Meet Gaby in New York!
"My advice to anyone would be to jump at an opportunity of doing your internship/traineeship abroad immediately!! It is fantastic to get to know yourself better, learn new things, new people and have the chance to emerge in a totally different culture. No one can ever take the experience away from you!" - Gaby (19)
Read more about Gaby's Interior Design internship in New York here:
Why did you choose to go abroad?
Doing an internship abroad had been on my wish list for the longest time. Experiencing working and living in a different country than the Netherlands appealed to me very much.
I so much wanted to do this internship in the United States and more specific, in New York, even though I had never been there before.
Last year I went to New York on a holiday with my parents and brother in February. That visit amplified those feelings even more. New York is absolutely my favorite city in the world because of its diversity and because of the different way of living.
How did you find your internship?
Stage-USA helped me in the search for an internship in New York with different options of companies to find a company which would best suit me.
How did you feel about your internship?
The internship in New York has been an amazing experience! Even though it was a short term internship of only 2,5 months it taught me so much on so many different levels. At my internship company I was allowed to do almost everything, I learned a lot about interior (design) and about the lifestyle of the New York population. The main task I had was designing digital presentations (and present them too!) as well as taking measurements at the actual homes of clients.
How does the American culture differ from your culture and what has impressed you the most?
New York inhabitants are very hospitable and don’t seem to be very judgemental. You can truly be who you want to be and they don’t expect you to conform to their way of living.
One of the perks of living and working in the Big Apple is you don’t have to travel far for anything and there’s interesting things to do 24/7. There’s always restaurants open for business and the choice of foods are endless. I am certainly going to miss this when I am back home.
In The Netherlands Halloween is not celebrated like in the States, it was really nice to have been part of this in America.
Could you take us through a day? What is your routine?
From Monday until Friday I was working at my internship company. My alarm went off at 06.45 am. Next would be taking a shower, get ready and have breakfast with my housemates around 08.00 am and catch a subway at 08.30 to Brooklyn where my internship company is situated. I would be working until around 01.00 pm to have lunch with my co-workers. As I am used to in The Netherlands, at lunchtime I would usually eat the bread I brought from “home”. At approximately 06.00 pm my workday would be over and I’d return home to have dinner with my housemates/friends. In the evenings we sometimes would go out, other evenings we stayed in and watched some television and sometimes I would stay in my room and relax (or go to bed early to get energized for the next day).
What is your housing situation?
One of the possibilities for housing that Stage-USA advised to stay at was The Webster Apartments at 34th Street (in the center of NY). Webster Apartments offers rooms to women only. Women that either are working in New York or doing an internship. At any given time the rooms are rented by women of different countries who all have a similar purpose, working in New York.
Friendships are formed really quickly. In the building you have your own (small) room, the bathrooms (quite a few per floor) you have to share (they are cleaned a couple of times a day so very clean). There’s multiple rooms where you can hang out. Last but certainly not least, the building has a huge rooftop terrace with an incredible view to the Empire State building. The Webster apartments have security 24/7 which makes you feel extra safe!
Have you made any trips so far?
During Halloween some of my friends and I visited Tarry Town, a small town outside of New York. We feel like we have experienced a more authentic American culture over there. We enjoyed the nature and the peace and quiet there a lot as well. New York lacks that!
What are your future plans?
When my internship is over I will return to The Netherlands to continue the academic year of my interior advisor programme. In may 2020 I have my exams and hope to obtain my diploma. In the academic year 2020-2021 I will continue my education by enrolling for a study Interior Design.
How has this experience abroad helped you grow both professionally and personally?
Professionally this internship did wonders for my level of English! It’s the only language to get around with so you just need to take a plunge.
From a personal point of view I can honestly say I grew a lot. It was the very first time being away from home by myself for this amount of time. It taught me to rely on myself, make my own decisions and to enjoy this experience to the max. Now I know I can be an independent young woman living in a big city!
Why would you recommend others to do their internship/traineeship abroad?
My advice to anyone would be to jump at an opportunity of doing your internship/traineeship abroad immediately!! It is fantastic to get to know yourself better, learn new things, new people and have the chance to emerge in a totally different culture. No one can ever take the experience away from you!
If you could express your internship experience in three words, what would these be?
Best experience ever!
