The Pleasers bringing back that Motown vibe

A few weeks ago we went to one of the local bars, SNUGS HARBOUR to listen to a local band called The Pleasers playing. I didn’t know anything about the band before, I only heard about them because one of the singers goes to the same class as some of the other IIB-students.

Anyway, the band was amazing! They played Motown Music from Marvin Gaye, Jackson5 etc. as well as a song by Amy Winehouse and also their own songs which is in the same type of music style. Everybody was dancing like crazy!

If you get the chance, go see The Pleasers playing!

Snugs is one of the best places here in New Paltz just because they have very nice staff, a cozy atmosphere, nice vibe and always live music. Don’t miss this place when you’re here!

 

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.

Touch and go trip to Italy

Hello beloved blog readers!

Not many of you may know but a week ago I arrived to Super8 super tired after a day of travelling. I had just come back from Italy where went back for a crazy week to graduate! Fortunately all turned out really well but It was stressful and nerve-raking because there was a lot to do in a short period of time: I had to keep up with coursework here in New Paltz, prepare the speech to defend my thesis and find a dress and a bay leaf crown!

Many of you won’t know because it’s just part of the Italian culture, but for us bay leafs are not just used for cooking purposes. Actually we use this kind of plant to decorate the heads of people who have just graduated by braiding it together as if it was a crown. In fact in the Greek and Roman mythology, bay leafs were a sacred symbol of  knowledge and glory for poets and winners of  games that came before the Olympics, and both had their heads decorated with it to celebrate their success.

So it was kind of a marathon and I didn’t exactly have time to savor the moment but it was nice to go home to Varazze, see my family and friends, and in a way close a very important chapter in my life. I have every intention to continue studying abroad so it was sad being in Milan and knowing that I won’t be there again for some time. The curious thing was that the entire time I felt like I was missing so much here in New Paltz. so even if I was glad to stay with people I care about, I realized that right now my place is here, and that I am so happy and lucky to be in the program and to have all these new amazing friends to live this adventure with 🙂

Now that New York is approaching I’m even more curious to see what the future awaits us!I’ll keep you posted on the latest news and meanwhile really commit to the challenge I gave myself last post: find real Italian espresso 🙂

"Mummy can you make me some.." take-out?!!

 

After 3 weeks of Living in America we can finally say that we are really starting to feel like at home here in New Paltz. We have all become friends, collected fun stories from our trips and nights out to tell people back home, but we are also developing our everyday habits especially when it comes to food. It is safe to say that Spring 2013 IIB students are definitely embracing the food culture and just might gain a few pounds during our stay 🙂 Personally when it comes to cooking I get really lazy, so the fact that here at Super 8  there isn’t a real kitchen has probably not influenced much my choice of diet. We all know this is the true food story of every student on the planet, so as protocol instead of trying to eat healthy I am gladly feeding on big portions of my beloved pizza served by “Mummy take-out”. As I am now becoming an expert on New Paltz pizza I thought I would share some of my insights with anyone interested:

  • Pasquale’s Pizza & Restaurant: I’m guessing these guys really love us because at this rate thanks to our orders they’ll shortly be able to take a vacation to the Caribbean 🙂 Comments aside, I really like their food generally speaking. There is a lot to choose from and they are pretty fast at delivery. Personally I really like the fact that they have a lot of available sizes when it comes to pizza, so If I’m not that hungry I don’t have to waste food.
  • Rino’s Pizza: I think that their pizza is probably the closest to the Italian style one because it’s lighter: less thick and charged of ingredients. Thumbs up!
  • Rocco’s Pizzeria: We tried their pizza the first night here in New Paltz. It was really good, tasty and rich. I loved it but I would recommend to be really hungry if eating an entire pizza alone..after one slice I was totally full!

So as for food I have back home I can’t really complain since there are 3 valid pizzerias to choose from. Now to my next task: find good espresso, the real Italian “must have” 😉