UNICEF Campus Initiative 2009 in NYC!
This past weekend I had the priveledge of traveling to New York to attend the UNICEF Campus Initiative conference. Prior to going I was incredibly excited, but not really sure what to expect. I had been getting emails from different people with comference logistics, and I was busy preparing for my trip, booking my flight and deciding what to pack. It wasn't really a reality until I was up at four in the morning Friday, on my way to the airport.
I made it to New York La Guardia airport and caught a cab, thus kicking off my first typical New York experience: TRAFFIC. And I thought Houson gridlock was crazy. Luckily I made it to the hotel just in time to catch up with the UNICEF group going on the UN tour...which was incredible! There was a really cool sculpture outside the UN building, which was a revolver with a know tied in the barrel. It stands for the end of war and the promotion of peace in the world. Once inside we had to go through security (and of course my dumb ass decides to wear my metal-ridden bottle cap belt on a day where I was at the airport and the UN). We met up with our tour guide, who was wearing a kimona! (The tour guides all wear the traditional garb of their country of origin). The tour was so interesting and informative. I learned a lot about the UN's current objectives; eradication of hunger, education, gender equality, prevention of disease, etc. And we got to sit in the actual UN meeting room, which was so amazingly cool!
After the UN tour, we quickly stopped by the UNICEF gift shop where I spent way too much money, then went back to the hotel to check in, and *jaw drops to the floor and mouth hangs open* It was so swanky...and OMG the beds! Sooo comfortable...big fluffy pillows and down comforter. I changed for the welcome dinner, then headed over to the UNICEF building for the welcome dinner. It was so nice! (And the food was really good all weekend too, which was surprising...I was expecting simple cereal and sandwiches and stuff, but it was all really nice). After dinner there was an introduction to the conference and a really good speech on UNICEF's efforts in Zimbabawe.
Afterward I was planning on going to Times Square, and was also wanting to go to Serendipity 3 for their famous frozen hot chocolate, and because I love the movie. I was asking Skyler (one of the campus initiative leaders) how to get there, which lead to me becoming friends with a girl from Utah, Ariana. She heard me mention Serendipity, and was really excited to find out that it was a real place, because, like me, loves the movie. We ended up going to Times Square with about 25 people. It was amazing, getting to see it live and in person. Movies just don't do it justice. You need to have the 360 degrees experience. Obviously it was impossible for 25 people to stay together in a place like Times Square, so we all split up, and I walked around with Ariana and two guys, Ryan and Seth.
There was a random guy on the street selling Obama condoms. WTF? We asked him what made them Obama condoms, and he replied with, "They're flavored with hope." ROFL
We tried to go to the two story Toys R' Us with the Ferris Wheel, but it was closing. This was disappointing, but made so much better by the two story M&M store that was open. There was also a Hershey's store right next door, equaling chocolate heaven. We wandered over to the Rockafeller Center, which was supposed to be our meeting point with the rest of the group. We collected what people we could find then headed back toward the hotel, where I crawled into this amazingly comfortable bed and fell asleep.
Next morning...got up way too early to take a shower and got ready for day two of the conference. I learned so much about UNICEF and ways to make my school's chapter better and more effective. I won't go into too much detail here, because I could go on for pages, but if anyone would like more information on UNICEF I'd be more than happy to share. *Hint hint*
That evening Ariana, Seth, Ryan, Daniel, and I went to dinner at Serendipity. The wait was an hour and a half, so while we were waiting we went to Central Park, which was just a few blocks away. Serendipity was so cute! And the food was really good, and pretty expensive...but hey, I was on vacation. And the frozen hot chocolate was AMAZING! and HUGE. It fed all five of us. And I bought a really cute coffee mug. The guy at the register asked if I was Japanese...I love it when people know. After Serendipity, we went back to the hotel and dropped Seth and Daniel off. Then the rest of us walked to Battery Park, which was a cute little place on the water. And you could see the Statue of Liberty from it...it was really far off, but you could still see it. And I got some awesome shots of the city skyline.
After that I went back to the hotel for night two of most comfortable bed ever...which ended way too soon. I actually set my alarm wrong and overslept...thus waking up to Charlene telling me it was 8:30...she had overslept as well. I threw all my crap into my suitcase and we headed over to the UNICEF building for the final day of the conference. We took a big group picture and had a little closing ceremony. I said good bye to a bunch of people, which was sad :(. Then everyone had to leave to catch their respective travels home. I took a cab with two girls to the airport, then sat in the terminal waiting for my plane. There were actually two flights to Houston leaving from the same terminal, so I tried to board the wrong one at first. My flight was a little delayed, but I ran into another girl from the conference, and we talked for awhile, so that was nice.
Then I boarded the plane and flew home to Houston...thus ending my most exciting part of the summer.
Getting to go to the campus summit was definitely one of the most amazing experience of my life. There's so much that all of us can be doing to better the world and promote peace through UNICEF. Anf I loved meeting people who are just as passionate as I am about the cause. And I finally got to see a little bit of New York, a place that I've always wanted to go to. Hopefully I can go back soon!