Cédric Beaumont, a student from SUP 5 Bordeaux, is currently finalising his MBA in New York.  Cedric has spent 5 years with ISEG, option marketing in the 4th year, and he is a fluent English, German and Spanish speaker.  After several notable Internships including one in Germany and more recently for Airbus in Toulouse Cedric has decided to conclude his MBA in the "Big Apple".

Here is gives us his initial impressions of the city that never sleeps....

"So, here I am in New York the Big Apple. Although it is definitely a magic place, it is quite expensive and the smallest activity needs an entrance fee. Actually we all arrived in the middle of the winter and it is really freezing out here!  I still have some assignments to complete from my first term in Paris (as the deadline is 30 days after the reading) and as we also start to have work for the local teachers, so we are quite busy too.

Concerning the class mates, it's all pretty fine. I'm feeling pretty lucky to be among the few who have chosen to have a US flatmate.  New York City is impressive and quite a fun to have a salami at the "When Harry meets Sally" deli or seeing in "The Godfather" place where you've already been. Brooklyn is pretty moving and it is quite a change going into Spanish Harlem, when you just passed the financial district after landing at Battery Park.

Initially I was living about 10 minutes on foot from the Staten Island ferry dock, from where I get most of the train lines taking me to Brooklyn or Manhattan. In the end, it takes me less time to get to school than some guys living in Brooklyn. But the reaction was always "wow, so you take the boat every morning?" Yeah, but I enjoy the Manhattan skyline on a daily basis, really impressive at night, and the view on the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island every day I pass by.

Quite funny... What has become normal to me now was really amazing the first time I took the boat, and I actually often think about all those guys who came here on huge boats from Europe, full of hope...

But coming back to the meeting local people discussion, NYC is actually not a melting pot at all, but a salad bowl. In other words, every body is mixed up, but the communities are the strongest link between people. Chinese with Chinese in Chinatown, Italian among Italians, and Latinos usually are with Latinos, and the Frenchmen with Frenchmen.

Love it or hate it I think everyone should experience this city once in their lifetime !

Have a nice day.... will write soon."

Cedric