The last days I spent in NY were not as wonderful as I thought they’d be. I was not in the NYC mood and the consequences were that -during the week- I didn’t get to enjoy as much of the city as I wanted and in the weekends I put aside my personal beliefs to make up for the lost days. At work, people was not even aware that I was leaving. I’m happy for everyone who got a nice farewell party or gifts…I didn’t even get a recommendation later (it’ll be mailed to Mexico)…my bosses didn’t go to the ceremony…and well, I kindda understand them, but it got me really sad. Altough, I was blessed to have the company of great friends to cope with my blue mood.

Tonight is my last night at NYC, still my favorite city in the world. Now it means a lot more to me than what it meant two months ago. Every place, every smell, every sound and even every rat in the subway will remain in my memory. There will be trivial things that will fade away with time but some others I’ll embrace and try with all my heart not to forget…

Apparently to comment on every member of the IIB Program has become a fashion so…

ALEXIA: Simple, random, “centered”!! I will miss you a lot, thank you for every morning …for every breakfast and for waiting for me to get in the subway even when I wore high heels. “Keep that brethless charm” !!! You’re awesome woman and in NY you’ll never be alone. Take care and do not trust people so easily.

KIKI: Teddy Braham!! So charming and sweet! How do you do it? Always so polite and well educated. Tell your mom she did a good job . You are the kind of girly girl I wish I could be. Love your sense of style and how caring and thoughtful you are. It’s really hard not to think that I’ll miss your friendship =(. AwWw…

OSORIO: STAY AWAY FROM BREAD!! IT’S AN ORDER!! hahah…chek your email, I’ll send you something soon. Thanks for showing me that I’m not as careless as I thought i was. Mexico City is deff. on my priority list of things to do next semester. Take care woman! Whatever you lose, don’t lose that sparkle…keep smiling every day!

ROSSANO: You have the nicest name of all in NY. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you when you left. I wish I had half the energy you do. Send me your pics ok? That pink camera ROCKS!! We will change the world just like those students in Chicago.

PAULINA: SOoOoooo LoOouD!! I’m gonna miss your northern accent! Always so excited and always so caring. I love how passionate you are about the things you like. Have fun in merry old Canada

MEL: AY AY !! hahaha You have a way to talk to everyone ..always!! I wish we knew each other better, but i’m grateful that i actually got to know you. You, Alex, Kiki and Pau will be my reason to love VIVA AEROBUS!! AHAHAHA

ALEX: I write about you last ’cause I’m sure you would say “Ladies First”. I can say that you are an example…ITESM’s mission statement came to life in you. Thanks for taking care of us, for showing us your kindness and for always being patient and friendly. I’m glad I had this time to share with you.

So, this is how I say goodbye to IIB and New York…grateful for every moment, grateful for the people I got to know here.

Thanks guys. It would have been nothing without you here…

AGUSTIN, GUSTAVO, BETIANA, ESMERALDA, RUUD, CRISTOBAL, KENJI

I’ll try to never forget about you…

ALL MY LOVE …

Lately I’ve been thinking about what it’s like to be a New Yorker. You get to see the action right where its taking place but to do so you leave behind many things that you didn’t even know you liked. Being a New Yorker means to have the best restaurants, the best bars and the best parties all day, every day. It means having public transportation available 24/7. Living here, as part of the city means to get to see hundreds of people from different nations all at once. It means: variety! A New Yorker gets to choose, he gets to decide and he makes what his mind desires.

It sounds amazing, doesnt it? But to be part of the city also means to spend a lot of your time IN public transportation (mostly underground), it means to spend a lot of money to eat at the best restaurants, drink at the best bars and attend to the best parties all day, every day. You do get to see a lot of people, but you can hardly get to actually know any of them.

New York City offers a wide variety of things to do and please don’t get me wrong. It is still my favorite city in the whole wide world, i just don’t know if I would want to live here as a New Yorker rather than just a visitor. I wouldn’t want to be in a hurry all the time. I wouldn’t want to take for granted how wonderful the city is, all the lights, the noices…I wouldn’t want to be in a bad mood all the time, cursing against the drivers and not enojoying every little step.

Like I said, I love New York…but I wouldn’t want to become a neOoyorKeR!!

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last blogged.

These past 12 days have been A M A Z I N G!!

The internship has been what I expected and more. Working at Time Inc. in the Research and Insight department is a priceless experience. I’ve become close friend with Excel and Outlook and i’ve tried my best to get to know everyone in my office. The truth is that being in cubicles gives you a lot of privacy but few opportunities to talk to anybody (unless is strict business).

I’ve wondered lately how have I been performing. I feel that I am at the right place, and my boss keeps telling me that I have good questions. She also keeps handing me more complex projects every time, but still I would like to know what she really thinks of my efforts.

Feedback is always useful, so I encourage you to aks for it. Sometimes you won’t hear what you want but at least you will know what went wrong and you will be able to modify anything that is compromising your experience as intern. It is true, you are in the lower step of the company. Some may want to take advantage of your good will and time available: GO FOR IT! You will learn from every little task they ask you to do and if you perform well and willingly I am sure they’ll trust you with bigger, harder tasks.

Good luck to all of you, I hope you are enjoying as much as I am.

New York, New York…

Spending two months at New Paltz was a little too much for me. I’ve come to realize that I’m a city girl, and I love it. We arrived a few days ago and so far it has been better than I expected. Today was the first internship day for many of the guys. I will start tomorrow and I’m very excited.

We are living at the International House. To be honest it is a little far from all the exciting things downtown and since we are very close to Harlem, it gets a little scary at night. Altough, the building is wonderful and the best part is that we don’t have to share rooms anymore. Don’t expect too much of your room except that it is your own. Some were lucky and got a nice view, others got sink IN the room, and some others got more space. Whatever is the case, I deeply appreciate privacy.

I can’t really explain how happy I am to be here. The city welcomed us and now we are trying to be part of it. As expected, now everyone is working in different places and minding their own business but we (the Mexicans) are trying to remain united. -I don’t know how it is like with the Swedish, I’ll have to ask.- What I do know is that I’m thankful for our culture, because we stick together to do trivial things because as Luke said† “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much….” We can count on each other!!

Guys, all the wait was worth it!! BIG TIME

My dear father always advised me to carry a small bag everywhere. He told me I should  bring with me my mobile phone, enough cash, tissues, id, and a band aid. To be honest, I never listened to this wise advise, but now i realize how useful it was.   A MUST in every lady exchange student wardrobe is a long strap hand bag. To avoid any type of robbery or losing valuable things (like your passport) you should carry a small purse with your personal belongings wherever you might go. Especially clubs, bars or concerts.

New Paltz is a small student town. I consider it is safe to walk in the middle of night, or to go out at any time, but you should never push too hard. What I mean is that you don’t want to be tempting by carrying a 500 hundred gucci purse to any event in town (even if it is not a real 500 gucci). Especially when this beautiful bag contains your precious survival kit: passport & credit card.

The long strap hand bag will stay close to you (carry it across the chest). You might not find it as chic but I assure you, your things will be safer if they are right next to you. It also has the advantage that you will actually feel your mobile (if it vibrates) even if you are at a very loud place. You won’t have to carry your camera in your wrist (it gets uncomfortable) and people will think it twice when approaching you to try to take your stuff away.

Take care of each other, in the end..what remains are the good experiences and the friendship of those who shared with you a whole semester.

How to describe an interview …

When you come to the Institute of International Business, you attend  a Business Communication class, where you focus on improving your resume, cover letter and interview skills. Getting a “dreamed” interview  is the result of a long process. You must be willing to invest hours of research and preparation.I’ve found that there are two types: on the phone and face to face.

Some weeks ago I had my first phone interview with MTV. The company was great but the position was not what I expected so the process had to start all over again. Find a company, send your resume and cover letter, wait for them to contact you back and make an appointment for another phone interview. It is rather easy for me to be on the phone because it allows you more freedom. Since the person on the other side of the line is not able to see you, you can have notes spread all over the place, walk around if you get nervous and make notes if you need to. If you do well during this first screen, then you get a pass to NYC for a face to face interview, not with the HR person but with the one who is going to be your immediate boss.

Now, face to face interviews are a lot different. You must get ready in advance…make sure your outfit is perfect, your hair is spotless and your breath is fresh. You must also bring with you some extra copies of your resume, you never know who else in the department will want to see it. Make sure to be there on time, not too early ‘tho, because you may interrupt the interviewer’s schedule.NYC enterprises are too big, so don’t expect warm, welcoming people at the front desk , most of them ar too busy to be kind. Most important, be confident!! They asked you to be there because they want to hear about your professional background, this is a great opportunity to flatter yourself a little bit.What you least want is to get scared.

So??…yes, it is a huge company!! yes, you will be competing with other people to get the position!!yes, you are not perfect…but then again, no one is!!

Get involved, fall in love with the company and the position, show your interest, ask questions, be yourself, keep your cool.  You are already there, you can’t control the rest of the world, but you can control what you say and how you say it. My advice is that you be honest, trust yourself and show commitment.

Once again, good luck…finding a perfect internship is like finding love, it takes long but it is worth it !!

After quite some time trying to find out how this works… I give you my warmest welcome to the IIBlog!
Adventurous students have come to SUNY New Paltz with one same goal in common: TO OBTAIN AN INTERNSHIP IN NEW YORK. Although these are not the best of times to find a job opportunity in the city that never sleeps, we are all determined to obtain a position.
Before coming, we were showed a broad list of companies, were we could apply for an internship; and that was probably what caught our attention the most. Now, we are witnessing that finding the perfect internship is not as easy as we thought. It requires concentration, patience and determination.
From my point of view, people who already have their jobs are those who knew exactly what they wanted before even coming to SUNY. It could either be in terms of the place they wanted to work or the exact position they wanted to have. Whichever it was, they had a vision.
There is less than a month left and the pressure is on us. Some have interviews to attend but some are still looking. It is especially hard for those in the finance field. As I said, the external factors are not favouring our cause. We are great at working under pressure, I’m sure than in the end we will all find something we enjoy doing.

Tic, toc my friends… the clock is ticking …

ps. Congratulations to all of those who already have their intenrship!!!