Day #1 (13.6.)

Finally, the story begins! I wake up at 5 a.m. in the morning, finish packing and manage to get a neat haircut at the hairdresser’s. Better do it now, for a Czech price. We’re driving from my hometown to Prague airport. In the departure hall I meet Jozef, a Slovak guy, who has never been on a plane flight before. Nice to meet someone more nervous than me. We chat all the way from Prague through Munich and over the ocean, wondering how warm will be the American welcome. We land in the “Big Apple“, JFK Airport.

Jozef’s welcome unfortunately didn’t work out very well, after the airport security discovered few apples in his onboard backpack. He was forced to voluntarily hand the fruits over to the uniformed personnel, knowing he would have nothing to eat until we find the first McDonald’s.

We collect the luggage, and leave the terminal. Finally – we’re in New York!

After one-hour subway ride and getting to Manhattan, it’s time to check-in at the hotel, where Nikola Tesla lived the last 10 years of his career. Well deserved shower time (after all day in the plane, yeah). And in the evening? A NYC must-see: the astonishing Times Square.

Day #2 (14.6.)

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at a fastfood place today. Sick! Is this what they all the American cuisine? At least Jozef won us a free burger, that was lovely We wake up at 8.15 in the morning to visit “Orientation” – an event where they tell foreign students to “always listen to your american boss” and you also get to apply for your SSN after waiting good 2 hours in a line.

After forementioned lunch (big mac + fries, yeah, baby) I, Jozef, and a couple more Slovak friends from the Orientation decide to visit the Downtown – World Trade Center site, Wall Street and the Battery Park. I am spending first big dollars – $10 for a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty. Evening plan: Rockefeller Center (yeah, the Home Alone building). On the way back to the hotel a random American guy stops us on the street:

“You guys look like tourists! Where are you from?”

So we tell him about our home country. And explain that Czechoslovakia is no more.

“Wow! Have you already seen the Grand Central? You definitely need to go there…”, states the random friendly stranger, walks away and leaves us standing suprised in the streets of New York….

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the day of departure. big day for me, big day for the czech republic.

new york, new york!

wall street businessman at lunch break

times square

jozef considering his future career

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(to be continued)