Not in Kansas

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Diane and I in Times Square

- the movie The Wizard of Oz

I stepped out of Penn Station with a backpack on my back and a garment bag I borrowed from my husband in one hand. WHOI's brand-new Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean, Dr. Diane Foster, walked beside me. We followed the signs, climbed up the stairs, trying to get our orientation before we got to street level. When I felt cold winter air and saw the glow of streetlights, I figured we were almost there. One more set of stairs, and we emerged...into Madison Square Garden. How in the world did that happen?

Diane and I pulled out our phones. One route to the hotel would take us through Times Square; another would take us down quieter streets. Did we want to brave the crowds? For a chance to see the lights and say we were in Times Square, oh yes, we did. 

Any New Yorker reading this right now is probably cringing. Friends, I am a small-town girl. I grew up in a town of 30,000 people. The largest city I have ever lived in, Stavanger (population 150,000), actually kind of overwhelmed me. Two of my favorite places on planet Earth are an Arctic village (population 2500) and a small island nation in the tropical Pacific (population 16,000). I'm not built for Manhattan. 

This sounds so stupid, but it looks exactly like the movies. As I walked along 5th Avenue, there was the storefront for Saks - just there, on the street. I passed St. Patrick's Cathedral, the original Macy's, Rockefeller Center. And just an astounding number of people. So. Many. People.

Delivering my presentation at the Yacht Club.

My visit to Manhattan was brief but impactful. I had been asked by WHOI's Development Office to serve as the featured speaker at a meeting of WHOI's New York Chapter. The institution has Chapters of donors across the country who meet regularly to connect with WHOI scientists. It was honor to be asked, and I relished the opportunity to share my research with the broader WHOI community. 

The Chapter Meeting took place at the New York Yacht Club, a Gilded Age building right in central Manhattan. I delivered my presentation surrounded by scale models of every boat ever registered in the New York Yacht Club, beneath a painting depicting the first-ever transatlantic yacht race. Silver and gold trophy cups stood nobly in glass cases on either side of the stairs. Catering staff in white gloves shuffled in the background, filling wine glasses as needed. For me, the Yacht Club felt like a step into history, and I cannot think of a more appropriate location to discuss my research on shipwrecks. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to experience New York and connect with some of the WHOI Chapter members. Many thanks to the Yacht Club for hosting us!