I finally visited the Big Apple for the first time the week after OSU finals ended! MUNDO’s one-week winter break experience was in New York City. This blog post will record my experiences and perspectives.

This experience will challenge each individual with a new way of viewing our vast world through experiencing different cultures and learning about the history and legacies of one of the most dynamic cities in the world.

We will focus on immigration  and its impact on the development of NYC and the Latin communities specifically in the context of NYC. The role of theatre in conveying a message and creating empathy will also be examined through two Broadway shows!

Photo from wallpapercave.com

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15th, 2017
“Travel Day”

• On the road by 5:30 am
  • I slept on the long bus ride, as did virtually everyone else. With our suitcases in the cargo area of the bus and lights turned off and curtain blinds pulled down, it was a quiet and peaceful ride.
    

    Our bus driver Matt has been with us for many MUNDO travel experiences.

• 11:30 am – Lunch break on the road in Pennsylvania
• 1:20 pm – Continue on journey
• 4:00 pm – Arrive in NYC/check into hostel/orientation to the area with dinner on our own
  • We stayed at Hostelling International, which is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, for the duration of our trip. This hostel is like a hybrid of a hotel and a university dorm.  Staying here is pretty cheap compared to the other housing options in the city. I highly recommend this hostel! They provide breakfast and linens, towels, and pillows, but I suggest bringing your own as well. The building had plenty of spaces for people to lounge; it even had a café, a billiards table, living room space, a theater, a downstairs kitchen for people to cook and store food, a ballroom, and a laundry room. Around the same time we arrived, Buck-I-Serv also reached New York.
    See hinewyork.org/ for more information!
  • Before entering the city, we had to pass through a number of toll booths. Each person tipped the driver Matt $5.
• 5:30 pm – (optional) visit Times Square at night
  • Since I was about eight, I have watched the ball drop for New Year’s. Times Square is lit up 24/7 and never stops shining with all the TV screens constantly flickering and traffic weaving in and out of narrow spaces on the streets. I could not believe that I was able to stand in Times Square. Julius, MUNDO program coordinator/advisor, took a small group of students to this area.
  • 

    Times Square receives over 50 million visitors each year! We had to show off our Buckeye pride at this spot.

    

    This is me posing in Times Square!

• Evening – Free Time
  • The group I was with decided to go to Tom’s Restaurant for dinner. This restaurant was the diner frequented by the characters in the TV series Seinfeld! Afterwards, we visited Columbia University, including a quick stop in their bookstore to see what it was like, and then roaming around their campus for 10-15 minutes. The students there were busy prepping for finals. Their campus is beautiful, especially the libraries from what I could see from outside. They also had holiday lights wrapping around an entire aisle full of trees, similar to how OSU has lights on North Campus.
  • We were all provided Metropasses to take the public transportation system an unlimited amount of times for the entire week. However, the transit system is confusing for first-timers such as myself. A MUNDO tip is to never venture out alone; bring a buddy or two. I always went with a group of at least four people because often during the day, people’s phone batteries die so we had to rely on multiple people to use their phones to navigate. Google Maps was incredibly helpful too. I am also grateful that in the MUNDO drawstring bags everyone was given was a power charger for on-the-go charging!Please see: www.mta.info/nyct when planning your routes!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16th, 2017
“Washington Heights”

• Breakfast at hostel
• Operation Exodus
  • In the Washington Heights neighborhood is Operation Exodus, where we spent the entire morning volunteering with the organization’s annual holiday party.
    
  • Operation Exodus is a faith-based organization that believes zip code should never dictate the quality of education a child receives.For over 26 years, they have made a tremendous impact on inner-city children through after-school achievement like reading and math help and programs for middle-school and high-school students like mentoring and clubs including digital media, theater arts, and more. Operation Exodus also offers empowering parenting workshops (adult literacy, scholarship/financial education, job training, etc.).We were honored to join them for a morning and volunteer with their annual Holiday Party. We helped set up tables around the room. We played basketball with the boys and constructed gingerbread houses and colored with other children. Bagels and orange juice were provided. Afterwards, children went to different classes; they were separated by gender and by grade in school (e.g. first grade boys). While they learned and hosted a holiday performance somewhere else in the building, MUNDO went to work decorating the space with streamers and lights. Tablecloths were put on each table to make cleanup easier. Dozens of people strolled into the kitchen to drop off home-cooked dishes for the holiday meal. We set up dishes at each table. The feast involved a great slew of items: chicken, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, mac and cheese, cake, and more! Operation Exodus had so much food that they invited us to stay to enjoy it.

    Thank you Operation Exodus for all that you do; please visit http://operationexodus.org/ to see more of their work and impact.

    

    This organization is a valuable resource for adolescents and parents as well as other members of the community like their passionate volunteers.

• Central Park
  • We walked through the park to get to the Met. We stopped a few times to take photos! I was surprised to discover from Julius that this park is man-made; city officials realized that health is vital and created this ‘natural’ environment for citizens to enjoy. Another fun fact is that one of the architects of the park also helped design the Oval on OSU’s campus!
    

    Tip: Do not go to Central Park after dark.
    During the day, it is very lovely.

• Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue)
  • It felt like an honor to be able to step foot in the Met, which has 5,000 years’ worth of art. This was the largest art museum I have ever visited. I enjoyed looking at the different exhibits.
    The site www.metmuseum.org has what you need if you want to visit this museum!
• Explore The Met
• Free time
• Meet at Studio 54 (354 W. 54th St)
• 8 pm – View performance of “Latin History for Morons” starring John Leguizamo
  • Our first Broadway show in New York was a hilarious one-man-show. You may find John Leguizamo’s voice oddly familiar; he is the voice actor for Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age movies! I did not know what to expect from the show except to learn a bit more about Latin history. John really got into the characters he was portraying, and the ending was the most touching. He drew my attention from beginning to end.
    

    John used a blackboard to write and draw diagrams and pictures that helped the audience understand the material. He had wigs and other props too!

  • Here is a synopsis of the show:
    When his son gets a school assignment on heroes, John Leguizamo seizes the chance to teach him all about the great minds of the Latino world. But once he sets out on his irreverent crash course across three continents and 3000 years of history—from conquistadores to cumbia, Montezuma to Menudo, and taking on the characters in all of it—he uncovers provocative truths that shock even him.
  • Visit https://www.broadway.org/shows/details/latin-history-for-morons,616 for more information.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17th, 2017
“Lady Liberty”

• Breakfast at hostel
• Take subway to Battery Park, then take the ferry.

  • 

    The ferry was a good experience; there are multiple levels. You can feel the crisp, cool air and see birds perched right by you. The view is also spectacular.

• Statue of Liberty
  • The statue was a gift to celebrate America’s Centennial by master sculptor Fredric Auguste Bartholdi! Whenever I think of New York, I think of this statue.
    

    She is a beauty.

    

    Part of the MUNDO group posed in front of the Manhattan skyline.

• Ellis Island
  • From the statue, the ferry takes you to Ellis Island, where about 15 million immigrants passed through as they found their new home in America. I liked the museum very much and learned more about immigration, including the process that people faced hundreds of years ago, from entering the baggage room to getting medical examinations.
• Free time
• Salsa class
  • MUNDO had a private dance class by a wonderful instructor named Nancy, who wore tall and narrow high heels. The hour-long session was productive; I liked her teaching style. Soon the students went from simple steps to complex moves. Music filled the room and people were evidently having fun swinging around and doing fancy footwork. I did not participate in the dancing; I read a book but later joined for a few minutes. Dancing is something that I have never done in my life and even being in a class was an experience that I was not ready for.  Nevertheless, my peers enjoyed dancing!
    

    Nearly all of the trip participants also elected to take this salsa class! Even after it ended, people ended up staying a half hour to an hour to continue dancing.

• Free time

MONDAY, DECEMBER 18th, 2017
“Melting Pot vs. Cultural Pluralism”

• Breakfast at hostel
• Depart for Tenement Museum
• Tour of Tenement Museum
  • Our specific tour focused on hardships of two families who grew up in the tenement in the early 1900s. This museum preserves NYC immigrant stories; some people did not wish to have their family’s histories be discussed by the museum, so the museum honored this. I was disappointed when the tour ended but was thankful to hear about people’s experiences because it opened my eyes to what the conditions were like. The area we were in is called the Garment District because many people’s lives revolved around making clothing. Entire families would work together to sew and embroider clothes to sell to department stores; they did this in their homes as opposed to working in factories.
    

    Our guide Jakub provided us a great description of life in the early 20th century in the Garment District/Lower East Side.

• Lunch on own in area
• Take subway to Lower Manhattan (Essex St. Station, take J or Z downtown to Broad St. Station)
• Tour of Wall Street, then walking to 9/11 Memorial
  • After walking around Wall Street and the Financial District, we saw the Raging Bull and Fearless Girl. The bull market means that the market is doing well; a bear market is what stockbrokers and financial investors do not want to see because it means stocks are going down.
  • I was interested in Fearless Girl much more.
    

    A staff mentor and former MUNDO student coordinator during her undergrad years poses with Fearless Girl!

    

    To me, Fearless Girl means that girls can do things that boys can do too. Females should be given the same opportunities as men, including equal pay.

• Subway to Chinatown
• Walking tour of Chinatown and treat in Little Italy
  • We walked around Chinatown, which was a massive neighborhood. My friends and I were only able to visit a few stores and did not see how massive this town truly was.
    

    This colorful mural caught my eye and I had to pose by it. Bubble tea, one of my favorite drinks, originated in Taiwan and is now popular among Asian and Asian-American people, especially millennials.

  • Julius treated us to cannolis when we finished a quick exploration of these two ethnic enclaves.
• Depart for Washington Square Park
  • 

    This public park is in the Greenwich Village of New York’s Lower Manhattan area. Not only will you see NYU students but also joggers, people with their pets, couples, and street musicians.

     

• Dinner with Buckeye alumni meet-up at NYU
  • I was surprised to see Bernie Saverese greet us as we entered a building. Bernie went to school at OSU for his B.A. in Political Science. He also earned his Master’s of Business Administration here. He was the Director for University Orientation and First Year Experience and is now at NYU as the Assistant Vice President for Student Success.
  • According to Bernie, NYU and OSU have some similarities and differences; OSU is one of the largest public universities and NYU is one of the largest private colleges. Two-thirds of Buckeyes are from Ohio while two-thirds of NYU students are from out-of-state, with 1/4 being international students. At NYU, 1 in 4 students are Pell-eligible. An alumna who graduated from OSU in spring 2017 also talked to us; she works at Google! The third representative was a male who attended OSU for graduate school and has worked at NYU for over 2 decades now.
    

    Bernie often spoke at freshmen orientations! He spoke at mine and used corny jokes such as “What do you call a lazy baby kangaroo? A pouch potato!”

• I visited a bookstore called The Strand, and then headed over to Bryant Park, where there was a holiday market, with dozens of vendors selling artisan crafts, foods, T-shirts, jewelry, and more. This week, I was able to explore so much of New York, from the common tourist destinations to lesser-known gems.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19th, 2017
“Once on this Island”

• Breakfast
• Top of the Rock
  • 

    From left to right: Our Outstanding MUNDO member of fall semester, a Newark Buckeye, and Park-Stradley Assistant Hall Director!

     

    

    The Top of the Rock tour allowed me to view the vastness of New York.

• Recreating Rockefeller Photo for MUNDO’s 20th Birthday
  • This day was extremely special for Julius Mayo, our program advisor who co-founded MUNDO in 1997. It was 20 years ago that the MUNDO group visited New York and took a photo at Rockefeller Center.
  • 

    Happy 20th, MUNDO!

    

    MUNDO has been Buckeye Strong for two decades. We Serve, Learn, and Lead no matter where we are.

     

• Grand Central Station/Grand Central Terminal
  • Located on 42nd St and Park Ave, Grand Central is one of the busiest train stations in the world, and serves nearly 200,000 NYC commuters every day.
  • MUNDO stopped here for lunch. At this time, there was a Holiday Market where artisans set up pop-up shops to sell goods.
• United Nations Headquarters
  
  

  Photo credit: http://static.thousandwonders.net/Headquarters.of.the.United.Nations.original.6498.jpg

  • We received a guided tour of the United Nations building. As we were proceeding into the security check, delegates were exiting the gates. After making it out of the security check building, I saw a sculpture of a gun with its barrel twisted into a knot. This is the non-violence sculpture, also called Knotted Gun. I stand with non-violence.
  • MUNDO was split into two groups because of our size. The tour was incredibly informational, and I learned about the three pillars of the UN: human rights, development, and peace & security. The UN was created after World War II, in 1945. There are currently 193 member states in the UN, with Palestine and South Sudan not yet joined. I learned about the chambers of the UN, like the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. We were able to go into these different rooms since there were no meetings being held at the time.
  • We also learned about UNICEF’s School-in-a-Box operation for worldwide use within 72 hours of an emergency so that students can still learn wherever they are, whether they have a physical school building to attend or not. We saw this resource in person and I am impressed that we have something like this available. The kit contains exercise books, pencils, number tables, a wooden clock, and more, for up to 40 students to use. The lid of the metal box can be painted using special blackboard paint so that teachers can write in chalk on them. The only suggestion that immediately popped into my head was that the box can be heavy to carry, especially for tinier teachers like women. Perhaps in the future, the boxes could have wheels on them for easier transport!
  • The Tour Guides, or UN Ambassadors, interact with millions of visitors. They actually are debriefed every morning so that they are well-informed about international events prior to their tours. Our tour was about an hour long, so it went by quickly. We saw conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction, including a statue that suffered from one of the major bombs during World War II. It was surreal to see these artifacts.
  • One of my favorite parts of the UN Headquarters was the #DreamBigPrincess Exhibit on the ground floor. As a female myself, this exhibit was pleasant to view, and I saw how girls worldwide are making differences, in STEM fields, by surviving cancer, etc.
    https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/dreambigprincess-exhibit-opens-united-nations-headquarters-new-york/
  • Facts:
    • Although the complex is geographically a part of New York, it is under the sole jurisdiction of the United Nations, not the U.S. government.
    • The complex opened October 9, 1952.
    • After much debate over the location, the Manhattan site was purchased for the United Nations by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as a donation. The land was $8.5 million (estimated to be approximately $83.4 million adjusted for modern inflation.)
    • The flags out front are the flags of the 193 member nations in alphabetical order.
  • On a wall was the quote: “The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded” – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
    This quote spoke volumes to me because it is true. I feel like countries should not be so concerned with accumulating weapons to defend themselves and spend more time communicating with other nations to address conflicts.
• Circle in the Square – “Once on this Island” Broadway Musical
  • This was a breathtaking musical and was well-executed with brilliant, talented cast who all have powerful vocals. As we sat and waited for the musical to start, the floor of the ‘stage’ was covered with sand. Actual live chickens and a goat were present. The cast interacted with one another and got into character. This musical will remain in my heart and mind as a reminder to fight for what I want despite the odds.

  • This is the sweeping theatrical power of Once On This Island—the universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Guided by the mighty island gods (played by Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, Merle Dandridge, and Quentin Earl Darrington), Ti Moune sets out on a remarkable journey to reunite with the man who has captured her heart. The groundbreaking vision of Tony Award-nominated director Michael Arden and acclaimed choreographer Camille A. Brown conjures up “a place where magic is possible and beauty is apparent for all to see!” (The Huffington Post).

  • Some MUNDO members remained after the show; we lingered by a fence to wait for some cast members to come out and talk with us! Only about 30 people were outside, and nearly all of the cast actually came out!
    

    Hailey Kilgore, who plays Ti Moune, was very gracious and took the time to thank us for coming to see the musical. Her performance was splendid and magical; you can hear the emotion in her voice and see it in her actions. You are a bright shining star!

    

    Lea Salonga provided her lovely vocals for Princess Jasmine and Princess Mulan in the Disney animations.

    

    Isaac Powell, who plays Daniel, is a 2017 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He had a great performance!

WEDNESDAY, December 20th, 2017
“Exploration”
(This was a day where students could roam around NY; there was no set agenda. This is what my friends and I did.)

• Breakfast, store bags in hostel storage room
• Bronx Zoo
  • We spent two hours here, looking at rhinos, sea lions, reptiles, birds, and snow leopards. Peacocks freely roamed the grounds.
• American Museum of Natural History
  • This is the setting of the “Night at the Museum” movies. I did not get to see the third and fourth floors of the museum, but the floors that I did get to explore were incredibly fascinating! I loved the cultural exhibits and the scientific exhibits related to human population and health. The ecosystems/biomes were wonderful as well. What I especially appreciated was how the dioramas give a lot of perspective and look very realistic; when I look into an exhibit, its like I am looking into a different world. I hope to return here sometime to venture into the areas I was not able to see due to time constraints.
• Greenwich Village
• Brooklyn Bridge

  • 

    I loved the skyline of Brooklyn. When my friends and I were in the area, few people were around. It was quiet and we ate dinner at Shake Shack; they have my favorite burgers and fries.

• Times Square
  • We visited the Disney store and it was gorgeous! The walls lining the escalator are painted to resemble scenes from Tangled, the movie about Rapunzel.
• Return to hostel for a short respite
• Make journey back to OSU (our bus left around midnight)
• We reached OSU around 9 am on Thursday, December 21st!

This trip felt unreal to me at some points – all the lights, the diverse people, the stimulating streets, etc.
I overheard a wide range of languages spoken around me; even with the people walking their dogs, I saw a variety of dogs (at least 20 different breeds). I gave my extra snacks and drinks to homeless people and people that were collecting food or money for the needy. Although NYC is a great city, there is a lot of inequality and I felt hurt with homeless people shivering on the ground as they slept their hunger away. Another thing I encountered was a rude man who cursed at another person in line; this seemed unnecessary to me. Also, I overheard two young boys, perhaps around age 7, speaking gibberish as if they were mocking another language. This bothered me too, and this is probably because of how NY is divided and how people, even in a diverse city, can be ignorant to other cultures.

Additionally, I noticed things in America’s most populous city that I have not seen elsewhere: heaps of trash bags piled together on the sidewalk, which is a public health issue. I took note of sodium signs displayed on menus; they are triangular symbols with a salt shaker in the center, indicating that the food item is high in sodium, and this also relates to public health. This should be in place throughout the country! Restaurants had signs for the Heimlich maneuver for people who are choking. Furthermore, food stands/stalls were everywhere; most of these offered hot dogs, fries, donuts, bagels, and other fare that is usually unhealthy. I did see one bubble tea stand, which was interesting. All, or at least most of these stands, require cash.

In conclusion, New York was a unique experience for me. I gained perspectives about immigration from different ethnic groups through time. I learned about important resources like United Nations and Operation Exodus, which work to improve the world on different levels. I had to think quickly when using the transit system and to plan ahead for my outings (from my Internet research, I found out that the Bronx Zoo had free admission on Wednesday, which happened to be MUNDO’s free day). New York is not a place I expect to live in but it is a city I enjoyed visiting. I plan to return during a spring or summer to see what it is like during the warmer seasons. There is still plenty of food that I did not get to try. I also want to keep learning about New York’s history and the millions of people that make up the Big Apple.

For a more thorough compilation of photos, please see my PowerPoint! It has over 100 slides that can help provide a better picture of the trip.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12QI8XTiyqsoDJTLsAG46pGJGe_EeFf1CEIgdfmJCEFo/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you to the NY Action Team for planning this informational and interesting experience. Not pictured are Emma, Tyler, and Ryan.

This is my last post for 2017. Going into 2018, I hope to learn more about our multicultural world with MUNDO.

Our wonderful NY Action Team had an end-of-the-week lunch with Julius!