Road Rulz NYC - Day 1 & 2

Last Saturday, I left for New York City with the rest of Camp Shalom's Road Rulz New York participants and staff. We had a long drive ahead of us so we left early in the morning. Taking two vehicles, we had to split the group of 12 up a bit so we had to do some creative things to get to know each other during travel. We enjoyed some common car games as we traveled from Iowa to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and finally Pennsylvania where we stayed at a camp overnight. The car ride was long, but full of anticipation - it was exciting to get to know the campers and to talk about the project that we would be working with while in NYC. We would be working with a church day camp program in Manhattan for local elementary aged kids.

On Sunday, we finished our traveling and made it to Trinity Lutheran Church (our service site) for worship. As we entered the church I noticed many differences from my home church. First, the church building was not only undergoing construction, but also seemed to be falling apart. Second, when we entered the church (after parking in the middle of the street [whoa right?] - driving was insane and obnoxiously stressful in the city) there were probably more of us than other church goers all together, but as church began people continued to trickle in (even during the sermon). Third, most of the church documents were written in Spanish and English. Fourth, this was definitely the most diverse church I had ever stepped into - all races, ages, and backgrounds were present and worshiping all together. This was such a neat church experience - familiar songs and liturgy in a completely new setting. It was my first taste of what NYC was like - diverse -- one adjective that I had previously thought was true. It was so neat to see so many different people at one church for the same reason. We also got to meet some of the camp staff as well as some of the church members which made us excited for the next day.


After church (and ice cream sundaes with the other church goers), we traveled to our home-for-the-week church (Our Savoiur's Atonement Lutheran Church). We unpacked and prepared our beds and then enjoyed some pizza at a restaurant down the street. (New York Pizza is so yummy!) Next, we walked to the Subway station (for my first Subway trip) to travel to Coney Island! After taking a lot of time to get everyone a week pass, we started our two train journey. (It was so nice to be out of the car!) Coney Island was neat, but not exactly what I had expected. It was kinda like a dirty fair/carnival - there were a lot of trashy looking people and garbage on the ground. There were so many people calling at us to come to their booths/shops (which I'm not a fan of btw-I think it is just like having someone in a shop come up and ask you if you need help, but if I need help or have a question I'll just find someone to ask about it myself). There was so much activity! Most of us rode the cyclone - a super old wooden roller coaster - which was so amazing, but scary! I actually thought that I was going to fly out of my seat, but I actually had a great time despite the mild whip lash. The ride was super fast and made a lot of worrying noises, but it was a great experience. (P.S. if you want to go to the bathroom there, you need a Luna Card -- it was so funny when our only male camper came back with this bit of info) After a few rides, we walked on the Atlantic Ocean beach and enjoyed a bit of picture taking and people watching. Then we caught the subway (where I saw my first rat!) to head back home where we enjoyed grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.