One of the benefits of my internship is that I get access to the gym in the building. Both times I went last week it was relatively empty and I didn't have to wait to use any of the equipment. I could get used to this! It's better than running outdoors in the gross weather or paying the summer fee to use Dodge.
On Wednesday evening my friend Mara from camp stayed with me! I hadn't seen her since September 2007, when I went to the airport to see her off before she left for Israel. And now...she is moving to Israel in August! I am super excited for her and hope that the transition is smooth.
Yesterday was Columbia/Barnard alumni weekend. CUMB met up with some alumni, played songs, and did our usual shenanigans. We might have posed on the Barnard Greek Games statue, and I might have gotten to 2nd base with the statue. This is debatable. What isn't debatable is that the chair of our alumni fund has a super adorable baby boy! That is all.
After we were done playing, the alumni went to other activities while we took advantage of the lunch, which included things I would not want to keep outdoors in the heat...like clams. Oh well, it was all delicious! We then put our instruments away and shared stories...a bottle of Nikolai might have disappeared in the process.
We then went to Lerner where there was a "meet and greet" with the alums. We heard the most incredible stories! It was thrilling to hear about all the awesome things they did, and the alums were proud that we are continuing their glorious tradition of G(tb)^2. 'Nuff said. We then continued the hanging out...I think I was with bandies for around 13 hours on Saturday, which is fine by me!
Today was also very fun. A group of CUMB and Wind Ensemblers decided to take advantage of all of the street fairs going on today. After buying metrocards (I got my first Monthly Unlimited pass, which I DEFINITELY took advantage of today), we went to 12 Eldridge St for the Egg Rolls and Egg Creams street fair. The subway was a bit weird, but we made good time. I ate a pickle, drank an egg cream, and got to hear authentic Chinese instruments.
We also went into the synagogue (it was built in the 19th century and is now in the heart of Chinatown) for a Chinese tea ceremony. The man leading (the tea artist) talked about the teas. I learned that there are green teas, red teas, and black teas. The color refers to the amount of oxidation the leaves have undergone. Green is the least oxidized, black is the most.
The tea leaves were in a little pot. The tea artist passed the pot around, instructing us to first smell the leaves in the pot, then the tea lid...and to only breathe in, not to exhale back into either. He then poured hot water into the pot. "You cannot time the steeping, you must feel it," he said. (However, the leaves cannot be steeped for longer than 2 minutes...just the loose leaves, not the bagged kind I buy in the store.) Each person had a small cylindrical glass and a larger handle-less teacup. He poured the tea into the cylindrical class. We then poured the tea into the cup and then smelled the cylindrical glass. He always asked us what it smelled like. I could never exactly say. It smelled good, herbally, but I couldn't pinpoint the smell.
When we drank, he instructed us to slurp the tea, so we would take air into our mouths as well. We then moved our tongues up and down and inhaled, and then swallowed and opened and closed our mouths, so we could smell the "tea mist". It was a very cool process. The tea artist only bought expensive teas. "The least expensive tea I will buy is $600/lb," he said. He accidentally brought out his most expensive tea, the $40,000/lb variety (or so he told us). It had a rich taste, very aged. This makes sense, as he said that the tea was aged for 40 years.
Throughout this, there was a demonstration in the lower level of the sanctuary, where the cantor was singing various hymns. I would explain and translate them throughout the tea ceremony.
Downstairs, we made challah! Or rather, we braided the challah and then took the unbaked loaves with us, to cook later.
We then got lunch in a Chinese restaurant nearby. My criterion was that the menu needed to be in English. This was satisfied, and the food did not make me sick! Win.
We then went to the World Science Festival street fair, but didn't do much there...except take pictures with a child in a T-Rex costume!
Throughout this, the challah was rising...because it was full of yeast. I had crunched my and Tim's challah tins, and they spilled over their tins and were conjoined twins. This didn't happen to anybody else's challah.
The weather was looking pretty iffy, so we went to Camille's parents' apartment to bake the challah and play President. All of the challah were delicious (ultimately, they all looked exactly the same when cooked), and the hanging out/card game was fun. The sky was very dark (there was actually a tornado warning), and it rained while we were inside. The weather cleared up pretty quickly, and we eventually returned to campus. The rain had taken the humidity out of the air, and the weather was gorgeous!
It was the perfect end to an incredible weekend. :)
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