Angelica's World

In case it hasn't become extremely apparent that I LOVE food, I figured I'd take some time to remind you.

Every year in NYC there are Winter and Summer Restaurant Weeks. It's basically when some of the really nice/expensive restaurants open their doors to the common folk by offering a 3-course prix-fixe menu. Some restaurants participate for lunch, some for dinner, and some for both. The choices are some of the regular dishes from their every day menu and from what I experienced today, they're great!

My mom came in and we spent the day together; basically eating our way through it. We went to Megu, a Japanese restaurant downtown, for lunch where we had caesar salads, miso soup, an assorted sushi platter, and chocolate cake for dessert. Everything was really good--and it was definitely some of the best sushi. The regular menu here is quite pricey so I'm not exactly sure I would recommend it but if you're in the mood for a place with really cool, and different, decor and are willing to spend some money on sushi, it's worth going to!

We then spent the afternoon walking up Broadway going shoe shopping for me because the Steinhardt Semi-Formal is next week!!! We eventually ended up at Safran, a Vietnamese place in Chelsea with some more delicious food. My mom and I both ordered the Safran roll for an appetizer which was possibly one of the best "sushi" rolls I've ever had. It was so atypical since it was filled with fried calamari, mango, strawberries, cucumber, etc. but the mix of tastes was delicious. For our main course I ordered seafood risotto which--if you're in the mood for an overwhelming amount of shrimp (full-bodied and ready to be torn apart), scallops, mussels, squid, and clams--is good, and my mom had the pan seared filet of sole which was absolutely delicious. For dessert we shared the exotic bom which was like a tartufo filled with mango, raspberry, and passion fruit ice cream with a white chocolate shell, and we also had a banana bread pudding-like dessert which was my favorite! Mom enjoyed the place and wants to go back, and I just want the Safran roll and banana dessert again because they were great--and this menu's a bit more reasonable than Megu (but you're still better off going with your parents haha).

Alright, now that I feel as though I've officially become a food critic because that seems to be mostly what this blog has evolved into, I will leave you all (salivating perhaps?) and return soon with some more updates about my life and experiencing the Big Apple.

Oh yea, and "taking advantage of Summer and Winter Restaurant Weeks" is #78 of the 100 things to do before you graduate from NYU so I can now cross that off the list (yes, my goal is to complete all 100 and as of next Friday I'll have 22 left--plus #101 which is earning my degree!).

Enjoy the weekend!

Basically this is the reaction I just wrote to Praying with Lior for my Special Education class.

“I don’t have Down Syndrome; I have Up syndrome—they’re opposites. April Fools.”

I saw the 7:00 showing of Praying with Lior tonight and it was certainly one of the most moving films ever. First of all, it was sold out for the 5, 7, and 9pm showings which were the times when the creator was going to be there. Fortunately, I was still able to see it and I am extremely happy that I was. I walked out of the movie thinking that it is definitely something everyone should see because it gives you a glimpse into so many different aspects of life—from family to religion, faith to growing up, and of course what it’s like to have, or live/interact with someone who has, special needs.

The story is so incredible and Lior and his family are just inspirational. I don’t think it’s possible to leave the theater without having shed tears at some point—I felt like I just kept hearing sniffles throughout the audience. This film was certainly a huge motivation for me and undoubtedly reinforced my enthusiasm and interest in working with children who have special needs. I had an amazing experience two years ago working with a boy who has Down Syndrome and I felt like I was able to understand Lior a little better because of this.

I honestly have never seen any child or young person as faithful and connected to their religious beliefs as Lior. In fact, I probably haven’t seen more than a dozen adults (and that’s being generous) as deeply integrated into their religion as Lior Liebling is. Even Lior’s siblings and peers commented on how enthusiastic he is, how much he davens (prays) and how great he is at it, and that he is a “spiritual genius” and essentially a role model for adults at synagogue.

Also, the relationship Lior and his brother Yoni have is so touching. Yoni is so supportive of his brother, his best friend, and has basically taken on the responsibility of teaching him what is right and wrong, what is and is not socially acceptable, and just treats him normally and includes Lior in his life very extensively. The whole chemistry among the family members is a great example of how far people can go with a strong support system and people who truly believe in them and want them to succeed.

Lastly, so I don’t give away the entire movie, I just wanted to comment on Lior’s mindset about his life. As you can see by the quote I began this response with, Lior is a very positive person who has ambitions, and not unattainable, goals. It was commented on that Lior doesn’t really recognize his “disability” and the fact that it may hinder him from leading a fully “normal” life but he does plan to attend college and he is currently a sophomore in public high school—it’s a charter school in Pennsylvania that is part of the public school system.

Please, I urge everyone to go see this film if you have the chance…and if you don’t have free time, please try to make some. Everyone can gain something from viewing this story. And, being the nerd that I am, I took notes during the movie and wrote down some quotes and things that were said/done if anyone is interested. Oh, and I stayed for the Q & A with Ilana Trachtman, the filmmaker. That was a great supplement to the story—and Lior’s father and younger sister were there as well to speak. It was a great experience that I highly recommend to anyone regardless of whether you want to work with special needs children or not!

NOTE TO READERS: Praying with Lior is playing for this weekend only (as of now) at the Cinema Village movie theater on 12th Street between University Place and 5th Avenue at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9pm. After the 5, 7, and 9:00 showings the filmmaker will be present for a Q & A session (as she was this evening). The success of Praying with Lior this weekend will determine its future showings so please go see it if you can; it really is amazing. And, since I didn't really speak about what it's about in my reaction because my entire class already knows: there is a Jewish boy named Lior who has Down Syndrome but he is extremely spiritual and is determined to make his Bar Mitzvah. He works hard and impresses everyone--and brings them to tears at the ceremony. Watching his perseverance and commitment is incredible--I would love to meet this young man. There is also a back story about their family that makes this an even more touching story but I don't want to give it away because seeing it unfold during the movie is definitely way better!

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned one of my big responsibilities as VP of Steinhardt Student Government so if not, it's to organize and plan the annual semi-formal at Tavern on the Green located in Central Park. This year was the seventh one and it was a HUGE success.

We had been working on it probably since about November or so and everything came together so well on Friday. We sold out the event which was extremely exciting and everyone seemed to be enjoying the incredible amounts of food and music! The dance, which is open to all Steinhardt undergraduates and their dates, was from 8pm-midnight this past Friday and we had so much fun. This was the third year I went to the semi-formal and I think each year it just gets better and better!!!

Then, in case one night of living in luxury wasn't enough, my date to the Steinhardt semi-formal invited me to the CAS formal which was also at Tavern on the Green...last night! A bunch of our friends ended up going unexpectedly and we had such a great night. CAS set their event up a little differently than ours but overall they both definitely made for one of the best weekends of the year. It was a great chance to see and catch up with people who I haven't seen in a while and to spend time with the whole group we went with which I also haven't done in some time!

I would definitely recommend getting a group of people together (or just one friend) and going to any events like these...I mean, how could you turn down discounted tickets to Tavern on the Green?!

I don't think I've had any entry that has discussed religion but I'm breaking that trend. In case I never mentioned this before, I went to a Catholic high school where I had some of the most amazing experiences and met some incredible people. I am still close with people from my high school and still feel very much connected to that community. Going to Catholic high school and getting involved in the campus ministry there in multiple ways helped me learn more about myself, my interests, and grow closer to the Catholic community.

When I came to NYU, I had a feeling it would be difficult to maintain that since it is not a religiously-affiliated school and since it has a somewhat diverse religious population. Fortunately, my freshman year I lived in Hayden which is only about a block or two away from St. Joseph's University Parish. Going to the Sunday 6pm student mass was all too convenient. I also tried to get involved with the Newman Club which meets from 7-9 on Thursday evenings to have dinner together and discuss different religious topics. I also went on a small retreat that spring which was great, and really refreshing. However, living in Chinatown proved that getting to church would be a little more difficult--I didn't like the local church and St. Joe's seemed too far away. This bothered me.

This year, I am lucky enough to have some of my Catholic friends living in my building so at the beginning of the year we tried to make an effort to go to mass together at St. Joe's. Well, busy schedules began shortly after and that tradition ended. But I still received mass emails from one of the priests at St. Joe's and saw that they were having another Kairos retreat over President's Weekend. I had wanted to go on Kairos since I was a freshman, finally had no conflict, and decided that it would be a good idea to go.

I am so thankful I went. We spent four days in Peekskill, NY--a group of 18 retreatants and 8 leaders (all college students)--relaxing, eating delicious home-cooked meals, getting to know new people, breathe some fresh air, and of course, praying, reflecting, and hearing the leaders' personal stories. Shortly after arriving at the retreat house, the Rector collected everyone's cell phones and didn't return them until we left on Monday--it was GREAT! Being disconnected from everything and just being able to focus on what was going on there was such a nice change of pace and really allowed us to bond and relax.

Going on that retreat was definitely one of the best decisions I've made this year because although things have been going well for me recently (thank God), I haven't been going to mass as much as I'd like (although that was what I decided to do for Lent) and I didn't feel particularly connected to Catholicism. This helped to change that in me and introduced me to some peers who included me in their community. Most of the people on the retreat are members of the Aquinas Circle, another Catholic club at NYU that meets on Tuesdays from 7-9 and is pretty similar to Newman. I went to the meeting this past Tuesday and hope to continue going. Knowing that there are such great people so close to meet who share some of the same beliefs as I do is really encouraging, especially in a huge place like NYC where it isn't always so easy to find that.