Tuesday, January 23, 2007

First day

It's amazing how many things can happen in such a short amount of time! I'm gonna write in items so it's easier to get an overview of how things went/have been going. Oh thanks for the welcome, Tonya! :D

THE TRIP
- the ride itself was really smooth, no delays, ok service, etc.

- the suprise: I ran into a guy from my building (!) at the departure gate, and turned out he was gonna be at the same flight. And not only that, but we found out we were sitting next to each other! It was so good to have someone I knew, and that had so many experience travelling abroad. (He was gonna make a connection in NY to Indiannapolis). It helped aleviate the anxiety a bit, but I was still nervous the whole flight, I couldn't sleep straight for more than one hour and a half.

- airplane movie: Woody Allen's Scoop (don't waste your time, really). I didn't know they played such recent movies onboard.

- immigration service: we had to wait for the long Americans line to finish untill they started to call people ar the foreigners line. Tiago, the guy I knew, told me they're usually nicer and have some booths for Americans and some for foreigners. Despite the long wait, the "interview" itself was ridiculously quick. Officer (speaking fast and inwards): "u student?" me: "no, tourist" Officer grabs the stamp and prints my passport. That was it, exactly like this.


ARRIVAL


- and off I went! Al was waiting for me with extra scarf, gloves, hat and coat. Inside the airport was warm and I couldn't wait to feel how negative temperatures (in Celsius) felt like, a first! It was -3 (28o F) when I got here. We just waited outside for the (very fancy) cab a bit, so it wasn't really a schock. But everything was great and exciting!





- the cab had this cool navigation system that showed our Ukranian driver the directions instantly. For what they said it's pretty normal here but for me it was a first too to see one of those actually "in action".



DEVELOPMENT


- I got here, ate something, then rested for the most of the day. Al had a very nice surprise to me (and this time it was really a surprise! hehe), he printed a poster size of his favorite pic of us, framed it and hanged on the bedroom wall. It's beautiful and really sweet! :D



- At night he took me to dinner at Sarabeth's, on the Upper West Side a nice and cozy restaurant that served "typical American food that's not burguer", in Al's own words, hehhee. I loved it! Next, headed for dessert at Cafe Mozart. I had a tricolate mousse cake. (three chocolates. you get the picture. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm). All very nice and romantic. At the end of the day I was exhausted already (and still feeling a little headache from the jet lag and the cold wind). At least our house is really close to the train station, so we got back fast!


- And it snowed lightly!! Wo-hooo! (I know, I know, that's so tourist-y...but I can't help it!). Al said it was a "freezing drizzle". It was so cute, the tiny snowflackes coming down. :D But I still got to see some "real" snow, that one good to build snowmen! hehehe I'll count that as a preview.


- I think Northern Hemisphere's winter is my new favorite season. Because it's soooooooo dry, my hair looks like I just flat-ironed it (chapinha)! How cool is that?



2nd DAY


-Today we spend the morning looking for nightsands, then went to Bed Bath & Beyond to get things for the house (sooo many options! you go crazy!). Next, we had lunch at a very nice cuban restauran't in downtown JC called Hard Grove Cafe, then came back home, where I finally finished unpacking. WIth all the new stuff, the apartment is getting cozier and cozier, I really love it here and I couldn't been happier!! :D When I finally settle to a routine I'll be able to tell the stories with more detail, but I guess you can tell I'm loving it! ;-)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Que legal, Dea!!! Adorei seu primeiro dia!! No comeco eh tudo muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiitooo legal mesmo, soh novidades!!! Aproveite!!! Beijim
PS: Aqui tah nevando sem parar agora, desde ontem!! :P

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, o lance da chapinha é muito verdade! :)

Os taxistas dos EUA são uma atração à parte, hehehehe. Geralmente são estrangeiros dos países mais improváveis, têm sotaque no mínimo engraçado e são personagens extremamente curiosos!

Lembro de um paquistanês que sabia a escalação da seleção argentina de futebol da Copa de 78 (sem brincadeira!). Tinha outro ainda, um afegão, que nos deleitou com anedotas sobre o esporte nacional de seu país, o Buzkashi - uma espécie de pólo praticado com uma cabra decapitada.

Hehehe :)