Kate – Semester Exchange to St John’s University, New York, Semester 2, 2016.
52 Random Thoughts During the First Two Weeks of Exchange in New York
- That “do you ride a kangaroo to school?” question again…
- The water tastes weird here.
- You have to pay to get onto the beach?!
- Tipping is so bloody confusing.
- Seriously the Empire State Building just appears everywhere.
- So I need to start saying ‘trash’ instead of ‘rubbish’.
- Also ‘restroom’ and not ‘toilet’.
- Too many useless coins in my wallet.
- A dog just walked out of a bank with its owner.
- Hot dogs off the street are amazing.
- Wow that guy was rude.
- Okay so New Yorkers in general are just kind of rude.
- Chuck and Blair got married here!
- John’s is a real American college, just like the ones you see in movies.
- Everyone is being so nice and friendly to us newbies.
- Wow St. John’s gives out a lot of free stuff. And good free stuff too.
- Wait she thought we were Irish? Really?
- Getting the hang of this subway thing.
- Victoria’s secret is so massive I can’t handle it right now.
- The heat.
- Fried Oreos – of course America.
- I am really starting to see just how differently Aussies pronounce words.
- I love how there are so many different and distinct areas of this city.
- Times square – you’re actually more awesome than I thought you would be.
- After a week of living here we have knives. Now to stop eating out two meals a day and actually cook.
- I love it how people treat Central Park like a beach, tanning in bikinis and all.
- $15 to get onto the beach?! Seriously?!
- How have I only been here less than a week?! Feels like forever already.
- How do I read Fahrenheit?
- How do I read pounds and ounces?
- New York Pizza is the bomb!
- I can’t wear my gym stuff to class…?
- I forget that I’m the one with the different accent.
- Dammit I just opened the drivers’ door and not the front passenger door!
- It is so hard not to look to my right for oncoming traffic when crossing the road.
- Americans really like Australians and our accents.
- New York is such an ideal place to people watch.
- It is always so humid down on the subway tracks.
- It’s been two weeks here now – I should probably call Mum and Dad soon…
- It is so strange being the minority in certain areas. Haven’t experienced it like this before.
- I seriously don’t get why they don’t advertise food prices with tax included.
- So funny how the American students in my classes mimic my accent and find it so fascinating.
- Everyone says how they’d love to get to Australia one day. Rarely have I spoken to someone who has actually been.
- Central Park is my absolute happy place here.
- I wonder what movie or TV show they are shooting here today..?
- I can really see how we call Australia the “lucky country”.
- I can’t believe that at 22 I am too old for a frat party.
- I am finding it so hard to get the hang of the coins here. 5 cents, a dime (10 cents) and a quarter (25 cents) are all silver and all look the same.
- Just paid AUD$17 for a glass of Sav. That’s Manhattan for you.
- So funny watching wait staff and bouncers trying to read the date of birth on my licence.
- Classes have started now. I should probably get to doing some study.
- Everywhere in this city feels like a dream.
