Week Two

Times Square after I saw Spring Awakening

Me and Amy at EJ's for brunch

My delicious Huevos Rancheros!

So this past week was a little more of a reality check, as I got sick on Wednesday and am just now feeling better, but that's life, right? 

Rachel left for Italy on Tuesday and so her mother has been here with me and Serena all week. She lives in Houston and teaches cooking classes at Central Market, so I have been learning so much from her in the kitchen and of course getting to enjoy her wonderful and delicious meals. Tuesday was one of my favorite days because the 4 girls, including Rachel, went to a fantastic restaurant called Allegretti for lunch and then afterwards we went to a fun cake and baking supply shop. They had everything you could imagine in the world of baking and cake-decorating! Since Serena's birthday is in March and mine is in April, we decided we were going to wait to make our elaborate cakes, but we definitely got some good ideas. :)

Wednesday during Logic class I started getting that sick feeling- when you know something is coming down the pike, you just don't know what. I made it to the end of class and was contemplating which way I'd get home (subway vs. bus- there are pros and cons to both which I will explain later..) when I remembered I had told some girls I'd go to coffee afterwards with them. I needed to be social and tried to ignore my sick feeling, hoping it was stemming from thinking too hard in Logic and not something else such as the freezing weather. We went to the Starbucks on 33rd and about 20 minutes into our time I excused myself and told the girls I was really not feeling well and also needed to get back to the apartment for dinner with the family. When I got back, Serena's grandmother was cooking Moroccan food and so I ate dinner with them and then went to sleep. I didn't wake up until noon the next day, feeling extremely weak and groggy. I did not have class on Thursday, which was great considering I spent most of the day in bed. On Friday I made it to class, even though I still had a temperature of 101, but then returned to bed right when I got back from class...sleeping for another 12 hours. Serena and her grandmother were sweet and brought me chicken noodle soup, medicine, orange juice, etc., but the bad sinus headaches persisted along with the runny nose and congestion in my throat. This continued through most of Saturday as well, only relieving a bit later in the afternoon. I desperately needed an outing and all that sounded good to me was some tart frozen yogurt (naturally), so I walked to the Bloomingdales at 59th and Lex and got their delicious tart "frogurt". Then I walked to Border's and tried to read for my Old Testament class, hoping to be somewhat productive, but the headache returned and so I walked back to the apartment. Cinderella Story was on t.v., which is such a cute movie, so me and Serena watched it together. I took a nice, hot shower with steam (the coolest function I've ever seen in a shower) and then went to bed early, hoping to wake up without a fever/headache. 

This morning I woke up without a temperature and feeling much better, so I met a girl named Amy at Trinity Grace Church on the Upper West Side for their 10:30 service. I was not only so glad to have an outing, but I was so ready to be around people and meet Amy, since one of the women on staff with Crusade at UT had given me her contact information and told me she was wonderful and that we would be "fast friends". I took a cab, since the subways on Sunday are not very reliable and I didn't want to risk being late. Amy was greeting everyone at the front door and immediately recognized me and gave me a big hug. She then introduced me to a woman on staff with Crusade in NY named Vikki, who had actually met and hung out with my parents at the Boston Winter Conference this year! What a small world! The service was great. The sermon was on Grace and how Christ's death on the cross was such an uncanny display of Grace that it could be described as "scandalous". I loved that. I absolutely love worshipping God in new settings because it makes me realize how consistent He is and how present and at work He is everywhere in the world. 

After church me and Amy went to brunch at this really good 50's diner called EJ's Luncheonette. I had read reviews saying they had scrumptious all-day breakfast dishes and since I could eat breakfast food 24/7, it sounded like a perfect place for a brunch date. We both ordered the Huevos Rancheros and they were delicious (see picture). Our time together was so refreshing and I look forward to getting to know her more as the semester goes by. 

Despite getting sick and some other adjustments I'm still getting used to, I continue to reflect on how glad I am to be here and how much I love this city!