After a long build-up, I’m finally in New York to partake in my internship with GF55. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while and I can’t wait to not only experience the architectural workspace, but life in New York as well. My last two visits to New York have been as a tourist, and I predicted that living and working here is wildly different. As a tourist, you don’t really experience the bustling organism that is New York. I realize I’ll have to figure out how the public transport works, find a standard place to do groceries and locate a place to work out or go to the gym – I trust the people that I’m staying with that they’ll help me to adjust to the New York way of living. It already helps that the apartment is in a prime location – on the edge of central park in Upper West Side.
The journey to my hosts started with an 8-hour flight with KLM – considering i’m not unfamiliar with flying, it was a piece of cake. Upon arrival, I was met by US customs which, in spite of how long it took, was a relatively easy process. As per the ASSE handbook, I had all the necessary documents prepared and was ready to answer any questions that the US customs officer might have had (luckily there were none). After this, I took a shuttle bus to my hosts. Since I arrived in the evening I was met with a beautiful sight of the New York skyline at sundown – I felt like a child in a candy store!
Architect-US has been extremely helpful in organising my visa and securing the internship with my university, Delft University of Technology. Even over the summer holiday when I was without a computer and in a little village in Croatia, they’ve remained in contact and communicated on a daily basis with me. Even upon arriving in New York, I realised how helpful the intern handbook has been and how much information Architect-US has provided me. They’ve explained everything from customs to general lifestyle tips extremely well. I’m sure it’ll be of great help for me to learn how to navigate this amazing city.
These next few days I’ll be exploring how suited I am to the New York lifestyle and how well I can keep up with my fellow architects at GF55.
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