nancy graciously introduced me to some of the families who lived in refugee camps in bhutan. they are so gentle and kind. we visited 3 different apartments asking permission to photograph the families for my journalism project. at each house, we were given chai tea and it was the best chai tea i've ever had and the most i've ever had in one day! they used lipton tea, sugar and pepper. that's it! nancy and i probably had about 5 cups! meg nath wanted some portraits to send to his friends in nepal, he wanted the streets and buildings in the background to show he's in america where there are paved roads. out of the three families i visited, only one man had a job(that i know of). i am so proud to be from a country that rescues families in need, but i think more could be done to help employ those recently entering the united states, even if they do not speak english, we should have more bilengual supervisors. there is much we can learn from these families and i think the sooner we offer them opportunities to contribute to society, the less they will depend on others for basic things that most of us take for granted and will eventually find these things on their own which is a beautiful thing.

I'm doing a project on refugee families in Austin who come to the U.S. because they're either persecuted for religious or political reasons. This particular family is from Burundi. This family belongs to the twa ethnic group. The Twa are tiny people. I keep mistaking the father for the son, he is maybe 5 foot at most. (that's me next to the father and 12 year old daughter) If remained in Burundi this family would have been killed by the Hutu's, another ethnic group inhabiting Burundi. This family is so generous. But I won't be able to work with them. They love having their picture taken which doesn't aid to the story. There is so much of a language barrier that I don't know if I have time to wait around to figure out their story myself. So that being sad. On to a family from Burma or Iraq. Hopefully.

These photos are a little soft. The lighting is dim and I forgot to bring a flash! I'd like to say that it adds to the element of unfamiliarity to the family and culture as I've never been in a position to attempt to communicate with a family without a translator of any sort. But I don't know...

i shot in film. apologies to my sloppy processing! ah!

this laundromat is down the street on duval. i feel like i'm transorted back to the 1950's. unlike the doctor's office, laundromats are the only place i can think of where you can wait and talk to strangers and be productive at the same time. although, i don't do laundry here, this one is my favorite. and i met some new friends, dusty and alyson.

ps. the last photo is a self portrait of my reflection in the dryer. it was overexposed, but who cares for the purposes of this blog :)

pss. thank you jp for letting me have your film camera!!!! i still owe you like $75 or maybe just a cheap souvenir from nyc!

Back in the saddle. It was greet seeing everyone again. I missed Lizzie.

Went to mom's in Juno. Within 5 minutes of my arrival, lightning struck the dry ground and Juan and Juanito rushed to put out the fire with sacks. Mom runs out of the house frantically wearing two different pairs of shoes. Cousin (primos) shoes. HAHA.

We made pasta. It's easy, but takes about 4-5 hours. Lesson learned: buy a pasta machine.

I beat Zanna in credit card monopoly...

hahaha. No I didn't not at all.

I rode Regalo three days in a row. My hip still feels like it's going to pop out any moment. So sore..

Our lease expired in Jessie’s and my little dorm room apartment on 66th street. For the past 5 days I’ve been vagabonding it on couches. It’s been alright. A little emotionally exhausting to be so scatterbrained, but I am not so attached to my belongings anymore—which is liberating. And not so attached to the idea of my personal space I need for my sanity.

I have two days left in New York and I’m back to the Texas heat. It will be nice to swim again, and get some vitamin d rays. Today I was in the elevator going up to the 12th floor to Courtney’s apartment and the guy next to me says, ‘that’s a good floor, lots of light, I used to live on that floor.’ Light is one of those elusive things in New York. Who knew?! I took portraits of a part time bartender part time soap star in the evening when I thought the light would be just right. We walked maybe 20 blocks and finally found light reflecting off a building, the 72nd train stop building for the 1, 2, 3 trains. The sun is usually always out, but you’d never know it because the buildings are in the way. It will be surreal to go back to so much sky and Lizzie.

For the past few weeks, I've been photographing Burlesque performances for my own personal project, NYC Burlesque. I am specifically focusing on how women defy stereotypes to define their own sense of sexy. I can’t decide if I should convert of all of the images to black and white for uniformity. I love the blue feathers and I can’t bring myself to lose that. I don’t know. I’ll think about it. I’ll probably just do all of them in color. For now, here is both b/w and color to test the waters. From here on out, on my website, I will not include a single photograph from an event, but rather as Robert Cappa puts it a picture ‘is a cut of the whole event…which will show more of the real truth of the affair to someone who was not there than the whole scene.’ Hopefully many cuts of the whole will show what the whole is all about.

AND had a wonderful spectacular time!

• tavern on the green, mama mia, central park walks, china town, gallaghers, limo rides, carriage rides, bike cab rides, the met.

i love new york.

I was told I should write more. Check back tomorrow or later and I'll write more to go along with this post. I'm going to fold clothes.

Not on the same day fyi.

And I didn't get the lens at Coney Island. Ha maybe I should redo that title...

I sat in a subway for one hour to watch along with 35,000 other people a glutoneous contest. Can you imagine eating 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes?! I don't think I'll ever eat a hot dog again. It was a sight to see. Not that I could really see or anything because there were so many people! Needless to say, I'm glad I went.

Also, got a new lens this evening and took some award winning photos around the apartment. HAHA.

I've been so busy lately. Last Friday I went to the New Jersey shore, Sunday Connecticut then Tuesday back in New York. Back to the honking cars, endless stop lights and the regimented subway. And finally it's comfortable. In the past two days, two people stopped me to ask the best subway route and where to get on the train. I guess I looked friendly and I can't believe I knew what to tell them where to go. Honestly, I think I am kind of an expert at the upper west side—I've gotten lost so many times, I should be.

I went to Connecticut to see my cousin Jennifer's baby, George Campbell Beckett. The name suites him well. He is a great baby. I never heard him cry in the two days I was there. Connecticut is gorgeous and GREEN. Something I do not see too often in Texas.

I'm doing this project on dogs in New York. I've kind of gotten bored with it though since the over -the- top pre-madonna dogs do not even compare to my favorite dogs (Lizzie, H.W. Serrana you know who you are). But nevertheless, I'm going to make some more progress on the assignment until next Wednesday. After then, I'll start on my thesis.

It feels so weird to be so torn. I love my family and friends back in Texas so much and can't wait to get back to them, but I'm going to miss living with Jess and being close to friends in Jersey. 'They're good people'.

I went to this bar tonight with Courtney, my friend from Laredo. It was on the lower east side of Manhattan. We took the subway there and the cab back to the upper west side. Anyway, the bar played Cure and great 80's songs and it was covered in foil and had Basquiat and Pollock like paintings on the wall with New Age quotes. I can't wait to go to MOMA and Whitney Muesuem.

more soon when i'm not tired love whitneyaimeemartin

Sometimes i love it, sometimes i think it's overrated, but most times i am just overwhelmed. Slowly getting used to the rhythm of this city. And I'm finding my own pace in this conglomeration of languages and cultures . Regretfully, I haven't taken as many pictures as I would like. When I am not working for Ben Lowy, I am spending time with family and friends. I fear homesickness. And it's nice to have something I am so used to in a place so foreign from my own.

I'm dying to see the country—to see the horizon. Texans are so lucky to have the country, the hills, the cactus, the pine trees, the beaches, the plains. I feel privileged to have that and be able to look at it and be entertained with just a pen and paper. While I feel (and I don't mean to judge and say this is true for most), but I feel locals always have to be entertained because there's so much stimulus. There is always something going on—a play, restaurant, street fair, B&N closes at 12 am, the park, yoga, parties. I love it, but it's exhausting. What I plan to do in the course of a week, in new york i can do it all in 1 day.

Today I panicked. I got on the subway too late and the doors closed on my bag and the train started moving! I couldn't pull my bag out. The guy sitting down next to me pulled me inside. Ah, it was scary.

Right now I should be pitching my photo story ideas to Marvi. Like what publication should the story be published and for what reason. Here are my ideas: Dogs and their owners (see photo below), dance at Julliard (find an angle there), unique exercise opportunites in ny such as trapeze class and pole dancing class, speed dating in ny, subway musicians. That's what I have so far.

Better get started.

So overwhelming. So much to do and see and constantly going. Walking around I feel like I've had 4 cups of coffee. I have so much energy here because there's something in the air—in this vibrant city. And I wonder how it was when our ancestors came over by ship. I am sure that feeling was there too.

There is this museum that was an old tenet house and in the early 1900's the landlord had to board some of the rooms because he could not afford them. Sixy years later the rooms were opened up and it was like a time capsule. These rooms are now open to the public. I'm trying to do as many touristy things as possible without spending too much money on touristy things. I went to the 'Top of the Rock' at the Rockefeller Center. Jessie and I got some Chinese Herbs from an acupuncturist in China town. (It was in my 'Best Things to Do in New York' book) I went rollerblading in Central Park yesterday. The streets are closed in Central Park on the weekends. Let me just say I need some practice before I attempt to rollerblade down hills with huge crowds. I was going too fast down a hill and I was about to collide into some runners so I stopped myself in the grass, but going super fast. Runners were asking if I was alright. So embarrassing. My ass is so sore from wiping out.

It's so nice to have family here. Jess and I do yoga and swim when she is not doing her show. Mark and Kathy came to visit and we had Italian food off Broadway and 60th with their friends and some of my new friends from New Jersey. It was so wonderful. Just to hear a Texas accent is comforting—that is home to me. I saw a guy walking down the street with an A&M shirt. I wanted to give him a thumbs up and a gig em'. I don't know why I didn't. The truth is, I am so overwhelmed. I just feel like the epitome of a tourist. I might as well have a fanny pack and binoculars.

I love Marvi and Ben and I can tell I will learn a lot. I am going to start working on my own NY project soon. I've given myself about a week and a half to get acclimated to the city before I start.

Come visit friends and family!

I've had the opportunity to spend an entire semester documenting Aimee LeVally Harris and her family—a wonderful family that is dedicating their lives to a more fulfilling lifestyle through a more traditional diet (ie. fermented foods, making their butter, taking supplements instead of medication). Their beliefs and practices just make sense to me. They are selling all of their things and moving in June to progress further on their quest to live a healthier life. Obviously, I've taken away a lot more than just video footage and photographs from this experience, and I am sad to know they will be gone when I get back in August.