'Tis The Season

Christmas in New York City is truly a marvelous occassion. It's even much more enjoyable now that I am on my winter break at the moment so I get to see so many parts of the city during these two weeks without having to worry about school the next day (which I love by the way, don't get me wrong).

I'll be posting a full length piece on my holiday right at the start of the new year or on New Years Eve. However, I did think it wouldn't be right to let Christmas go by without sharing a little something however small it may be, so here are a couple of pictures I took on Christmas Eve at the Rockefeller Centre. When you're there you wish Christmas was everyday of the year.

Here you go...

Thanksgiving Weekend

One of the perks of living in another country is that you get the opportunity to immerse yourself into the culture of the people of that country. This weekend was another such opportunity for me as we celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States.

I have certainly heard of the holiday, but I would have never guessed that it was this festive and celebrated to the extent that I witnessed it. In fact, four weeks prior to Thanksgiving I was pretty indifferent about the entire occasion because it meant nothing to me having not grown up with that holiday marked off on my calendar. However, as time grew closer the festive bug bit me and I couldn't wait to jump right in.

In New York there's an entire elaborate parade that happens together with enormous blow-up floats, marching bands, live performances, and other cool parade things. It's called the Macy's Day Parade and it's an annual Thanksgiving event that get's televised throughout the country, apparently. People tell me that as kids they grow up with the smell of pumpkin pie being made in the kitchen and the Thanksgiving Day parade on the television - they go together like Christmas and the North Pole (or whatever you associate Christmas with). But if you live in New York City, like me, you can watch the parade live! That's if you don't mind waking up at an ungodly hour so that you can get a good spot to view the whole thing. Well, I apparently do.

I spent the afternoon at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in New Jersey, though, which was one of the best things I have done since being the city. I was invited by a friend of mine and boy was I grateful for that invite. It was just so cool to get out of the hustle and bustle of New York City for a bit and be in the relaxed environment of Mendham, NJ. It's a beautiful neighborhood with large pieces of land, stunning houses, and tranquil surroundings. The dinner party must have had at least 50 guests in attendance, but there surely wasn't a shortage of food. That is one thing I learned about this holiday: eating is almost a sport. And then you still have to make room for dessert, but I wasn't complaining.

Directly after Thanksgiving comes the biggest shopping day in America, coined Black Friday. On this day shops open as early 00:00 and have massive discounts on their products. Almost everything in the entire country is on sale on this day. You save and wait 364 days for this day. People literally camp outside of stores and stampede on this day. I don't blame them with discounts of sometimes 75% on Plasma TV's, for example. It's pretty much just an amazing day for anyone who loves to shop.

Although there is a real historical purpose behind this holiday which I don't really care too much to examine, I think it's so awesome to have a holiday where one can reflect and be thankful for their life and things in their life. At this point in my life I am thankful for God's promises over me, purpose, the love of my family and friends, the excitement of life's experiences, and my many talents. Come to think of it, after being so intensely busy since I started my program, I am really thankful for this long weekend - it's good to recharge.

Perspective

As I steadily smooth in to my new life in the Big Apple, fewer things seem newsworthy as I become acclimatised and thus it feels as though I neglect this blog when in fact I feel guilty every week that goes by without a post. So today I am going to share something just for the heck of it. It is not necessarily a New York City experience per se, but this is where I realized what I'm about to share so this blog may still be the correct forum, right? 

So many times, especially as New Yorkers, we can look past the things happening around us because they don't affect us directly. It's easy to walk past homeless beggars on the street and pay no attention to them because once you've come across ten people over time with the same 'occupation', you somewhat become numb to compassion. You don't get angry at this social injustice which is clearly not normal - and definitely not what was purposed for anyone under the sun. You now simply view people as unfortunate. Unlucky. A statistic. A number.

Funny enough, with this distorted view of our fellow human beings we also lose perspective and perspective, I have learned, can change your life.

How is it that everyone believes that the challenges they face are of such diabolical proportions that the world is about to end? How many people ever take time to remove themselves from a situation and look with a new set of eyes? As I said, perspective will change your life. You worry that the economy is going down and you can't afford to maintain your lifestyle when in Ethiopia there is a child who might not live to see his teens because his reality is that he has no access to a basic human right: clean water. Who has the bigger problem?

I can go on the whole day with comparisons, but I won't. I just want to share something my pastor, Carl Lentz, shared with me this evening: "Have you ever thought that you might not need a change of position but a change of perspective?" You see, with perspective, your challenge won't go anywhere. The mountain won't move. But the way you climb it might.

Proverbs 29:18 says that people with no vision perish. Therefore the opposite of that, people with vision greatly prospering, must be true as well. Is perspective, then, not a form of vision?

Have a great week...

On Broadway

Okay so I have seen a couple of shows now and I think it's only fair that I write up a little bit about each of the shows I've seen the past three weeks. 

Every time I get my ticket, in the subway on my way to the theatre on the day, and also right before I sit down to watch a show I realise the great blessing I have to be where I am at right now. There's a lot of things that one learns in a classroom but sometimes you catch so much more by seeing a production as well and this is something I have the amazing opportunity to do around once a week. 

So far I have seen, in order, The Lion King, Rent, Memphis and Spiderman. I was blown away by three of the four shows while the other one just failed to raise the bar. In fact, don't know if it owned a bar.

• The Lion King, as I have previously mentioned was super awesome and it held a lot of symbolism for me for various reasons.
• Rent was the very first musical I ever saw and after seeing it performed live Off-Broadway it is definitely safe to say that it remains my favorite musical. I loved the score, the use of the most simplistic set and the most talented actors. Each one of the cast gave such amazing performances, but I must especially comment on the character of Angel played brilliantly by Michael Rodriguez.
• Memphis was up next for me and this is a show that I had not really heard of before the time so it was very easy for me to be critical on my way in, but that cast is just too crazy for words. The storytelling is done in such a brilliant way and there are constantly great emotional high and low moments throughout the show. After walking out the show I think one feels that they've learnt so much as well because there is also a very strong message of acceptance over prejudice that is beautifully told through the show.
• Spiderman was a little disappointing to me, unfortunately. I'm a real big comic geek and I love the Spiderman movie franchises, but this really didn't do anything for me. Amongst other things, let's just say it felt more like a U2 concert than the story of Spiderman/Peter Parker. I must say that the set design is amazing though and the stunts were pretty cool as well, but take those two elements out and I don't know if there's a leg to stand on.

The "In The Heights" National Tour is going to be going through New Jersey this month sometime and I will have to catch that show. If I manage to score tickets I'll definitely review it as well because I have heard incredible reviews about that show.

There's still a ton of shows to be watched so I'll make this post as regular as possible.

...When You're Having Fun

As of yesterday, I have been living in New York for an entire month and I'm still alive. This, to me, is a milestone and I thought it would be fitting to add another post to commemorate this occasion.

It is a bit hard to believe that it's been a month here already. On one hand it seems so much longer because I miss my friends and family back home and I think about them daily, naturally. On the other hand it feels so short because everyday in this city is such an adventure and it feels like there is still so much that I haven't done while here. 

I think I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but it is so difficult to be a tourist in a foreign country when you're a resident. Now I know why Americans are, in general, so unexplored. 

The one cool thing that I regularly am doing, and am going to continue doing, is watching a lot of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and musicals. In the past three weeks I've seen The Lion King, Rent, and Memphis and I think I am watching Spiderman:Turn Off The Dark tomorrow. I'll tell you a lot more about these in my next post, but what I want to throw at you is what would you go do if you were in New York City for 24 hours? Leave your comments and let's see what comes up. I'm hoping to get a bunch of collective ideas and spend one weekend in the future being an official tourist.

Time surely does fly when you're having fun like I am, but I can't let that keep me from exploring this beautiful and historic city.

The Circle of Life

I know I haven't blogged in over a week, but because I had two blog posts in a single week previously I'm hoping you'll forgive me. Now, let's get down to business...

I am quite intrigued - almost on a daily basis - at how life works it's self out. The purpose-filled connections we make, and the opportune timing of events. I mean if you think about it everything that has brought you to this moment here has been meticulously calculated up to this very second. The people you have come across, the career path you chose, the events in your life, and even the minor activities that you plan over your weekends. Everything has some form of significance somewhere. If you don't understand what I'm saying then rent a movie called 'The Adjustment Bureau' starring Matt Damon and that should give you a lead.

For those of us who are accelerated, let me fill you in on what got me thinking about this. Last week Saturday I had the coolest privilege of watching my very first Broadway production, The Lion King. In the moment right after I purchased my ticket from the box office I then realized that, oddly enough, The Lion King was also my very first movie way back in 1995 as a 6/7 year-old kid. Significance? Well it's nothing that will change your life forever, but The Lion King is also a production I had auditioned for back home but having not known very much about the world of Musical Theatre at the time. Needless to say I did not get cast. Now, as the circle of life would have it, one of my instructors at the New York Film Academy, Thom Christopher Warren, is a part of the cast and has been a part of this Broadway production for the past nine years. Maybe it's just me, but the dot's I'm connecting are pretty cool.

Anyway, after the show I get a personal backstage tour from the the man himself and I have the opportunity to also say 'howzit' to some fellow South Africans who are a part of the cast. Throughout my tour Thom drops statements such as 'when you're a part of the The Lion King...' in an attempt to spur me on and encourage me I guess. Two words: it worked! Here's a dot I'm already seeing: next time The Lion King holds auditions I will already have a good word on the inside as long as I continue to work hard prove myself in the days of learning.

Similarly, my housing woes in the city have come to an end and I attribute it to this very Circle of Life. I now live with a friend of mine who has followed a totally different journey to me in life, but yet here we are together in New York City in the same apartment at the end. In short, Willem is a virtuoso pianist/composer/arranger who was a school mate in Bloemfontein, later became my vocal coach in our chamber choir (glee club) at school, we then became friends and kept contact through the wonders of technology such as Facebook and Skype, and now after almost ten years we are roommates in New York City and are both in the same industry. How cool is that?

If you haven't noticed, a lot of my posts are loosely based on scriptural references and are over-simplified (sometimes over-explained) versions of things a guy much smarter and wiser than I will ever be once said. As I write this, here is what comes to mind:

 "And we know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" - Romans 8:28 (NLT)

P.S In the next post I'll tell you more about the amazing show I watched yesterday! WOW! Look out for it.

"We Will Never Forget..."

These are the words on almost every single American company's branding as you walk the city streets. These are the words that describe what every American feels at this time. What are they referring to? The lives lost ten years ago on 9/11. The brave men and women who came to the fore to provide emergency services and care for those who had had everything ripped away in a single instant. A nation that was brought together by terror.

I remember where I was ten years ago to this day. Walking in my local Spar to shop for snacks for the school trip we were taking the following day I noticed people watching TV with images of crashing planes. I paid little attention to this commotion - as a 7th grader would - until I got home to see our TV on the very same channel. Those crashing planes weren't fiction anymore. This was very much real life and, in fact, was going to be a reference point in history for everyone who was alive on planet earth at that time.

Fast forward ten years and I could have never guessed that I would be sitting in that exact once terror-strikken city myself. 

I sat in a church service that made me so emotional, yet also made me feel like a proud and resilient American (which I am not). You see, it's one thing to hear about people hurting and those that have gone through hardships, but a total other thing to live in their world. Their pain becomes your pain. You bleed when they bleed. 

In the beginning of the service, Ps Carl Lentz asks all those that have been directly affected or have lost someone by the happenings of 9/11 to stand up so they can be honoured for their resilience. My eyes tear up as I realise this is real right here, but at the same time I sense a tangible presence of God's unending love in the room as worship music plays in the background. It's in our times of desperate need that God is closest to us.

I honour every single American for their strength. I once might have thought that the events of 9/11 get over-reported, but being in the middle of it all ten years on, I also say 'we will never forget'.

"Now all I am, I lay at your feet. I'm humbled by the wonder of Your majesty. One thing I know, I find all I need in your unending love. In your unending love."

- Unending Love by Hillsong Live taken from the album God Is Able