Oh Philly

Today I saw:

A free performance of a bizarre interpretive dance company, Human Landscapes, at the Clark Park flea market.

A man riding a horse up the bike path on Spruce Street in front of WaWa.

Home

As I was sitting at a table on Locust Walk eating my dinner from Beijing a flash of light caught my eye. A lightening bug was on the tree next to me. I glanced up and off in the distance were several more lightening bugs flying about. When I was little these were what I looked forward to in summer visits to Pennsylvania. A smile came to my face. I am home.

Restaurant Week verdicts are in

Restaurant Week is one of the best inventions of Philadelphia. The best restaurants in Philadelphia offer a special price fixed 3 or 4 course menu for the bargain price of $30 (more with tax and tip). This gives the more financially challenged people like myself a chance to sample the concoctions of these talented chefs. I got the chance to sample two of the numerous restaurants. One with friends and one with my parents.Tangerine: HUGE disappointment. This Steven Starr restaurant is over-hyped. The ambiance is beautiful and creates a romantic setting, however it is so loud you have to yell across the table. The food was mediocre.

Appetizer: Wild Mushroom Risotto - the highlight of the entire meal
Bread and Pitas served - looked like they came out of a
package, cut, and served
Entree: Bouillabaisse (a fish stew) - completely void of any flavor
Dessert: Panna Cotta with sorbet - also lacking any flavor

My friends and I sat at the table after finishing, completely unsatisfied and still hungry. It was painful to pay $38 dollars total for that meal.

Patou: A modern atmosphere serving French cuisine. Food was to die for. Absolutely DELICIOUS! I would highly recommend this restaurant. Their menu for restaurant week was much more extensive (most restaurants offer about 3 choices for each course). My parents and I each ordered a different option for each course and rotated. They were all good, but I liked my choices the best.

Appetizer: Fricasee (pan-roasted wild mushrooms)
Freshly baked warm rolls with a olive oil/pesto dip
Entree: Striped Bass (w/ carrot flan and green lentil ragout)
Dessert: Warmed Pear w/ Chocolate drizzle, whipped cream, and sorbet
Drink: Pear Sangria - I actually liked it, which is saying a lot

Lemon Grass: Admittedly not actually part of restaurant week, it is a cute little Thai restaurant just off of campus in West Philadelphia. More in my price-range than the restaurant week restaurants, and much better than Tangerine. The dishes had awesome names, which we each decided to take on as our own. I was the Vegetarian Lover. We also had the Evil Jungle Princess, the Tutti Fruity Duck, the Sensual Salmon, and the Young Girl on Fire. The flavors and spices were delicious, and it was a nice way to end the busy week catching up with friends and not thinking about work.

Get culture, and get out.

Those are two things you need to do if you live in a city such as Philadelphia.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Philadelphia is full of culture. However, I can narrow that down even more, and say that the University of Pennsylvania is full of culture. To a large extent Penn consists of an upper middle class population. But everyone has a heritage and background. This past weekend I went to see a friend perform in Penn's South Asia Society Mini-Cultural Show. Eleven groups each performed one piece. Music, dance, even drama groups centered around the Indian culture, which I completely admire. Several of the groups are renowned on and off campus. Dhamaka is an all male Indian dance group. You can never overestimate the attractiveness of a man who can dance. Penn Masala is an all male a-cappella group. They go on tours doing their own renditions of well-known songs - with beautiful voices. Each cultural group has so much to offer. This free show provided a wonderful taste of South Asian culture.

Getting out of the city is a necessary part of living in it. All those stresses and fumes of city life can really get to your head. This past Sunday my dorm organized a trip to Linvilla Orchards for apple picking. Breathing fresh air and walking through the rows of apple trees was so relaxing. Taking a bite out of a freshly picked apple brought back simplicity. It is a great field-trip for your mental health. After apple-picking we wandered over to their pumpkin land. Pony rides, hay rides, mazes, farm animals, and of course a gift shop and country store were available for exploration. Fall has arrived, and it sure is beautiful (and deliciously fresh).

Green is my favorite color

With the start of a new school year, working as a Move-In Coordinator, and living in a dorm, I have had my share of interaction with freshmen. When asked what a freshman that she met was like, my friend responded simply with "he's so....green." I look at them - bright smiles of excitement and exploration, curiosity and bewilderment - and I wonder when I became so jaded. I am jealous of their naivety and their fresh start. It's sad really. I feel old saying "if I knew then what I know now..." but it is true. I have recently been talking to new people outside my "circle of friends" and I've realized that I can get along with a whole range of people. The friends we make freshmen year seem to be by chance. I see freshmen cling to each other just so that they are not alone. Little do they know that they will all make very good friends anyway. I guess my advice for future freshman is not to freak out about making new friends, meet as many people as possible, and see who you click with most. Good friends take time.

On another green note - a friend and I attended the Philly Green Fest this past Sunday on South Street. I was glad to see how many people were out checking out the various information booths on living green. I felt somewhat helpless living in a dorm and not having control over the environmental sustainability of my living situation. However, I took some comfort in the fact that I use Philly Car Share, they even have a large number of hybrid vehicles in their fleet. I highly recommend these car share deals. Flexcar is another option, and is operational nationwide. Solar Panels are also in my future. My super tall friend had fun dropping an egg on a spread of recycled tires used for playgrounds instead of bark dust. And we correctly answered three questions about littering/recycling to win a prize! A litterbug was walking around the festival for photo opportunities. One thing that disturbed me was a man making a food sculpture. It looked awesome, but it was such a waste of quality vegetables - potatoes, squash, carrots, eggplants. I couldn't help but think of the numerous homeless people I pass each day that would benefit from that food. It did not belong at the green fest.

At the Green Fest I also picked up a flyer for the Divine Bike Church. Awesome idea. Open Tues, Thurs, and Sundays from 6:30-9pm and Wednesday for women and transvestites only. They are located in the basement of St. Mary's Church right on Penn's campus. They mostly provide the tools to fix up your bikes, but they also sell used bikes and parts. I picked myself up a beautiful old bike with a basket named Sunshine (it is scratched on the frame) and they walked me through changing the brake cable, setting the gears, and changing a tire. A functioning bike - all from recycled parts - and all for $36.

Green is a beautiful thing.

I am addicted to ice cream

Funny how I've lived in Philly for 2 years now, and I have never done any touristy activities. I do love Philly for its rich history, but I have never really thought about exploring that aspect of it. For example, what is the big deal about the Liberty Bell anyway? It is a big bell. With a crack. The crack isn't even significant - it is from moving the bell. The bell itself doesn't really have a story behind it - it is simply a symbol. But, while walking by these historical monuments and centers with friends on our way from ethnic restaurant of the week night (The Banana Leaf - Malaysian..yum) to gospel and the Super Scooper at Penn's Landing (to benefit the Joshua Kahan Fund) we goofed off and acted a bit touristy. And you know what...it was fun. We made a pact to do one fun event every week next semester (easier said than done) - and maybe some of those events will be visiting these historic centers and buildings and learning more about the city we go to school in.In other news: I am back in Salem for a week. Let Phase 2 of my summer break begin. Went to the World Beat Festival with some friends. Danced to some Nigerian drumming. Realized how nerdy/cute my little city is. We really aren't very diverse - but we pride ourselves on having the "Best cultural heritage event" in Oregon. Delta just started flying 2 small planes a day into our small private airport, and I got to fly on one of them! Everyone was standing outside the gate while our plane pulled in and waved at us as we were stepping out of the plane onto the runway. Almost as if the president had arrived or something. It made me chuckle a bit. Even though Salem is the capital, it is still a small enough town were we can be nerdy - and that is just fine.

My childhood playground

"Dirty Jersey," "The armpit of America." I could care less about the nicknames assigned to the state of New Jersey. To me Jersey is a place of wonderful childhood memories: carefree running around, beach sisters, huge holes dug in the sand, crepe-paper decorated bicycles, parades, ice cream trucks, sandcastles, mini-golf, moving tides, fishing, dance routines, surries, Indian poker, librarian, shell in hole, hammocks, and walks on the beach.
Now, over a decade after those annual summer days at the beach house I was able to return to my childhood playground. Wonderful is the word I would choose to describe it. It would seem that we packed a lot into a day, but it was all done in a leisurely style. I brought 6 friends along with me via Philly Car Share to experience the shore at Beach Haven, Long Beach Island. We laid out on the beach, built a sandcastle, buried one of us, swam in the ocean, played mini golf, BBQ'ed, and to top the day off we went to Show Place, a musical ice cream parlor where the waiters match the wallpaper (aka - the best place in the world).

Another thing I noticed while returning to my roots: these people, this environment really contributed to who I am today. This somewhat surprised me - being away for so long. But as we went around the dinner table answering questions that bordered the line between interview/curious and interrogation, I found that my beliefs very closely matched those of my parents' old friends. I am finding out more and more everyday why I am how I am.

On another note: BEACH!!!

"I wish I was black"

I remember having this conversation with a good friend from home. When we were younger, reading the American Girl books, Addy's stories were our favorites. We hated white people for doing such terrible things to the blacks, to Addy and her family. We didn't want to be associated with those mean, racist people. We wanted to suffer along with Addy.

I was reminded of this idea today. My boss was talking about the Odunde festival, so I decided to pay it a visit on my way to the Italian market, where I get my produce each week. As soon as I hit the area where the streets were blocked off I was immersed in culture. It was a great feeling. While my friends are either too busy, or too boring (just kidding) I wandered around by myself. I probably stood out like a sore thumb, but I didn't feel unwelcome. The streets were filled with different booths selling African and Caribbean artistry. While I was seriously considering beginning the practice of incense burning, I was overwhelmed by the smell of fried food. Fried chicken, fried fish, fried shrimp, french fries and funnel cake was everywhere - I almost felt sick, and decided to continue on down the rows. Many women were dressed in traditional African clothing, which set the scene. African dancing to drums was taking place on the stage. Everyone was celebrating the culture, their heritage, everyone was a part of a greater community.

This is why I love Philly so much. There is such an array of ethnicities and cultures. Sometimes I wish I was a part of one, instead of just a Caucasian mix. Or that I knew more about my own heritage. African-Americans from all different parts of Africa and the Caribbean had such a bond, such a rich culture. But it works for me right now to just stand back and absorb it all. Take the spirit into my own heart. I plan to explore other parts of Philly. But, right now, I better start studying for that midterm tomorrow.

Summer in the city

Simple things make me happy. The other day I was running through the cemetery, and the song "summer and the city" came on my ipod shuffle (I'm really not into technology, the only reason I have one is because my friend gave me her old one when she got a real ipod) and I just got so happy and went into a full out sprint. The sun was shining, and I was embarking on, exactly that, my summer in the city. By the way, the cemetery is a very nice place to run. It is very green, full of trees, peaceful, and there are deer wandering around. For me, a big-time environmentalist, it is a nice place to go to decompress from the hustle and bustle.

Another simple thing: wandering around and talking with a good friend. We hadn't really seen eachother much this summer, from previously mentioned busy conflicting schedules, but today we were able to spend some time together. We have the same thought process, so it is really nice to chat with someone who understands where you are coming from. Also, wandering off-campus is refreshing. It's a completely different world in the city neighborhoods. Seeing people of all different ages, not just college students and profesors makes me open my eyes a little wider. I realize that there is a whole world out there that I have become sheltered from in my college, study, work realm.

Oh, and I can't forget about dancing. Either jumping up and down crazily with friends in a dorm room while screaming lyrics to 80s and 90s songs, or going to a lindy and blues club and partner dancing with the lights dimmed, I don't think I stop smiling.

I think being pleased by simple things is best. I woke up today in a bad mood, I was tempted to rant on about this and that in my blog, but as the day went on, I cheered up rather quickly. Of course, the whole getting to cut rats brains with cool equipment and solutions for the first time this morning brightened my day...but it was topped off with good dinner and conversation with friends. Might as well enjoy the little things in life, because, well, you only live once, right? What's the sense in being angry?


On a separate note: I'm leaving for the weekend to go to my cousin's high school graduation. They grow up so fast! But it is extra exciting, because my mom is going to, so I'll get to see her, which is always nice. Nothing can ever replace a mom, no matter how independent you are.