Day 1

"Wow, I'm a real-live New Yorker".... was the first thought streaming through my head this morning as I walked off the train and caught the wave of commuters striding through Grand Central Station. Today was unbelievable, most days I will refrain from giving a play-by-play report, but today is well worth a lengthy post....

I woke up early this morning to the above sunrise outside my bedroom window. I think it was God's way of saying, "Don't worry, I'm with you today" (and all days for that matter...). I had my breakfast and ice coffee and was dropped off at the Mt Kisco train station by my little cousin Grace and Aunt Sue. I really love the commute into the city; it provides me with an hour to relax and begin (or end) my day. The hour ride ends at Grand Central Station and I have a 15 minute walk to the medical center. All I can say is it's great people watching, I walked in with a slew of doctors and med students and found my place in the Alumni Hall. The day was full of New Employee Orientation which was a little bland at times but I felt incredibly welcomed and sincerely appreciated as new employee at the medical center. I learned a few interesting things about NYU Langone Medical Center, a few things you may find interesting....

• Jonas Salk discovered the Polio vaccine at NYU Medical Center
• In the 1980's the AIDS virus was isolated there too
• Bellevue (the next-door, affiliate hospital) was founded in 1741 and was the first hospital in America (before it was even a country!)
• NYU Medical Center is now NYU Langone Medical Center because the Langone family (also known as the Home Depot people) just donated a large sum of money--which is currently being used to renovate much of the hospital
• US Weekly just named NYU the 17th 'best hospital' in the nation

So nevertheless, I feel extremely fortunate to work at such a well-respected and progressive institution.

At the new employee orientation I also meet many new nurses; I happened to sit by four girls, two from kansas, one from missouri and one from georgia. They were incredibly nice and we went out to a great Jewish deli for lunch. The cute, old owner of the restaurant actually came to our table to see how we were enjoying our food, as we left the restaurant he followed us outside and remarked, "You girls are beautiful and will do great things in the city." Coming from a little 6o year old man we smiled and walked back together to the medical center.

When I came home from my day, I was quite eager to move my legs and get a little blood flowing through my body. So like usual, I strapped on my running shoes and went out for a little jaunt. As I was exiting the gates, a family of deer greeted me to say hello and were also there to welcome me as I returned. The evening was so captivating that I left with my headphones in my ears without ever turning on my ipod. The street winds through the woods and around a lake, it was so tranquil and serene....quite the contrary to the city life I traveled through a few short hours before.

After my run I was accompanied by my cousins down to the pool to cool off and relax. We ate popsicles, played basketball, swam and sat in a eucalyptus oiled hot tub...tough life, huh?

So now I sit drinking some tea and relaxing, getting ready for another day.

While I was running I was reflecting on how fortunate I am to have such gracious relatives and abundant amenities here in New York. I really think that God has some challenging work ahead of me and perhaps this is all here to comfort and rejuvenate me when I return from doing the service I feel called to do. Being 'spoiled' here motivates me even more to dive into challenging situations and really love others to my full potential. I am a big believer in Maslow's hierarchy of needs (he says that we must have life's basic needs--food, water, shelter, in order to achieve higher needs such as feeling loved, giving love and attaining higher states of being). Since my foundational needs are being met, I really feel equipped to grow, develop and do great things.