Day 29 6/25





This is my last blog of the summer, and as excited as I am to go home I will miss this program. Yeah it was tiring but it was worth it. On our last day we went to the Myer House, and Cherry Hill, I found both of these pointless. Although they were nice they both were under restoration and did not get a full feel of what the houses were really like. After restoration both sites will be beautiful but when they are under restoration it wasn’t a trip we should have made.

                Especially the Myer House, we didn’t see any of the house besides the room we were in. When we were told we were going to an Underground Railroad, I was excited because I thought we would walk in the house and maybe go in the tunnels between the houses or where the slaves were hidden. The guide was nice but he was shy, so I didn’t learn much. What I didn’t learn was, the house belong to Steven and Harriet Myers, two abolitionist, their house would have been big enough to house slaves but it was used more as an office for the abolitionist.  In about a 10 month period about 280 escaped slaves passed through the house. At the end we all took a group picture with Steven. Before Cherry Hill we returned to Sage for Lunch. Kevin, in Buchman, made us fresh cookies, they were so good. After our lunch break we headed out for our last site, Cherry Hill.

                Again this would have better if they weren’t under reconstruction. In all the rooms we went in everything was in boxes and were covered up, so we again didn’t get the full feel. Because of this I didn’t learn from this as well. I was impressed that the same family lived in the house for over 200 years. The focus of our tour was on Catherine Putnam. After the death of her mother she moved to Cherry Hill to live with her cousins, who were VanReenseler.  My two favorite parts probably were the murder and the marks left by their dog Sandy.  The conflict of the murder was very interesting and I wish she went more in depth about it. Second, the marks Sandy left when she was not let in the dining room. I just had to laugh because all I could think of was my dog (sorry I have been talking about my dog a lot but I miss him like crazy) and how sad he gets when I just walk into the bathroom and shut the door. He will bark at the door until I am finished. Also If he misbehaves when we eat, we block him out and he will lay there barking at us until we give him attention. So I could see Sandy scratching at the wall until she got attention. We then left Cherry Hill, took a quick stop at some old bridge, then got ice cream at Snowman’s (thanks Michael). Well here is the end of my final blog (YAY finally it has come to an end), it is a bit sad and I will miss everyone but I cannot wait to go home.

My dog Davey

(p.s Thanks to all the professors for all they did, and putting up with us for the past 6 week)

 

 

Day 28 6/24

Today we were doing some community service, we were going to work on the On-Rust. Although the professors didn’t really know what we were doing. We once again returned to Peebles Island. Before getting to work we learned a little bit about the boat. The On-Rust is an exact replica of a Dutch Sailing Ship. The original ship burnt in 1914, the replica was built soon after. This ship was important in the fur trade. When it was built they used oak because it was water resistance and it could be bent by fire.  I was shocked when he said that it was built all by volunteers, 250 to be exact.

After learning a bit about the ship we went below deck. Down there it didn’t even feel like we were on a boat, they had so much down there! We then started to work, I first cleaned a couple coolers, painted the boom, and then oiled the deck. Everyone there was really nice, and was glad we were there to help. Today was another short day, but it was really fun.

Day 27 6/23

It has been a while since we all met up in Hart 206, before we headed out we did a few blogs. Today we went to Schodack Island. As we were putting our stuff down the women already there told us there was a turtle on the path. All of us wanted to see the turtle so we walked over to check it out. Luckily it wasn’t a snapping table, so we were able to hold it without losing a finger.

We then all stood along the Hudson and listened to Toby as he talked. We talked about the Mercury in the fish and how it is harmful. Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of substances, such Mercury in an organism. This occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that at which the substance is lost. This is one of the reason we are not able to consume too much fish or it will make us sick. We also talked about how the tide affects the flow of the river. The tide will be stronger than the current, we noticed this when a stick was flowing upstream instead of down.



After this we walked around for about 20 minutes, Krista, Precious, and I went to go check on the turtle. The turtle had moved of the trail and was sitting in what looked like a little burrow or nest. Next we walked down Schodack Creek, to go in the river and catch some fish. I was really excited for this because I don’t mind getting in water or mud. I am used to it, whenever we going kayaking at camp we go on the small creek and get out and collect the golf balls. I wish we had more days like this. Gold Stars for everyone who went in, even though they did not want to. One of the points of this program is to try new things even though you don’t want to (for example I tried the Chinese food even though I am a really picky eater). This helps you grow as a person, you can’t go through life letting your fears control you. If you let your fears control you, you may miss out on so much in life.

 In the water we tried to catch fish with Toby’s net. Sadly we only caught one small little fish. It was hard to move around because it was slippery and my feet kept getting stuck in the mud. I wore an old pair of flip-flops because I only have one pair of shoes and didn’t want to ruin them. My flip flop ended up breaking (RIP Right Flip Flop, you will be missed you served me well over the past few years). People used to do this for hours at a time, so they could have something for dinner. We would have starved since we only caught one ity-bity fish.

Before heading back to Sage we changed out of our wet close and ate our Lunch. Once back at Sage we presented on our assigned area from Ellis Island. Pamela and I had Through Americas Gate. That section took us through the steps the immigrants went through before they were able to be allowed in to the city. Only four days to go before the end of the Summer on the Hudson (Sorry for the lack of pictures, I didn't really take many).  On a side note Happy Belated Birthday Michael, and speaking of the 22nd I have some sad news, WE MISSED PIZZA FEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 24 6/18

This is my third and final blog for our stay here in NYC (YAY). Today we traveled to Brooklyn for a walking tour, and to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Today was another hot day, but lucky it was less humid and there was a nice breeze. Andor’s friend was the guide for our walk through the city, I really enjoyed the tour and I learned a lot from it. Although I was a little distracted by the firefighters who went down in the subway. I never knew Brooklyn was at one point separate from NYC. Walking through Brooklyn you can tell a lot about how it used to be, from the buildings. Looking at the buildings you can tell when it is from. On the buildings I noticed that there were some bars on the lower windows. Allen explained that crime used to be big in Brooklyn but luckily it has decreased. It didn’t surprise me when he said the streets were filled with peoples trash and waste but I was shocked to hear that they sent pigs to walk through the streets to eat the trash, to help clean it up. Although it was hot I really enjoyed the walk through Brooklyn. We said our goodbyes to Allen and thanked him for the tour then we took a break for lunch.

I packed a PB Sandwich so I just sat at the table while the others ate. Outside we waited for the others where we met up with Sharon. She showed us a picture of her granddaughter, she was so cute. After lunch we walked along the water to one of the salt marshes. We walked along the east river, across the “river” you could see the destruction caused by the hurricane. At this point I was hot and the heat was giving me a headache, so I was not looking forward to walking across the bridge. Luckily while walking there was a stand selling water, so I bought one. The water helped a little bit but it was still hot and I still didn’t want to cross the bridge. However I really liked the walk across the bridge, the view was really nice and there was a nice breeze as we crossed. After crossing the bridge we talked about the cars on the bridge. Toby pointed out that most of the cars had only one person, we then talked about how much energy is used. We then rode the Subway back to Barnard. It was only 3:00 so we had about 4 hours to relax before we headed out for the show.

I saw The Phantom of the Opera, this is my favorite play. The Phantom of the Opera is the longest running Broadway show. I get chills just from the overture, I had to control myself not to sing along. I love the music and the storyline (I may or may not be obsessed or to emotionally invested in this). I just love the little details, for example the chandelier is lot 666 which is a number correlated with the devil. Although he may be considered the bad guy (he is just misunderstood), the Phantom is my favorite and I always feel bad for him. My sister says I always like the Villains in all my favorite movies, shows, and books because apparently I have a villain complex. Even if that is true the Phantom is my favorite villain, (well except for Loki, and Crowley and Lucifer, and Moriarty and the Master and the Governor and Jedikiah) ok well maybe I do tend to like all the villains. That is not the point I still love the Phantom. I could write an essay about the show and why I love it but my blog is already long enough.

Although it was a hot day I really enjoyed our Brooklyn tour, the walk over the bridge and most of all the Phantom of the Opera. I am really am enjoying our stay in the city.              

Day 22 6/16



 

This will be my second blog out of the three we have to do this week, I just want to get them done and out of the way. Today we went to the Met, the Museum of American Indian Indians, and had dinner with Alumni. We all took the Subway over toward our destination then walk to our bus stop. Before we took our bus over we look at the front of the Museum of Natural History, I have never been in there and has always wanted to go (especially after night at the museum). Toby said the bus was scheduled to arrive at 9:23 it was late and arrived at 9:24. Inside the Met we had to go to the American Wing and find three things Mrs. Sage donated and also the Van Reenseler Interior. Mrs. Sage donated a lot of objects to the Museum (I lost count after 3). One of my favorite section was probably the one with the paintings. There were defiantly some that stood out to me and some I really liked. It did take us a while to find the Van Reenseler Interior, we had to ask some guards for help. After finding everything that we need to find we wandered about the museum. At one we met up in the lobby, once everyone was there we headed out to take the subway down to Bryant Park.

 In are travels we transferred to a different train, however not everyone realized we were getting off and remained on the train. It was really funny. Luckily they were able to meet up with us at the next stop. Before the Museum we all decide it was Lunch time. Precious, Krista, and I got food from one of the vendors and enjoyed a nice lunch in Bryant Park. After Lunch we went in the Museum of American Indians. It was nice but it would have defiantly been better if it was all open. I thought the teepee on the first floor was cool, I really liked the patterns and designs. One story from this adventure, I was walking and a women asked me what six flags I went to (I was wearing my six flags shirt), I told them I got In from the one in NJ when I went on my senior trip. They then asked me if I was from the area (obviously I said no), I then explained why I was there. They all thought that it was cool that Sage offered a program like that. We then got back on the topic of Six Flags. One of the ladies said the world’s largest roller coaster is at the six flags in Texas, her friend replied well yeah because EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas (it is funny because I was thinking the same thing). After chatting I said goodbye and walked around the rest of the Museum. After the Museum we had time to return to Barnard to change and get ready for the dinner.

I changed into a dress and was ready to head to dinner. I never wear dresses, the last time I wore a dress was class dinner and the time before that was back in October. At about 5:15 we headed out for dinner. Dinner was nice, I always enjoy hearing about Sage (especially the tradition) from the past. It has changed so much. Susan (I could be wrong) was telling us they had a curfew and had a dress code. Also they need parents’ permission for everything. To me that made no sense, college is a time to gain your education, but it is also a time of independence and growing up. I love my parents but at college but I am so glad I came to Sage (although I miss my dog more than them). At Sage I was able to do way more and be even more independent. Because of this while I was away I became closer with my parents and my little brother. At the conclusion of dinner we went around the tables and introduced ourselves and then took a group picture.  I was going to go to time square with Krista after the Alumni Dinner but I needed to get out of my dress. I rarely wear a dress and when I do I want to get out of as fast as possible. I do want to explore the city and not be tapped in the dorms all night. Now that I’m done with blog number two, maybe I will explore Barnard Campus a bit.    

Day 21 6/15

Today was our first full day in NYC, I defiantly enjoy the bed here way more than the one at Mount Saint Mary. Today was our Architect Rally, we were broken up into groups and sent off. I was with Pamela, our first stop was The Empire State Building was our first stop. I figured that it would be best to go down the farthest then work are way up. (It didn’t work since I messed up and forgot the flatiron building). When we first exited the Subway next to the Empire State Building we did not see it. However after walking about half a block, I look over my shoulder and see it was behind us the whole time.  After the Empire State Building, we went to the Library but it was not open yet.

Ceiling in Grand Central



St. Patricks

Inside the Cathedral

Next we walked to Grand Central Station, the question was to find what is on the ceiling. I have been to Grand Central at least 3 or 4 times before this and never noticed what was on the ceiling. This just shows how important it is to look around in places like this, if you don't you might miss something good. They were the constellations. We next walked to the Chrysler Building, the NYC Public Library (but it was closed, then Radio City. At noon I went to church at St. Patrick Cathedral, this was my favorite building (the reconstruction did take away from its beauty). In 6^th grade we took a trip down to the city and we went to the church before it was under much of its reconstruction. The construction inside defiantly made it feel less like a church. After mass we returned to the Library, then we were planning on heading toward the buildings around the Magazine place (I again messed up in my organization and forgot about the building near St. Patrick’s). On our way we took a quick stop for lunch.

Yum New York City Pizza :) <3

Thanks to a typo from MICHEAL, the Hearst Magazine Building was 10 blocks. Inside I was asking the guard about what was important about the Lobby. He then explained that there is a waterfall (that is only on during weekdays) it takes water from the roof for energy, they consider themselves a green Building. I had to pee like crazy so we ended up wasting even more time while we waited. After that we went to the other two buildings over there, then decide to take the Subway down to that flatiron building (since I forgot about it before) to me it will always be the Daily Bugle from Spiderman (haha J.J). I accidently got on the wrong train, we were about 10 blocks from where we needed to be. It was decided that that would be our last building. Realizing what time it was we decided to head back to Barnard. We ended up being a little late (sorry for the mini heart attack everyone, I had no service in the subway so I could not answers your panicked), but we made it back. It probably should not have taken the whole day but we messed up it happens lol. Everyone was waiting for us so I went first when I talked about my favorite building. Towards the end some people were tired and sore, but actually I wasn’t that bad (I even wore sandals).  



The Daily Bugle... I mean FlatIron Buiding

Before leaving we gave our sheets to Michael. On our sheets we had a lot of questions and I actually remember a few from the 6^th grade trip I mentioned previously (Mr. Kemler would be so proud, he might have thrown a desk if I didn’t remember). The questions I did not know I was not afraid to ask, most people were friendly (well minus a couple people). Although it was a long day I enjoyed it.      

Day 19 6/12

Today we were visiting three historical houses, Roosevelt House, Vanderbilt, and ValKil. Surprisingly we had a scheduling mix-up we were supposed to be at Vanderbilt at 9:30, but instead we went to the Roosevelt House. Luckily they were able to work around the mix-up. In High School I remember learning about FDR, so I already knew some of the information we were given. I already knew he caught Polio in 1921, that he was governor of NY, and he was the only president to be elected more than 2 terms. I have now developed a tour guide Alice-Raymond, where do you fall. I learned a few things on this tour. One was he had an elevator in his house, he also had ramps that could be removed so guests would not know he is in a wheel chair. His elevator was not electric, he feared it would catch on fire and he would be trapped on the elevator and die (“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” and fire always fear fire). After the tour we visited the horse stable and the rose garden. I noticed that he named one of his Horses New Deal. The Rose Garden is where FDR and his wife Eleanor are buried. Also his dog Fala is buried in the garden with them. The Roosevelt house was amazing, as well as the tour. That is probably because we had an awesome guide Raymond. He was friendly, funny and knew what he was talking about.



Next was the Vanderbilt house. This house was also beautiful. Every time I am in a big house or mansion I just imagine how awesome it would be to play hide and seek or tag in there. The Roosevelt’s never lived in Vanderbilt however it was only a stone throw away from their house. In 1940 the house was given to the federal government, they placed secret service on the third floor to keep on eye on the president and his family.



Like I said previously I remember learning about FDR but I did not know a whole lot about Eleanor. I knew she did a lot as first lady but that was really it. After learning about her from the movie and our last stop, ValKil, it surprises me they didn’t teach more about her. Eleanor Roosevelt was a very important and influential person and defiantly should be mentioned more in school. ValKil was here get away home and it was the only home she ever owned. She loved it there, so it was sad when her son James Auctioned off all her stuff. Thanks to pictures taken after her death they were able to retrieve 50% of her stuff. Her house would constantly have guests, she would even prepare the guest room special to fit your liking. The guide pointed out that the name plate on her desk was misspelled, the name plate was given to her by a young boy who made it for her. She kept it because she didn’t want him to come visit it and it not be there. That one actin shows what an amazing person she was. I could go on about Eleanor but that would make my blog to long. Overall I would say it was a good day, with three awesome sites I really enjoyed today (even after waking up early).