The birthday girl!

Hello folks!

It seems like yesterday that I landed in New York, full of hopes and excited to start this new and breathtaking experience…. But time goes by and it goes so fast.

The first month in New Paltz is over and just another one left to go… Then we’ll move to the “City”, where every dream can come true, no matter how big it is!

Many things have happened these past 30 days and among the craziness of a brand new life I had the chance to meet fascinating and surprising people and spend some valuable time with them.

Less than a week ago, it was my 25th Birthday and I decided to celebrate it in class, simply by eating a piece of cake with my international mates and asking everybody to wear some beautiful “Happy Birthday” crowns as a reminder of this busy but still important day! That seemed enough for me, though.

So, after a long day spent attending my courses at the University, I headed back home by walking. After a few steps, I started feeling overwhelmed by the circumstances… I was so tired, had no chance to hear from my parents and friends in Italy the all day, and missed home so badly.

I was deep in my thoughts when I arrived at the motel and approached to enter my room… It was closed from the inside… :-/

I imagined that my roomie was in there, maybe sleeping and didn’t want to be bothered…. But then, someone came to open the door and…

SURPRISE!!!!

My crazy, fabulous, sweet like sugar and affectionate Italian girls had prepared an amazing intimate party in my honor.
My room was dark and lighted just by tens of candles strewn all over the place…. Chocolate cupcakes on my desk… Random pictures of my life posted above my bed on the wall… and beautiful, stunning roses sent from Italy by my boyfriend!

I was the birthday girl.

And I felt home again.

Thank you all for making my birthday so memorable!

Hugs and Kisses.
Gaia.

THE SKY IS "AZZURRO" IN NEW YORK TODAY!

This post is a “Pre-recorded Broadcast” ;-)… but enjoy it!!!

Yesterday was an ordinary day for me.
I was in New York with a friend of mine and my only concern was to find the right shoes at Macy’s rather than the right Jacket at Zara store….Then, something happened.
Rumors came from the street and I surprisingly found out that Roberta Vinci, a 33 years old unseeded Italian veteran, playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, had defeated Serena Williams, considered by many the best female tennis player in History.
WOOOOW… Let me say it, a day to forget for the great Serena!… But that wasn’t the biggest News!
The second finalist who had to “fight for the crown” with Vinci, in the Grand Slam final, was another Italian girl, Flavia Pennetta.
Thus, to sum up: Two girls, not only from Italy but also from my beloved Puglia… One Grand Slam final… The US Open 2015… and no one (NO ONE) could have ever imagined it!
How could I miss the opportunity to watch this entirely Italian, Live and Epic One-Time Event???
Well, I couldn’t! So, my day became a race against time to find this one GOLD ticket for the final match… And after a while I found it!!!! 😉
The next day, I went back to NYC, took the train from Penn Station to the Arthur Ashe Stadium which is incredible by the way, and reached my craved destination.
I was by myself but too excited to feel lonely!!!
People from all around the world were there to see the match and I felt the adrenaline running into my body as never before!
The game started and the few Italians that luckily were there didn’t know who to cheer for! So, everyone started cheering and whooping and hollering for both the Italian girls that actually knew each other since childhood… and it was amazing.
At the end, Flavia Pennetta won but that was a victory for Roberta Vinci as well because they will both be remembered as the two Italian girls who left America speechless!
When I thought it was enough for one day, another crazy thing happened. After winning the US Open 2015, Pennetta announced her retirement in front of the entire world…
… and I realized that, one day, THAT moment would have become an adventure worth telling to my grandchildren, great grandchildren and friends!

Hope you loved the story as I loved living it!!!
Hugs and Kisses.
Gaia.

I love Meatpacking District

Last Saturday , I went to NYC for the third weekend in a row since we came to New Paltz. My plan was to stay in New York during the day and then take my wonderful Trailsway bus back at 11:30 .

I walked all afternoon, tried to lose myself in the beauty of Manhattan buildings. (I have a Lonely Planet , but really , I’ve never used it). I can not get used to the height of these buildings. Usually, I feel really small when I see the world from my 1.60 cm. These buildings may be huge but I feel alive, like I’m in my own world and while a bit like an ant.

Anyway, in the evening I met some Italian friends for a happy hour at The Standard ( view from the rooftop is really awesome ) and to eat a real Italian pizza al Luzzo ‘s in the East Village ( Roberto Benigni , the actor of La vita è bella was unreasonable beside me).

In fact, when the clock struck 11:20 , I did’n’t felt like to leave the city , it was ” too early ” . I decided to miss the bus and fall in the vibrant feeling of the New York nightlife . We went to a bar in the Meatpacking District , this area is something amazing . In the end I came back to the Super 8 on Sunday afternoon.

Below is a selfie, made ​​at the motel at 05:17

” New York, New York, so good they named it twice ”

me after club

me after club

#no filters 🙂

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

Getting to know the city!

On our first weekend in New Paltz we decided to go to the city!  when we arrived everything was different, people walking in all directions, lights, music, lots of shops, museums! we didn´t knew where to start!

We definitely know now why they say New York has its charm, with a great diversity of cultures, people and interests.

For now we will enjoy the tranquility of living in New Paltz, seizing the opportunity to take classes that will help us in our career and especially in our next internship. But above all the friendliness of the people here!

New Yorker's Life

Hi Everyone!!

 

Our second week here in New York is ended!

I’m starting to get used to the working life (even if is not easy at all!!) and everything is completely different from New Paltz here: the subway, the crowd, the office, the projects, the responsibility that you have to take,…

We have to grow up in a short time!

Personally, I love the life in the City: my supervisor is amazing (I just need to improve more my English, in order to understand everything), she is so patience with me and lets me learn a lot about our HR thanks to all the project that she gives me.

I have to be honest: I was extremely scared two weeks ago, because this is my first job experience and I wasn’t really confident with my spoken English. But all my fear disappeared the first day, when I saw how Julie and all the other people in my department approached me: they are extremely kind and they do as much as they can in order to teach me everything about their sector!

Thanks to their behavior, every morning I wake up and I’m happy to go to work!

I’m doing my best and I hope to improve my knowledge and work ability during the next weeks!

 

And what about your experience? In these weeks we haven’t met a lot as in New Paltz: are you satisfied of your work?

Hello Mr. President!!

Hi!! The weekend from February 16 to the 18th, Marce, Blanca, Lucy, Nora, Pontus and I decided to visit Washington D.C. We visited the main attractions such as The White House, US Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, WWII Memorial, Air and Space Museum, and some other interesting places!! I had the opportunity to visit a friend who studies in Georgetown and she showed us the university and it’s surroundings. Everything is so beautiful, totally worth it!! Even though it was really cold we had a great time.

Here are some cool pictures about our trip and our beautiful hostel.

Surviving the S N O W

So, it should be spring by now but here in New Paltz the weather doesn’t really gets it. Its snowing, it has been raining and its pretty cold. I already got used to the cold, but for the people that we come from really hot weather its a big deal to go out in this type of cold. What I mean is that in Monterrey kids don’t go to school if the weather goes lower than 1ºC.

For me snow means fun, so that’s why we really enjoyed when Nemo happened a couple of weeks ago. We went out and took some nice pictures enjoying the snow, we had a snow fight as well, it was really fun.

I don’t know what am I going to do when I go back to Monterrey, it will be summer and the weather is going to be near 40ºC.