For the first time in our young lives, we were acting like adults - and loving it

Times Square in New York: ‘after 30 minutes in Manhattan, I decided I was staying’

Kirsty Blake Knox

My memory of the summer of 2008 is a blur of hot, humid late nights, endless shift work and cramped living conditions.

I'd never intended to go on J1. Instead, I was going to visit friends in New York, spend a few days sight-seeing and partying and then head home. But after 30 minutes in Manhattan, I decided I was staying. I sorted out a visa, had an almighty row with my mother ("You're doing what?!"), and started working as a cocktail waitress in two different Irish bars.