one month in.

Good morning Manhattan!

So a month has passed since I hit the big apple and so much has happened in this time. The Pictet gallery morning latte which was so quickly substituted for a "vanilla single shot soya iced starbucks " has taken a backseat as I replace it with instant coffee in my small east village kitchen. Living a champagne lifestyle on beer money - harder to adapt than anticipated! Life is pretty sweet at the moment. I am loving the fast paced New Yorker ways... A week in and I was already venturing the world of laundrettes. Here I was, lunging my laundry 2 blocks down 2nd avenue to do my first bit of own washing. May i stress there is a huge gap in the "laundrette world" for bars. Seriously, forget meeting new people at your local pub - the new this is to hang out at the laundrette. My mind was clocking how much cash i could make selling beers in that place. Plenty may I add. Next time I shall be taking a 6pack with me and assessing margins for profit. (people spend a couple of hours at least chatting as they patiently wait for their whites and colours to spin in that machine)... food for thought. 

 ‎"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."-- Howard Thurman 

Global Potential has been inspirational so far! I have been so fortune- meeting people of all backgrounds, ages and styles . I really hope to be giving back as much as I feel i have gained. The program is great and myself and Renoly Santiago are running workshops at one of the schools 2 times a week on leadership skills etc... the class varies with 15-20 kids participating each week - its been awesome.  Popping to the Bronx, Brooklyn, meandering my way through different cultures- so diverse.  The GP program at CDI will be staring on Friday... here's a chance for the students at the school to get involved in their communities - action plans, setting goals, solving problems!

A warm welcome to the Big Apple

"A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions." - - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Two weeks in, and I can only say that this city and friends living here, have greeted me with huge open arms. Hopping off that plane I was hit by a mini heatwave and the smell of fish in the air. It reminded me of the feeling I get everytime I land in Rio.

JFK 22.09.2010

With a huge smile on my face, I enjoyed every bit of the journey to my new home in east village, thrilled to know that I would soon be living with my best buddy and childhood friend Mer.  The view as you cross Manhattan bridge is overwhelming. Everytime. I wonder if New Yorkers ever get bored of it.  Huge hugs from Mer, it took me no longer than 15 minutes to feel like I had been living here for months. In no time we got through a bottle of wine and spent a good few hours catching up on our lives while indulging on sushi. Han later popped in  and  flopped on my bed it was like we'd never been apart. Its amazing how with good friends distance does not separate.
Thursday started with an early rise and a long walk from home down to the Financial District where the Global Potental office is currently located. I ventured through the little backstreets, through neighbourhoods like Little Italy and soaked every bit of this city. At the GP office I met up with some of the other staff and was introduced to the GP program.
http://wings-unclipped.blogspot.com/2010/10/global-potential-program.html

The GP program is brilliant. Having met some of the students that have returned from their trip abroad it is overwhelming to see the impact GP has had in their lives- students take on challenges and turn them into opportunities. The idea of replicating this program in both the UK and Brasil is seriously exciting but overwhelming all the same.

Getting a bike was possibly the best decision I've made since I moved here. There is no greater way to explore a city than to cycle around it -Westside highway, Governors island, Brooklyn, Bronx... Mer and I visited Connecticut and Philadelphia - fun times! NY has so much live music, so many festivals, art, people here are so friendly... the weather has been a spectacular 30C!

NYC Bike CLUB 2010

Global Potential, the program

www.global-potential.org

In short, the Global Potential runs as follows:

1)Training and recruiting: this phase runs between now and June next year. The aim is to get the students who are recruited for the program, to participate in several workshops where they will learn about social development, leadership, life skills, global awareness, civic participation and social entrepreneurship. Each of us school facilitators are responsible for running the workshops at a different school located around NYC (Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn). The training works towards preparing these kids to volunteer abroad over next summer.

2) (July 2011) - The kids will be taken by GP on a 6 week trip to either Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Haiti and a new addition is to perhaps go to a reservation in South Dakota. During the trip, students will be team building, working in underprivileged communities themselves and learning about sustainable agriculture amongst other things

3)When these students return to NYC they are then considered GP LEADERS. Students are encouraged to start an entrepeunerial project of their own (with the help of GP) aswell as participate in social community work in their neighborhoods. Finally, GP leaders become GP Alumni, some joining the team as interns and staff.