Will Gilbert

Spring Phase

2010-05-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

Alright, we are in the final portion of the year here at St. Benedict's; spring phase is a month long class unlike any I have ever taken.

Dr. Wolf and I are the moderators of Kayrix, the student literary magazine. We meet for five hours a day and need to complete our magazine by the May 25. The days are long and we are still finding a rhythm, but it is enjoyable. We spend each day reading, writing, and reviewing submissions. Our editors were selected today and a professional will come in a couple days each week to help with layout. It is an incredible opportunity for the guys here that are interested in writing, magazines, publishing, etc...

We spent all of Friday in NYC and were lucky enough to meet the staff at the Hudson Review, ask questions, read some of our work, and share lunch. The review has been going for over 60 years and has had only two editors-in-chief. Though they have additional support staff for editing accepted submissions, the day-to-day operations are all done by four staff members. They have a tight office tucked away in the fourth floor of the Spanish Cultural Institute on Park Avenue. It was quite a maneuver to get the eighteen of us into the office to get a tour!

After lunch, we walked to the Whitney Biennial. With only an hour to spare, I didn't see much beyond the permanent collection. It is not a very big museum and the material is very contemporary, but I did enjoy the experience. After getting tickets for the guys, Dr. Wolf and I stopped downstairs for a coffee and he told me a story from the last time he was at the Whitney:

Two years ago on a rainy Friday, he led the same field trip and found himself almost alone in the cafe downstairs. He saw a very striking woman in line in front of him getting coffee (he emphasized striking several times, so take note). After he got coffee and found a table, he saw that this woman was not alone at her table. She was accompanied by a very slender old man in the blandest clothes he had ever seen, a big rain hat, and glasses. As he was taking in this vision, he kept wondering- why is she with him, what could he possibly have to offer? While getting close to the bottom of his coffee, he saw that she laughed at everything he said and they clearly loved each other. so, as he is leaving he walks by their table and gets a closer look: It's David Bowie and his wife Iman!

The coffee and conversation were good, but sadly we did not have another Bowie sighting.

We got back from the field trip after five and I was too tired to do much Friday night. So, I did two fun things Saturday to make up for it - I bought my first new record ever and I went to a costume party at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Though I have hundreds of used records, I have never payed full price for a shiny, untouched, new record. The record is Actor, by St. Vincent and I have listened to it at least seven times since Sunday. I heard about St. Vincent last Spring when this record came out, but I never got around to listening to her. Then, last Saturday I caught a few minutes of her on Austin City Limits and her guitar skills caught my attention. Her music can be very dark, but I kind of dig it. Some of my favorite tracks are Actor Out of Work, Marrow, Laughing With a Mouth of Blood, and The Party. Here is a track that is not on the album, but hints at the guitar work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lan-UQfN0zs

Later that night I went to the "Rite of Spring" costume party in Gowanus, Brooklyn with my friend Rafael Sanchez. The theme of the party combined spring/frightnite, was run by an avant-garde performance group, and took place in a recently converted factory. There was a projector playing really bizarre videos made by the group, and midway through they went on stage and did a choreographed dance. To give a better description of the scene, hundreds of wonderful costumes decorated the cavernous space, from spandex to zombie and everything between. The DJs were great, and though I was out way too late, it was a lot of fun!

Swimming Championship

2010-03-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I traveled with the swim team for our final meet of the year. We drove to Philadelphia for the two day Eastern's Championship. Almost all of our guys swam best times, but it was a very competitive meet; we swam at the Lasalle University pool ( A division I school), and two pool records were nearly beaten - 47.78 for the 100 Fly and 1:36.7 for the 200 Free!

It was my first time in Philadelphia so I enlisted the help of my father to find a good Philly cheese steak. I ended up going to Jim's on South St. It took about fifteen minutes to get there through snow/rain, but I really liked walking through Old City. On the way back, we drove through Camden, NJ and that was not too hot, and I've heard bad things about West Philadelphia, but overall it was a pleasant experience.

Today was the first day in almost 6-7 months that I have not had coaching responsibilities from 3:30 - 6:00. With my free time I corrected homework, prepared an in-class activity, attended 5:00 mass, and had time to read the new winter issue of the Saint John's Magazine. I hope the end of third quarter combined with this extra time each day will allow me to get ahead and allow me to focus on something that has been put to the side: deciding what to do next year/applying for jobs.

Buses, Einstein, Paella, Swimming, Teaching, Theatre, Trains, and Fr. Bob!

2010-01-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

Teaching economics this semester, I have started to change up some of my routines. I am trying new things in class to keep things interesting... for me! I found some great online resources for video and audio clips of famous economists, entrepreneurs, thinkers, etc... and have begun to incorporate these clips into the class. I am enjoying it right now, but we'll see where it goes!

Swimming has really taken me places! Well, coaching swimming has allowed me to travel to some great places in the last two weeks. The weekend before last, I spent Saturday at Poly Prep in Brooklyn (Google Maps). It was a pretty great bus ride - as we crossed the Verazano-Narrows Bridge, on my right was the Atlantic, to my left were NJ and Manhattan, behind me was Staten Island, and straight ahead was Brooklyn. Poly Prep is an enormous school, but they had the smallest pool I have ever seen - it was originally a three-lane pool, but they converted it by adding an extra lane lines! The team is doing well; we have won our last few meets.

This last Saturday, I went with the team to West Windsor, NJ. It was an all-day tournament and I had prior engagements, so I took a train back to Newark. The closest train station was Princeton Junction and it turns out it has some cool history: Albert Einstein used to enjoy sitting at the station and watching trains go by, and these experiences helped him with his General Theory of Relativity.

After returning to Newark, Pat, Jake, and I went to Manhattan to see Fr. Bob Koopmann. We saw a play, Earnest in Love, at the Irish Repertory Theatre and had great paella and sangria at El Quijote on 23rd and 7th - right below the Chelsea Hotel. It was really nice to see Fr. Bob, and it is great that he is able to take a vacation!

A New Year, A New Post

2010-01-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

First of all, it has been a long time since the last post. For that, I apologize.

Much has happened since September. Water polo season ended and swimming season began and continues. I finished my first semester of teaching economics. And with the first semester fresh in my mind, I am teaching the second semester (with all new students) differently.

I am trying to reflect on what I liked about my first semester experience, as well as what I wished went differently: I think we should have covered more material and I would have liked having more command over the class. In general, the class became a little less productive and less focused over the course of the semester.

It took me a little while to become aware of the importance of being consistent and persistent, as well as the power of inertia. Jumping right into a position of leadership, I was not always sure of myself. As the block period is 80 minutes, there were many opportunities for this characteristic to present itself. The most frequent apparition was a lack of persistence regarding talking out of turn. Occasionally I would get tired of quieting down the entire class and gaining everyone's attention before speaking. This inconsistency provided room for some students to push limits and impede in-class work, notes, group work, etc... Once it became apparent that this would be an issue that would not go away, I became more persistent and actively tried to counteract this development. However, the inertia of this habit was so powerful that it continued to be a problem.

With all of this in mind, I wanted to begin the second semester with a good first impression. Andy Dirksen, who was a benedictine volunteer at Saint Benedict's a few years ago, visited over break and provided some inspiration. It was good to see Andy because he is fun to go out with, is a good conversationalist, and has a great knowledge of Benedict's. When speaking about how to begin a new class, he mentioned that he started by giving the students a book, told them to read and outline the first chapter, had a quiz on the second day, and did not go over the syllabus and introductions until the third day. I liked this idea and started my first day of class by having the students read the first section of chapter one and outline it. I was amazed by the results: everyone, all 27 students, read and took notes in silence. After a half-hour of silence, during which I felt satisfied yet uncomfortable due to its foreignness, I asked the class to describe certain portions of the chapter they read, and finished with the fact that there would be a quiz tomorrow on the first section.

It is early in the semester and I must work hard to keep the class interesting, but so far everything is going swimmingly. I am really happy with my new class, and hope the things I learned during the highs and lows of first semester will aid me in my efforts this semester.

Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Mid-terms

2009-09-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

Within a week I will have ventured through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Mid-terms.

Our team went to a water polo tournament last Friday and Saturday, just south of Philadelphia. Coach Cassidy and I rented vans Friday during school, and each drove eight polo players to Pennsylvania. We played three games Friday and two Saturday. After returning Saturday evening, I can now say that I have driven on the New Jersey Turnpike and survived.

Mid-terms grades and comments were due today at 6:00 PM. I have a pretty good idea of how all my students are doing, and now just need to keep the material interesting. I am starting to see some students get into routines that I do not especially like: purposefully asking questions that lead the class in different directions, not being productive during group work, and complaining about notes. I tried to address some of those topics with my comments and have been working to change up the way class flows.

We are getting into some of the tougher-beginning concepts of economics: supply and demand, changes in demand vs. changes in quantity demanded, and graphing price as a dependent variable - even though it is much easier for them to think of it as an independent variable.

Today we beat Horace Mann, and now have a 4 and 6 record - I think? It is amazing how dirty and disrespectful some high school sports teams can be. Juan-Carlos De Jesus, one of our senior captains, got punched in the face in today's game - the player that did it was kicked-out (taken out of the game for 20 seconds, until a goal is scored, or until a change of possession),
Isiah, a junior, was headbutted and got a black-eye, one of the Horace Mann players spit on his hand before shaking our hands, and during the tournament last weekend one of the opposing players called Troy the N-word during a free-throw. It is kind of disheartening when things like those happen - I can imagine how a parent feels telling their kid not to start fights, but at the same time not wanting their kid to get beat up.

Saturday morning we will be going down to a tournament in Bethesda, Maryland. We will be taking a coach bus (praise be to God), so I will not have to drive during the four hour trip!

I enjoy being with the team and coaching, but sometimes I need a little time off. I look forward to the events on October 13th and 14th when Father Bob Koopmann comes out to NJ and NY. It will be nice to catch up with him and see what his new job is like.

Last Weekend of Summer

2009-09-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Father Maynard was nice enough to take me down to Sea Girt, New Jersey this weekend. For the last thirty or so years he has spent his weekends in Sea Girt, giving mass at Saint Mark’s Church. From Newark, it is about an hour south. That short distance makes a world of difference. We took the freeway about half the way, and drove the rest along the shore. We passed through the cities of Deal, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Belmar, and Spring Lake before reaching Sea Girt. Each town/city had its own appeal. Deal, Belmar, Spring Lake, and Sea Girt where made up of modern Oceanside mansions. Asbury Park had remnants of abandoned apartment buildings cross-street from forgotten boardwalk hotspots like the Berkeley Hotel and the Paramount Theatre. Ocean Grove was a very interesting town. A strict Methodist community, the Victorian houses and narrow streets hint at its interesting past: it was founded as a religious community and for many years no cars were allowed inside the city on Sundays.

Father Maynard and I went for a walk along the boardwalk on Saturday, and spent the early afternoon of Sunday reading on the beach. Hopefully it was not the last weekend of “summer,” but if it was, it was beautiful: clear skies, a breeze now and then, and temperatures in the 70’s.
Saturday night Father Maynard and I went out to dinner with a parishioner named Collette. We ate at Maria’s in Sea Girt. I had an eggplant appetizer, a Beck’s, and Veal Saltimbocca. Collette had the Veal Saltimbocca as well, and Father Maynard had an artichoke appetizer and the Scrod. Every meal came with a bowl of pasta and a salad. Needless to say, I was stuffed.
As I write this, I am back in Newark, listening to “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got,” by William DeVaughn. If you are not familiar with this song, youtube it.

Teaching and Water Polo

2009-09-21T21:04:00.002-07:00

I am teaching one 80 minute block each day of economics, and helping cover classes for absent teachers. Making lesson plans for each period has been a headache, so far. I know how much time I need to fill, but estimating how long each activity will take is hit or miss at the moment. I am having trouble gauging how much homework to give, how to grade it, and how challenging to make quizzes and tests. I hear after the first year it gets easier, but I spend about two hours each night working on class for the next day.

On Sunday the 13th, the water polo team had its first scrimmage of the year. We drove down to Rutgers, New Brunswick early that morning, played a game against a team comprised of Army club players, Rutgers club players, and some of our own players. It was fun to see, but it was hard to get an impression of the team, considering the opponent. This last Wednesday, we had our first real game. It was at home, against a high school from Pennsylvania. We had a good start in the first quarter with a couple early goals, but fell apart in the second quarter. Down by four goals in the third period, we rallied to a 15-14 victory! I know the general rules of water polo, but really need to see some games before I feel comfortable leading a team – thankfully I will not have those responsibilities unless, as coach Cassidy jokingly pointed out, he gets ejected. We have games at home on Monday the 21st, and Wednesday the 23rd. This Friday we will be going to a tournament, lasting until Saturday. We lost our game today – 14-12. Hopefully it will motivate the team to get focused and practice harder.

Week-long Break

2009-09-21T21:04:00.001-07:00

At the end of August we had a weeklong break from classes. The other volunteers spent time travelling, but I stayed around. I visited Hoboken once, Manhattan a few times, Brooklyn twice, and Munsee, NJ.
My goal for the week was to find a guitar to buy. I visited a shop in Hoboken, one in Brooklyn, and one in Manhattan. Not really satisfied with the options available, I turned to Craigslist. I found a great Spanish-made classical with solid Cedar top and Rosewood back and sides for $200. Knowing the guitar would not come with a case, I went to Guitar Center on 14th St in Manhattan, bought a soft-shell case, and took the subway to Brooklyn. The guy I bought the guitar from had been given it by a friend who gave up trying to learn. About ten minutes after getting off the train, I had the guitar and was on my way back to Manhattan. Later the night, guitar in hand, I met up with a fellow teacher from Saint Benedict’s at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village. We saw some so-so live music, but it was nice to see a historic concert venue.

More Records

2009-08-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

I think I this is a complete representation of my Newark record collection!

Break

2009-08-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

The "Summer Phase" ended Friday. School began July 27th, and I spent the last month doing several things:

I shadowed/helped teach a documentary film course with Dr. Wolf. The class was comprised of students from 10th-12th grade, and vastly different skill levels. The aims of the course were to study the development of documentary film conventions, view examples of these conventions (Nanook of The North, Triumph of The Will, Fahrenheit 911, When We Were Kings, Street Fight, and Born into Brothels), develop a vocabulary of technical film terms, and for students to write their own documentary film proposal.

This was a very valuable experience in many ways: I have never studied teaching, nor have I ever tried to teach multiple people at once - I quickly became aware of the difficulties of keeping students of varying capabilities on-task, interested, and pushed to learn - all while trying to placate a unruly students. By speaking with other teachers, I have been trying to absorb many of the lessons learned through years of teaching - without having to make those mistakes firsthand. Something I have picked up on is the importance of setting the tone for the course in the beginning and being consistent.

I plan to be strict for the first week (having pre-thought-out reactions for tardiness, walking around the class, being disruptive, etc...). Hopefully I can establish clear expectations for behavior, and not have to waste time disciplining instead of teaching. I do think I have an advantage over some other teachers, though: I will be teaching an elective for upper division students. Also, since Saint Benedict's is a private school, students often have at least one person in their lives who care for them and is willing and able to pay at least some portion of the tuition. This is very helpful in responding to students who know how to play the game (push buttons, disrespect teachers in front of the class, test a teacher's willingness to enforce rules - and sometimes exploit the knowledge that grades are about progress: starting a semester with bad behavior and showing progress at the end can result in a passing grade - and usually requires less actual work than what is required). In these situations, having the ability to call someone's mom is amazingly helpful.

I have also spent every weekday from 2:30-5:15 coaching water polo. It has been nice to get to know kids outside of a classroom setting. There are more than 50 players, about thirty of which are JV/beginning to swim. I work with these younger guys - mostly working on swimming skills. I enjoy coaching in small groups, but addressing the whole team, or large numbers of polo players is taxing for me. Right now, commanding respect and getting everyone to be quiet when I want to give directions is draining - I don't look forward to this part of every practice. Hopefully, over the course of the year this will become a skill I don't shy away from. After practice, I eat dinner with the students living on campus, go to Vespers, and am free at about 7:30.

I have this next week off - kind of. I will be preparing my syllabus, the first two weeks of lesson plans, coaching water polo in the morning. I plan to spend a few days visting Manhattan and Brooklyn this week. Also, in the next few weeks I would like to go to the Jersey coast with some of the monks.

Today, my record of the day is Mighty Love, by The Spinners.

1st Photo

2009-08-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

I went to Millburn Music today, thanks to Father Albert Holtz. In the monastery there is rarely music played during prayer, but occasionally Father Albert plays classical guitar to accompany the singing/chanting. Looking to buy a guitar myself, I inquired about the guitar and any shops nearby. Father Albert mentioned that he got a good deal on it from a guitar store in Millburn, NJ, and that he has had a relationship with the store for many years. It was very thoughtful of Father Albert to drive me out there today, but unfortunately the store only had new guitars – not what I was hoping for. After the trip, Father Albert suggested I get in contact with the school’s band director since he has a working relationship with someone who supplies musical instrument to the school. I will be sure to do so this week.

Today the volunteers had a group photograph taken by Saint Benedict’s Prep – I stand corrected; we have had a photo taken since we arrived.

Met/Records

2009-08-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

First, let me start by mentioning that none of the volunteers, myself included, have taken a single photograph, thus far... now that this is out of the way, I can continue in good conscience!

On Sunday, Father Augustine, Pat Hayes, and I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We spent about three hours there, but were able to skim over a large portion of the museum. Pat and I walked through most of the second floor while Father Augustine spent time looking through the medieval works. After entering, I went straight for the rooms dedicated to European paintings. Of course there were a lot of important works there (Michelangelo’s first painting, some of the Dutch and Italian masters, etc…). But the time period was a little early for my taste. The section I was taken by most was that of 18th-20th century European paintings (Monet, Van Gough, Picasso, Dali, etc...). Pat and I also walked through the modern art section (Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollack, Chuck Close, etc…), a new exhibit dedicated to the model as muse, art of early civilizations, Greek and Roman Sculpture, and the art of Asia. Truly, the best way to describe our method of seeing the museum is skimming. It was really nothing more than a first, brief impression. There is such quality and consistency in the museum that every piece is important, unique, impressive, and worthy of in-depth study. I feel it will take many more visits before I can feel comfortable saying that I have been to the Met.

Though I enjoyed my experience at the Met, my highlight of the day came on the trip back home. My high point was not the subway ride - though it was a unique experience to observe someone from Queens huff glue from a bottle, inform the entire car that he had been partying for three days straight, was going home to the QU to shower and pop a star (ecstasy ), offer to sell a star to anyone interested ($10), advertise a club with a $40 cover charge, mention to all those concerned that he would continue to get F’d up every day for the next week, and even have the nerve to brag that no one parties like they do in Queens! Surprisingly, considering the previous information, my high point took place in Newark.

Walking back through Newark, Sunday at about 5:00, I glanced down a side street and was intrigued by a store with the following sign: 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s Soul Memorabilia. As a side note, over the last several months I have really enjoyed spending time with my Dad looking for old records. In fact, my only complaint would be: Minnesota, due to its demographics, is full of used records generally only in the rock and country genres. Though I enjoy these types of music, I really want to find soul, blues, jazz, etc…

Enter 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s Soul Memorabilia. The store is pretty small (similar to the inside of a subway car), has one glass counter/display case stretching the length of the building, and a small aisle. While the display case is filled with bootleg CDs and DVDs, the aisle, toward the back, is lined with about a dozen plastic milk crates filled with records – stacked three crates high. Still, my only objection is the following: the records are taller that the plastic containers, extending a couple inches above the rim, and are being crushed by the weight of the crates on top of them. In addition, many of the records are DJ records(unlabelled album covers, and only two or three songs on each album), are in terrible condition (some look like they were left outside in the rain for days), and there is no order to the records. With all of this set aside, some of the records are really great!!! The pricing for vinyl in the store is as follows: All LPs - $2, all 45s - $ .25 (no matter if they are from terrible artist and in unplayable condition, or if they are very rare and valuable). Since finding the shop, I have spent $ 30. This is what I have bought (granted some are not in great condition):

The Beatles: White Album

Sam Cooke: Sam Cooke with The Bumps Blackwell Orchestra (On the Keen record label - late fifties, and his first album)

Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

B.B. King: Mr. Blues

The Righteous Brothers: Soul and Inspiration

Introducing The Beatles (the first US release for the Beatles)

Jimmy Smith: The Semon!

The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed

And some 45s, also:
The Drifters: Some Kind of Wonderful/Honey Bee
Ritchie Valens: Donna/La Bamba
Al Green: Call Me/What a Wonderful Thing Love Is
The Chiffons: He’s So Fine/Oh My Lover
Johnny Cash: The One On The Right Is On The Left/Cotton Pickin’ Hands
Chuck Berry: You Never Can Tell/Brenda Lee (Chess Records!)
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough/Give A Little Love
The Four Tops: Baby I Need Your Loving/Call On Me
Fats Domino: Let The Four Winds Blow/Good Hearted Man
… Plus a few other 45s.

Munsee, NJ

2009-08-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the gap between entries: keeping up with the whole blog thing is a little challenging for me. Quite a few things have happened since the last post.

First, the weekend in Munsee, NJ provided a great change of pace as well as some nostalgic feelings. For many years the monastic community in Newark resided on relatively small acreage – compared to other Benedictine monasteries. However, in the 198os they were donated property in Munsee. It is situated in a very rustic location: along a brook and sharing borders with a state forest.

The past owner ran a small summer camp. So, the property contains a main building with kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, dining room, and common rooms, a tennis court and a basketball court, a couple maintenance sheds, and three or four large cabins. In addition, this main complex sits along the base of a medium-sized hill. Walking up the hill, I discovered a few more cabins and a hiking path. Following this path for about five minutes, I witnessed the transformation of the landscape from that of a moderately dense forest to a rolling prairie. In this prairie, a brief respite carved out of a larger surrounding forest, sat a man made swimming hole. In its present state, the swimming hole is surrounded by vegetation. Though, this was not always the case: In the main building a 1960s brochure for the camp depicted the swimming hole completely enclosed by sandy beaches. Continuing the walk further, through knee high grass, I happened upon a single chain-link backstop. Close by were evergreens, including one where the pitcher’s mound should have been.

Crossing a county road led to even more monastic property. The sounds of a brook became audible a couple minutes walk from the road, and at the top of a small cliff-like mound overlooking the brook, sat a house belonging to the original owners of the camp. Because of some recent rains, the brook was high and looked closer to a river. It was in this setting that I was reminded of my time at camp Icaghowan, and the camp’s 100th anniversary. I wish I could have been there, and hope all of my old camp friends are doing well!

School

2009-07-28T14:02:00.001-07:00

School started today, and it was a pretty exciting day. Starting in September, I will be teaching a full course. I have a lot of freedom and will be able to make my own course title, description, syllabus, course objectives, etc... I will definitely make it an economics class, but I am interested in spreading out into other topic areas. I will include some personal finance stuff, intro to economics, how to understand economic news in the newspaper, business etiquette/resumes/interviewing, etc... If anyone has any other ideas, I would love to hear them!

Though it was a short class day, a lot happened. First, there was a staff meeting addressing the change to a block schedule and some of the effects of the economic recession. At 10:00, the entire school went to convocation. It was there that I first saw the work of the student leaders. They are essentially responsible for running most of the school - maintaining order, cleaning the school, and setting the schedule for the day.

I will be the assistant coach for the water polo team (summer and spring) and for the swim team (fall and winter). We practice six days a week and there are meets at least once a week - starting in September. I have a feeling there is a lot of talent on the team. One recent graduate from Saint Benedict's Prep just set the American record for the 50 freestyle and won gold in the 4X100 freestyle relay in Beijing- Cullen Jones.

Starting in the fall, I am scheduled to teach one block (80 minute period) each day, cover for absent teachers - during my open blocks, and coach. The days will be full, but I will make sure I have some spare time now and then for myself. I will also remain a part of the monastic community - probably attending midday prayer and vespers and eating breakfast and lunch in the monastery. However, we are expected to eat dinner with the students living on campus (about 60) and help keep things orderly.

It has been an exciting experience so far, and I expect things to get busy very soon.

NYC

2009-07-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

My parents and I arrived in NYC Tuesday, and began our stay in a hotel on the border of Soho and Chinatown. After we got settled in, we spent some time walking around Soho, and Nolita. With the help of a guide book, we had lunch at a great place called Bread. It was a good introduction to my new surroundings: I am pretty sure every person in the restaurant was a model, the food was very good, prices were reasonable, and it had a great atmosphere. (I think I will be stopping by in the future). Wednesday was spent entirely in the southern part of Manhattan. We walked through the financial district and Tribeca, and took a trip on the FREE Staten Island Ferry. The ferry provided a great view of the Statue of Liberty, and twenty minutes later we were on Staten Island. Not being aware of anything to do on Staten Island, we boarded the next ferry back to Manhattan.

Thursday, previous BVC volunteers Michael Hahn and Andy Dirkson, as well as Brother Dan Morgan drove from the Newark to pick up my parents and I and take us back to the Newark Abbey and school. After I got settled in, Brother Dan and Michael walked my parents to Penn Station, Newark and took the Path train to Manhattan. Along the way they encountered some colorful characters who felt compelled to contribute to the already on-going conversation. Thursday night, fellow BVC volunteers Jake and Pat showed me around some of the Portugeese section of Newark, and we met up with Michael, Andy, and Dan later that night.

Friday morning, everyone who went out the night before and I journeyed to Manhattan via the Newark Path. We spent some time on the Brooklyn bridge and spent the rest of the day walking back to the western part of the island.

Over the course of the weekend, Father Augustine and Brother Patrick showed us around Newark by car, and Father Mark and I went for a walk through the downtown area.

So far, I have learned a few interesting things about the city: It has great tap water - spuring on the development of many breweries throughout the years, Thomas Edison spent some of his life in Newark - as a result, military park in Newark had the first public electric lights in the U.S., at one point the intersection of Broad and Market was the busiest in the U.S. - 280,000 pedestrian crossings were recorded in a thirteen hour period, and the climate is classified as humid subtropical - meaning the winters are not extremely harsh.

This weekend, Jake, Pat, Father Augustine, and Mike Hawking - a volunteer who went to Notre Dame, and I will be visiting the Abbey's cabin up in Munsee, New Jersey.

Benedictine Volunteer Corps - Newark, NJ

2009-07-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hello!

My name is Will Gilbert. I graduated from the College of Saint Benedict| Saint John's University in May, and will be a part of the Benedictine Volunteer Corps. I will be hosted by the Newark Abbey, and working at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School. My volunteer experience will span the entire academic year at SBP (Saint Benedict's Prep) - beginning 27 July 2009 and concluding May 2010.

I will be living and working with fellow CSB|SJU graduates Pat Hayes and Jake Barnes, as well as another volunteer named Mike Hawking. We will be living in the Turrell House - on the SBP campus, across the street from the Newark Abbey. Websites for the school and Abbey provide additional information regarding the mission and setting for my volunteer experience.

At the moment, beyond knowing that my work will involve SBP, specific responsibilities and scheduling are a little vague. However, it is clear that once the community in Newark has a feel for my skills and interests, I will be assigned accordingly. As soon as I am settled in and better understand my role, I will update the blog.

I hope to use this blog to keep friends and family updated, help inform those interested in the Benedictine Volunteer Corps, and to preserve my observations, feelings, and experiences for my own future benefit.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me a message!

Will Gilbert