The McGill of New York

Perhaps you've heard McGill University described as the Harvard of Canada or Canada's Ivy League University. I love the t-shirts you see around Montreal for Harvard, describing it as the McGill of America. While I'm stuck in NYC, I've been given access to the McGill of NYC, the Columbia University Butler Library, and I have fallen in love. Unlike at McGill, which also has a beautiful campus and beautiful buildings, the inside of Columbia's buildings are just as beautiful as the outside. I feel like I'm in an academic holy place while studying here. Hopefully I won't be here much longer though; I'll keep you posted on my status.

Nightmare

Ever have those nights when you know you're dreaming and you even have some control over the course of the dream, but you are unable to wake yourself up? I am living such a nightmare right now, only I can't seem to convince myself that it's just a dream. The last four days have been the definition of surreal. I was in Ottawa on Friday, taking my young men to a dance, and getting home to Montreal around 2am. I flew to Salt lake City on Saturday and after meeting my dad drove up to Brigham City to surprise my Grandparents before they moved to Boston for a year. I flew back overnight on Sunday--> Monday morning, but was denied entry into Canada as a result of study permit problems. After sitting in a waiting area for four hours, running on 30 hours with no sleep and being denied breakfast and lunch, I was eventually escorted by two armed guards through the terminal in Montreal's airport, and put on a plane to NYC. In a 50 hour period, I was in an airport or on a plane for 30 hours. Now I'm stuck in Manhattan working to resolve the problem while trying to successfully complete my semester and degree. I am grateful for everyone who has gone so far out of their way to help me attempt to fix the situation, including Columbia University for granting me access to their library services. Special thanks are also due to my parents, Martine Blanc, Cedric Phan, Sarah Sacuto, Melissa Poirrier, Eva Stopa, Philippe Lemble, Michael Kane and the good people at Fedex on 59th street. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks Phil & Jay

For the last 2 years I have been leading the young men's program at our church's congregation in LaSalle, Quebec. I've worked with these three great men as mentors for approx. 15 teenage boys and have been incredibly grateful for their contributions. At Church this morning Jay (on the left) and Phil (2nd from the right) were officially replaced by two new men so they could pursue the new assignments they have been given. The boys clearly recognized the love we have for them, and responded with a spontaneous group hug for both Phil and Jay. It was very touching and I couldn't be prouder of my boys. I'm also looking forward to working with Ralph and Mike, and am glad Luigi (on the right) is still on board.

Happy Thanksgiving?

Don't worry, while the rest of Canada was busy giving thanks, deep inside I was celebrating Columbus and colonialism. To show my gratitude for the day off I took a trip to Quebec City with some friends. Since Sarah was one of those friends, it was gray and rainy just like every other time she's gone to Quebec. I hope everybody gets to see this beautiful town. From what my Sacuto-sister-french-road-tripper-colleagues said, it feels just like stepping into France.


One of the highlights is the majestic Chateau Frontenac at the top of the hill. This picture doesn't do it justice, you need to see it from below the hill.

Quebec is the only gated city north of Mexico and this is us in front of one of the entrances to the old part of town.

This is me at the start of the trip, completely dry and focused. I only included this picture to prove I had grown beard (which is already gone). There are tons of other great pics, like me kissing a Winston Churchill bust on the cheek, Sarah getting kissed by a strange clown in an alley and one of the two Christmas ornament shops in town. Oddly enough they do better business in the summer.

Breastfeeding

On a more serious note, last week I completed a paper which I'm quite proud of. It's about the importance of promoting breastfeeding in underdeveloped countries and the way in which companies who manufacture breastmilk substitutes (like Nestle) are undermining breastfeeding education through manipulative marketing strategies. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.5 million infant deaths could be prevented per year if mothers followed simple guidelines about breastfeeding. I'd be happy to send you a copy of the paper if you're interested. I'm currently doing research on the rate of cesarean births in the US compared to the other countries, and what needs to be done to lower the rate (I wonder where I got this interest?) I'd love to hear your comments.

The first round of the playoffs isn't going as hoped, so I have a request...if I don't mention the Yanks again on this blog until March, that's your cue not to bring it up.

Start spreading the news....

It feels like things have finally gone back to normal. October means watching the team that plays 20 minutes from where I grew up drenching each other in the locker room (here's Jeter and ARod). 4 months ago I honestly didn't think they'd be AL East Champs, but their win on Saturday over Boston locked it up. To top it off, they won game 1 of the division series tonight against the Angels while Boston lost to Chicago! The only thing that would make it better is if I could watch the games with my dad and feel the buzz around NY. 10 more wins left until we need a parade!

Best teens ever

Just imagine the title of this post said by the comic book guy on the Simpsons, "best teens ever." I'm lucky enough to be President of the Young Men's group at my Church, working with the absolute best young men in Montreal. I hope you enjoy the following pictures of some of our recent events.
Service at the Jensen's: you can see Jonathan, Jason, Zachary and Andrew behind me, helping Kris Jensen fix his collapsed retaining wall.

Me with the Morales brothers (Alex, Jordan and Chris) at the Montreal temple.

Jason, Jonathan and I bought videos at a yard sale while visiting people in my neighborhood of Verdun. They'd be happy to tell you some pretty funny experiences we had that afternoon.


On Saturday, the young men challenged the missionaries and the older guys in our congregation to a game of football (we did mix teams up a little, since me and Bill Kaufman counted as young men) Do I need to even spell out who won?

Oh, Rita

As Hurricane Rita was heading for Texas, so were my Mom, Step-Dad and step-sister Tiffany. Fortunately they're in Austin, which apparently is a 4 hour drive from Galveston on the coast, where another Step-Sister (Lauren) and her husband Chris live. Lauren said that this 4 hour drive took them 14 hours, and that by now it's at least a 24 hour trip. The hurricane hasn't even hit yet, and at least 20 people have died, due to the explosion of an evacuation bus. I'm glad my family is safe, though I'm sad that Lauren and Chris have to face the prospect that their house and possessions in Galveston are in serious danger.

Dr. Jones (soon enough)

Happy Birthday Dad.

6 Straight

The Yanks beat that Canadian team again this afternoon to win their 6th straight game. They're so close to the Sox and Indians in the pennant race with 2 weeks left in the season that there's great reason to hope. This picture is from 7 years ago, from the most exciting game I've ever seen. My Dad and I were sitting in the upper deck as Cone through only the third perfect game in Yankees history. The memory of that accomplishment still inspires us, as evidenced by the fact that we still have the cups we bought at the game that day in July 1999! Besides being able to share that moment with my Dad, one of the best parts was that my buddy Ithy and I got to meet Cone 2 weeks later in Boston. Below Cone's picture is the ticket stub that Cone signed for me. Go Yanks!