The bad news: my luggage was not there.

I reported that immediately to one of the Baggage Claim staff and they said that the next flight from SFO will arrive at 4pm and my bag should be on it and that they will deliver it then to my door.

Well, let’s see…it is now 10:17pm and still no luggage. I called them up and they said again, that I should get it this night, so have it by tomorrow morning. Let us hope for the best. I do not wanna even think about the unlikely event that I have to fly home tomorrow without one of my bags.

I feel the jetlag right now, so the whole day in NYC was like a big blur. I moved out the furniture from my apartment and then met with Florian for a final chat. He will be here and enjoy New York until end of October.

So this is it, I guess. 6 months in North America are coming to an end. An experience of a lifetime, definitely. But, honestly, after these 6 months I am happy and ready now to go home to good old Austria. Really looking forward to that, hopefully with 2 bags tomorrow

At the end of July, finally my intership at Media Farm ended and it was time for vacation. Definitely.

First stop: Vancouver in Canada. What a marvellous city. Located right at the pacific and West Coast of Canada, you could go swimming in the ocean and then drive up to Whistler and go skiing on the same day. The moderate temperatures (about 25° celsius) make it even nicer to stay here. And the people here are so friendly – in total contrast to NYC. I explored the city for nine days and then went on to my next stop.

Second stop: Kauai, belonging to the Hawaiian Islands in the South Pacific. Do I have to say anything more? The beauty of this island can’t be described with words. As soon as possible I will try to provide you with some pics in the diary section. It is really unbelievable here. Overwhelming. I am staying here until August 22, then going back to New York City. There I will stay for 2 days, packing all my stuff together and going back to Austria on August 24.
So long guys…hope to see some of you pretty soon.

So what has happened? Finally summer is here in New York City. We already had a few days here with temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees and the typical high humidity. Currently it has switched back to “normal” with temperatures around 25.

In May I had a pretty bad, almost depressive phase here. I was not really satisfied with the whole situation, at work and off-work alike. But the longer I am staying here the more I am enjoying it. I think it also has much to do with the fact that the weather is pretty nice now and gives some additional boost to my mood.

My internship has slightly improved, which is because I am doing more responsible work than at the beginning. Nevertheless I will be very happy when we are finishing the current project at the end of June (hopefully).

Whenever I have time (which is mostly at weekends) I still try to explore new spots around the city. On a Saturday, I went to Staten Island with the ferry, some days ago I went to Bryant Park to watch Broadway Under the Stars. Today I went to see the New York Aquarium on Coney Island. There’s always a lot to do and see here. Despite all the stress and the hectic, New York is a fascinating city. No doubt about that.

I have also seen a couple of movies recently. Want a recap?
Mr and Mrs Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, pretty funny)
Batman Begins (Best movie I’ve seen since I came to the US)
Madagascar (Animation movie about four Central Park Zoo animals)
Unleashed (with Jet Li)
Star Wars Episode III

So I got about six weeks left on my internship. After that I am going on vacation to Vancouver and Hawaii. I am really looking forward to that.

At Media Farm we are about to finish the first part of our project related to american artist Robert Wilson. The launch of the new web site should be on May 16. So these days we are quite busy at work.

Yesterday I had another american experience: I went to the subway station on Roosevelt Island to take some pictures. I took about 5 pictures and while I was standing on the platform to wait for the next train, a NYPD officer approached me. He told me that it is not permitted to take pictures, especially inside the subway system. I answered ‘Oh, why is that?’. He replied ‘Well, because of all the terrorist attacks all over the world…’. Now, what I should have said to that was ‘Well I don’t think that such a prohibition prevents terrorists from planning attacks. The only thing that is triggered by such things is fear. Which is good, cause feared people are easier to control.’

Of course, I did not say that. Everybody can imagine what this can lead to. But it is another example that this country has quite a few problems to deal with – not just with a president whose middle name starts with a W. But he might be the reason for many of those troubles.

Below you can see the view from my balcony, towards Upper East Side, overlooking East River.

Meanwhile I think that I got used to the New York way of life. Now I am able to handle it, when thousands of people are trying to catch a train to get to work, all the stress and the hectic and, unfortunately, the superficiality.

The weather is not that spring-like at the moment. Rainy and pretty cold. Therefore I went to another museum today, The Museum of Television & Radio. They are not showing galleries in a way you would expect of a museum. Instead they have 4 screening rooms where they show different stuff on a changing schedule. Recommendable!

Two weeks ago I went to Statue of Liberty, a trip that is always nice, no matter how often you have been on Liberty or Ellis Island.

So on April 30 I will definitely move out of de Hirsch and will enjoy the rest of my stay at a nice place on Roosevelt Island.

This alone makes the movie very unusual and weird. And the story makes it at least strange. You can recognize by its structure that Quentin Tarrantino (who is listed as a guest director) gave finishing touches on several scenes. Although there is quite a lot of violence and brutality in the movie, in the end, it is all about love…

Constantine (with Keanu Reeves)
Religious-related thrilling movie

The Jacket (with Adrien Brody)
Dead or alive – good performance of Adrien Brody.

Be Cool (with John Travolta and Uma Thurman)
Very well done sequel of ‘Get Shorty’.

Hostage (with Bruce Willis)
Very good. Bruce Willis as ex-SWAT has to deal with some violent teenagers and a criminal, who is threatening his family.

I’d really recommend all of these movies. Especially “Be Cool” and “Hostage” – both are not in theaters in Europe yet (as far as I know), so as soon as they are: try to watch them. It is really worth it.

Concerning my living situation: As long as I am sick I can’t look for any apartments or rooms. I really would like to move out of the student residence, but this can’t happen overnight. I know that I do not want to stay in this residence the whole time I am here in New York.

A scenario that is possible is the following: I will stay here at the de Hirsch residence until the end of April and move to an apartment/new room on May 1st. Unfortunately you have to tell the responsible people here at de Hirsch 30 days in advance if you want to move out. So you also have to pay for these 30 days. I think that moving out on May 1st (at latest) should be possible. I truly hope I can find some place better…

After a trouble-free flight from Vienna to NY John F. Kennedy Airport I first checked in to Hotel Pennsylvania at 7th Avenue. Though it’s nicely located, the rooms are kinda shabby. I stayed at the Hotel until March 1st when I moved to my room at the de Hirsch Residence. The size of the room could be compared to my room at the Kolpinghaus Dornbirn where I stayed at my first year at FHV.

Unfortunately at the de Hirsch Residence I have to share bathroom, toilets and the kitchen with about 20 other people. I had to deal with that in Dornbirn and it keeps getting me sick. So I think I might move to a shared apartment during the next 2 months. I currently pay a lot of money for this room (USD 1150 per month) and I think it must be possible to find some nicer place to stay at that price.

On Wednesday I was so smart to go to a Deli for lunch – and ended up in Lenox Hill Hospital at midnight. My stomach hurt and I must have had fever too. The doctors and nurses were very kind and friendly which helped a lot. After some check-ups and scans they let me go on Thursday, 9pm. There must have been someything bad with the food at the Deli (I’m really sure)…

A very varied first week. To be continued…