My dream of visiting New York City

My arrival in the States as an Exchange Student

It has been already three years since that day of August 2014 when I left and started my exchange in the United States of America, where I stayed for one academic year, with only one luggage and my laptop, nothing else. After all, I was only sixteen and I didn't need anything else. I was basically obsessed with the stars and stripes country, I can't even explain why or what made me so excited to that point, but I was so ready to leave that I'd have left even without my belongings.

Arrived where everything was completely different from what I was used to, I had the opposite reaction to what everyone else felt. I was happy, I was not hit by culture shock. I was in United-States, that was all I needed. My typical day in the US would be more or less like the following:

• wake up at around 6:50 am;
• look out the window and stare at the Rocky Mountains;
• eat my very American breakfast;
• go to school;
• speak some English;
• make some friends;
• play some tennis;
• come back home to my host family with whom I'd spend the rest of my day.

Passport in one hand, bag in the other: NYC's waiting

One morning though I woke up (or maybe I should say that I basically didn't go to sleep at all) and the alarm which I turned off was called "NEW YORK CITY". Now, try to imagine my face at three in the morning after a two-hour nap. Done? I'm sure you were imagining a yawning boy with messy hair with a huge desire of falling back to sleep. Wrong. In no time I was up, dressed and my bag was already waiting for me next to the front door.

I had the opportunity to share my happiness with other three exchange students, with whom I arrived at the airport and I took off. We were headed to the Big Apple. Once landed in New York we looked at each other, we couldn't believe we were really there. I felt alive. At the hotel, the staff started handing badges with our names and our flags (countries of origins) to help us make friends with the other students arriving from the rest of the United States. And so the next day not only I was going to visit New York City but I was going to do so with students from all over the world. Life Goals.

What I liked the most about NYC is that I felt like it was a breathing city, at any hour of the day. I bet that even if I was there on my own it would have been hard to feel lonely. This city gives you an excitement that I hardly ever felt before.

We walked through Central Park, visited the Metropolitan Museum, took the ferry to reach the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and then took the elevator up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

Therefore, it has been four intense days but after all, I did not mind sleeping three hours per night because waking up early meant getting ready to explore the Big Apple. Among all the things we did, there was also:

• visiting the World Trade Center;
• Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge;
• Eating in Chinatown & visiting Little Italy (duh, I am Italian I needed to take a picture of the area);
• SoHo (mainly because the girls needed to go shopping in the fashion capital of the world - can't blame them though).

Unfortunately, then we had to leave the City that never sleeps because we were headed to Washington DC. On our way there we stopped in Philadelphia, where we ate a Philly cheesesteak and saw the Bell.

Maybe the funniest moment has been taking a hip hop class at a well-known dance school of New York. The teacher was very confident and wouldn't accept an "I'm not capable" as an answer. She tried to engage with all of us and to put us on the spot even when it could be a bit embarrassing when everyone would stare at you. I felt like anybody can have a chance to shine in the Big Apple, they just need to play their cards right.

Concluding

I will never forget all the emotions I felt in such a short period of time. I won't forget when, before going to the US as an exchange student, I thought that my dream was unreachable. But then look at me now, I came back to Italy already two years ago and I'm getting ready to leave for my Erasmus.. next destination UK!

- Cristian

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