formal introductions,

New York City is not a place you will ever understand by peering into photos or watching the evening news. Events are fast paced and you will likely miss a good majority of them. People pass you by not because you don't exist but because they see thousands of people every day and you're just another face in their busy life. The subway system is difficult for the first few days, though I have conquered it. We battled for a few hours on Monday evening as I was trying to make it to Washington Square Park, but I eventually made it and now understand how it operates. You see, just because a train is coming down the exact track you need to go down, doens't mean its your train.
I'm avoiding the sites, though if its a good enough photo opportunity, I'll stop for a moment. There is much to the city that you won't experience on bus tours. Today was spent gallery hopping Chelsea. In Chelsea alone, there are around 300 galleries of the 600 in New York. Some of my favorite exhibitions were of Larry Silver's photography, Jacco Olivier's fusion painting film, Sergio Prego's firecracker exposition film. Some of the other's that I enjoyed were Daniel Buren, Miles Coolidge, Charles LaBelle, Tim Hyde, and the later works of Andy Warhol.

On the coffee and tea dependicies, I'm having a little trouble. There are starbucks on every corner, which makes it difficult to find great coffeehouses. However, I am determined. There are a few places I'm off to check out this weekend. Albeit, there are lots of cute little cafes and small, unique restaurants. The studio is absolutely incredible. Gallery, classroom, kitchen, darkroom, graphics lab, woodshop, our own studio spaces, etc. This is a good place with many opportunities in store. I'm happy to be here and am anxious to see what the semester has in store for all of us.