My First Week in New York City

June 3, 2014- June 10, 2014

Hello all! I am currently interning in New York City at NBC Universal. Feel free to weekly, and sometimes biweekly, read about some of my interesting and a bit outrageous occurrences as a homegrown southern girl in this fast-paced city!

Coming from a small town with one stoplight and a high school where everyone knows everyone AND their parents, I have to say that my first week in the Big Apple has been quite the experience to say the least. Before getting here, I was curious of how I would be treated and how in the heck would I get from point A to point B without getting lost. Stay tuned! I have quite the story about the latter. Lastly, I was curious about how I would make my dollars stretch like spandex.

 Surprisingly, things are not as expensive. Well, SOME things are not as expensive. As you probably know, the college student budget struggle spans outside of university walls unfortunately. But anyway, let’s get into some of my encounters this week.

Skyline
When I was looking down into the concrete jungle from my window seat, the buildings were so high that I thought the plane would scrape the bottom. Okay, I am exaggerating, but still. It was one of the most beautiful skylines I have seen. I am lucky that just one street across my living quarters; I can see that amazing skyline with the Brooklyn Bridge in view. One day while I was walking around my neighborhood and exploring the rooftop of my apartment, I captured this breath-taking sight once more. You can check out some of my pictures under the “GOT Media” tab. Later that night, because the view is just so amazing, I went back to the rooftop to behold yet another amazing view. 

People
Sometimes people make it seem like New Yorkers can be a bit mean. So far, I have met some nice people in my neighborhood, on the subway, and even at my internship. I must say that my first night in the city was fun. I went to a concert at the Best Buy Theatre. Everyone in the concert hall was filled with life as the artists were performing their sets. I definitely enjoyed myself. It almost seems as if concerts up here are better. This past weekend I volunteered at an event with my boss, Ms. Jacque Reid, about fitness and living a fabulous and healthy lifestyle. Yet again, I met more amazing people and even learned the Happy line dance. I also took away a few awesome health tips. Feel free to see those pictures under the "photos" tab. 

Some of My Firsts This Week
-I ate my first street hot dog and it was DELICIOUS! I’m more of a simple ketchup type of girl so it would be hard to dissatisfy me when it comes to hot dogs. 

-My first time on the subway was interesting. I’m not sure why, but it slightly reminded me of the subway scene from The Wiz. I was thinking it would be complete chaos, but it wasn’t so bad. I am somewhat of a slow walker back home. My philosophy is I will get there when I get there. What is the rush? Plus, the next train usually comes in less than 10 minutes. But here that is totally different, especially when it comes to catching one of the main modes of transportation. After missing a train or two and seeing how valuable those 10 minutes are, my walking speed has increased just a tad.

-One of the busiest places on earth: Times Square. What an adventure! It is literally people wall-to-wall and corner-to-corner. The lights, the fast paced walking, the many stores and restaurant choices, I loved it. I was afraid I would get hit as I crossed the streets. I didn’t want to risk looking like a tourist but I had to snap a few pictures for my memory.   

Crazy Stuff Always Happen to Me!
Here is this week’s big story! Please refrain from passing harsh judgment. I remind you that I am NOT from here but this story is pretty funny. So here we go…

It never fails. There is always an instance where I get turned around. Usually I am not too far from where I am trying to go, but not this time. Leading up to the weekend’s volunteer event, I looked up the exact location for the event in one of my subway apps. I noticed that each time I entered in the address it kept saying that it was about an HOUR away in Coney Island. My first intuition was that this can’t be right. Why would this event be all the way over there when everything is usually done in the city, but I wasn’t certain. Needless to say, I totally went in the wrong direction. Halfway through my venture on the wrong train, I still felt that I was going in the wrong direction but it was confirmed to me that I was going right. Coney Island was the very last stop. I got off and turned on my walking app. It said that I was only a few minutes away. I’m thinking okay this is great. I will be there early. Those few minutes turned into many. I know for sure I walked almost five miles trying to find this place. I found myself circling and asking people where the gym was. Nobody knew what I was talking about. Shortly, I came to the realization that the inevitable had happen. It was clear to me that I was not in the right location. It was an honest mistake that most subway rookies make. It turns out there was a miscommunication, and my intuition the night before was correct. In the end, I ended up heading back up towards town. The famous quote used to conclude a range of events that are unfortunate came to my mind to ease all the embarrassment, “stuff happens.” All that I can do now laugh about it. Good thing is that I went to Coney Island and saw the original Nathan's Famous Hot Dog stand. 

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to comment and/or share with friends! Lastly, check out some of my photos from the week in the “Gift of Tab” tab above.