New York City – a SIGHT to behold

 

When COVID-19 hit the world suddenly got a lot smaller for the first time in recent history. A series of lockdowns, shutdowns and letdowns followed with many still living much more isolated lives than we did only a few years before.

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While we were busy keeping up a mandatory six feet perimeter between each other we’ve come to the brink of losing something that makes your GNYM membership truly unique and valuable – our ability to travel, meet and make merry with other Mensans at home and abroad.

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To me, the SIGHT programme has always been the crown jewel of Mensa, although as a career diplomat and an unabashed ex-pat I may be particularly partial to the international. The opportunity to engage in dialogue with peers across borders and to exchange ideas with people who share many of our values has always appealed to me, and I’ve personally enjoyed my time with SIGHT to the extent where my annual dues feel like a steal.

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While COVID-19 is by no means come and gone, I am beyond delighted to report that we are finally seeing a decided uptick in outreach both from our US sibling groups and abroad. After two years of tumbleweeds lazily rolling across our SIGHT coordinator’s inbox we’re seeing growing interest from Mensans around the world to experience New York with all the perks that come with being a part of Mensa. For many, the icing on the cake is meeting with GNYM members whether its over coffee, a visit to MOMA or a round of dungeons and dragons.

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Our visitors come from around the world and are as diverse as you can imagine. However, if we were to put together an FAQ two questions would easily take the top spots. First, our visitors would often like to know if anyone in New York would be interested in hosting them. Secondly, our visitors quite often ask where could the meet ‘real New Yorkers’ and what is it exactly that we do with our free time. Our first attempt at answering this question was the Mensan’s Guide to New York which we published some time ago and we will be doing an update on the guide later on. We’ll also keep on sharing our events listings with our visitors and if you’d like to get involved please let us know. Whenever we have more than one visitor in town we arrange coffee meet-ups (usually around Grand Central for convenient access) and if you’re interest in joining again shoot us a message and we’ll get you involved.

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Now that we’ve covered the ‘ask now what your GNYM can do for you…” part let me cap this brief piece off with an offer on behalf of all SIGHT coordinators nationally and globally. Mensa is quite literally a big warm and cozy family that awaits for you to embrace it, and whenever you visit a new city or country you are most likely in the midst of Mensans who would love to meet with you and help you with sightseeing, adjusting to your new home and more. Make sure to take advantage of one the most exciting benefits your GNYM membership offers and don’t sleep on SIGHT!