Balance after the first semester

Hello all!

Well, it is a bit later than 6 months after our arrival, but later is better than never, right? Also, a couple of weeks ago we promised to talk about the things that we miss since we live here, and I think this can also be part of the recapitulation of the first semester. So here it goes.

The first thing we have to mention is where we find the most differences in our daily lives, in comparison with our way of living back in Germany. And there is a lot to talk about in that aspect. We can start with something we have mentioned before: the big spaces. US is very wide, everything is far apart, and the car is something that you have to get used to. Since January, we have only taken public transportation when we were in NYC. Other than that, we took cabs a couple of times in San Francisco, but that's about it. Do we miss public transportation? I would say we mostly miss it during the week. It is clear that on the weekend we want to drive somewhere else, to the beach (like we did yesterday) or  just downtown... But Mo. -Fr. I wouldn't mind having a bus get me to work, to be honest. This is not one of the things we miss the most, though... I guess the most important takeaway here is how important it is to have a car in the country you live. In Europe, you can have no car and still get to work, do your shopping and go to the cinema. All these things are much harder in the US, if not impossible. So the car becomes a requirement.

Another difference here are the seasons. Here, contrary to Germany, you can identify clearly 4 different seasons in the year. The fall is incredible here (although I have been just 2 weeks last year, and Andres a bit more), the colors of the trees are beautifully changing from green to orange, brown and really bright red (we will document this when the time has come). Temperatures are mild. Then the winter is of course the hardest (at least in my opinion), with snow, rain, coldness, ... But it eventually ends, the snow melts and leaves uncovered a beautiful green grass. With the spring, trees and flowers start to blossom. And after spring comes what we are experimenting now, the temperatures vary between 20 up to 35 degC. It reminds me of Seville, only not so hot :) But it can stay sunny for days, and yes, we also have summer storms like in Germany, but before one comes we have enjoyed several days of sun and warmth. So yes, that is different. I am actually getting my tan back (the one I lost in the 6 years in Germany :))

Here you see Andres bathing in the waters of the Michigan see, where we were yesterday. It is very odd because it seems like the sea, with the waves and the long beaches,... But the water is not salty, and you can walk a lot and it doesn't get deep!

Our everyday life is however not very different in terms of hours and activities. We still have to:
- be in the office 8 to 5 (we miss the time when the extra hours counted for free time or were payed :S )
- do the groceries once a week (before this was several times a week, here is more concentrated)
- clean the house and garden once a week (it takes longer than in Germany, and it is also harder)...
- exercise a couple of times a week, this is much better now; since we have several state parks (like small forests) around us we can really exercise in the forest, which makes it more interesting. In Stuttgart we lived in the center, with no parks nearby. We could of course drive to the outer ring and find a park, but the problem was finding a parking spot afterwards. Here you hardly ever have problems to park, like I said, they have so much space :)

One thing we reaally miss is the vacation days. This is very hard for people that come abroad for a limited time and want to visit as many places as possible. We almost have planned the trips for all 3 years already! And there's still so many spots that we might leave out, just because we don't have time! Also, it is very far away from the family! I remember taking a flight and in a couple of hours, we were in Spain. Now we can't go those 2 or 3 times per year, and that is hard sometimes. The long distances, high flight ticket prices and fewer vacation days is a bad combination to stay in touch with family and friends, and that s*cks.

In terms of food, in US we must say we find a lot of things that we used to have regularly, so we can't complain much. They even have pretty good oil (of course "from Italy"), and the big supermarkets also have a shelf with international products (in which, by the way, Germans can find their Spaetzle :)). In fact, sometimes there is TOO much choice of products, so it is very hard to decide! Our normal choosing procedure is, we look at them all, and after 30 minutes we take one at random. If we like it, we stick to it. If we don't, we need 30 minutes the next time to choose :)

However, we miss things like Spanish chorizo, here the chorizo is a Mexican version, it is also a sausage, but it has not been cured. It is not the same. Serrano ham is also nowhere to find. And alcohol is much more expensive!! But there is a big variety of wines, also some from Spain (not the best, though). On the other side, meat is so much cheaper! We are using the BBQ several times a week :)

Another thing that I miss is the (lack of) dressing code at work. I don't like to think every day what I am going to be doing or who I am meeting. I guess it is not only the dress code itself, but also that the kind of work here has much more to do with the customer. I miss wearing jeans to work, as I used to do almost every day in Stuttgart. I think Andres doesn't miss it so much (probably because he looks so goo in his suit pants and shirt :)), but sometimes when we needs to work near the vehicles, it is also annoying for him because he has to be very careful not to get dirty.

In general at work, there is a lot of differences, the treat with the coworkers differ  from our former experience, the way of working is more relaxed... Sometimes we get desperate at our meetings because people talk in circles without getting to any conclusion (Germany has taught us that, I guess).

So, in summary, the first 6 months have been a great experience and we have made out of this country our temporary home. Nevertheless, knowing that the situation back in Spain is bad and is not getting better, being away from our family and friends, makes us realize even more how lucky we are to have  taken this opportunity.

Lots of love
Lita&Andres

Independence Day at the Big Apple

Last week the Americans (meaning the people from the USA) celebrated their national day, the 4th of July. It was on a Thursday, which gave us the opportunity to enlarge the weekend, and fly to New York until the following Monday! The Big City is always astonishing, wether if it is the first time you visit, or if you haven't been there for a while. It always surprises you!

The first thing that we saw is where the bus leaves you, the Grand Central Station. You can't help to remember scenes from a couple of movies that were taken inside this very beautiful station.

After that, we walked to our hotel on the 57th street. One thing is clear, in New York, you have to walk. A lot. And though there's only a couple of avenues, they are very, very long.

On our way to the hotel we saw another hot spot, Times Square. It was daylight, but the surrounding still overwhelms you with so many images, colors, information... One just feels tiny next to these enormous screens.

By the time we reached the hotel we realized it was going to be a hot trip. And we had even brought a jacket in case it was going to be fresh at night! Absolutely unnecessary! Because in New York, since the buildings are so tall, there is very little recirculation. You couldn't say if it was noon or 9 in the morning, because even when the day started, it was already hot... But better than too cold, I would say (I do not know what the Swedish people would say about that :))

Anyways, one of the things we enjoyed a lot in NYC is the variety of food from all continents. There is so much offer that you really have to think about what you definitely don't want to miss. And of course, we started with a Japanese, and it must have been good ("the real stuff") because there were only Asians beside us in the restaurant (although these days you never know if they're originally from Asia or born in the US, we still think it was pretty good :))

After the meal we charged our batteries and started exploring Midtown, walking down 5th Avenue. On our way we saw this other famous place (although not the most beautiful, for sure): the Rockefeller Center.

This huge angel that seems to be throwing himself in the water is one of NYC icons, and wether you like it or not, you have to go see it. We also went on another day at night, and it does look better, in a way...

With the colored water it reminded me of the Niagara Falls. Again, maybe not beautiful, but for sure enjoyable.

Another thing that NYC offers is what we can call the ARTchitecture. Wherever you look there are incredible buildings, all different but yet matching the style of the city.

In this photo above you see the Flat Iron. It may also remind some movies or series that take place in the city, and it also gives the name to the area around the building. Near it there is an Italian food shop called Eataly, the ice cream there is incredible!

I'll include some pictures of other buildings from the city that called our attention, without being as famous:

Nice Condo in Chelsea 

 The building above is home of the Municipal Art Society of New York.

The Metronome

The new Museum of Modern Art (N-MoMA??)

This is the famous museum of Guggenheim (the original one, there is a second one in Spain that looks very similar, some can say it looks even better...).

In fact, the architecture in NYC is so important, that there are architecture lovers who madly fall in love with the city. One good example is the author of the next blog: http://like.allmyfaves.com/like/site/name/allthebuildingsinnewyork.com. He aims to draw all the buildings in New York, some of the drawings are very impressive. One example is the building on the left, that represents the Chrysler Building. On the right you see the Empire State behind me, we were sitting on a terrase in Lexington Avenue, with very nice views (the cocktails price had seen a very high inflation, so we payed for the views :))

Funny story of the trip, and that's why I put both pics together, is that I had learned it all wrong, and thought that the Empire State was the Chrysler building and vice versa. I was even trying to correct Andres, until he showed me that I was wrong. After that, we kept calling them the other name, and now I really have to think a couple of seconds to say the right name :)

We also visited some 'must-go' places, like for instance Little Italy (which right now it is only one street, and, to be honest, not that impressive), Chinatown (much bigger than Little Italy, but also here, we preferred Chinatown in San Francisco), and the Financial District.

 Located south from here we visited the Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center used to be. Now they constructed a new skyscraper, the New World Trade Center (they're about to finish it), it is amazingly big.

Another must-do is to cross to Brooklyn walking the Brooklyn bridge, where we took the next two photos. Once in Brooklyn, there is a nice park beside the river where the views of Manhattan are incredible. Also there we visited a delicious ice cream factory!

Our favorite area of Manhattan turned out to be the areas of Chelsea, Tribeca and the West Village. Especially we fell in love with the Chelsea Market, which is an old plant that they've converted into little shops and restaurants. It really shows an alternative side of the city with a lot of personality.

Also in the area there are interesting drawings on the walls, and a nice elevated pathway to walk some meters above ground level and enjoy the views called the High Line Park, all surrounded by nice plants and trees.

The last day we took the ferry to Staten Island (the free one), and could enjoy the views of the Statue of Liberty, as well as nice ships on the river waters.

It is true what they say about NYC being the city that never sleeps. But once a year it is also a special night, of course I'm referring to the 4th of July. On that day there's a big celebration with fireworks, one of the most famous of the US (they also claim that Washington really gives it all in this fireworks show). We wanted to find a nice spot to have good views. But when we realized that at 4PM people started looking for their spot and staying there for hours, we realized that wasn't for us, so we kept exploring the city. At 9,30, when the show was about to start, we approached the riverside and could enjoy the fireworks, maybe not first line, but well enough to take a couple of pictures. There was also a bunch of people that suddenly filled the streets coming from nowhere, and people stopped with their cars in the middle of the street to watch the show. It was a very nice experience.

Another picture at night, last night that we had the pleasure of staring at this amazing city full of tastes from all corners of the world, it was taken from the hotel room. 

There is of course a lot of places that we left out, we only visited the American Museum of Natural History, leaving behind a lot of cultural offer that we had to turn down just for the lack of time (well, NYC is also very expensive, so you're almost obligated to pick your choices). But overall we had a great time, despite the hot weather (one afternoon we had to go back to the hotel to take a siesta), the crowded places and the high prices. We are looking forward to the next time, maybe then not in summer, so that we can really enjoy the Central Park :)

Lots of love

Lita & Andres