2. If the locals don't kill ya, the weather will...

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Hey y'all!!

I made it to the big apple on Monday, though packing lasted well into the night. By the way mum, it was a max of 32kg per case, not overall, so I could have brought a whole other bag of junk. Damn it...

After a fairly uneventful flight in my "window seat" which didn't have a window (the guy in front did, so I tried leaning forward and peering out of his only to have my face whacked as he gently reclined his chair), I made it into Newark, got through customs and immigration quickly and without fuss. Until getting out at the other end. A Mountbatten ambassador was stood nervously waiting for the onslaught of jetlagged women from Edinburgh and Dublin, only to find that not only were we cramped and jetlagged, but three of them had lost their luggage. After a quick chase, the offending bags were impeded on their break for freedom in the Bahamas and reunited with grateful Celtic owners. Eventually we made it onto the bus (to a spontaneous round of applause) and began weaving our way towards NYC through the maniacal taxis at 70mph.

Our first taste of a genyooine New Yoikah came as we leapt off the coach to unload bags, and a huge black dude in the monster truck behind raised his voice to say that we were impeding his ongoing motion, you lovers of all things maternal. Welcome, in other words.

The hotel where we're staying this week is the smaller of the two - there are 120 of us altogether and 20 in the Pickwick. But it's great. We're able to get to know each other much better and the girls in particular are all really wonderful. The hotel, on the other hand, stretches its desciptive boundaries: bunk beds, the impossibility of swinging a cat and a chain suspended between two doors to "lock" them is not exactly luxury. But we're moving in to the apartments on Sunday, so it's bearable for now.

What isn't bearable is the weather. It's not just hot, it's sticky, humid, damp, clammy, sweaty and a whole load of other adjectives you don't even want to think about. 3 showers a day are the bare minimum you need to survive. I asked if this was normal this time of year and got the reply "God no, this is totally weird. I mean, it's like August weather or sumthin'. Freaky ain't it?". Uhhh... yeah.

After two days of orientation, during which we learned the delights of the power triangle, the NYC grid system and that even when you've looked carefully before entering a lift, people might still be hiding in the ceilings (...) we're finally free to explore. I start my job on Monday, though Gordon and I, who are both working there, were invited to a cocktail party last night. Lots of handshaking, smiling and nodding. I did find out that I'm basically organising all special events and sorting out the web blog, though more excitingly, I'm managing the trivia question on a weekly basis. Pav and Simon, I'm counting on you!!!

I'm going to have to sign off now though, as I'm in the Manhattan library and you only get half an hour at a time. Much much more to follow...

Love to you all and take care, Cxx

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Photos

Maniacal Taxis
Sadly I didn't have the initiative, quick thinking or indeed inclination to get a picture of the guy driving along completely naked. Nor the enormous black dude for that matter, but then I do value my knees...