The 14 students taking part in the New York City Program this spring began their semester with a whirlwind tour of the art, food, history and culture that New York City has to offer.
The program, directed this semester by Professor of English and Creative Writing Naomi Guttman, is titled “Eating the Big Apple: Global Food and Food-Writing in New York City.”
On Jan. 17, the group volunteered at the Bowery Mission, an organization dedicated to serving the city’s homeless and hungry since 1879. Students spent the day preparing meals, serving lunch, and helping the staff clean up, organize and stock the pantry. The Mission serves more than 1,000 meals per day in total.
Live, work and learn in one of the world's premier cities of commerce and culture. Hamilton in New York City combines an internship with academic experience and is unique in its attempt to encompass a wide range of perspectives on globalization.
“Volunteering at the Bowery Mission was a great way to see the side of NYC that's often overlooked. The organization seems to be a great asset for a lot of people in the city, which was inspiring to see from behind the scenes,” said Laura Whitmer ’18, a creative writing major.
The next day, the group explored Union Square farmer’s market and Chelsea Market, a hub of restaurants and specialty food stores. After lunch, students took a tour of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s special exhibition, “Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection.”
“The Whitney has such an amazing collection. My favorite piece was Standing Julian, a giant statue that doubles as a candle that's been slowly melting at the back of the gallery for the past six months,” Whitmer said.
In planning the orientation week’s schedule, Guttman sought to combine the themes of food, globalization and the culture of New York City. Thursday took the group further downtown, to explore the Lower East Side, try knishes, eat at Katz Delicatessen (of When Harry Met Sally fame) and visit the Tenement Museum.
“I think the orientation was a good balance of getting settled with academics, getting to know each other, and exploring the city,” Guttman said.
After busy days out in the city, the group dined together throughout the week, including a Thursday night potluck dinner for which the three apartments brought a dish from Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day, a cookbook on the syllabus. Orientation week was capped with tickets to see a performance of the opera “Rigoletto” at Lincoln Center.
