The New York Experience

Spanish Intern in the USA

Sofia considers that New York City is the loud city of traffic, lights and cinematic beauty 

as we know it from the movies.

 The american experience from a Spanish point of view.

Name:  Sofia Esnaola

Age:     24 

From:   Bilbao, Spain

To:       New York, U.S.A

For:      Internship in Advertising Agency (Global  Woks)

1. Your main academic or professional interest.

"I got my degree in Journalism, Advertising & Public Relations and Audiovisual Communication in the European University of Madrid last year and, although now I'm working in the world of advertising, where I'd really like to end up is in the film world, maybe producing a movie".

2. Your motivation for going to New York

"Mainly work... In Spain there was nothing and when I was offered the opportunity to come and work here, without thinking about it I packed and got on the plane".

3. What is unique about New York?

"The city itself is unique. People walking fast through the streets with coffee in hand, the roads full of yellow cabs, green parks hidden among skyscrapers, ..."

4.What do you see out of your window?

"From the office's window I can see Washington Square Park and the Flatiron Building in the background, one of the most curious buildings of New York.

And from my house's window I see a schoolyard normally full of children playing basketball and the Williamsburg bridge to the right, one of the many bridges that cross the river that surrounds Manhattan".

5. The best thing to do with company in N.Y.

"Dinner with friends in a typical American restaurant and end up drinking beer in a bar until closing".

6. The best thing to do alone

"Lose yourself in the long crowded streets with the music on the iPhone held loud and no hurry to get anywhere".

7. The hardest thing to get used to

"Food! Hard to find good and cheap places to eat... Everyone eats at fast food restaurants here".

Flat-mates

8. New York in 3 words

        "Loud, 

  fun,  intense".

9. Your new favorite habit.

"Enjoy happy hours! $1 Budweiser drafts every Tuesday night after work".

10. The reason why you would stay forever in NY.

"Living in NYC is still one of the most amazing experiences of my life but I do not think I could spend more than one season of my life here... I would not stay here to raise a family... Although you never know."

Basque Country, Spain

11. The reason why you would not.

"Family… I miss my family a lot. Although six years have passed since I left my home, I've always been as much as a 4-hour drive or 2-hour flight away. But now I'm more than 5000km away and it's hard."

12. The song linked with your life there.

"Feel This Moment, Pitbull & Aguilera "

13. The taste linked with your life there.

"Chicken Tikka Masala! We go to Indian restaurants very often :) "

14. The most significant difference between American and European culture, as you experienced it.

"Schedules. Here people begin the day much earlier than I'm used to (at 6am they are already awake) and they finish it soon too. The dinner is at 6pm whereas in Spain I eat dinner at 10pm..."

15. The most impressive area in NY.

"Times Square at night. Just awesome…"

16. What is untrue about the impression you had about U.S.A.

"People here are not as pretty as you see in the movies! - kidding… 

The truth is that living in New York is like living in a movie. It is just as you imagine it to be, as it is in the movies. As the song says: New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do here. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere."

17. What you will keep forever from the American experience.

"The incredibly good friends I made here."

This is a video Sofia and her friend/flat-mate Laura made for their winter NY experience:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOGueTeLpK4