So, I've just came back to the hotel (pls remind me to tell more details about it, it is worth to do so =) and after a short rest I'm ready to tell you a little about my first full day spent in NY. Why in short? Because so many feelings and notices I've got cannot be shared just in one post. I think there will be enough time in the future to tell about many facts that I noticed and many thoughts that came to my mind after that.



The first thing that I'd like to tell you is actually Newark Liberty Airport, the first place I got to in the US, and the first place that made me believe that I'm really there. My first impression was, "Wow, they have carpets laying down everywhere!" the second was, "Why there are so many children rolling on the ground?!" Seems like this is their legal right - to do so.



Anyway, after passing the pass control and taking an airtrain (I love that kind of transportation now =) I've got to the hotel. That kind of hotel is not very expensive, so I did not expect anything like amazing comfort there. I was wrong. Everything, literally everything what I needed (and a lot of what I even didn't need) was there. Including a bed where with no problem 5-6 @ers can spend a night =)

Next morning I faced the first seriuos problem - the breakfest. No, really! The scheme is simple - there is a kitchen and the dining room. You need to take everything what you'd like. The problem is that you have no idea about what you like, especiall when you don't know what all that stuff on the kitchen is! Dozens of plastick packets, cans, packages and pieces of bread, rolles, buns, cookies and muffins were there. Since I didn't have much time for figuring out what is what, I'd made a toast, pick up a maffin and took a glass of juice. Let's leave investigation of the american food for the better times =)


Walking on the streets was really cool, because that was the first time when I was attending so many interesting and great places in so short timeframe. Grand Central Terminal, Briant Park, Public Library, Times Square, Central Park, Rokfeller Center, Museum of Modern Art - all this impressed me a lot. In the Briant Park I met a homeless guy, who's appeared a really interesting one with a lot of philosophical thoughts, and what was more important, who was ready to share them with a foreigner like me. We spend a couple of hours discussing everything from the politics of the former Soveiet Union and to the problems of the modern system of raising up children. I bought him a hot dog, being thankful for so interesting spending of time.


During my walking I've met a black guy, who's asking for supporting him in playing basketball. He was keeping a piece of paper, where he wrote down hames and amount of money given him by random supporters. "Playing basketball requires a lot of money to spend on uniform, balls and so on", he said. After my question why don't he find some job to earn those mpney, he didn't reply anything. Perhaps, that's not my business at all, I don't know, but that case was one of the most characterising ones that I saw.

Another interesting thing was about black guys who're selling their home-made audio CDs with hip-hop music recorded. They tried to sell one to me, but to spend money on it was the last thing I was going to do. Anyway, they asked for my name, and after hearing it, started asked whether I'm from Russia or not =) The interesting thing was that they know something about Ukraine, particularly, that Kyiv is a capital.


Actually, the places mentioned before stopped to be my goal after I realized that the most noticalbe experience I can receieve here is to talk with people. Really different ones, who're open to talks, and who do not hesitate to spent a few minutes with a stranger. A few guys, whom I was buying goods from, several walkers, girl who was spending cookies on the street, bus dtrivers and a stuardess have got to the list of people I was talking with today. And impressions they made are quite opposite sometimes. As well as the impression made by the city at all. Too many different sites, contrasts and fellings it causes to me.