After an exhausting journey beginning bright and early at 4:15 am, I am finally in my new home. Frankly, I'm amazed I'm still on my feet. There is so much to take in, so much to see, hear, smell, and taste that it rather feels like I've moved to a new planet. This, friends, is definitely Not Wisconsin.
Basically posting stream-of-consciously, since I only have a few minutes and I'm none too coherent anyway. Our apartment is beautiful - situated above St. Mary's church in a surprisingly secluded corner of West Harlem (watch, I'll probably regret calling it secluded in a few days time). While I don't really have a good feel for the neighborhood yet, the amateur anthropologist in me is already delighted by the incredible diversity that surrounds us. What has struck me most of all is the dynamism of the community - as we 5 interns and the priest in charge of us walked 3 blocks to a nearby Cuban restaurant, we must have been greeted by and introduced to 20 people. I think I'll like it here.
We've just returned from a fascinating tour of the broader neighborhood - Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, and - best of all - the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Wow. It's quite possibly the biggest church I've ever set foot in (and that includes many European cathedrals), as well as one of the most stunning. I already foresee spending a lot of time there :)
As I've mentioned to some of you, in a few hours we're off for a retreat/orientation at a friary in Long Island, so I'll be out of contact until Thursday. Thank you all for your support and encouragement as I've made this transition! I hope you'll continue to follow me on the blogosphere (I promise to be more thorough and coherent when I haven't been up for 30 hours)!
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