I feel like I'll have a lot more to write about now, now that I'm starting my fieldwork. That said, even in this most introductory of posts, I'm at a loss for how to write about it -- this is where confidentiality is both trickiest and most important. I need to think more about this, but for now I'll just say that I'm really excited. It's not a placement I would have thought to create for myself, but having met with my supervisor and had one day there, I'm happy to say that it seems like a really good fit -- a nice blend of working skills and learning more about issues that I already have some experience with, and discovering things I know nothing about. I think, though, that I'm now finally understanding the difficulty my fellow bloggers have described when it comes to writing about field: I'm so excited to write about it, but extremely hesitant and nervous at the same time.

So, on to some less murky territory, my classes! Aside from field lab, I'm taking HB2, which seems like it's going to be a lot more clear and systematic this semester -- going through the life cycle. From the first class, my biggest takeaway was that development can happen at any point in the lifespan -- there is no such thing as a lost cause. My kind of philosophy.

I'm also taking Social Work and the Law, which although it's not a clinical course seems so far to be almost exclusively geared to clinical social workers doing one-on-one therapy, maybe because it's an MSW-level class. If you've read my blog before, you can imagine that this isn't exactly my cup of tea, but I'm planning to stick it out -- it's still interesting, and I'm hoping for some discussion of how social workers can be good legal advocates along the line.

It's funny being in an MSW class as opposed to a BSW class because even more so than in the BSW program there are very set career observations -- duh, you get an MSW because you want to become a social worker. Of course, I'm not getting an MSW, and I'm not sure I plan to. In fact, I think it would be much more likely that I would go to law school! So it was funny the other day when we were discussing a situation in which a lawyer kept secret for 10 years the fact that he believed that prosecutorial misconduct had lead to the wrongful imprisonment and possible execution of an innocent person. He kept this secret because divulging it would have been harmful to his client, and he believed that legal ethics prohibited him from saying anything. I was struck by the respect for a SET OF RULES that this lawyer had, and said in class that I couldn't relate to it. "Of course not, he's a lawyer," the teacher said. "But you're a social worker, and you could find yourself in a very similar situation..." Not exactly what I meant, but whatever. So I'm trying to figure out how to get the most out of a class that isn't really targeted to me. I really think I can though -- otherwise I would have changed!

I'm also taking Topics in the Global Economy: Growth and Development, basically a development economics class that I am so, so excited about. We'll be looking at why some countries are rich and others poor, how growth happens, the role of inequality, and more.

Finally, I'm taking Regression and Forecasting Models, a stats class in Stern (cross-listed in the econ department). It's VERY funny to take a class in Stern -- definitely a different atmosphere. But I love the class so far -- I knew there had to be more to stats then my terrible summer school experience. Part of it is that the professor is incredible, possibly the best I've had at NYU. Today we looked at data from the 2000 presidential election to assess the claims that flawed voting machines lead to people actually voting for Buchanan when they meant to vote for Gore. I won't go into the details, but for me it is so exciting and empowering to be able to quantify intuition like that. But as cool as I find this, it really doesn't come naturally to me, so I'm pretty nervous... I'll let you know how it all turns out!

I thought it would be good to have another "Welcome to the new Samosa!" post, because what with the New Year, I've done a fair amount of thinking about what I want to get out of the blog and what I want to put into it. Last semester things got a lot quieter around these parts than I would have liked, and I apologize for that. Without making excuses (thanks Daniel for reminding me of the distinction), I think that part of the reason for that was that I put a lot of pressure on myself to write long, insightful posts shedding light on previously unexplored areas of the field of Social Work, rather than just sharing about my life here in NY and my experience as a social work student at NYU. And the insight was not really happening -- I'm too young to have (any) answers, just questions, some better formulated than others.
So, with that in mind, I'm hoping this semester to keep the blog simpler, and more lively. Less expounding on the connections between my two fields of study, more stories about my life, my classes, and (with confidentiality in mind, of course), my fieldwork, which I'm finally starting. Stuff like that bike ride post, which is STILL the best-received post I've ever written. Posts that are easier for me to write and, frankly, probably more useful and interesting to you as readers, especially those of you considering going to school at NYU.

So welcome to the new, new, Samosa! Next up, my classes this semester and a recap of that cool event at the Brecht forum.

Hello Samosa Friends! Here's a great volunteer opportunity for those of you who are current undergrads (if any). I've been volunteering for the past semester, and have gained a lot of knowledge, skills and confidence. I'd be happy to share more if you're interested!

Are you willing to make a difference in people's lives through social advocacy and service?
Are you interested in making a change in the health and well-being of people right here in the New York community?

Project HEALTH's Family Help Desk is inviting new volunteers to join!

*What is Project HEALTH?*
Project HEALTH works to break the link between poverty and poor health by mobilizing undergraduate volunteers to provide sustained public health interventions in partnership with urban medical centers, universities, and community organizations, including Bellevue Hospital in New York City. We want NYU students who are interested in public service, medicine, social justice, working in NYC communities, and creating positive change in the lives of children and families!

*What do Project HEALTH volunteers do?*

Project HEALTH's Family Help Desk is a resource and advocacy program that helps families access community resources critical to their health, safety, and economic survival. Volunteers talk with families at the desk about their resource needs and connect them with appropriate local services and benefits related to food, housing, health insurance, immigration, childcare, adult education, and job training. Volunteers then follow-up with clients and service providers to ensure that families receive the necessary resources and to troubleshoot or provide additional services as necessary.

Want to learn more?

Come to our information sessions:

Tuesday January 26, 8-9pm in Kimmel Room 901

Wednesday January 27, 8-9pm in Kimmel Room 805

Want to apply?

E-mail nyu.projecthealth@gmail.com for an individualized link to an application.

Application are due by 5:00 pm Friday January 29, 2010.

Check out this TED video of Kiran Bir Sethi, founder of Ahmedabad's Riverside School, talking about their model of empowering students to become activists in their communities. I want to learn more about this -- seems incredible, but I'm not entirely sold yet.

Thank you to my fellow blogger Daniel for posting these links about Haiti and the role the United States has played in enforcing its poverty. Powerful as Mother Nature may be, my roommate was right when he said yesterday that no natural disaster is ever completely natural.

On Thursday night I'm going to an event at the Brecht forum called "We are Haiti: A Teach in on the Crisis." Having somewhat detached myself from the news during my winter break, and being not very knowledgeable about Haiti in the first place, I figure now is an important time to start learning. I'll report back, but for those of you who can make it, here's some more information on the event:

Thursday, January 21
7:30 pm

Third Thursday

We Are Haiti
A Teach In on the Crisis
Ray Laforest, Christian Lemione & David Wilson

While the earthquake in Haiti has revealed the faultlines of United States intervention in the country since its founding in 1804., the relief efforts lead by grassroots activists and organizations has opened up new political space for a lasting international solidarity with the Haitian people at their time of need.

Join us for an emergency teach in on the Haitian crisis as we hear first hand accounts of the earthquake, relief efforts, US policy and the prospects for a new solidarity movement with the people of Haiti.

Ray Laforest- is a Haitian American labor leader

Christian Lemione-is a an Haitian American activist

David Wilson is a US based activist who was present during the Haiti earthquake.

Hello Samosa friends,

A while ago I posted about a Books Through Bars solidarity meeting at NYU -- well, here's the first thing to come out of it:

One of the panels at the Cost of Inequality conference I posted about a few weeks ago was on the economics of education, and its effects on the achievement of students of color. It was an excellent panel, with Shawn Dove of the Open Society Institute's Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Pedro Noguera and Amy Ellen Schwartz of NYU's Steinhardt School of Education, and the outspoken and HILARIOUS Senator Kevin Parker. Their conversation covered a host of issues, with panelists contending that focusing educational reforms on students of color would be good for the entire system, that charter schools weren't necessarily the way to go, that parents must be organized (in the collective sense) rather merely dedicated to their individual children, and more.

Towards the end of the panel, Schwartz, the Director of NYU's Institute for Education and Social Policy and a self-described "card-carrying economist," made the case for placing an emphasis on city and state colleges as well as vocational programs for lower- and middle-income students -- many students, she said, considered higher education out of reach, because of the price, among other things. If high-school educators let them know that college was not only affordable, but also attainable, and expected them to apply -- not to Harvard, or to Brown, or even to NYU, but to Hunter, to SUNY Downstate, to La Guardia -- we'd see the education gap closing a lot faster.

This made me somewhat uncomfortable. I understand the importance of setting realistic goals, but it seemed to me that Schwartz was saying that lower-income students should content themselves to settle for less than their higher-income counterparts. I understand the pragmatism in her argument - certainly, a college education chosen out of a limited range of options is better than no college education, and I know that you can get just as good an education at a city or state school as you can at a private school. But the idea of certain options being simply off the table for some people doesn't seem right to me. I felt that Schwartz was promoting human capital discrimination, as my labor economics professor would put it.

Just a couple days later, I was at Project HEALTH, an organization I volunteer with at a local hospital. We connect people with the resources they need, indirectly, to stay healthy -- Food Stamps, ESL classes, legal services, child care, etc. A fellow volunteer and I were talking about a couple of our respective cases; one of his was an undocumented mother looking for job training and, eventually, employment. She had come here legally, but her visa had long since expired. "Shouldn't I tried to help her get citizenship?" he asked. No, I replied -- that was impractical, nearly impossible, and too big a task, although it would give her a myriad more of options. I suggested that he should rather look for job training programs that didn't have immigration or citizenship requirements, though the jobs they would train people for would be rather limited.

I was doing the same thing as Schwartz -- encouraging my fellow volunteer, and the client he was working with, to settle for less, because less is better than nothing. I'd be interested to hear about where others draw the line between being pragmatic and realistic, and having damagingly low expectations for people. Yes, settling for less is better than doing nothing. But it's also giving up in a way. So what do you think?

While I haven't had a chance to report back on the last batch of event I posted (and I do plan to), here are a couple of other things I'm really excited about that are happening in the next week!

Thursday, November 19

Getting to Work: Labor Issues in the 21st Century
6:30pm
Theresa Lang Community & Student Center, 55 West 13th Street
Following every economic crisis, American labor has risen up to fight for reform. Where is organized labor now? Have American workers surrendered their expectations of in order to compete within the world market?
Bookforum, in conjunction with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, will host a discussion on November 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the New School to investigate how the American workforce has changed, how work can be fairly rewarded in a post-industrial economy, and what rights still exist.

Friday, November 20

Down by the River: An Undergraduate Symposium on Race and Environmental Justice Organizing and Policy
9:00am
Eugene Lang College, New School for Liberal Arts
66 W. 12th Street Room 510
Whether responding to harsh effects of toxic-dumping in Birmingham, Bronzeville or Brooklyn, activists, community members, and politicians have often regarded race and ethnicity as crucial factors in the research and analysis produced to combat unjust environmental practices. In light of these efforts, Eugene Lang College’s Ethnicity and Race Program presents Down By The River: An Undergraduate Symposium on Race and Environmental Justice Organizing and Policy.

Books Through Bars Solidarity Event
Co-sponsored by Amnesty International, Students Creating Radical Change, and Sustainable Silver
7:00pm
The Parlor
Books Through Bars is a volunteer collective that gathers and sends books to incarcerated people all over the United States, who too often severely lack access to education. On September 14, a fire in an apartment above the space they use at the New York City AIDS Housing Network caused serious water damage, destroying nearly all of their library and supplies. Students have always played an important role in Books Through Bars’ work, and their solidarity is needed now more than ever. Come learn more about what Books Through Bars does and why, and strategize with other student activists about what role we can play in their recovery and growth.

Tuesday, November 24

Swip Swap and Food Inc. Screening
Co-sponsored by Oxfam America @ NYU, Net Impact, Earth Matters! and Sustainable Silver
6:30pm
Kimmel 802
Join us for a night of swip-swapping, screen- printing, movie-watching, and dinner-eating.
6:30 Bring over clothing, books, CDs, and miscellaneous items and swap em for someone else’s cooler stuff.
7:45 We’ll screen Food Inc., an awesome movie that looks into America’s industrial agriculture as well as its alternatives.
Dinner will be provided.

Hi Daily Samosa! Just wanted to share a few events I'm planning to attend in the next couple of days, and thought folks who read this blog might be interested in too:

SUSTAINABLE SILVER EAST NY FARMS VOLUNTEER TRIP, Saturday, 11/7/ 10am-2pm
On Saturday, November 7, Sustainable Silver be taking a volunteer trip out to East New York Farms, and urban farm and community-based organization in, guess where, East New York. We’ll have a chance to get our hands dirty on their farm, check out their farmers’ market, and learn about their awesome community organizing and youth empowerment work. Meet us at the Farm at 10am or at the School of Social Work at 9am. Please RSVP by emailing us at sustainablesilver@gmail.com with “East New York Farms” in the subject line.

FREE THE HIKERS VIGIL IN WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK FOLLOWED BY FUNDRAISER AT THE TOWN TAVERN, Sunday, 11/8, 4:30pm (vigil), 5-8pm (fundraiser)
My friend Sami is organizing this event for her friend Josh, who was one of the three American hikers detained in Iran after accidentally crossing the border a few months ago. Here's an email she sent about the event:

As many of you know, a dear friend of mine, Josh Fattal, is one of the hikers that has been missing in Iran for over three months when he along with two friends, Sarah and Shane, mistakenly crossed an unmarked border into Iran. This Sunday marks 100 days in detention and I am helping coordinate a vigil and fundraiser to mark this date and appeal for the hikers' release.

Sunday, November 8th @ 4:30pm in Washington Square Park in NYC we will be holding a 100 Day Vigil of Hope to mark the long duration of our friends' detention. This event will be followed by a fundraiser at the Town Tavern (a 21+ bar located at 134 W 3rd St) from 5 - 8pm. A $5 suggested donation will be collected at the door, and drink specials are being offered!

This vigil is an opportunity for us to gather our energy and love and send it to Tehran. However, this vigil is also quickly becoming an important opportunity to gain critical media attention for Josh's cause.

Lisa Ling, from The View, and her sister Laura Ling, who was one of the journalists detained by North Korea this past year, will be attending the event. PEOPLE Magazine will also be there covering our story. At the last vigil, Fox News, Reuters and a number of other media outlets were also there.

If you have the time, please make it out to Washington Square Park at 4:30 this Sunday! Please also pass this email on to friends, family, and your networks. Also, if you haven't done so already, please visit the website: www.freethehikers.org.

THE COST OF INEQUALITY: EXPLORING THE INTERCEPTION OF RACE, POVERTY, AND POLICY, Wednesday, 11/11, 9:30-3:30pm, Kimmel 802
Check out the schedule of this amazing-looking conference:

9:30 – 10:00 Registration & Continental breakfast

10:00 – 10:30 Keynote: Introductory Remarks

10:30 – 11:45 Education Panel: A Look at the Economics of Education and its Effect of Students of Color Achievement

Speakers

Pedro Noguera, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University

Dr. Sheila Evens Tranum, Associate Commission of Education, NY State Education Department

Shawn Dove, Open Society Institute

11:45 – 12:45 Lunch and Networking

12:45 – 2:00 Applied Research Center’s presentation on report entitled "Race and Recession: How Inequity Rigged the Economy and how to Change the Rules" by Seth Wessler, ARC Senior Policy Researcher

2:00-3:00-The Prison Pipeline: A Closer Look at the Prison Industrial Complex with Max Kenner, founder of the Bard Prison Initiative, and Mishi Faruqee, Director of the Juvenile Justice Project with the Correctional Association of New York

3:00-3:30 Closing Remarks

I'm taking a break from writing my mid-term paper for my Human Behavior in the Social Environment class, which I seem to be entirely incapable of focusing on. This is the only paper I've had to write this mid-term season, and all of those problem sets and exams seem to have completely destroyed my ability to think qualitatively.

Every couple of weeks, our blogger advisory committee sends us suggested topics to address on our blogs -- nothing obligatory, but just ideas to help us overcome writer's block if we're facing it. One of the ones this week was:

What do you do to keep healthy and happy while balancing school, your internship and all of your other commitments?

In my opinion, this question is phrased in a rather optimistic and leading way -- who's to say that I do manage to keep happy and healthy while balancing school, work, volunteering, life, etc, etc, etc? That's a pretty big assumption to make! But curmudgeonliness aside, here's my answer:

Cooking is something that really helps me deal with stress. I'll never be able to follow a recipe to the tea spoon, but there's something about turning dry, lifeless beans, scruffy vegetables, and whatever else into warm, delicious food that I find extremely comforting. I especially love making soup, and I recently received an immersion blender which has revolutionized my life.

I'm a member of a CSA, so each week I walk to a church in my neighborhood to pick up a box of fresh, organic vegetables from a farm out on Long Island. A picky eater by nature, I've discovered that I love vegetables I'd never even heard of, and in every box there's a new culinary adventure to be had.

This week, the more conventional vegetables went fast -- the potatoes and leeks quickly became soup, the carrots were devoured with hummus, and the baby lettuce made a delicious salad. I'm now scratching my head about what to do with the two bulbs of kohlrabi I have left, and the large bunch of bok choi.

Kohlrabi, for those of you who have never heard of it before (I hadn't), is part cabbage, part turnip, and looks like a space ship. It comes in both purple and green varieties, and can can be either eaten raw or cooked. I've never cooked it, just had it chopped into salads, and barely noticed. My boyfriend finds it to be utterly offensive, and when I told him that I was writing about kohlrabi on my blog he wondered if I was writing about how disgusting it is and how we should eat the farmers that farm it because they would probably taste better.

Actually, that wasn't what I'm going to write -- I've got two bulbs of kohlrabi, and I'm going to make the most of them! Between paragraphs, I've been browsing cooking blogs, and here are some good-looking recipes I've found:

Raw Kohlrabi, Apple, and Carrot Salad (I think I'm going to make it with lemon-tahini dressing. A vegan friend came over for dinner the other day and I was making cole slaw, and so instead of putting mayo in the dressing I put tahini, and it was SO GOOD. My mayo days are over.)
Roasted Kohlrabi with Romesco Sauce (I'm not sure I'm up to the Romesco Sauce, but I have some muhammara I made the other day that might fill in well. By muhammara, I mean something based on muhammara, made with pine nuts instead of walnuts, and no tamarind paste.)
Kohlrabi Greens Pesto for Grilled Pizza (A way to use the greens! That involves pizza! Fabulous! I love pizza!)

As you can see, I'm feeling very optimistic about this whole kohlrabi situation. Does anyone else have any favorite recipes? Any favorite cooking blogs or websites to share? I personally am in love with Tastespotting, which takes beautiful pictures from cooking blogs across the internet and puts them all in one mouthwatering database. 101cookbooks.com is also great.