New York: Day 3 and Day 6

Day 3: Fun Date and Surprise Interview

Robert came over in New York!

I thought I was adjusting pretty okay in New York, but I felt an immense sense of comfort and relief upon seeing a familiar face. It was also nice to have someone else to talk to other than a sad reporter, a roommate, and a stranger.

We walked along 5^th Avenue and visited Eataly, an Italian food place. This place is large and glorious and everything Italian.

Hi Robert!

My god look at the Eataly desserts. Yuuuum.

As we headed further down north, I suddenly got a phone call from Mr. Yoo.

“We have an interview with a designer. Sorry for notifying you now, it kind of happened all of a sudden. Can you come to 611 Broadway by 4:40?”

We were at 30^th street. 611 Broadway was past 1^st street, and a little further on. Basically, we had to walk a long time.

Oh.

We did walk there though, and it took forty minutes of walking to the studio, and I got there before Mr. Yoo. HA!

Siki Im’s studio was tiny and full of clothes and design pictures. Billy, the scruffy brown dog, was walking around the tiny studio, where the assistant designers would stop doing Important Things and bend down to coo over him. Billy was cute, even if he was kind of ugly. Even I couldn’t help but pat him when he came to my side.

 

Billy the dog. Photo not by me.

 

After a while, Mr. Siki Im himself came into the studio. He was a man all dressed in black with a very impressive beard and moustache set. We began the interview. I was also supposed to take notes, after which I was supposed to send a summary of it to Mr. Yoo.

Mr. Siki Im.

Some examples of his designs.

 After that little interval, Robert and I made our way back up to Koreatown, where we had spicy chicken for dinner.

Koreatown, looking a lot like a street in Seoul.

Ohhhh so glorious.

And then we went to Paris Baguette for dessert. OH SWEET JESUS BEST DINNER AND DESSERT EVER.

Okay, technically this is from my re-visit the day after, but still.

We then went to karaoke, where the price was ridiculously expensive. $40 an hour?! Even the Ann Arbor karaoke don’t charge you that much! Thank god I had Robert to split costs. The karaoke did give us the “extra 10 minutes” just like in Korea, though, which placated my irritation somewhat. Yeah they had better give us those ten minutes, $40 an hour is ridiculous. You can karaoke for a fraction of that price in Korea! Grr.

So it was a pretty fun day. I need more friend interaction soon.

Day 6: Chinatown and Lower Manhattan

If you ask what happened in Day 4 and 5, well, not much. I was taking a break from touring, just taking in the surrounding NYU environment.

I was also suffering (just a bit! I’m mostly fine I swear!) from a bout of loneliness and an odd sense of confusion. I haven’t had any meaningful human interaction since the day out with Robert. Elsa was out of the room most of the time, and the only other people I talked with were workers at CVS or the dining hall.

Additionally, the only thing I’ve been assigned for my internship so far was the interview, so the past few days were very free. I was left to spend the following days wondering if I would be assigned more tasks already, if it were worth it to have stayed in New York for two whole months.

To add to the brooding, I found that I am denied access in most NYU buildings except for the dining hall and gym because I wasn't a student. Well, there went my plan for hanging out in the school library. I know the university facilities are for the students, but non-students could at least enter the UM libraries. All the NYU building entrances are blocked, with guards stationed to check your student ID.

And then I decided that enough was enough, and no matter what happens, I should make the best out of my stay in New York because I’m in fucking New York, dammit!

So I walked out the dorm and headed for Chinatown.

I stopped to watch a dance performance in Washington Square Park, as it was in the way.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, TODAY, we're going to show you something you've never seen before... BLACK PEOPLE DANCING!" - they were good sports.

  

Hello Chinatown! I honestly could not find anything remotely Italian around the area. Where did Little Italy go???

Because I like having snacks local (?) to the area: pineapple moon cake and taro bubble tea. Yums.

Shot of Chinatown.

Shot of Chinatown 2.

 

After I had a good look around Chinatown I saw distinctly un-Chinatown-like buildings looming over very closely. Suppose I could continue walking and go all the way to Lower Manhattan?!

Yes, yes I could.

The buildings looming afar.

It's the New York Supreme Court!

Hello there.

Large looming building!

Not quite sure what this building is.

A particularly nice building in Lower Manhattan.

Ooh fountain!

and... kechup?

The 9/11 memorial site.

9/11 memorial visitor center motorcycle.

Steel remains.

As I made my way back home with a dinner takeout and a cup of bubble tea in hand, I was fatigued but satisfied. I had walked out of the room, found my way to Chinatown with only a map (and you guys all know how directionally challenged I am), and went exploring on my own. It was a small task, but strangely encouraging.

Well, tomorrow we have more roommates moving in! We shall see what happens.