Emiel during his internship in New York!

Hi there!

I’m Emiel Wolter, 18 years old, from Weert. I study Commercial Economics at Fontys in Eindhoven. Currently, I’m doing an internship at an advertising agency in the heart of the Flatiron District in New York City. The company I’m interning at works in branding, content, advertising, experiential marketing, web & mobile, and research.

It took a lot of arranging. It all starts with finding an internship. I was lucky because I was in NYC in April, so I could visit several companies. Once I found my internship, the visa process could start — definitely start that early! To get the final ‘go,’ you also need to visit the U.S. consulate in Amsterdam. Their schedule is super full, so I only got my passport back a few days before leaving, which was pretty nerve-wracking! Housing was also a bit tricky because, obviously, I couldn’t stay with all the ladies at The Webster Apartments. So, I searched online for an apartment. It’s hard to find a nice place in a good location that fits your budget. I now live in a super nice apartment in East Harlem, Manhattan. There are two other young Europeans living here, and since last week also a young American — a nice mix and great for my English since I really have to speak English all day now.

I arrived in NYC a week before my internship started. I had been here before, but it was nice to have that week to get everything organized and visit my internship to discuss everything. Also, that week was perfect to recover from my awful jetlag — on the first day I woke up at 4:30 AM, even though I had been awake for over 24 hours on the travel day.

On the first day, I went grocery shopping. There’s an Aldi and Target just one block from my apartment, perfect! That was a bit of a culture shock because it’s really very different from what you’re used to in the Netherlands. Price tags show prices without tax, and the portions are insanely large. Also, most things are more expensive than in the Netherlands. But they do have all the products you usually see on YouTube and other websites, which is fun to see. In the first week, I explored a lot, did things, and ate a lot. I went to SoHo, a really nice neighborhood with lots of trendy shops and restaurants. On Friday evenings, the Museum of Modern Art is free, which was nice but very busy. Just walking through the streets is amazing; there’s so much to see and do!

Monday, September 4, was supposed to be the first day of my internship, but it’s Labor Day, so I had an extra day off. There are also many sales in stores that day, so if you love shopping, this is the perfect day to do it.

My first internship week was a slow start—my boss got stuck in Florida because of the hurricane. When I got back to the apartment after my first day, the electricity wasn’t working… It took them three days to fix it. So that meant three days of cold showers, no Wi-Fi, no phone charging, and no cooking. I can definitely say I got the full NYC experience right from week one. By the weekend, things had calmed down, and the weather was still great! Together with my roommate, I visited Coney Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO, and Central Park. At Coney Island, it really hit me that I was still in NYC and not on holiday somewhere like Costa Brava. From Brooklyn Bridge Park, you get an incredible view of the skyline. Standing there, I was really proud that I made it and that I was actually interning in this world city. On Sunday, my roommates and I went to Central Park to soak up the last bit of summer. The view from one of the piers on the Hudson River is also amazing!

One of the most impressive moments so far was visiting the 9/11 memorial on the actual anniversary. Flowers covered the entire monument, and two very bright spotlights shone straight into the sky—these were even visible from my apartment on 116th St.

There are also lots of fun free things to do in NYC. For example, I went to the ‘Photo Ville’ event at the end of September. Under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, large shipping containers were set up, displaying photographers’ works. Many museums also have free days or ‘pay what you want’ policies. The latter is the case at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where you pay what you think it’s worth. The Staten Island Ferry is also free, and you can see the Statue of Liberty and the beautiful NYC skyline from it.

I’ve also gotten quite an impression of the people here—they’re all very busy, drink absurd amounts of coffee, but contrary to what many say, they’re not unfriendly at all. In fact, many people will start a conversation with you just like that, and no one will bat an eye at how you look or what you do.

I’ve now been here for over a month, and I’m enjoying every moment. Before I know it, I’ll be back in Weert… Below is a list of things I miss, and things I definitely don’t miss about the Netherlands.

Things I miss about the Netherlands:

• Cheese
• Strong coffee (even though coffee is everywhere here, you can see the bottom of the cup through it…)
• Proper bread
• Stroopwafels — I’ve actually found these at Whole Foods now!
• My mom cooking, doing laundry, and ironing for me

Other than that, I’m not missing much in this amazing city!

Things I don’t miss about the Netherlands:

• The NS train system!!! (though the subway here isn’t always perfect either)
• Narrow-minded people — in NYC literally nobody cares how you look or behave, which is fantastic.

Tips from the apartment:

• Start arranging things early; it’s more work than you think!
• Craigslist or SpareRoom.com have many apartments listed.
• Save up well in advance, because you definitely don’t want to scrape by here.
• Use Mint Sim as a provider; it’s 50% cheaper than big players like T-Mobile.
• Open a bank account at Bank of America. It’s free for students under 24 and ready to use with Apple Pay, among other things.

Until next time! If you want to follow me in the meantime, check out my Instagram @emielwolter. If you’re thinking about doing an internship here and have questions, send me a message via Instagram or my blog!