Only in New York City....

would you pass a man quacking on a bicycle (yes, like a duck).

would you be able to sit on the mad hatter's hat of a bronze statue (I did, in Central Park).

could you hang out in the dusk watching a man make giant bubbles (HUGE, and all different sizes! again, in Central Park).

Those are just a few of the random parts of this first official day in the city that stand out in my mind as I try to make my brain focus at midnight after a loonngg day of walking. Despite the totally wiped-out feeling I have right now, though, Summer Project Day 1 was a success. After an interesting crash course on the history of New York City History and a speedy orientation on the subway system and etiquette required there in order to NOT be an obnoxious tourist, the Crusade staff put us into groups and pushed us little student birdlings out of the nest of the "NYCAM" (where we have our group meetings) to experience the city on our own wobbly wings. One of their biggest goals was I believe for us to become comfortable with the subway system, but I admit I'm still confused. They gave us all handy little maps that I think I'm just going to sit down and study until I get how the system works, whenever I have a spare five minutes...which so far hasn't happened. (Hence my writing at midnight!)

A few quick highlights from what we did today:

~ walking through the beautiful campus of Columbia University
~ lunch at a fun little Mediterranean place called Amir in Upper West Side
~ hearing a travelling choir sing in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (also in Upper West Side--the way their sound echoed throughout the cathedral was other-worldly.
~ sitting on a boulder in Central Park with our group of six, sharing stories about how we ended up on this project
~ visiting with different members of the team at the Top of the Rockefeller building
~ the Bubble man--I really hope we see him again this summer. I'm telling you those bubbles were SO COOL!
~ dinner at a thai restaurant called Chai (smallest restaurant I think I've ever been in! But yummo food!)

Primarily, I feel like I learned so much more about New Yorkers' perspectives today. That was one of the main points of us exploring the city today, even learning subway etiquette. One staff member explained that the subway is New Yorkers' time to "decompress," especially after a hectic day of work in the city, by listening to their ipods, reading a book, or simply sitting still with their eyes closed. That's why it's considered rude to talk loudly on the subway. This among other tips helped to change my mindset: when I see a New Yorker give someone "the evil eye" or get visibly frustrated, I can jump from my first instinct of the Southern girl perspective, "People from New York are always just SO RUDE!" to Oh, that man was hurrying to catch a train and that person literally just halted in front of him blocking his path. I'd be pretty annoyed with that tourist too.

Also, another staff leader reminded us before we set out this morning to look at the people we pass in the city and remember that each person has a soul. God knows each one of them. He reminded us to pray for the people we see. I was looking around at the variety of people sitting in the subway car with me and just prayed over that subway car. Also, our leader (his name's Ross) reminded us that God is in New York, very actively so. This is not a trip where we're isolated from God and He might send us a postcard. He is right here, coming alongside us.

On that encouraging note....more later!