The Braeburn Blog: Week 2 Catch-up

The past week, in summary:

Thursday: running in Central Park, then Slow Food. Met an intern who is half Honduran and half Spanish (new friend goal, obvi). Indian dinner with Ellie, her friend Emily and my friend Sarah.

Friday: Team meetings at City Harvest, then more outreach work in Queens (establishing community partnerships to help recruit participants for my nutrition education tours). Made Thai soup (#success) then picked up Mary McCall from Penn Station!

Whirlwind tourist weekend with MM, Papa and Nana. Special bonding time with sister :) Also honed my travel agent skills scheduling a very full weekend for everyone — hectic at times but tons of fun!

sisters + statue

Saturday: Early morning run with MM in Central Park, bagel breakfast with grandparents, work training session while family went to wax museum. Lunch at a restaurant with a beautiful back patio, followed by a visit to the 9/11 memorial and museum. The tragic phone recordings they played from flight attendants and passengers on those doomed flights ("baby, I hope to God I get to see your face again but right now I just don't know... I love you so much, and please tell the kids I love them, too...") made me cry. The museum did a good job of portraying the immensity of the tragedy yet made it personal by highlighting every individual who died and sharing lots of personal stories of anyone who was involved.

That night, MM and I shared a delicious Cuban dinner in Brooklyn and then went to a supa hipsta Baths concert.

Papa and Nana at the 9/11 memorial

walking in Central Park

Baths

Sunday: Ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Glamorous late lunch at the beautiful Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Afternoon stroll through Chinatown. Later MM and I hung out with my friend John, and then went to a rooftop bar for drinks and Instagram pics.

on the Ellis/Liberty Island ferry

(Grand)father's day brunch

Papa was very excited about the Chinese fish market

enthralled

rooftop drinks on our last night!

requisite Times Square pic

Monday: Slow Food. Drafted a news briefing for staff and board members, moved some digital files, and started setting up the new magazine project in our online interface system. Super cool lunch with representatives from Sustainable America and Feeding the Five Thousand (organizations focused on reduction of food waste). I love learning about all these approaches to and projects in the vast and complex field of "food."

Tuesday: Outreach in Queens. Lots of positive reception! Happy hour with a friend of someone I met in Pamplona, who turned out to be super cool and interesting. Inspired, excited and encouraged by her dynamic life.

Wednesday: First scheduled tour cancelled, sadly, because the senior citizens didn't want to go out in the 90-degree heat. Napped in a park, ran a 5k with my friend Joanna, and made dinner at home with Joanna, Ellie and Ellie's friend Eugene. Befriended the Argentinian fruit vendor outside my apartment >> good day.

***Bonus grandparent pics***