There is always something happening here.

I love that there are events/ people/ food everywhere, all the time. To start with just one of these, every kind of food one could ever want is available. Probably my favorite food-related thing about NY are the Greencarts. These are carts all over the city that sell fresh fruit at really cheap prices.











(photo from: http://newyorkstreetfood.com/1208/fruit-and-vegetable-carts-booming-in-harlem/)

The other thing that’s amazing is that pretty much every corner store (dairy) has a buffet salad bar. Most of these stores also sell homemade soup. To be honest I’ve been doing a lot of cooking so haven’t utilized any of this that much. My roommate is an amazingly good cook. We (really she) made ravioli by hand and then ate it with homemade pesto (that part I did – the eating, not the pesto).




















Most of the food that I have taken advantage of is from street festivals. These happen pretty much every weekend somewhere in the city and I love the descriptions of them: they all state “around a million people attend the … festival every year” – 1 million people at some kind of event, every weekend! One of the first ones I attended was right in my neighborhood – the West Indian Carnival. Then there was the San Gennaro Feast (Italian). This weekend there is the Atlantic Antic – again in my neighborhood. When there wasn’t a street fair of interest on I went to the permanent Brooklyn flea market, where there was delicious food, vintage goods and these adorable children selling homemade lemonade. We worked out that the children must make around $150 a week and decided we needed to get some as a business opportunity. Someone else’s of course, otherwise the costs would outweigh the benefits.



































































Anyway, the other thing I love is that everything is open so late. One day I asked someone what time shops shut and she looked at me blankly. I clarified – “do shops close at 5 or 6 o’clock?” That’s how I found out shops close at 10pm. It’s so great because my days here are really long. I leave the house at 7am and get home after 7pm everyday (usually more like 9pm) but I never feel like I’m missing out on anything cause no matter what time I finish, things are always open and happening.

Aside from exploring the city, we’ve still been setting up the apartment. After two 8hour days at IKEA + waiting on delivery + building time + countless trips to Target + way too much money we have finally got it pretty much done. Photos to come.

Now for the real reason why I’m here: University. It’s amazing. The courses are so challenging and stimulating. There is a huge amount of reading for every class but it’s all so interesting and I love it. This is a quote from one of the readings that I think describes the objective of the program (in an extremely over-the-top American way): “We can, through the application of our science to serve our world’s citizens, actualize the idea that nothing is of greater value to society than a science that devotes its scholarship to improving the life chances of all people. By understanding and celebrating the strengths of all individuals, and the assets that exist in their families, communities, and cultures to promote these strengths, we can have a developmental science that may, in these challenging times, help us, as a scientific body and as citizens of democratic nations, to finally ensure that there is truly liberty and justice for all.”

I really like the idea but I think that it’s hilarious that the quote implies that only those in democratic nations can be a part of this, and also the use of “liberty” which is, I think, a different concept to what would be used in New Zealand. I think in New Zealand this quote would end “ensure that there is truly equality and justice for all”. Maybe that’s just my NZ.

I don’t think that anyone else is going to be interested by the other things I’m learning that I’m really excited about – multiple regression, statistical conclusion validity, counterfactuals, external validity – so I’ll leave it there for now. But here are some pics of the ‘campus’.