Break has Begun

On the 19th Jacki, Suzana, Imre, Michael and I met up for cookies and decompressing in the I-House main lounge. Michael and I ended up staying there and talking for another 5 hours, until 4 am. So, I was a bit tired on the 20th, but I didn't miss lunch with the whole gang of I-Housers for a long lunch at Swish starting at 1 and going on to the Hungarian Bakery at 5. Then I was mercifully able to take a power nap until class at 7. The class was really a pot luck "networking" session, and I left when an older gentleman began asking Michelle if her theories on revolution through peace education has any theoretical backing. YAWN.
Me and Santa Clause at the local fire station (the firemen said it was the most attention he's gotten in weeks)

The 21st most everyone left, and there's just a few of us hanging around I-House. I ended up playing Uno German-style with a group of people until Dan came down and wanted to introduce us to poker. It's a much more fun game than I imagined, though I've also learned I have no poker face. I did win the first few games easy, but then it was all downhill. We all ended up in the pub, where I got a bit tipsy and, as I remember it, had a very cheerful night. I stayed up until 4 am and the next day....

I woke up at 9 to hang out with Michael and Prithvi and a selection of other I-Housers to the Met. We looked at two exhibits. The first was Glitter and Doom, portraits from the Weimar Republic (Germany between WW1 and WW2). To say it's not my type of art would be an understatement. Very dark and grotesque, stark caricatures and debauchery. Eeeeks. Then we moved on to French Impressionists. We headed home and Michael came over for my favorite film (EVER maybe) Walk on Water. It's an Israeli film with lots of Germans told almost entirely in English, everyone's happy.

At some point (I can picture it, but can't remember the time) I met my new friend Anmol (Hong Kong). On the 23rd he, Michael, and I went out to explore the city. We walked across Greenwhich Village and SOHO and probably wandered into half a dozen other neighborhoods. We bought holiday gifts at Sabon, had Cafe Aroma's at Cafe Aroma, and I was introduced to D&G. We stopped at the Angelika to see The Fountain. I had seen Aronofsky's other films, and not cared for them, so I have say I liked this one quite a bit more, though it was still odd as all get out. What was great was that Anmol said he loved Aronofsky, and then slept through the entire film. When he awoke he was staring straight into the eyes of Lauren Ambrose. He must have assumed he was still sleeping, but he wasn't, she was really there with us. We were super sly and hung around after the film to see her come out, with her hipster boyfriend. We then headed back to SOHA and had a really lovely dinner at Toast, which became my political soapbox as we discussed the Holocaust and Israel (do I ever have different conversations???).

Yesterday, the 24th, was a slow morning. I met up with Shira and Mike (her fiance) at Union Square for the Holiday Market. Tons of Israeli stuff there, but I'm holding out for when my mom takes me to the official show later in January. I then met up with Michael at 3 at the Times Square Church for Christmas services. I knew it was going to be a non-Denominational service, but I was sort of hoping there would be some Catholic ritualism stuck in there or some Gospel happiness. It was a very different church than I've ever been to. It's housed in a theater and was packed, holding over 2,000 congregants. It's was very impersonal, and uncomfortable (no room for even my tiny knees), and it wasn't about everyone singing together but more of a performance. It was definitely an experience and I think Michale and I both got something out of it. We then walked around Times Square at night. I took Michael to the Hershey's store and got him a free piece of candy by explaining he was a deprived German and had never had Hershey's before (true story) and we went into the Bubba Gump restaurant (one of his favorite movies). When we got back to I-House, it was time for the traditional Chinese food. Melissa chose the place to order from, known for it's meatless meat, and we ended up having enough food for lots of other's to come and enjoy.

Today I'm meeting up with Shira and Mike and a few of their friends to see a film and grab more Chinese. It should be a lovely Christmas!