad is a giant. So, no submarines until now. I couldn't believe how many people fit in the Growler submarine -- there were so many tightly packed beds. The crew must have been huge!

Then, we went to the hanger (inside the ship) and talked to a volunteer about some of the historical morale badges and patches the men wore. It turns out, there was actually a basketball league on the ship. The teams were broken up according to different jobs and they would play in the hanger. Most of the men were 19-24 years old and playing a sport brought up morale. 

Here are some of the morale badges. 

When we were in the hanger, we saw a bunch of tours going on. Next time I go, I will probably take a tour because there is so much information that I've missed over the years - like the morale patches. It will cost more, but if I went with a big group of people it might be worth it.

Clement and I played some of the games in the hanger (turns out, I'm really bad at keeping a ship afloat) and then we went to the best part of the ship -- THE FLIGHT DECK. There are so many cool helicopters and fighter planes at the museum. (The Enterprise space shuttle is also there, but the exhibit reopens in a few weeks).  The deck also has a great view of the city. 

After visiting the flight deck, Clement and I left the museum. We were hungry and wanted to eat on the water, and we spotted this little restaurant next the the ship. The host sat us, telling us that only cash is accepted. We started looking at the menu... it was $10-12 dollars for a burger without fries... it's not like I could have cocktails but they were the same price... Then we saw something shocking --- paying for water. Clement and I looked at each other. "Want to leave?" "Yes. I am not paying for water."

Good thing we left, because we went to the BBQ Block Party! One of the reporters at FOX 5 did a story on this even the day before, how could I forget about this?! Clement and I ran to the subway and went to Madison Square Park, just a short walk from Union Square. Once again, if I was with my parents they would take me to this event first thing in the morning but Clement and I went half way through the day. I wish we went earlier because there were SO MANY LINES. The park was hopping, and honestly this was probably the highlight of our weekend.

These are Baker's Ribs. They were cooked
Louisiana style. I don't know what that means
but it was great!

There were so many tents set up with beautiful BBQ, and the pitmasters were from all over the country. Each plate was $9, which is a really good price for a dump of food in NYC. We meandered around, trying to find short lines, and we found a side street with two tents with shorter lines that were moving fast. Clement and I got into the lines. I went to HillCountry, which is a restaurant in NYC, for beef brisket and pickles, and Clement went to Baker's ribs from Texas, for ribs and coleslaw. We sat on the curb and started to devour the meat. It was amazing.

The BBQ disappeared so fast that I didn't take a picture. The ribs were perfect competition ribs. I watch a lot of BBQ shows on Food Network and supposedly competition ribs should not just "fall off the bone," you should slightly tug them and then they easily come off. With a good rub and some sauce. I have been dreaming about ribs like this for years - just don't tell my Dad because I love his ribs too. (He cooks BBQ ribs a lot but these were a completely different experience). The coleslaw was also great because it was vinegary and crisp. The brisket was great too, good bark and the pickles were very tasty.

After eating, Clement and I sat in the park for a little and just relaxed. Then we went to a cool store Michelle likes called Fishes Eddy which has corky and vintage dinnerware. The store has city skyline pattern dinnerware with famous buildings. I love it!

We went to Union Square afterwards and then took the subway back to the apartment. For dinner, we went to a restaurant near the apartment, which was a nice way to end our weekend. I have to figure out what we'll do next because we covered in one weekend. Luckily, there are endless possibilities in NYC.

Weekend Sightseeing (Part 1): Little Italy

Little Italy at night, Mulberry Street.

My boyfriend, Clement, came to NYC to visit me this weekend. We did a lot of sight seeing. Clement is from the a small town outside of Ithaca and has only been to the city a few times - so I have a lot of places that I want to take him.

The logo of the smartphone
 application HopStop.

The problem is, is that I'm not exactly the best person when navigating through the subway. I've taken the subway for years but I only know the lines that I take constantly. So, my friend Annie told me about the app for the smartphone, HopStop, which will give you directions including subway stops. Clement and I found our way to Little Italy, now really Little Italy because it's only one block in Chinatown.

Clement really likes ravioli, to the extent that anytime it's on a menu when we go out - he'll order it. He happened to order pumpkin ravioli when he first met my Dad, Tom, who is the biggest carnivore next to a T-Rex or Jaws. Only four pieces of ravioli were on Clement's plate, so my Dad made him order something else. Since then, he's a little weary of ordering his favorite little pasta dish.

Clement's ravioli, in a tomato cream
sauce. He wanted me to take a
picture with just four of them...

As much as I make fun of him for loving ravioli, I can't blame him. A week ago, I was checking out restaurants in Little Italy and found one with lobster ravioli - Lunella Ristorante. So, we had to go there. Like I said before, we used HopStop to get to this bubble of restaurants and bakeries.

We were able to sit outside, which was wonderful since it was just becoming dusk - cooling down the hot humid cement of the city. Our dinner was delicious, of course. I ordered veal francese, one of my favorite Italian dishes. The sauce is buttery, lemony, and probably has a hint of white wine. It's beautiful with pasta, but there was one problem. 

Clement had more food than I did, and he ordered ravioli.

The portions were a lot smaller than I thought they would be. As Clement said, "They're actually a single portion size," which is way to small for me. At least this meal was. I had two very thin but tender pieces of veal, both pieces smaller than my hands (and I have very small hands, abnormally small), one piece of broccoli and one very small roasted potato. I shouldn't really be complaining because the sauce was honestly the best francese sauce I have ever had, but I would have loved to smother more veal with it.

La Bella Ferrara's sign. We sat right
under it, outside on a small patio.

Lunella's was really good, worth the money, and I will probably go back but we decided to get dessert somewhere else. Sometime in my childhood, I remember eating in a bakery Little Italy with my Dad. He has been to Little Italy many times, and actually the only other time I've ever been to Little Italy was with him. I messaged him before dinner to ask the name of a good dessert place on the block, and he told me to go to Ferrara, which is where I went when I was little. I just realized that we went to the wrong place - we went to La Bella Ferrara which is a smaller bakery. Still, it was really good.

My beautiful box of Ferrara pastries.
(left to right) Two lobster tails, two cannolis,
italian cheese cake and fruit tart.

You walk into the bakery and there are glass boxes lined with endless amounts of pastries, big ones and small ones - cannolis and fruit tars. To me, it's like going into a jewelry store - you're just in awe of the presence of these beautiful pastries. It was just magical.

Clement and I both ordered individual desserts, probably $5 each, and split a decaf cappuccino. This totaled for around $15 dollars.

I don't really spend a lot of money anymore, so I decided to splurge and take some pastries home. I bought 6 miniature desserts, which cost the same and as our dessert! Next time, I'm not going to bother ordering the big desserts (except that tiramisu, it was to die for) and I'm just going to order the miniature ones - you get more for the same amount of money! Either way, the desserts were delicious.

Clement and I made our way back to the apartment, with various desserts in hand and continued our adventure in the city the next day.

Weekend Sight Seeing:Part 2 --- Coming soon!

Off to Work in Less than 11 Hours!

Tomorrow, at 10 a.m. I start my first internship! Well, my first of two internships. Tomorrow I start at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and on Thursday I will be at FOX 5/WNYW. Just so all of you know, I am working six days a week, 50 hours a week for 10 weeks this summer. Needless to say, my friends and boyfriend are not super happy that I cannot hang out, but they are very excited for me! You see, I always overwork myself so this will be a piece of cake. Working Saturdays may not sound fun, but I am already so excited.

Here I am outside of FOX 5/WNYW.
Michelle couldn't resist taking a photo or two.

Today, my step-mom, Michelle, and I travelled the subways together. That might sound silly to the everyday New Yorker, but it's been a while. In high school, I studied at CAP21 for a summer and spent six weeks commuting to and from the city. I knew the subways like the back of my hand and walked through the stations without hesitation, all the while singing musical theatre songs with my friends.

Needless to say, I lost all of this intuition for navigating through the underbelly of NYC when I started to go to school in Ithaca. So, Michelle and I ventured through the streets and subways on Memorial Day. Finding FAIR was easy because it is right near the subway I took to CAP21. Fox, well. I couldn't miss it once I was on the 67th.

When we came back to our neighborhood, Michelle and I bought groceries. It terrified me how fast paced even the cashiers are!  Before I could even process that it was finished, she checked me out. In under a minute! Cooking my dinner took significantly longer, mainly because I made chicken salad which will also be my lunch for most of the week. It took about 30 minutes to make it. Here is a link to the recipe! 

Well, I should go to bed. It is a big day tomorrow. First internship. First night in the city (for a really long time). It's only the beginning.