So the time had come for my ten-hour transatlantic flight. I had spent the past few weeks forming a mental image of my fellow passengers – what would such a long Ryanair-style flight be like, and what kind of people should I expect to be flying low-cost from Naples to New York? I was expecting a plane full of Godfather-style Mafiosi returning to the US after a ‘business trip’ to Naples. Reaching the gate at the airport was a bit of a disappointment in that sense – it was the average crowd, with a mix of families, American and Italian students more or less my own age, and the odd businessman flying solo.

Meridiana’s service was leagues ahead of Ryanair’s too. The comparison ends at the low fares. Free checked baggage, my prebooked seat with twice as much legroom as everyone else (without paying a cent extra, mind you), an empty seat next to me, two meals, and unlimited drinks the whole way. We had one interesting encounter before takeoff when the engines were started and shut down again within a few seconds, for ‘technical reasons’. We were informed that the problem had nothing to do with the engines though, and we would be on our way soon. Soon turned out to mean an hour, but otherwise on our way we were indeed.

The empty seat next to me thankfully did not remain empty for too long, because after a few hours of being entertained by my laptop and the free view out of the window, my battery was dead and we had hit the ocean. Along came Nino, my Italian-American friend-to-be, who had been evicted from his own seat by his sleeping son. Nino spotted me making a list of places I planned to visit in New York, and just had to comment on my choice of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. I had read about it being New York’s authentic Little Italy unlike the touristy Manhattan one, and authentic it really was proving to be, since it was where Nino had grown up. He eventually offered me a guided tour of the neighbourhood, which I accepted right away. More on that later, though. We ended up talking most of the way to New York, and I got to meet the rest of his extended family which was also on the flight.

Touchdown on US soil at JFK came much sooner than expected. The flight definitely did not feel like the ten hours it really was. And the 5 pm sunshine coming in from the aircraft windows only continued the illusion. First impressions of the US – humid, hot, yet welcoming. Humid – seems like New York always is. Hot – NYC was in the middle of a heatwave which I had been warned about, but brushed off saying that I can handle it. Well, the joke was on me. The 40°C+ temperatures combined with the humidity may have felt good at first following the air conditioned flight, but after just a few minutes outside I found myself longing for air conditioning more than ever before in these past 21 years.

Welcoming – my arrival was far from the customs interrogation I had been expecting. I was certain I was missing something when I simply walked off the airplane, collected my rucksack, got my passport stamped, and walked out of the terminal building. Where were the hundreds of questions similar to those I had answered online, the bag search, and the sniffer dogs? Not at JFK Airport on the 17^th of July, that’s for sure. My passport stamper also wished me a good time in the US and congratulated me on my UCLA exchange programme. Nowhere else have I had that before.

I started wondering what my hosting arrangement for the night would be like when the border guard/passport stamper commented on my New York address. Well, that of my Couchsurfing host, anyway.

“Does your friend live on a boat?”
“In all honesty, no idea!”
(looks up warily for a few seconds, stamps passport)
“Fair enough. Welcome to the US”

I was to be staying with Leah for my first two nights in NYC. That’s an entire side story of its own (apologies, it’s going to be a long blog post!). When her name came up on my Couchsurfing search, I was certain I had seen it somewhere before. I opened her profile, and saw that we had mutual friends. It turns out she had been to UCM in Maastricht for her own semester abroad, and we knew each other at least by sight and through the whole network of Maastricht Facebook groups . Hardly in the US yet and already meeting people I know. Small world indeed.

But back to the boat. I had been warned that this would not be the ideal couch to stay on if I get seasick, but it was kept at that. So when I actually met Leah it was the first thing I had to ask. And it turned out my friend did indeed live on a boat. The NYC marina right in Manhattan was to be my home for the first two nights in the US. Honestly, what more could I have asked for (besides some air conditioning maybe)?

Leah may have set the standard pretty high, but the second New York couch was equally great (as was its owner of course, hey Donald!). Lower Manhattan right by the Hudson River, the photos below speak for themselves.

NYC is, of course, a one-of-a-kind place. It was a bit too much to take in all at once, but that’s fine since I’ll be passing through again on my way back to Europe. And with that being around Christmas time, heatwaves should be less of a problem. The highlight was definitely my guided tour of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, with Nino and his friend Johnny. After 2 days in bustling Manhattan, it felt great to get out and have a more up-close and personal New York experience. As an added bonus, I also got to stock up on Mediterranean supplies which I later used to prepare dinner for myself and breakfast for Donald.

The two days in NYC quickly came to an end, meaning it was time for my first Megabus experience. It’d better be a good one…plenty more of those coming up!

–Side note: Yes, I’m now a grand total of three weeks behind on blog posts. Greetings from Panama. I’ll be catching up soon, but until then, you can see where I last checked in from here.–