Hi all!
Yup, I’m off gallivanting around the world again. This time
I’m spending 3 months interning at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New
York via the Castan Centre of Monash University. I’m working in the gender and
sexuality international human rights department. The big cases at the moment
are against the Vatican for sexual abuse of children and one relating to
discrimination of the LGBTI community in Uganda. I started work on Monday and
so far not much has happened. I’ve been given a huge amount of cases, documents
and academic articles to read so I’ll be briefed and ready to start working
next week.
But since my arrival plenty of fun things have happened.
I arrived on Wednesday night and went to stay with my
delightful friend Erica. We have a great chat that night, I met all of her
housemates (they are awesome) and her apartment was equally impressive (well
decorated). Thursday was not
particularly eventful. There were logistics to be sorted out, shopping to do
and going to bed early so I could recovered from the jetlag.
Friday however was very special. I met up for cupcakes and
cider at the Magnolia bakery (featured in SATC) with my friend Sarah. We met
while we were both in a pluralist beit midrash (Havruta) in Jerusalem and she
has since made aliya (yay!). She’s in town for such a short time so it was
great to hear about her newly Israeli life and such. I then went to meet Erica
at her office (the Gay Men’s Health Clinic – so cool!). We made our way to
Crown Heights (the non-chabad side) in Brooklyn where we were spending Shabbat
with our friend Dasi who has recently started studying at Yeshivat Maharat. We
had a delightful dinner where the guests included a yiddishist, a YCT Rabbi and
a singer/songwriter. Shabbat morning we went to a great minyan in a thrift
store, really small and eclectic. Strangely I met another person that I knew
from Jerusalem there, she is now studying at Hadar (more on that later..).
Shabbat lunch was similarly delightful with a guest from Canada who had been
living in Israel at the same time as me. Saturday night the singer/songwriter
and my friend Dasi went to go busk at a subway station so Erica and I went
along to support them. They sang really beautifully, great Bon Iver as well as
Tegan & Sara covers. Conveniently I also ran into a few Mormon
missionaries at the station and I had a brief chat with them, in which I asked
them (what I think) were some great questions. They decided with check with the
prophets’ writings and get back to me. After watching my friends sing Erica and
I went to a fundraiser for victims of hurricane Sandy. It turned out to be a
weird Mayan/Aztec event where the end of the world seemed to be pretty
imminent. But all in all it was a great night.
Sunday was spent at the Global Day of Jewish learning atDrisha and Hadar. The speakers were generally average, except for the last one,
a female rabbi/professor from JTS. During the lunch break however I met two
great people, Naphtali and Yisroel whose day-jobs was to run a Yiddish farm in
Up-State New York that facilitates Yiddish immersion programs. Sunday night was
delightful. I had a pre-thanksgiving dinner with Erica and all of her Avodah
colleagues as well as her friends Noam and Avital. Everybody was really
friendly and interesting. I had my first taste of stuffing/applesauce and
various other traditional foods.
As I already mentioned Monday was my first day of work and
it involved a lot of reading. But Monday night involved a trip to The Moth
story telling slam. It was awesome, I recommend that you listen to the podcast,
there’s a great story about a holocaust necklace. As for tonight (Tuesday),
it’s the last of Rabbi Shai Held’s classes on Heshel at Hadar. So I’ll be going
to that and then maybe I’ll make it to Salsa dancing too (if I’m not totally
exhausted).
As for the holiday, I’ll be in Maryland with my friend
Naomi. We were housemates in Jerusalem and her Mum is an awesome conservative
rabbi. Shabbat I think I’ll be at my friend Erica’s parents place in
Connecticut, but really, anything could happen. Maybe I'll go to Washington DC and explore?
So far NYC has been treating me pretty well. I haven’t
gotten lost once and the subway has been easy and punctual. Two complaints
though: There are not enough post offices or supermarkets. Also things close.
Particularly supermarkets at about 10pm. WHEN DO NEW YORKERS SHOP? Quite
honestly after Caulfield I was surprised that supermarkets close at all let
alone so early. In any case, due to these two inconveniences I have not yet
posted things that I need to post (like in the mail) nor have I managed to make it to a
supermarket which has left me a bit hungry but I’ve been managing.
I suppose that’s all for now. I intend to blog more
regularly once my life settles down some more.
Thanks for checking in – Ms B
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