New York: Week One

This post took me so long to write because I couldn’t decide on a blog format. I have concluded that I will write one post per weekend and one post for Monday-Friday. With that sorted out, let’s move on to the fun stuff!

Monday, May 6, 2019

Monday began with waking up as if I was going to work. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t have any troubles getting to Manhattan from Queens. I had no problems – yay!

I had decided that since I was in Manhattan, I would spend the day exploring the city. After brainstorming for a bit, I planned on walking to a museum or art gallery on the upper east side.

My walk began with a visit to Bryant Park (42nd street). I had only planned on staying for a few minutes… those few minutes turned into three hours! It was amazing to just sit at a bistro table in the sun reading The Liar’s Club. The park is quite small, but it is quite dreamy. The dancing tall trees, and spinning carousel ride contributed to this feeling of not being in the middle of a bustling American city.

After relaxing in the park, I headed towards Central Park. I stopped at a street vendor to get a little snack – spicy mango slices in a bag. Is it the most sanitary? Probably not. Is it the most refreshing snack on a hot day? Yes!

Once I got to the park, I walked around until I found the perfect hilly patch of grass to sit in. I felt so lucky to be away from the crowds – I later found out that no one was sitting there because the ground was wet… I knew that no park NYC could compare to living in Mont Tremblant last summer but I was pleasantly surprised at how large and green the park is! I will definitely be spending a lot of time here.

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To conclude the day, I found free tickets online to an Italian Theatre show in Brooklyn! The show was The Tightrope Walkers (adapted from the novel Maruzza Musumeci) at the Brick, performed as part of “In Scena!” (Italian Theatre Festival NY). It was such a wonderful and unique performance, told in the “cunto” form. It was actually performed in Scilian (with english subtitles)!

I am so lucky to have so many opportunitites here for cultural exchange, education and free shows!

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Tuesday was a “lazy day”. I walked around my neighbourhood to pick up some things that I didn’t pack. I also bought some plants so that my room felt a bit more “homey”. So far I do not have a roommate which is AMAZING. I am already missing my studio apartment in Kingston.

I went to a hot-yoga class in Brooklyn at Modo Yoga! It was a great way to relax.

Directly around the corner from my place is a nail salon that offers manicures for $8. Who can say no to that? I expected a rushed manicure but instead I was in the salon for 30 minutes; hand massage, removal of cuticles, multiple layers etc. I think that I found my monthly splurge!

Once I was home I began to meal-prep for the work “week”. I made a delicious kale, potato and carrot curry with brown rice. Due to the limited kitchen supplies in the house, it took me a few hours to cook.

Right before bed I practiced walking in my high heels around the kitchen table.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Wednesday was my very first day of work! This is where the blog gets a bit uninteresting. I had to sign a NDA – so I can’t write about what I do at work, what events we plan etc.

What I can say is that there are a few other interns who have all been there for over 4 months! My manager is on vacation currently so my first three days will be orchestrated by another intern! The office is BEAUTIFUL , they just renovated/re-decorated in 2018! I also found out that we are only allowed to wear three “colours”: charcoal grey, black, and navy blue. Long story short, this seems like it is going to be the most New York internship ever.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Thursday was off to a rough start. I sat in something wet on the metro – disgusting. I had to run to Target (the only clothing store open) to buy some replacement pants!! I found out that the company gives interns $20/day for lunch – yay! The day was quite slow but I’m sure that it will pick up later in the summer.

It is already insanely humid here, I have no idea how I am going to survive in August. I need to find a place to swim!

Friday, May 10, 2019

Friday was another day at work of “training”. It felt like a long day because neither myself nor the other intern with me had any tasks (as our manager was still on vacation). So we walked around the neighbourhood and he showed me all the places that I will most likely be sent out to pickup/drop off things; dry cleaners, post offices, calligraphers etc.

Then my already good week got exponentially better because my boyfriend came up to visit! We did the classic tourist in NYC move and went out to Times Square.

For dinner we then went to Little Italy and walked around trying to find the best restaurant to celebrate my first week and his visit! We ended up picking Caffee Napoli because there was a customer drinking and singing in the corner. We ordered a huge seafood pasta to share! I left the table for a minute and when I got back he had placed a little present box beside my plate, hello I am the luckiest girl ever.

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,

Tara