New York, New York

I Love New York.

I know it’s a typical thing to say, I mean they sell t-shirts and baseball caps that say exactly that on every corner. But it’s true. I love all the possibilities and adventures the city offers. And every place is just a little different. I work in Midtown where it’s just as chaotic as you would image Manhattan to be. Yellow cabs driving like maniacs, constant honking and people hurrying off to the next place. The subways are always full, don’t believe when they talk about off-peak times, it is never off-peak here. But then if you go a bit downtown, not all the way down to the Financial District, you find yourself in Greenwich Village or Little Italy with charming little shops and bistros. The streets are closed and you get to freely walk around and for a moment you forget that you’re not in Rome but rather in Manhattan. I live in Brooklyn, a quiet part, Midwood. It’s right by Brooklyn College and is mostly populated by students. But a few streets over is Flatbush Avenue, where there is always something to do.

In the short time that I’ve been in New York I’ve already discovered my favorite thing to do. On weekends there is nothing better than laying out in Central Park with a good book and just wasting some time. Sure, it’s fun to walk around and discover new places, but Central Park is truly an oasis amongst the chaos surrounding it.

View from the Highline

Art found at the Highline

I’ve quickly made friends at work who are willing to show me around. Michelle, a New York/New Jersey native, has taken it upon herself to introduce me to all the “cool places”. We went to the Highline, an old train track that was converted into a park above the streets of Chelsea. The view was absolutely stunning! We also went to Chelsea market and I had the most incredible Nutella crepes ever! On Memorial Day we went on an adventure in Chinatown. It was crowded and crazy and the smells took me back to my Grandparents village in Vietnam, or my father’s kitchen.

Streets in Little Italy

The internship is going well, however I can’t really talk about what exactly I do. At least not until my project launches. But I can share that I have a lot of responsibility. It is a startup and there is no full-time staff here at all, just us interns running the thing. A lot of it is trial and error but I guess that’s how you learn.

Even though I still have a few months here, I already decided that I want to come back. Maybe even live here for a while. It’s definitely not cheap, but so worth it. It’s crazy how I can love the rural area of Appalachian Ohio that is Athens and at the same time be in love with the craziness of cosmopolitan New York City.