Hell Of A First Month

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Wow, almost over a month gone! I'm already enough americanized to write americanize with a z and still not that americanised to be mistaken for an aussie by other people! It already happened three times which makes me proud (Thanks 'straya) and it's always a good start into a fun conversation.

While the entire financial world is turning upside down, I haven't got the slightest clue of how much cash I'm spending here. But I fear that if I carry on buying a shirt here, a jacky there I'll have to declare bankrupcy in the not too distant future. While the general cost of living is quite comparable to Switzerland, clothing and drinks (but not beer) are way cheaper. Many occasions where I found myself saying at the cashier desk of a shop that this shirt really only costs $20 and with the dollar being so low, it'd be almost a crime not to buy the item. Aahh, the shopping excuses. I don't know what New York does to me, never been that much of a shopper but it gets you here...

Apart from spending money (un-)consciously I'm slowly getting accustomed of the american way of going out. As a general rule, Americans really don't stay at a certain bar or club for much longer than half an hour which sometimes is a pity but I guess the belief is that you'd miss out on so much if you stayed at that place. Memorable events have involved some serious beer-pong where I felt like it was always me who had to drink. At the same time I didn't manage to get a single hit! (Where have my handball skills gone, did they stay in Switzerland, I wonder?) Also, there are shisha bars in New York City, Yay! Of course, here they are not called shisha but hookah. While smoking I kept thinking about the weird situation that might occur when you rock up at a bar after a few beers going: "I was wondering where I could get a hookah here". Yeah well, it was most likely the smoke that got me wondering about that kind of stuff.

After seeing some great music live for free at the Central Park summer stage and at the Beekman Beergarden Beach Club (the amazing Raveonettes), I figured it was finally time to pay for some culture. The Kills were playing at Terminal 5. However, before the Kills actually hit the stage, two bands were playing a short set. And it showed perfectly - once more - that bands who haven't really got "it" just have to find other ways to entertain the audience. The first band destroyed two guitars and a bass in a total of 25 mintues, nice job dudes. And it wasn't just wrecking the instrument, first they piled up three amplifiers before smashing each one of them on the guitar. Well let's just say I was really glad when finally the two bands were off... To sum it up, the Kills were amazing, a 90 minutes powerplay of pure rock'n'roll, back to the basics, minimalistic but perfectly choreographed. My general impression of the NYC people up to date was that in the centre of the city you don't really see many true blue americans but all kinds of people from all kinds of places. But at that concert, the crowd was mainly american, a tad alternative (judged by the clothes and looks) which made me feel part of that group. Felt great! What's great about a huge city like NYC, amazing bands are lining up to play the city almost every week. Nidi in paradise, because usually the tickets don't cost more than 30 bucks.

May the adventure - that still feels unreal to me sometimes - continue...

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