Chapter 2- NY Day 1

I gained time when I flew over the Atlantic.

When I landed at JFK airport it was 10 in the morning (after having left Paris at 8 in the morning) and as I shuffled through passport control I was immediately gripped by a profound sense of uncertainty- here I was in a strange land in a strange airport and needing to meet the love of my life without the foggiest of which terminal she will be landing at or what her flight number was....this snafu was entirely my fault as I had somehow misplaced her flight details.

Now, if anyone was to ask me to choose any airport I would like to fly into it would have to be JFK- I mean, JFK is an airport folks! 7 terminals, each as big as a shopping mall, and a sky-train which would put the Gautrain to shame (or at least it will when the Gautrain is actually built). Impressive as all of this is, it doesn't help me one jot in finding Jen.

My first order of business was to get a new sim card to use in the US...After journeying to terminal 3 looking for somewhere to buy such an item I was told by an airport employee that I might be able to find something in terminal 4.

After walking the whole way up and down the terminal I finally found an electronics shop and got myself a sim card for the princely sum of $100...it didn't work for reasons I still don't know!

To say I panicked at this point is frankly an understatement. How the fuck was I going to find Jen??? The answer was right in front of me: payphones. My dad was luckily in the US at the time and I managed to get through to him on his American number.

All-in-all it worked out in the end. Jen's flight from Atlanta had been delayed and she ended up landing at terminal 2...which is where I found her at.

We found each other, found our luggage, found a tax and were on the way to Manhattan in no time.

The rest of day 1 was a blur- I had slept 4 hours in the last 20 and vaguely remember shopping for various essentials, checking in at the hostel, climbing the 4 flights of stairs to our room and then heavenly sleep...oh and eating my first meal on American soil: a jumbo slice of peperoni pizza- it was delicious.

until next time!!