Big Apple

So this is what New York is like?

It’s been a whirlwind trip going from a school schedule at the University of Cincinnati to a busy city schedule in the Big Apple. I’m spending my summer working for an architecture firm in downtown Manhattan and it’s definitely going to be an adventure! Exams in a lecture hall one day and dim sum in a busy Chinatown restaurant the next? I can’t believe I’m actually here.

I have always heard that an internship is crucial for students so that they can gain practical exposure in real-world situations. I’ve also heard that the application of skills learned at school helps to put all the work we do into better perspective. So far all that advice has been right! But what nobody has ever told me is how an internship builds life skills (street smarts?). I’m definitely experiencing that now, and I hope that by working at an architecture firm I will be exposed to the reality of the working world and that I will be able to make contacts, experiences, and memories here that I can bring back to Cincinnati for school in the Fall.

I was anticipating that work would be very tiresome and intensive (and it has been so far) but traveling to New York and finding a place to live was an adventure in itself! After sleeping on an air mattress for two nights with some friends and visiting a plethora of apartments throughout the ensuing days, I finally found a place in Queens and I can safely say that New York is beginning to feel a bit more like home.

So far the craziest thing about New York is the Subway. I love it! It’s very similar to the London Underground, except it’s dirtier and there aren’t any posh British voices condescendingly reminding me to “mind the gap.” My commute to work is one hour long – I need to find a book or a puzzle to do on the train – but I have to transfer through Times Square every morning during rush hour, which is certainly an adventure!

I look forward to updating this blog to tell more about my adventures – I still consider it the “perspective of an architecture student,” although right now some of the most exciting things about living in the city have little to do with architecture. Cheers for now!