Skip to main content

The Simple Joys


Central Park
My answer to people when they ask me how I like New York is to say something diplomatic like “I’m glad it’s only for five years” or “I’ll get used to it” or “It’s the complete opposite of Turku.”

This last answer is my favorite to think about. Turku was quiet, peaceful, homogeneous, clean, easy-going. New York is loud, aggressive, diverse, dirty and rushed. I felt at home in Turku, I do not feel at home here. (Though diversity is one thing that New York has going for it over Turku)



But there are small pleasures I have discovered and so I will devote this post to those small moments of joy in my new, temporary home.



My version of coffee


1.     Coffee. This is not unique to New York— in fact, I actually make it at home so I could make it anywhere—but I have found that nothing compares to making a cup of Indian style cappuccino (hand whipped instant coffee with lots of sugar and only milk) while I read articles for class.

    2. The Teacher’s College Campus. Teacher’s College is the graduate school for education at Columbia. It is old and therefore, the architecture is beautiful and majestic. It feels like important things must happen within these walls. Also, the TC library is wonderfully cozy and my favorite place to study even late into the evenings.

3.     Architecture. While walking down a commercial street, you will suddenly notice a building that looks like it came out of the early 1900’s. It might now be a CVS but you can tell there is history in the walls. Sometimes there are plaques that give you a snippet of this history.

4. The parks. Central Park is a mile away and a very accessible place to go on a stroll. I now understand why New Yorkers are so proud of it. There are so many nooks in the park that you could spend a week exploring it and still not find all the secret spots. I love going on runs through the park or taking some readings I need to do and sitting in the grass with my aforementioned mug of coffee. There are also other parks which are also wonderful running spots.

Teacher's College
  5. The diversity. I do enjoy the many different kinds of people here.  My cohort has people from all walks of life, from teachers who have taught in New York for almost two decades to some who have been studying for longer than we have taught (like me). There is racial diversity, diversity in ages and diversity in experiences. It makes for interesting conversation and interesting class discussions.



So, in the times that I feel lonely or poor because of the exorbitant New York prices, I try to remember these small moments that make New York worth coming to. I know there are many more things the city has to offer but I have found that it is better to take my time. New York is not going anywhere and neither am I. At least for a while.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bagel perfection

Two weeks ago, my husband and I tried making bagels. This wasn't because of some sudden ambition on our part or a particular fondness for baking (though I do like baking if it involves dessert and he is our designated bread maker). It came out of necessity because he has been missing the bagels in NYC that we bought from the local grocery store whenever he visited. We would eat them for breakfast lathered with cream cheese and veggies. They are however, apparently not a thing in Finland so our only option was to make them ourselves. Bagels, in case you don't know are notoriously difficult to make. I knew this. He brushed my doubts aside and said happily "Let's try." Bagels take a day and a half to make. You make the dough, let it rise, shape them, and then let it prove for 12-24 hours before boiling and then baking them. We didn't have some of the ingredients, starting with the right kind of flour. My husband said it didn't matter and powered through. Aft...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finnish Differences

Time is a funny thing. It seems to move in leaps and bounds at times and at times it moves slower than molasses. Right now it's doing both. I can't believe it's only been a week and yet I can't believe it's already been a week. Sunset in Helsinki This week I've been in Helsinki for our Fulbright orientation. We learned a lot of information and it would be impossible for me to fit all of it into a reasonable amount of space so I will leave that summary for another day. But a week has given me some time to notice some differences in how things work in Finland and how they work in the US. I thought I would highlight five here that encompass a fair variety of my experiences so far. I have to give credit to my friend Marie who helped me with this list. Many of these are her ideas. 1. Nature is Everywhere This one is first because I think it is the most important one for Finns. Finnish people love nature and it shows in the way cities are built (at least th...
5 comments
Read more

Critical Wisdom

The Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College has a reputation for being difficult, especially at the doctoral level. It isn’t difficult in the way my advanced data analysis class is difficult, where we are expected to learn complex statistical concepts while also learning how to code in the dreaded Stata software. Instead, it is impossibly abstract and theoretical, with most classes requiring us to write papers where we construct complex arguments supported by plenty of other people’s theoretical musings. These frameworks challenge us at our very core, a process that is fraught with emotional ups and downs, so much so that a professor in the department has called the program as a “Pedagogy of Monsters” and written an article about it. The program has changed the way I see the world. For example, I recently went to go see Isn’t it Romantic with some colleagues from the Writing Center. Besides the social aspect of actually going somewhere that wasn’t to work or acc...
Post a Comment
Read more