“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York JFK. Local time is 1pm and the temperature is 77° F.
I arrived the second of August in New York and headed further to Fresno, CA on the fifth. Short survey what I did in NY.
- Meet the other exchange students
- Info meetings and campus life
- Visisted NYC
Unfortunately, most pictures I have from NYC are on my F60 Film Camera. They might follow, since I plan to do a Life in Film Edition in the future. I don't take phone pictures at the moment because the quality on my blackberry Q10 is rather poor.
View from Central Park
Unbusy traffic for NYC standards.
Exchange Buddy from Germany at Timesquare
Conclusion
New York City is a city for itself. Never been in a metropole like this, although I've been in most European Capitols and LA + SF . The charme this city has is unique. I'll probably return to get some rooftop pictures from a skyscraper and to make some timelapses. However the rush that people have there is for some people not enjoyable at all (not including me). So be warned, if you plan going there never walk slowly or block a path.
Arrival at End Destination - Fresno, California
With my arrival came Paperwork. A lot of it. Paperwork in the US is a nightmare regardless what kind of. I signed more papers than I did in the last year that week. Here, you have to sign for everything, because if you don't the law protects you. EU countries have a different view on this, which makes life and law easier.
Fresno is very (for me) hot. 108° F or 42°C was the maximum I experienced so far. To be honest, that day I just searched for cover under my fan. Summer in Bern have a temperature between 18 and 30°C (64°-86°F) and it rains way more often. To finish this Episode I'll give you a difference.
Credit Card Payment
First time paying with a credit card was a shock for me. And it still is today. In Switzerland, security is higher with credit cards than here. I used to give my PIN code for every transaction I made, regardless the amount. Payments higher than $50 needed an extra confirmation with my phone (still needed the PIN). US customers are used to just give/slide their card without a PIN and only use their PIN or signature from a certain amount, which is very insecure in my opinion. If you wonder, what currency we have in Switzerland: We use our own currency, the Swiss Franc.
USD to CHF in the last year. As you can see, we can say that 1 USD ≈ 1 CHF. Swiss have a different relationship to money than Americans, which also reflects in politics. If you didn't know, an American Citizen can't open a "normal" bank account in Switzerland at the moment, because of political reasons. Foreigners do not profit from the "bank secret " anymore.
Stay tuned and updated by following my blog. In the future I will post following things
- What is the European Union?
- US Goverment compared to several European Governments
- Safari in Africa
- Timelapses, Photos and Drone Shots from my adventures
- and much more stories ;)
Feel free to ask questions in the comment section.