Thursday, September 6, 2012

East Coast kind of Summer


Did summer happen already? It’s been such a whirlwind couple of months; scratch that, couple of years. 

As many of you know I spent the summer in Boston, plus about 8 days in New York City. What might have I been doing on the East Coast? You might ask, I’m not 100%, but if you are curious I was working for a group called International College of English (ICE) with some phenomenal individuals from around the world teaching English to kids from all over the world on an education vacation in America. You may have seen pictures floating around facebook if you are also a stalker, I’m not judging, I do it too. This incredible experience allowed me the chance to tour Harvard, do the Freedom trail, scream at Six Flags and Canobie Lake Park, walk the plank on the Mayflower and experience the Plymouth Plantations, I gazed at the bright lights of Times Square, walked 5th Ave, stared in awe at the Statue of Liberty, got sick on the ferry that took us to said statue, I ate a hot dog in Central Park, jumped through fountains at Battery Park, I felt the sadness of Ground Zero, sat through three open top bus rides with the rain in my face and wind in my hair, stood face to face with a Van Gogh and other famous paintings, walked on a high rise garden, “heellllooooo’d” at the Seinfeld restaurant, took a stroll along the Hudson River, rode the NYC subway alone, ate massive amounts of icecream and didn’t even feel an ounce of shame, ate New York cheesecake in Brooklyn overlooking the NYC night skyline on a park bench, sweated it out at Bunker Hill, let my nerdy side out at the Boston Science Museum, went to a New Hampshire jersey shore wannabe beach, “pretended” to jersey chase at a private Boston Red Sox tour, I rock climbed for the first time, I played house mom to 13 Chinese middle school boys, and taught some high school boys the joy of American Football. 

That is what I did this summer. Oh, and I taught English for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. I stayed up way too late, and I woke up way too early. I sat on the miranda (AKA- the veranda) and talked openly with friends about life, I grew close to people who live oceans away from me (literally), I stole diet coke, ate horrendously horrible disgusting boarding school food that constantly made me sick, I fell asleep sitting straight up mid conversation, I got really strong butt and leg muscles, I found out I can push myself a lot harder than I knew was possible, I learned a square dance in five minutes and danced it for 80+ people(I’m sure it’s floating around youtube somewhere by now), I actively listened to kids, I gave hugs out freely, and I learned a lot about who I am. And a lot about Justin Beiber.

It was truly a wonderful experience.

That I would do again in a heartbeat.

            I’m still not sure why the Lord opened this opportunity up for me but I am so thankful that He did. It was truly God’s timing and His will because for me to get over a month off from both of my jobs, to have passed my certification with a 94% and to get my stubborn self to do something out of the norm could only have been orchestrated by one who is much wiser than I. I know a mission of being a Christ follower is planting seeds where ever we go, and I hope I was able to embody the love of Christ to all I came across and show that Christianity can, should and does equal love; but today, I eagerly await to see what blossoms from the seeds that I know were sown into my very being while I was there. 

 David & I are Seinfeld Restaurant
Elena (Italy), Valentina (Columbia) and Esther (France) at Plymouth Planations. 
 NYC view from the double decker bus.
 Boston Red Sox Tour
NYC Public Library.



And to the right, David and I at Grand Central Station

1 comment:

Courtney said...

That all sounds awesome! I'm so glad you got have that experience, I sure it was fun and very difficult at the same time. Hope we can chat more about it sometime:)