This morning we headed to the soup kitchen to help serve lunch to people who are less fortunate than ourselves.   We arrived at 10am and were devided into groups with different roles and responsibilities.  Some of us were cleaning tables, Blooshi was on tables 4 and 5 and said he had a 'good experience'; others were working in the kitchen batteling with onions and trying in vain not to cry!  The food was delivered in two lanes which ran like clockwork thanks to Saif Salem; 'It felt good helping poeple, I was serving rice in lane one it was a busy lane'.  But all agreed that it was a great experience and one worth repeating. 

After working for over two hours we headed to MoMa to view modern art from artists such as Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso as well as a whole section devoted to Design and computer technology, 'many of us did not realise computer design was linked to art and design'.  The Museum was Mr Corfield's favourite and was very busy but we all enjoyed seeing art first hand even if we did not always understand all of it.   

After a short trip back to our hostel we were off again, this time to Madison Square Garden to se the New York Knicks!  The atmosphere was amazing with dancing inbertween plays and lots to see and do for Blooshi it was simple.... Oh my God....Best night ever!


Tanoon: Sir those films are weird.
Saif Salem: I love you guy's. 
Sanouri: You guy's look young today...(to the teachers).



 

From the spiraling floors of the Guggenheim, to the worldly treasures exhibited at the MET and then ending with the sights and sounds of Times Square...day four was definitely one of the most eventful yet!

The day started with a tour of the world famous Guggenheim museum, where we were compelled and equally perplexed by the modern art on show. We then attended a creative workshop which helped us open our minds to creating 3D designs through the use of simple pieces of paper.

We then moved onto the MET museum, which we explored through the medium of sketching in our sketchbooks. There was so much to see and take in.

The night time activities saw us spend some quality time shopping in Times Square. Surprisingly the boys came back with more shopping than the girls...with Tahnoon stealing the show with his very on customized "snapback".

Usually events of the day would be over with a nice pleasant ride home on the metro...not tonight however! Signal failures at 42nd street meant that the train was stationary for over an hour! We found many ways to stay entertained and keep our spirits high. Games included naming the various muscles in the body, which Saif Salem explained to Anais and Layan with comical effect, to playing the "A to Z" naming game which got almost half the carriage involved.

Tahnoon:I had a terrific day and saw my first ever Vincent Van Gogh, which showed how he expressed his thoughts and emotions from the inside. I have now decided to make up my own company, designing and customizing hats.

Anas:Today was great! The art in the museum was fantastic as the Guggenheim had a weird structure as it was spiraled from the inside. The best part of the day was when we were stuck on the metro... I felt sorry for Ms Barreau as she couldn't escape mine and Jamal's bad jokes.

Jamal: I liked the museums we went to and their designs.It was wonderful to see the famous artworks from the around the world. Oh and just for Ms Barreau...HUMMUS!!! lol

Layan: I now know that the biceps are not found in your leg...thanks Saif! :D

Today we headed of to Staten Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. Our two tour guides, Gregory and Shaun talked to us about the history of the Statue and New York. Apparently the French were inspired by the U.S.'s democracy and decided to build a statue to commemorate it but, at the time France was still a monarchy, and the government wouldn't have liked the idea of having a statue devoted to democracy. So the French decided to give the Statue of Liberty to the U.S. as a gift.
 After the ferry, we went to see Brooklyn Bridge. It was built by a woman in a time when women had very little rights. This meant that no one wanted to chance crossing it as they thought that since it was built by a woman it would collapse straight away... The only way they managed to convince people to cross it was by making twenty dumbo elephants from the circus to cross it ! 

Quotes of the day:
Saif Alshehhi,during a few spits of rain said:  " It's very heavy rain, sir! ".
A very excited Shomali said : " This is the first time i have ever seen snow: it is awesome!".
Alex, when standing on the deck of the ferry, above the engine, said: " This is the sweet spot, on the whole boat". 
Oscar, whilst walking with bags of popcorn, cookies and a doughnut in his hand  said:  "I am just having a few snacks, before lunch".
Freezing Benjamin said: "It is so cold, that even cold would say it is cold!". 

Concrete jungle where dreams of made of, we’re in New York! The bright lights of Broadway and Times Square were the main locations of today’s tour. We started with a buffet breakfast before a short metro trip to our Broadway set design workshop. We saw some amazing design ideas for set designs and had a short lecture and Q&A session with Broadway professionals. We stopped for lunch in a local restaurant then we walked to Ripley’s Believe or Not, where we saw the weird and the wonderful! After Ripley’s we went to see Wicked and the Gershwin Theatre. Mrs Starkie was definitely the most excited! The show had mixed reviews some students loved it others just thought it was okay. We finished the day with a themed dinner at the Starlight Express Diner where the waiters and waitresses sang and danced whilst serving us. Olivia even had a chance to sing down the mic.

We saw some good random acts of kindness today. We witnessed Khalifa help a lady who dropped her bag in Times Square. Zeyad and Layan Wadi learnt it is polite to stand up and give your seat to elderly passengers on the metro when they get on.

All students have been brilliant and a great team! Today’s student messages;

Dana says “Today was really amazing, lots of fun! We learnt new stuff e.g. Loads about set design. It is really cold and I really enjoyed the theatre watching WICKED!”

Anais says “My favourite part of today was the restaurant for dinner where they were all singing and being weird, and we watched WICKED it was better than I thought it would be!”

Saif Salem says “Today was a lot warmer than yesterday. I preferred today than yesterday. I really enjoyed the Starlight Express themed restaurant where everyone was singing and dancing”

Seif Wadi says “Today was fun and um …it was warmer than yesterday. We watched Wicked though it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I also really enjoyed the restaurant and the atmosphere inside it.”

Zeyad says “NYC is so cool and amazing, though it’s FREEZING! I like Times square but is really busy”

Olivia say “ Today we saw Wicked and it was WICKED!”

Layan says “Ripley’s had some wacky stuff in. I saw a two headed goat! Madness!’

Times Square, sketching in Central Park, Empire State Building, The apartment block from 'Friends' are just a few of the highlights of today's walking tour around New York. Today the weather was sunny but bitterly cold. All students were told to wrap up warm and get ready for the tour of a lifetime. Students have been brilliant, we did not recieve one complaint all day from all the walking. Students got on and off the metro like pros and have all been great. We had lunch from a Pizza palour which was used in the Spiderman movie! Tomorrow morning we have our first workshop which is about the stage set design of the Broadway show, ‘Wicked’. We also have to say many thanks to New York University who had delivered tee shirts and hats for all the Al Bateen students on the trip.


Here are a few students comments from today;


Sanhouri: it was a fun experience , weather was cold!
Khalifa: The Pizza was AWESOME!
Mohd Al Blousghi: I have learnt a very very important lesson today..do not let Mr Georgiou or Miss Barreau enter your room.
Ahmed:It was a great tour and i have learnt so much about New York alreay.
Saif Al Shehhi: I had a great time today in New York and really enjoyed my first day and im looking forward for the rest of the days thankyou. I also learnt a great life lesson today, i CAN stop myself from bumping into people.