Day 0 and the beginnings of Day 1
After a 5-hour flight and about 2 hours spent on the runway in NYC and LAX, I have arrived in Los Angeles!
Here is a shot as I was arriving last night of LA all lit up at night!
I picked up my rental car and had a relatively painless drive from the airport to the hotel in Koreatown. Immediately, I noticed that the majority of streets have Spanish words in them and that abbreviations work differently here: Bl= boulevard (not Blvd), Fwy = freeway (I want an 'r' in there).
And so many businesses with Spanish names or written with Asian characters! It was already midnight, 3 AM in NYC, so I knew bed was in store for me. Still, I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and explore!
Here is a shot as I was arriving last night of LA all lit up at night!
I picked up my rental car and had a relatively painless drive from the airport to the hotel in Koreatown. Immediately, I noticed that the majority of streets have Spanish words in them and that abbreviations work differently here: Bl= boulevard (not Blvd), Fwy = freeway (I want an 'r' in there).
And so many businesses with Spanish names or written with Asian characters! It was already midnight, 3 AM in NYC, so I knew bed was in store for me. Still, I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and explore!
By morning, I mean 6:30 am. My son was up by 5 am, but we made it out to explore by 6:30. There was plenty open, though mostly Korean. After a breakfast distinct from my usual, which included kimchi, spicy daikon and rice tea, I decided to bring my son to a local park.
Similar to the park near my school in Brooklyn, the Seoul International Park offers programming for youth in the summer, including a day camp and free meals and snacks for Los Angeles youth. There was a variety of youth enjoying the park ammenities: a baseball diamond that had been converted into a soccer field, a playground and a bathroom which was both open and incredibly clean. One point for LA!
Similar to the park near my school in Brooklyn, the Seoul International Park offers programming for youth in the summer, including a day camp and free meals and snacks for Los Angeles youth. There was a variety of youth enjoying the park ammenities: a baseball diamond that had been converted into a soccer field, a playground and a bathroom which was both open and incredibly clean. One point for LA!
At about 9 AM, I was about to fall over from sleepiness and jet lag. As I headed back to the hotel, I noticed this interesting flyer which was posted on various lamp posts and some vintage telephone booths. It is a little hard to read, but it advertises a new school in the neighborhood and encourages parents to enroll their children in the school. The flyer includes a graph comparing its 9th graders' standardized test scores to other schools in the area. Complete with the school's mission statement, a brief description of its offerings and some photos of the building, the flyer has pull-off tabs for parents to take and contact the school to enroll their child. In addition to the flyer being in Spanish, what strikes me is the format of this outreach. I have only seen flyers like this used to advertise political cultural events or give contact information for potential contract workers. Never have I thought to do school events in such a format, much less advertise for school enrollment.
It is amazing when knew knowledge finds you. I can already tell that the challenge of this blog will be to know when to stop and share what I am seeing and learning. It is constant. This is great.
It is amazing when knew knowledge finds you. I can already tell that the challenge of this blog will be to know when to stop and share what I am seeing and learning. It is constant. This is great.