Some stories...
The following are stories from my recent trip (read below), small anecdotes that are not in any particular order.
_
The first place we visited in New York (after we had spent 5 or so days in Washington) was Chinatown.
Teeming with people, and banners (written, inexorably and patently, in chinese), and so completely enveloped with the aura of the chinese culture, that it was like being in China itself, streetside vendors eagerly lining the sidewalks, hawking their wares without inhibition- Chinatown was a cultural entity, apart and seperated from the rest of New York.
Being vegetarian and in Chinatown was apparantly not the best situation- I saw flayed ducks, lambs and other animals hanging, suspended, reddened and raw. It was all I could do to stop the inevitable reaction to the putrid smell that permeated the region around the numerous street vendors.
I found, like an oasis in a desert, a vegetarian dim sum house.
I've never been quite able to use chopsticks effectively, but since when has my incompetence stopped me from making wild, blundering attempts? Therefore, I grasped one chopstick in each hand, and as though I were dissecting something, I attacked my food.
Within a few minutes the waiter came to our table (one of her few, rare appearances) and with a sympathetic smile ,handed me two forks.
_
I saw Ground Zero only two times during my stay in New York. Once from the road, an ephemeral glimpse, from a speeding car. It was an anamoly, a huge space utterly incongruous with the towering skyscrapers of New York, crowded and pressed against the seemingly empty space.
The second time was from the subway, from the bowels of Ground Zero itself- at the station, looking at the vast empty space- so utterly wrong- that seemed to extend in every direction. The terror and grief seemed to hang in the air, not gone yet, the sterile white remains of debris a silent memory of what was lost.
_
In Washington we were granted a brief photo opportunity outside the White House. I didn't bring a camera along, just a camcorder that I used to videotape the famed mansion of the President and the First Family. As I zoomed in and panned, I noticed black silhouettes atop the roof, silent wraiths watching the unaware tourists, with guns propped up on their shoulders. There were tripods as well, an impenetrable black wall that would obviously attack any who crossed the fence surrounding the house.
It was a frightening sight- when did humankind become so preoccupied with violence. As the rest of the problems of the globe, converge to an inevitable head- pollution, lack of oil and water- we seem oblivious, toting guns and weaponry without hesitation or inhibition.
_
The final culmination of the incredible journey, however, was at the United Nations. We held a global summit there with all 360 delegates, representing different countries, and debating issues.
I was priveleged enough to be appointed and elected President, and preside there in UN Conference Room 4 (where the special session for Children had been held years earlier) . Because of my appointed position, I was given plenty of benefits- including a UN gavel, free UN Water (!), the ability to skip ahead of hundreds in line for a security check and most important of all, UN Paper
I don't think I'll ever forget that experience, speaking into a microphone with hundreds of faces assembled before me. I don't think I'll forget the inexorable, winding thought that one day I wanted to return here to the United Nations- to pass through it's revolving doors as a global leader, instead of an aspiring youth. I don't think I'll forget being interviewed by the UN Radio (though I was later dubbed over in Chinese).
It was there at the United Nations, that everything fell in place for me.
_
The first place we visited in New York (after we had spent 5 or so days in Washington) was Chinatown.
Teeming with people, and banners (written, inexorably and patently, in chinese), and so completely enveloped with the aura of the chinese culture, that it was like being in China itself, streetside vendors eagerly lining the sidewalks, hawking their wares without inhibition- Chinatown was a cultural entity, apart and seperated from the rest of New York.
Being vegetarian and in Chinatown was apparantly not the best situation- I saw flayed ducks, lambs and other animals hanging, suspended, reddened and raw. It was all I could do to stop the inevitable reaction to the putrid smell that permeated the region around the numerous street vendors.
I found, like an oasis in a desert, a vegetarian dim sum house.
I've never been quite able to use chopsticks effectively, but since when has my incompetence stopped me from making wild, blundering attempts? Therefore, I grasped one chopstick in each hand, and as though I were dissecting something, I attacked my food.
Within a few minutes the waiter came to our table (one of her few, rare appearances) and with a sympathetic smile ,handed me two forks.
_
I saw Ground Zero only two times during my stay in New York. Once from the road, an ephemeral glimpse, from a speeding car. It was an anamoly, a huge space utterly incongruous with the towering skyscrapers of New York, crowded and pressed against the seemingly empty space.
The second time was from the subway, from the bowels of Ground Zero itself- at the station, looking at the vast empty space- so utterly wrong- that seemed to extend in every direction. The terror and grief seemed to hang in the air, not gone yet, the sterile white remains of debris a silent memory of what was lost.
_
In Washington we were granted a brief photo opportunity outside the White House. I didn't bring a camera along, just a camcorder that I used to videotape the famed mansion of the President and the First Family. As I zoomed in and panned, I noticed black silhouettes atop the roof, silent wraiths watching the unaware tourists, with guns propped up on their shoulders. There were tripods as well, an impenetrable black wall that would obviously attack any who crossed the fence surrounding the house.
It was a frightening sight- when did humankind become so preoccupied with violence. As the rest of the problems of the globe, converge to an inevitable head- pollution, lack of oil and water- we seem oblivious, toting guns and weaponry without hesitation or inhibition.
_
The final culmination of the incredible journey, however, was at the United Nations. We held a global summit there with all 360 delegates, representing different countries, and debating issues.
I was priveleged enough to be appointed and elected President, and preside there in UN Conference Room 4 (where the special session for Children had been held years earlier) . Because of my appointed position, I was given plenty of benefits- including a UN gavel, free UN Water (!), the ability to skip ahead of hundreds in line for a security check and most important of all, UN Paper
I don't think I'll ever forget that experience, speaking into a microphone with hundreds of faces assembled before me. I don't think I'll forget the inexorable, winding thought that one day I wanted to return here to the United Nations- to pass through it's revolving doors as a global leader, instead of an aspiring youth. I don't think I'll forget being interviewed by the UN Radio (though I was later dubbed over in Chinese).
It was there at the United Nations, that everything fell in place for me.
posted by gah at 6:56 PM
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