One thing’s for sure: New York City is nothing like home. There’s really no way I can describe the huge shift from stepping out of my house to trimmed lawns and white houses to bustling crowds of people and the incessant honks of car horns.
And there’s absolutely always something to do here. The lights are on in Times Square even in broad daylight where it isn’t necessary, and there always seems to be the echo of someone’s music underground in the subways.
Unfortunately jetlag and fatigue hit me so hard yesterday that I couldn’t do much outside of sleeping and glancing over at the television every now and then (which is strange, because New York is only three hours ahead of Los Angeles) — but today’s day in New York City definitely made up for it:
Columbia University College Tour
This Columbia tour had some strange coincidences. But first off, we — a large mass of students and their ecstatic parents — were taken into a small room in the Visitor Center of the Low Library (the term small here being relative in regards to the size of this campus) for a short informational session: the application, the personal statement, expenses — all the functions of Columbia. It came to the point where we were being divided into three groups, one for each tour guide, and I’d decided to go with the guide with the navy-blue Columbia shirt because he’d mentioned that he was an Economics major with a concentration — not that I have any plans to go into either field, but I just wanted to get a feel for the difference between a double major and a major + concentration education.
Our guide introduced himself to us as Richard Quatrano: Economics/Hispanic Studies student, rising junior, and drummer for the free jazz ensemble. I almost tore a page in my notebook out in excitement. We had much to talk about during our tour today — about Columbia’s jazz program, of course, and perhaps a bit more about jazz itself. He recommended me to talk to Ben Waltzer and Chris Washburne, both instructors at Columbia University. I will, of course, contact them at a more decent hour, but in the meantime, it’s my recommendation now that you listen to them:
Chris Washburne here:
And Ben Walzer’s music page here.
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Skipping/Fred Hersch Trio/Whirl
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Glad the sun was out for your Columbia tour — I remember having my visit on a rainy November afternoon, which didn’t particularly endear me to the place.
Ah… but there is something special about rain in NY… cloudbursts, the stink!, sudden coolness before the steamy comes back… and in November – the foggy eeriness drifting through the tops of the skyscrapers as you’re chilled to the bone! What’s not to like?
Actually I love it – tired of sun in LA every day.
Have fun!! Great city. Be sure to see the local jazz haunts and not just the tour book specials… like: http://55bar.com/ or http://www.garagerest.com/. Jump on a subway after hours and have fun!
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