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Catalans Abroad
7 June 2020 2.00 h

Laura Calçada

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A city of diversity

Why did you leave Cat­alo­nia?
It was early Sep­tem­ber 2013 when I set foot in the city that never sleeps - or never used to. The fi­nan­cial cri­sis was still kick­ing in Barcelona. I was re­luc­tant to leave my beloved city at first, but I was 25 years old and had no pro­fes­sional per­spec­tives there, though I tried for a while to find an op­por­tu­nity that could help me grow in my own coun­try.
Why New York City?
My fa­ther once told me that after fin­ish­ing my uni­ver­sity de­gree I could do a Mas­ter’s in Jour­nal­ism in New York City. I was 20 years old and that idea got in my head. It be­came a dream, a kind of light­house. “One day I will study in New York City”. Seven years after get­ting my Bach­e­lor’s de­gree in Pol­i­tics from the Uni­ver­si­tat Autònoma de Barcelona, I had the op­por­tu­nity to live in the city as an au-pair, when a friend of mine left the house where she was babysit­ting two boys in Prospect Heights, Brook­lyn.
What do you think is the best thing about liv­ing there?
The sen­sa­tion of pride you have while liv­ing in a city and ex­pe­ri­enc­ing things that a lot of souls can only imag­ine.
What would you most like to change?
The re­cy­cling process. It is ob­scene how much food is wasted and how much plas­tic is used. Ba­si­cally, the way they deal with garbage.
What do you miss most from home?
Fuet! The beaches too, though you can al­ways catch a train and head to the Rock­aways or or­gan­ise a get­away to Mon­tauk. Also, how clean the Fer­ro­car­rils de la Gen­er­al­i­tat and some Met­ros are com­pared to the NYC sub­ways.
What char­ac­terises your neigh­bour­hood?
A mélange of Has­sidic Jews, African Amer­i­can, Caribbean, white young lib­er­als and Mil­len­ni­als con­cerned about the planet, old folks and tod­dlers. The oc­ca­sional cock­roach when sum­mer comes, the smell of mar­i­huana, fancy cof­fee shops side by side with Dunkin Donuts or Star­bucks. The great Do­mini­can joint Puerto Viejo or the pizza place Bar­bon­cino. The loooong East­ern Park­way, the West In­dian Day Pa­rade, the mag­nif­i­cent Brook­lyn Mu­seum… Crown Heights in Brook­lyn is a must. I hope they stopped some of the awful urban de­vel­op­ments.
What’s the best ex­pe­ri­ence you had in New York?
Get­ting adop­tive par­ents, Mar­lene and Coll­wyn, get­ting a brother, Marc, falling in love with Fanny, and get­ting my Mas­ter’s de­gree in Jour­nal­ism from the Craig New­mark Jour­nal­ism School.
Do you plan to come back to Cat­alo­nia?
I ac­tu­ally came back on April 2018. Two years ago. The first three months I would still say I’m sorry in the metro when I bumped into some­body. I would also use Amer­i­can ex­pres­sions when talk­ing. It wasn’t easy, I was miss­ing the pace of New York City so much. Bar­tenders and wait­ers in Barcelona were so slow they would make me lose my pa­tience. Job wise, the salaries here were in­com­pa­ra­ble with the ones there. But then, here we have the cof­fee breaks, and the af­ter­hours in cozy squares, and the sun. The sun, man! What an amaz­ing cli­mate and food we have here. I got used to our rhythms and rou­tines again, I’ve been able to write some in­ter­est­ing pieces and right now I live in a lit­tle beach town with my beau, a grumpy and adorable writer. The ad­ven­ture con­tin­ues.

CATA­LANS ABROAD new york - united states

SOME SUGGESTIONS:

Where are the best places for visitors to stay?
The best place to stay in New York City is the place of a friend or of a friend’s friend because accommodation prices are really high. If you aren’t lucky enough to have this option available, I know a number of people who stayed at the Hotel Pennsylvania. There is also the Roger Smith Hotel, where the General Manager is the Catalan Pere Sanchez Frigola. You can find cheaper options checking Airbnb or looking to rent a room in a shared apartment through Facebook groups.
What do you consider the highlights for any brief visit for the first time?
Central Park, for sure. Also the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim, the MoMA. A walk around the Village, both the East and the West: Greenwich Village. Washington Square Park unites them both. Eating dumplings at Golden Unicorn in Chinatown. Lying on the grass in Bryan Park in front of the New York Public Library. Admiring the Empire State and the Chrystler Building. Times Square, although locals avoid it completely. Visit the Apollo Theater in Harlem and walk around the nearby streets, eat some of the soul food you can find somewhere up there like Manna’s.
And if visitors have more time or make a return visit?
Explore Brooklyn. Every neighbourhood in the borough has its thing. Greenpoint, Park Slope, Prospect Park with an awesome Botanical Garden, Ridgewood, Bushwick, Willliamsburg, Crown Heights, Clinton Hill, Flatbush. Brooklyn is something else. You can also visit the Rockaways and Coney Island if you want to see New York City’s beach.
Can you recommend a place to have lunch with friends?
I’m struggling with this one because there are a number of places I’d tell you that have closed since I lived there. The restaurant industry in NYC is the best and also unpredictable. Try out the Jamaican place Miss Lily’s or Fiore in Grand Street, Brooklyn.
Where would you have a special or romantic dinner for two?
Indochine. Cosme. Fedora. Café Mogador. New York City has more than enough wonderful places to eat.
When’s the best time of year to plan a visit?
The best months to visit would probably be September, October, November, April, May and June. I would certainly advise against December, January, February and March because it is freezing and it often snows. July and August are normally too hot.
What’s the best kept secret about the area?
I’m not sure if I can share a secret? There’s a cool thing, and it’s that you can get a decent seat at the opera for $25. Type MET Opera rush tickets in your search bar and follow the instructions. Oh, and Sake Bar Decibel in the East Village, which is temporary closed due to the Covid-19 crisis; I really hope they make it back as it is one of my all time favourites. Also the thrift stores like Beacon’s Closet and department stores like Century 21 to buy great clothes at unbeatable prices.
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