Day 7: How it's going so far

📍 Location: Staten Island Ferry, New York, USA

The first week of my big adventure is almost over. It’s crazy how time flies. It feels like yesterday that I said goodbye to my home for 3 months and hopped on a plane that took me to the other side of the world.

I’m not going to lie. The first week was kind of hard for me. Huge ups and downs. I realized that I came to this city with big expectations. I’d heard all these amazing stories about language courses. That it would be an unforgettable experience because you would meet people from all around the world and that those people would become very close friends. Almost like a little family.

Unfortunately New York is much more individual. Most students at Embassy English (name of the school) are here for a long period of time, some even more than a year. They’ve already built up a whole life outside of school with work and everything, so it’s hard to connect with them. And because almost everyone is already 21+, they can enjoy the nightlife of New York, while I have to go home because there’s no way that I can enter any club or bar in town. That’s a big bummer.

To be honest I’m thinking about quitting the course after next week. I just don’t really care about what they teach you in class - too grammatical and theoretical for me - and I’m basically on my phone for three hours straight. And because I actually reached my goal - making a few friends in this city :) - it just feels like a waste of money.

So in short: I came with the wrong mindset to this city. And it took some time to abandon that. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not crying my eyes out 24/7 wishing that I wouldn’t have come here. Not at all. Maybe the course didn’t worked out for me the way I’d hoped and I felt a little sad about that, but that’s not the end of the world. I still have New York to enjoy. And I do! This city is truly as amazing as they say it is. When I walk around I look like the typical tourist. Always making pictures with my camera, trying to capture every little detail of this amazing place.

My goal for the next few weeks is to experience the city less as a tourist and more as a local. Hopefully even meet a few locals. I’ve found a few sites online where they tell you which places are nice to visit and not as touristic. So that’s where I’ll be!

But this week I’m still the biggest tourist. Today, my friend Nao and I took the ferry to Staten Island. It was so nice. Standing for 20 minutes on the boat, breathing in the salty air, just looking at the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of New York slowly fading away without saying anything. Those are the best moments. The biggest ups. Then I realize that I’m so lucky to be able to experience this adventure and that I should enjoy it 100% before it’s over.

So family and friends, I’m doing fine! At some moments more than others, but I think that’s part of it. Know that I miss you. But I’ll be back soon. X