Memories of Upstate New York

Was looking at my calendar for the new semester when I saw, in the same view of August, an event titled “Troy’s farmers market”. That brought back fond memories of upstate NY from the summer that was just wrapped up. I thought I would only like big walkable cities. However, my memories of living in Schenectady tell me otherwise.

There I went to Troy’s farmers market, twice. Troy is a lovely city located by the Hudson river, 30 minutes away from where I lived. I still remember the gyros, the takoyakies, the bobas, and the handcrafted souvernirs there.

Troy’s farmers market

I stayed in an amazing house located by the Mohawk river. The amazingness was confirmed various times by the other interns coming to my house for the riverside s’mores party that I host in our backyard. With the river access, I have had a few kayaking afternoons when I was done with work. The house has three adorable pets and a kind host who made all of those possible.

My summer house’s backyard and some friends who came

Owners of the house: Asher (gray), Rowan (gold), and Pebble (black)

A trail nearby my house

I remember downtown Schenectady, a cute little neighborhood with a brand new train station. Nearby was the Centre Street Pub where we went for trivia night, foosball, and drinks every Tuesday night. But more than once a week, an intern would rant about work and said “I just want a drink”, after which we went to grab one.

Pubs in Downtown Schenectady

I remember my longer trips to see sights and meet wholesome people. I went to Utica (2 hours west) to see my favorite undergrad professor and spent time enjoying the nature at Buttermilk Falls, Verona Beach, and Green Lakes. I went to Blue Cliff Monastery (2 hours south) and got spiritually enriched. I went to Lake George (1 hour north) and had a fun hike with Henny the co-intern. And I went to New York City (4 hours east) to attend the film premire of my friend, which made me thinks about the nature of skill development.

A trip north to hike near Lake George

A trip east to NYC

A few trips west to visit my professor

A trip south to Blue Cliff Monastery

Lastly, the work at GE Aerospace Research Center was a positive experience. I worked with extremely supportive team, from managers to collaborators. There I learned for the first time how it was like being a corporate research scientist, which are motivated by business problems and open to novelties and publications. There I appreciated convenient access to on-campus Hertz car rental service and the generous corporate discount, which enabled all the trips I have made above and turned me into a much more confident driver. Unfortunately, the buildings on that campus are the dullest ones I have ever seen (even more dull than utd campus).

GE campus (dull photos omitted)