Posts Tagged ‘winter’

So I Guess I Went North for the Winter

Monday, February 12th, 2018

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So despite the fact that a textbook I read for a history class compared the “nationalism” of California to that of a community with nation status, no one I know from home stayed in California for college. I come from Oakland CA, the Bay Area, a fifteen-minute BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) ride from downtown San Francisco. Everyone I know who lives in that area, including my mother, who is from New York, and my friend, who is from China, loves the Bay Area with their whole soul, which makes it confusing why we would choose to leave. My personal theory is that all of us know we’re coming back. When people go to college, they might want to see how they like it and then decide where to live, but everyone I know is going to live in the Bay Area. They might visit other places or work in other places, but they will live in the Bay. Because the Bay is home.

So we all left. In preparation for this, my school librarian hosted a “how to dress for the winter” informational session during lunchtime after college acceptances had come out. It was widely attended. Said librarian, who is from Boulder, Colorado, instructed us in the use of hats, scarves, and gloves, items that I basically knew existed, but had never voluntarily owned. I’m still adjusting to the city, asking my roommate from Connecticut whether this is scarf weather. And today, fed up with the idea of “socks,” I elected to walk to the dining hall in flip flops. My feet got wet and cold and I slipped a few times, but I made it. The Californian has survived.

Besides the weather, there are other adjustments to make when coming from the West Coast to the East Coast. The East Coast is old blood, colonial revolutionary blood. That means the East has traditions. Standards. The West has none of that. I have friends whose family came over in the gold rush. They were opportunists looking for a “get rich quick” scheme.

If there’s one way I can sum up the Bay Area’s culture it’s this: the Bay hates formality. Anything you can do to take it away is good. Calling your teachers by surnames seems a little much, let’s go with first names, or even nicknames. Not being able to swear in class? Let’s get rid of that one too. We didn’t graduate in a cap and gown. We could wear whatever we want and some of the kids wore caps, some wore gowns, some wore both and some wore neither. We looked about as coordinated as a jamboree class. As a high school student, I spend some time on the Berkeley campus. Everyone on the Berkeley campus is wearing sweatpants, sweatshirts and flip flops. And because the temperature never gets below 50 or above 80, they look like this year round. This all conspired to mean that when I walked into my 8 am first year math lecture to see people in heels and makeup, I was confused. I looked down at my own legging-clad legs, shrugged, and went to sit down. My personal overture towards both coasts is the “leggings and heels” look, which gets across comfort without sacrificing too much dignity, though it’s very uncomfortable if you’re late to class.

My first impression of New York was that it’s a city of people going places on their way to other places. People in California are busy too, but they stand still for a second, sit down for a meal. New Yorkers are going to meetings on the way to their other meetings.

By Abigail McManus


Abigail McManus, a first year linguistics major, is interested in all things words and stories. In her abundant free time, she writes and thinks about language, as well as practicing Jiu Jistu and Karate. She is from the San Francisco Bay Area and she’ll tell you about it if you let her. 

For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.  

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

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From New York to….Reykjavik

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017

Sometimes, living in a city like New York during the winter feels like living in the 7th circle of hell. If the cold doesn’t make you regret going outside, the blistering wind will. Despite the drawbacks, New York in the winter can be a lot of fun, even after the holiday season has passed. Though the severe lack of people can come as a shock to first, New York after December is one of the quietest, most beautiful cities in the world. With sites on the water and lots of indoor activities, New York’s gray winter feels a lot like Reykjavik.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/

https://c1.staticflickr.com/

http://www.reykjavik.com/

http://www.reykjavik.com/

How do you enjoy all of the activities both places have to offer? Just follow these tips:

Don’t Dress To Impress.

I’m serious. Layers are your friends in both of these cities. Both have wind that bites into you, so even if you sweat a crazy amount underneath, those layers will save you from that nasty bite. Snowshoes that come up to the knee are a plus as well to avoid the nasty puddles of dirt and snow that gather between the sidewalk and the road. Plus, if you’re dressed warm enough to walk through New York in January and Reykjavik, you’ll see some amazing sites. New York’s Ice Festival in Central Park has two main events: live ice sculpting and a silent disco. If you can’t get enough of the cold and end up in Reykjavik in February, there’s always the Winter Lights festival to celebrate the long period of darkness the city has gone through. Not to mention ice-skating.

Exercise.

No joke, if you’re a runner in New York or Reykjavik, you better get used to the cold. Luckily, running in New York in the winter is a lot easier than running in the summer when throngs of people and cars constantly interrupt your route. If you’re not a runner, maybe winter is a good time to start if the cold doesn’t bother you too much. Running will keep your warm and motivate you to get outside and get some fresh air. If you get really good or even if you just want to see if running in the cold is something for you, try entering NYC Run’s Cocoa Classic (just $30 if you sign up before November 9th) on Roosevelt Island. There’s even hot chocolate in it for you. Reykjavik also has some fun runs like New York, though I would suggest holding off until summer for those. One of the best is the Midnight Sun Run (just $25 or 2400 ISK if you register by April) which takes place on the summer solstice. The spectacular sights will make up for the lack of cocoa and if you’re not a native Icelander, you’ll still get more than your fair share of the cold.

NYC Run's Cocoa Classic https://nycruns.com/

NYC Run’s Cocoa Classic
https://nycruns.com/

The start of the Midnight Sun Run https://runninginiceland.files.wordpress.com/

The start of the Midnight Sun Run
https://runninginiceland.files.wordpress.com/

Cocoa.

So maybe the Midnight Sun Run doesn’t provide hot chocolate, but Reykjavik has plenty of spots to grab one during the winter months. Grabbing a hot drink is foolproof way of warming up from your nose to your toes, and Súfistinn, across from Reykjavik’s City Hall, is the best place to get it. New York City has some excellent hot chocolate as well. City Bakery in Flatiron has some of the most warming and mouth-watering hot chocolate around. Or if that’s too far for you, MarieBelle on Broome St. is full of chocoholics that love a good cup of hot cocoa.

Explore.

Both of these cities are gems in the cold. For New York City, the lack of people after the holidays is refreshing and oddly quiet. Embrace it and get ready for the long, noisy summer months. Go to Central Park and climb Belvedere Castle to see the sight snowy sight around you or take a friend to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, which becomes a silent, icy wonderland in the winter. In Reykjavik when it’s light out, if you’ve never been before, you’ll get the same feeling as staring down from the Freedom Town onto a snowy city if you go up the Pearl and see the harbor in front of you and the snowy mountains to your side.

 

Just a personal note, if you’ve been to one city and not the other, if you stand at the tip of Battery Park in the dead of winter, you’ll probably regret leaving the warmth of your bed. However, stand there long enough and you’ll get the exact same feeling as standing next to the Sun Voyager, looking out to Engey in Iceland. The wind off the water might hurt at first, but the peace that comes with it is worth it.

https://crocsandcandy.files.wordpress.com/

View from Battery Park in the winter https://crocsandcandy.files.wordpress.com/

The Sun Voyager Taken by Jainita Patel

The Sun Voyager
Taken by Jainita Patel

 

Don’t let the cold hold you back. Bundle up and get out there! And who knows, if you love the cold and have been to New York but not Reykjavik, maybe you’ll get the chance to experience it one day and vice versa.

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By Jainita Patel

Jainita is a Campus Clipper publishing intern who is double majoring in English and Environmental Studies at NYU. Though writing fiction and painting are her two main passions, she also has a love of travel and adventure that has taken her across the globe.  Jainita writes under the pseudonym Jordan C. Rider. If you like her posts, you can find more of her work here or follow her on Twitter. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.  

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015. 

 

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