Week One

Mom sending me off! 

Look who welcomed me on my first night

in New York....

Taking a break from exploring the city

at Union Square Park

Loving the snow and cold weather!

Ah, I can't believe I've already been here for a week. The days seem so much longer here, but of course the time still flies by!

I have had a wonderful first week. I got here last Thursday and basically spent the weekend with Mrs. H and Serena. I absolutely love Serena- she is the most mature, caring, fun, and sweet 13-year-old I've ever met. Everyone here has made me feel so welcome and at home, which has made adjusting so much easier!

Since I didn't start school at King's until Monday, I basically had no schedule but to explore the city and spend time with the family. On Friday night, we all went out to dinner at a really good Italian restaurant just down the street and then came back to the apartment and played Pictionary for like 3 hours. There were six of us, including Alexander and his girlfriend, so we broke up into 3 teams. It was so funny to see everyone get really competitive and once again reminded me how great game nights can be. On Saturday it snowed basically all day, which I loved. I slept in and then we all went to lunch and to see an art show of one of Rachel's friends in Brooklyn. Mrs. H took me to their grocery store and we bought stuff to make dinner at home. She is the best cook! Sunday was my first day on my own to explore and started with brunch at this delicious French bakery called Le Pain Quotidien. I was looking for a good brunch place, but also a place where I could read/journal with a coffee-shop feel. This was not quite that, as I was sat in the middle of a large banquet/community table with strangers all around me- obviously forcing me out of my comfort zone. On one side of me was an elderly German woman and her daughter and on the other a big Italian family. Once I got over feeling awkward and the fact that this was probably not the most ideal time to journal or read, it was fascinating just sitting and listening to everyone's conversations. After lunch I bought my subway card and headed downtown. The rest of the day I explored the West Village/NYU/Soho area, of course stopping at Magnolia Bakery and getting a cupcake and some banana pudding. I took the subway back to 68th and went to the 6 p.m. Redeemer church service. The first person I saw when I walked in was Mr. Terell, the husband of Missy- my mom's college roommate and one of her best friends. It was so nice to see some familiar faces and have a family to sit with. Tim Keller spoke and the sermon was amazing...I plan on checking out different churches but I still want to try and make it to Redeemer every Sunday night to hear him preach. 

My first few days at King's have been good. I have a pretty unique schedule and since I'm commuting it is a little harder to connect with the other students, but the ones who have taken the initiative to introduce themselves have all been really nice. I'm excited about my classes- they are so different from anything I could take at Texas and of course it doesn't hurt that I'm in the Empire State Building while I'm taking them. :)

I am so thankful for how smoothly my first week has gone and thank God for all He has blessed me with coming into this semester!