Water Ecologist and Environmental Science graduate student, Jezreel is a true nature lover who dreams of moving out of New York City’s concrete jungle for a job as a tea and bookshop owner in Hawaii or Cyprus. In this online interview, she tells us all we ever wanted to know but never dared to ask about water supplies in and around NYC and shares with us her take on life in the City, marriage, birdwatching, cheer leading and oh, yeah Tarantulas.
Age: 26
Places you have lived: New York city (Queens) since 2007, Long Island before that
Places you would like to live: Haleiwa on Oahu, Hawaii; any city in Southern Italy; any city on Okinawa, Japan
Job: “Scientist, Water Ecologist.” I sample water and run tests.
Sampling water sounds like a daring job to me—do you ever get worried that you are going to get sick from what you are sampling?
I sample the drinking water from special sampling stations, so the water itself is safe for drinking, and I do not have to worry about catching anything odd. The biggest worry is being run over by a truck or speeding driver on their cellphone, since our sampling stations are on sidewalk edges or the margins of roadways, and I often need to stand out in the street during sampling. This is especially scary during a snowstorm or heavy rainfall!
Can you tell me the places where people would be surprised to find the freshest or dirtiest water?
At my old job I once was sampling seawater off a boat in Bowery Bay, and bacterial/viral concentrated water got squirted in my face (into my open eyes and mouth). I really thought I might catch something serious from that, but luckily the water quality of the waterways and surface water in NYC has gotten much better in the past 20 years, and I am still alive to tell the tale.
You said that your job is just a job; do you think that’s the case for most people? Why isn’t it possible to find a job that you truly enjoy?
Since the things I really enjoy are hiking, drinking tea, reading, and watching birds, I do not particularly expect to find a job I truly like, unless there is an opening for a tea and bookshop owner in Hawaii or Cyprus! I do not dislike my job (except during the pouring winter rain); I just do not particularly love it either.
Most people have beloved hobbies that are not marketable as jobs, so unless you are the odd duck with a hobby that can be turned into a job, you are stuck with a job you do not really like.
Given that you enjoy nature, how is living in Queens?
Living in Queens is okay. There is almost no “true” nature left in the entire world, between noise, light, air, and water pollution, along with anthropogenic landscape changes. I am just happy to be someplace where I do not have to stare at other humans for a while and do not see any concrete. I just count myself lucky on any other perks, like being able to see stars really well or spotting an old growth tree or swimming with fish.
As someone who has been here all of her life, do you agree that this city is truly diverse and a “melting pot”?
I do feel that NYC is much more diverse than other areas. Because I grew up within the NY Metro Area, I had many more different types of friends and experiences than other people my age in another region may have. I was shocked when I found out that my dad (he’s from the South) had never meet a Jewish person or eaten real Italian food until he came to New York City. When I drive around my workplace, I can see advertisements and signs in at least 4 languages: Mandarin, Spanish, Hebrew, and Hindi, and I enjoy that. Having friends of every race and religion is what feels normal to me, and I rather find the idea of being stuck with only one kind of people and culture almost repulsive. I rejected a full-scholarship to a fairly famous university as an undergraduate partially because when I was researching the school, I realized that the majority of the student body would be upper-middle to upper class whites, and that was not the type of environment I wanted to immerse myself in. I ended up attending a public university in the NY area that boasted a very mixed student body and excellent science programs, and unexpectedly found myself getting a minor in Japanese studies.
Since education is very important for you, do you plan to do post graduate studies or will you choose less formal educational opportunities?
I was home-schooled until I went to college, so I can teach myself fairly well with a book or two, as long as the subject is intuitive. I will read about things that interest me on my own, and I have been getting a science publication every single week for years now. I usually read the issue cover-to-cover, and feel that my various readings have been just as important as my time spent in lectures, if not more so. I am getting my MS in Environmental Science currently, and plan on getting my PhD in the future, probably in Ornithology. I know I will not learn certain subjects I dislike (for instance, physics) on my own without being forced to, so that is the value of formal education for me!
Living in Brooklyn, I have some of the loudest birds in the summer. As it is one of your hobbies, do you ever bird watch in Queens?
I bird watch everywhere I go. I have spotted a peregrine falcon in the middle of a very built up and rundown area of the Bronx, brants (a small arctic goose) on the sides of the Belt Parkway, and of course, millions of pigeons and starlings. Starlings are mobile ecological disasters, but they’re so feisty and hilarious you cannot hate them while watching their antics. Everywhere has some place where you can watch some animal, although it might not be cute or nice. I must admit I look for rats and mice when waiting for trains on the subway, and enjoy watching them scurry around when I find them.
How important is it for you to see your parents? Are you very close with them? Would you say that they generally support the decisions you make about your life?
I have an interesting relationship with both my parents, as we all have very strong personalities and opinions that clash. My dad is an agnostic cynic, and my mother is a conservative Christian who finds the good in everyone, so you can imagine that there were frequent debates on almost every topic. I do still visit them on a regular basis though, especially since they live 5 minutes from my graduate school. I have no idea whether or not they support my decisions since I am too scared to ask for fear of a truthful response I do not want to hear. (I am laughing while thinking about the idea of asking them.) Our biggest ongoing family disagreement is that I refuse to have any children and I am opposed to getting married, both of which my parents would like to happen. I live with my boyfriend, so it is not merely a rhetorical question from their point of view either.
What is something not many people know about you?
I was a cheerleader for 3 years, but I cheered quietly or not at all because I only liked the gymnastics part. I think only people who happened to know me well in junior high know that. Oh, I also had pet tarantulas as a little kid, but then my mother never let me get more and now my housemate is horribly arachnophobic.
Would you say that you tend to judge other people all too easily?
Other people have complained that I do judge people too easily; however, my judgments are usually accurate, just not very nice. It makes people who like to have their outlook on life be a little rosier or romantic uncomfortable, so I generally rein voicing my thoughts on other people unless asked. Plus, people usually do not want to know your honest opinion of anyone unless they already do not like them.
What makes you most insecure?
Myself/my mother. I expect myself to do everything perfectly or at least very well, and I feel like my mother has projected and does project this attitude. I get annoyed when things do not go well, which happens frequently as this is real life! I recognize this though, so I can damp down on it somewhat.
What makes you happy?
Dogs and the beach, preferably dogs at the beach!
What is the last hypocritical thing you have done?
I complain about how the culture of constant entertainment undermines social cohesiveness, actual achievement, and bettering oneself…and then I go watch TV or read the Daily Mail’s “FeMail” section. Sigh, even when one recognizes a problem, it is not that easy to not do the lazy thing.
