Moving into the city!

First week in New York City – CHECK!

First week of internship – CHECK!

First week of getting used to it – CHECK!

It´s been one week since we started our new life in the city. Everything is so different from New Paltz, and sadly a little more expensive. First things, first. Moving in. We arrived to the new place, we bought the food and installed ourselves. It is a very beautiful neighborhood and nothing like living in New York City. We started our internships which have been amazing! A lot of new things to learn and experience from the American culture. I really recommend you to first walk around and start getting to know the place. We all arrive and can get a little crazy with the shopping and the amazing restaurants, but believe me there is no need to. You live in the city were you have everything at the moment, there is no need to buy everything in one stop when you can buy one thing a day. Walk around, sit on the parks and enjoy it! It really has been a beautiful experience!!! I am amazed by it!

Let me know which places you recommend visiting!

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You wanted the bicycle? Now pedal!

This was my first weekend in the city as an Inter! The first week of work was over and I wanted to do something great preparing myself for a new week! So … my decision was to rent a bike and pedaling towards Williamsburg, one of the Brooklyn neighborhood.

After one hour walking around Williamsburg, my friend and I decided to stop to eat something and in a minute we realized that it was a great occasion to do our first “Sunday brunch” in New York! Simple Café

Our choice was a so nice restaurant frequented by many guys and families, it name is Simple Cafè (view the website clicking on the image).
From outside I saw fantastic bagels with eggs, bacon  and hollandaise sauce. Everything looked delicious and everyone seemed happy. Why not stop here?! In a few minute we sat down and we started to decide our orders. There were so many typical dishes for a fantastic brunch. So yummy! It was a strong decision, but at the end we decided for the classic dish that the waitress suggested to us: bagel with eggs, bacon and obviously pancakes with maple syrup for dessert. All was really incredible! A perfect lunch in a cool place in a wonderful sunny Sunday.

When we finished to enjoy our brunch, we decided to start a small trip along the East River: from Williamsburg to Dumbo, another amazing neighborhood in Brooklyn, exactly near to the Brooklyn Bridge. The distance is approximately 3miles, no more than 30 minutes by bike; we had time to take a lot of photos, do some shopping and explore the neighborhoods of Brooklyn before come back at home. The weather was perfect and quite warm..so, why not?! In this way we could appreciate the amazing view of Manhattan. It was like seeing a different city, with the chance to admire the beauty of its skyscrapers with much more calm and no traffic noise. In that moment I thought there could be nothing better, but I was completely wrong! In fact, at the end of our “trip”, we had a big surprise. We arrived at the Brooklyn Bridge Park in the late afternoon, when the sun was going down. The sky became red in a few minutes and Manhattan changed his appearance in short time. Around 6.30 pm all became dark and the city was turning on its light. I thought to have so much photos about that skyline, but that scenario was completely different from the previous one.

It was exactly when I took my camera that I realized…that ride was comparable to all my experience of the last few months: the departure two months ago from Milan where everything seemed surreal, the path (sometimes uphill) in New Paltz where I did many things and I met new people and now …  here, in New York City, for one of the most important result of my life. So now you can understand the reason why I choose the title ” You wanted the bicycle? Now pedal!”. It is a typical Italian saying and it refers to a situation where someone was dreaming of or striving for some goal/outcome, and once obtained it, he or she must to take all it entails – good, bad, overwhelming, or challenging as it may be.
That is exactly what I’m living here since two months, but now, half of my experience, I look back and I understand that the climb was exhausting, but from here the view is amazing!

Good luck to all my classmates and friends of IIB program.

Manhattan Skyline from Dumbo

Expect the unexpected – An amazing day in New York City

This day should be different than all other days before – going to New York, conducting the first two job interviews and experiencing the Macy’s Fashion Show. Feeling the freedom and the diversity of New York City as well as getting in touch with the American Business Culture for the first time was an unforgettable experience. Already, as I left the Port Authority Bus Terminal, theDSC05337 difference between the life in New Paltz and New York City was noticeable. I have been overwhelmed by all the impressions and I realized that this feeling is the reason why I am taking part in this international program – to experience diversity. This feeling was a big motivation to do my best during the job interviews. Both interviews were totally different regarding company’s location, the building (outer facade), the interior and the people working for the company. I was impressed by both companies and its various working environment. All interviews have rather been an informal conversation than a formal communication which created a comfortable discussion.

After successful conducted interviews, Karina and I rewarded us by going to the Macy’s Fashion Show – “Macy’s Presents Fashion’s Front Row” – in the theatre at Madison Square Garden in order to gain valuable inspirations for our internships in the fashion industry 😉 Watching the season’s latest fashion and listen to the hottest music by Nate Ruess and Jason Derulo was an unforgettable experience. The show was definitely worth the money because of the show and Macy’s commitment to the awareness and prevention of HIV/Aids.

Even after the show the dayPicsArt_1444764398953 didn’t end. The day was still young and Karina convinced me to go for a last drink in the rooftop bar in the Hyatt Hotel (http://timessquare.hyatt.com/en/hotel/activities/hotel-activities/rooftoplounge.html). Without expecting anything Karina and I ordered a cocktail and enjoyed the beautiful view. Suddenly, one man was walking towards our table and talked to us in German. In the first moment I did not realized that he was a friend from Germany because I did not expect him at all. He told me that he was in New York for one week with his girlfriend. I knew before that Germans are everywhere but I never expect that I would meet a friend from my hometown at the rooftop bar of the Hyatt Hotel, approximately 3.800 miles away from Germany. All of us were surprised but we were very happy to meet each other incidentally. Unfortunately, it was only time for one drink because we had to take the last bus home to New Paltz. However, I was really happy of unexpectedly meeting friends. It felt like home.

It was an exciting and amazing day with a perfect final. Sometimes the unexpected can result into a really positive surprise. I like unexpected surprises like this. Thus, open your eyes and look around you, probably your home might be closer than you expect. Great experience!

25th annual Taste of New Paltz.

All began during a sad afternoon at our motel. Everyone were busy, someone studied in their room someone else in the library and three girls were doing kayaking. In my mind there was only one word: STUDY, but it was a beautiful Saturday, last summer weekend, it was hot and there weren’t clouds in the sky. Okay, I can’t spend my time here.. I want go out!During the week, I saw many posters about an annual festival in New Paltz: Taste of New Paltz. I was so curious … so I called a cab and decided to spend one hour there with one of my friends, before start to study. In less than 10 minutes we arrived in a unknown part of the city; there were many beautiful houses, among km of wheat fields and sunflowers and then.. a huge green lawn, many families with children running around on the grass. It was a wonderful scene!

It was the 25th year that New Paltz organised this event and we could not miss it. After paid $10 to enter, my friend Gaia and I started to taste every kind of food. Wasn’t that the purpose of the fair?! We started with a strange fried empanadas with beef, I discovered that this is one of the typical dishes in Jamaica.. It was delicious! The next stand prepared, however, a special kind of corn with cheese, curry and paprika, but the best taste of this incredible afternoon was a amazing pizza cooked with wood-oven, as the Italian tradition. Everything about the pizza reminded me of my country. At the end, as a real lunch, we bought an exquisite mini chocolate cupcake. After about an hour, at the end of our tour, I realized that there were many activities to raise awareness of their food and products to the citizens of New Paltz .. Wow, this was great! In this way, I was able to try dishes from restaurants that I didn’t know before and certainly I’ll try after this experience.

It was a really good afternoon spent with my friend! Beautiful place, nice people, good music and new food. Now, are you asking why the symbol of this fair is an apple? Try to get out of this fair without tasting a dish in which there was the apple! It’s impossible, trust me.

Visit also:

www.newpaltzchamber.org

Facebook: Tast of New Paltz

Traveling is discovering

Last weekend we were walking around in New Paltz and, suddenly, we realized that just across Main Street was an amazing and unique place called ‘Water Street Market‘. This is a beautiful place where you can find a lot of interesting shops selling art, antiques, fashion clothes and food. We decided to have lunch in a small restaurant called the ‘Cheese Plate‘, we ate some really delicious selection of cheese.  We had a great time!

 What a cozy place!
 
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ONE TRUE STORM!

This past week it snowed so much, they had to close the school. To be honest, it was really fun because we could rest, relax and catch up with our duties. I really like cold weather, and as the legend says we have six more weeks to cope with. I never imagined how much I could fall in love with New Paltz. Even though I’m looking forward to going to NYC, it’ll definitely be a pitty to leave New Paltz behind.

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One Pic, a Thousand Memories

Pics, Pics, and more Pics!

It is said that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Then, is a memory worth more than a thousand pictures?

One Pic, a Thousand Memories

I might be a bit behind technology and connectivity, I admit it. But last Saturday something happened to me that let me thinking.

After an incredible ski trip to Hunter Mountain, I skyped with a friend I used to ride with to tell him the amazing day I had. His first question wasn’t about how I did, if I enjoyed or anything related. His first question was, and I quote, “Did you take a lot of pictures?”.

This single question rang a bell in my mind. Not because I had only taken one picture of the whole day, but mainly because I’ve never stop to think about how much material we “share” with everyone in the social networks.

Could it be that for some people it became more important what you can show of what you did than actually having the great experience of living it?

I guess is quite ironic to ask this in a post in an on-line blog, isn’t it?

We will wake up and realize we were making memories

Proud

Proud

Today I woke up to the sound of snow. When I looked at the window everything was white. I could´t help but think “I´m very grateful and happy for being here”. It was one of those little unforgettable moments that I can´t understand why some people take for granted. I lived in Canada during High school so of course I had seen a lot of snow before, since we don´t have any in México, but this was different. I realized that I am surrounded by new people, people who are my family now. So all I can think now is this moment, and this people will be in my life forever. Just because I want them to be.

Quote of the day: “Be careful who you make memories with. Those things can last a lifetime.“

P.S: Since there were no classes today, my friends and I decided to make a snowman. Here are some pictures I took with my phone. It was so fun!

Snowman

Snowman

Building Snowman

Building Snowman

 

#SUPERBOWL

This weekend we decided to go to the city to see the most expected event of the year that is the Super bowl, this event if one on the most important event in the world, this game was performed by the Seattle Seahawks vs the Denver Broncos in which obviously the Seahawks won the game with a final score of 43-8. photo (2)

24/7 at New Paltz

When you’re an international student you’re always looking for information about the place where you’re going to and I’m not an exception. New Paltz Village is one of the most welcoming places I’ve experienced in my life, it offers many cool and interesting locations to visit while being here. These are my suggestions:

Day:

  • Cafeteria Coffee House. This café offers a great experience and atmosphere, if you want a place where you can enjoy a good book or just listen to a great range of music, this is the place. Cafeteria Coffee House
  • Bacchus Restaurant. This place is amazing when you want to spend some quality time with your friends and family. Bacchus offers you a great and varied menu ranging from vegan food to some American classics such as their Bacchus Burger  . Bacchus Restaurant

Night:

  • P&G’S, if you want to have a great dinner, dance and have some drinks, this is the place to be. You will never leave P&G’S without a smile . P&G’s
  • McGillicuddy’s Restaurant & Tap House, is an Irish Pub where you can find Irish and American cuisine. If you are a big fan of beer, McGillicuddy offers a wide list to choose from. McGillicuddy’s Restaurant

NEW PALTZ