My first week in New York was very overwhelming, a roller-coaster of events. I spent most of my time with new graduate students who will attend classes with me at Columbia University Engineering upcoming semester. However, I also took the time to discover this metropolis that never sleeps, as you keep meeting people even late in the evening.
The next day after my arrival, I planned to go to campus to have a glimpse. Though it is situated in the densily built Manhattan, the campus is huge. The 5 blocks between 114th till 120th Street are solely dedicated to Columbia University. There are other campuses, but this one (Morningside campus) is the biggest and considered as main campus. A bit of trivia: both the Engineering faculty at Columbia and at KU Leuven were founded in 1864.
Engineering for humanity.
Slogan of Engineering faculty at Columbia University
I do miss my bike to travel around campus and bridging the distances. But on the other hand, New York isn’t really a safe biking city anyway. Luckily my classes will mainly be in the same building. Every floor is dedicated to another field of Engineering.
On the 17th of August the official Welcoming Orientation Day took place. After a morning filled with speeches explaining the essentials, I started to meet fellow students. The following days I could explore and discover New York City! I simply didn’t know where to start. Fortunately, the university organized some excursions to get to know more fellow engineering students and cover the basic areas to familiarize yourself with the city.
We went by example across Brooklyn Bridge. We also entered Grand Central Station, which is designed by Whitney Warren, the very same architect who restored the University library from KU Leuven. Also, central Park was part of our trip, as well as the Highline park, Chelsea market, Bryant park… and the lists goes on. And that is just outside, I haven’t even started visiting buildings or museums.
It was an amazing first week, where I met great people in such a diverse city. I can’t wait for the semester to start! Until soon.
Arnaud from KU Leuven to Columbia University 