Today was my last day at work. I stayed a little longer than what the program had planned, but since I was staying in New York till May 30th, I thought I might as well make myself useful and keep helping the company where I interned the last couple of months.
It now has come to an end. I can’t believe how fast it went and at the same time, how many things I got to do, experience, live and enjoy. I don’t regret a single minute of it. I enjoyed every moment as much as I could and now I feel very overwhelmed about leaving everything behind and going back to the real world.
I met many different people from many different parts and, I learned something great from each of them. I don’t know if I’m going to see them again but I’m sure I will never ever forget them. I will look back to this period in my life and smile every single time, because I have too many good memories…and even the not so good ones now make me laugh.
I have an offer to come back and work in New York City. I’m actually really considering it and probably will do it, to gain more experience and to keep discovering this amazing city, but you know what? It will never be the same, not without all these great people that made my semester probably the best one I’ve ever had. Thank you all and best of luck! You will be missed terribly.

Suddenly, you open your eyes again and all your bags are packed up, your plane ticket and your passport are sitting on the table, right next to the big purse you only use when you travel. A whole semester went by, and for you it seems that it was two minutes ago when you were falling asleep for the first time in that empty new dorm room at New Paltz. In both moments you are just lying in your bed and you feel like crying; the first time because you were afraid of a new beginning; the second, because you don’t want to leave this new place, these new people, these new feelings, this new home.
Some of us, are lucky enough and we got an extension of our internship over the summer, but we’re still saying goodbye, still graduating from the program, still ending something that was amazing.
It’s hard to conceive the level of friends I made these four months. I found people who I can have fun with, who I can talk to about almost anything, who I’m gonna miss like crazy once we separate. You usually think that your best friends are the ones you’ve had for years and years but I’ve realized that this idea is not necesarilly true. You can find your best friend in one second, it’s a matter of connections. There are some people with whom you just click from the beginning, others take a little longer. The fact is that every year I find more friends, and I keep old ones, but I have proven to myself that friendship is the most important thing in life, it’s what keeps you going on.
So yes, it has been the most wonderful experience to come here, to be in the program, to meet everyone, to live this moment. And it makes me very sad to think that in just a few more days we’re gonna have to say goodbye and go our separate ways, leaving this behind and putting it inside the memory’s box that we all keep. It cannot stay open forever, just from time to time and in order to remember what are the small things that have gotten you where you are in life.

Yesterday was a very busy day at work; The day before, I had to stay a little late finishing a few projects on a new account that we just got for an event on February next year. I usually just work on a lot of different things and accounts, helping everyone at the office and doing what I can for all the events we have. But yesterday was different, when my boss came in she said she wanted me to go to the meeting with her, since I had been working on that account the day before. We took a car there and we had to wait for a little while because the person in charge of the hospital is a senator and he’s busy with both jobs. Once sitting in the conference room, I had to take notes of everything that was going on. They discussed the honorees, the donators, the clients, the date, the venue and the mailing.
After that, we had to run into the office because she had another meeting and we had an event at 5pm. I finished up some other things, especially regarding the auction that I’m organizing for May 9th, and then we had to go to the event.
It was a cocktail party for the American Place Theater, at The Players Club. This club is only for actors and it is an old Manhattan big house in the middle of Gramercy Park filled with paintings of actors all the way through history. It is a very exclusive area of New York and all the attendants to the party were actors, especially from broadway plays. They are celebrating the American Place Theater 45th anniversary and last night was like a pre-party for the big event on May 21st. We had to check in guests and then we just relaxed, had a glass of wine and some cheese until our busy day was finally over. I enjoyed working hard in New York City and feeling the real rush.

Last week was completely different from all the others that I’ve been in the city. It was Easter, and many people in the world have holidays those days, so it was pretty crowded. I had to get to work on time though, like every other day…
I had never been a “not tourist” in New York. People looking around, walking slowly in big groups, deciding calmly which train to take, taking pictures in every corner, bumping into you with a million shopping bags…I couldn’t stand it! I was in the New York rush and I had no time for all those interruptions in my day!
It’s funny how human beings can get used to anything. I had always been a tourist in this city before, and now I’m part of it and its crazyness so I look at tourists from a local point of view. The real question is, what will happen when I come back after these few months living here? Will I be a tourist or a New Yorker?

I actually did contribute a little bit to the excess of tourism on the weekend. I had Friday off from work and 4 friends from Mexico visiting, so I spend the weekend walking around in known areas, not cheap restaurants and many stores. It was really nice having people from my country here and catching up on everyone’s lives back home but I realized I’d rather be a New Yorker than a tourist now…You get a lot more out of it.
After 3 weeks living here, we now know where to eat nice and cheap, what kind of music is played in different bars and clubs, or even which train is more crowded at what times. You can easily fall in love with New York City, every day I walk on the streets, I see something new that just gets my attetion.
I don’t want to leave this city; and if I come back, I don’t think I’ll ever be a tourist again. I’m a New Yorker now.

The fact that this event was the first one I assisted as an intern in Lorelei is pure luck. It is probably one of the most impressing ones in terms of important invites. There were ambassadors, diplomats and, politicians from all over the world. Also, tons of religious leaders and as you can imagine, security.
I had to dress up very formaly since 4 pm and get to the site to help the staff check that everything was in order. Before we realized, it was time to be sitting in the reception table and have the list of people who were coming, ready to be ticked off.
Elegant people with all kinds of accents started coming up the stairs towards us and spelling their last names paciently. Time flew, and in what seemed 5 minutes, they told me to go into the ballroom and find Lorelei’s table to have dinner with my boss. It was delicious and very interesting, since Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, was the speaking guest and he spoke about subjects that really appealed to conscience…
After that night, I realized i do like planning events, especially those in which you get to feel important!

First week on the new job isn’t always easy, fun and exciting. Sometimes you just have a slow start until you begin to feel as a part of the team or at least until you feel you are doing something that effectively contributes to the company. This has been my experience so far…
When you have some experience and lots of dreams ahead, it’s not easy to be a new intern in a New York City company. On one side, you feel you are capable of doing everything, but at the same time, you don’t really know how to do anything; you don’t like people your same age bossing you around but, you are always looking for someone to tell you exactly what to do and how to do it. At the beginning, everything is new and interesting but by the third day of ding the same thing, it doesn’t seem as fun. You start wanting something different and wondering if you are in the right place at the right time. Believe me, I’ve noticed everything counts. I’m always trying to be one step ahead, but that is not the best idea at all times because sometimes you miss out on the present by trying to get to the next thing. Even though it’s just my second week, I feel I’m capable of doing so much more. Every little thing I help with at the office, makes me want to learn more and more about what the company does and how it does it. You just have to keep in mind that all that office work accomplishes great events for important organizations that help hummanity and the retribution you get is huge…
I’ve been on the job for a little over a week at Lorelei Enterprises, and tonight I can say I’ve learn a lot already. I won’t lie by saying I like everything I have to do but, what in life is perfect? People at my office are really nice to me, they are thankful for the help I give them and they try to pass on their experience as much as they can. Yes, I do the stuff no one else wants to do too but the retribution can be great! I get home exhausted and I go to bed feeling I’m really doing something…Our first event is for an organization called “Appeal of Conscience Foundation”, so I’ll be able to see all the hours’ efforts put together into a real event, finally.

Suddenly you wake up and you are already in New York City. You can see the silver skyscrapers all around you, hear the ambulances and smell freedom. It’s here, right in front of you, the opportunity to be someone; to be whoever you want; to forge yourself. You are sitting next to the window of your uptown International House room, and its like if you could see the whole city from there; its the starting line. At the moment you are relaxed, you are still able to think clear, but soon you will be involved in the crazyness of the black suits walking across the zebra lines on the streets; fighting for a single place in the subway; eating a quick lunch and smoking half of the expensive cigarettes you bought from the corner foreign guy. Foreign, everyone is in this city, and at the same time, no one is. Its too late now, you are a part of it too. The big apple has conquered, enchanted you also…