Hello ba! Well, it's time for a long overdue update. The title says it all - within a week, I moved thrice and I'm finally blogging from the comfort of my home for the next 4 months. I don't know how many parts this series will be, but I'll e updating it as often as I can, up till the time when I finally checked into Lafayette Street.

So...let's start at the beginning.

As you know, I touched down on 18 Jan, 10.30pm, at JFK International Airport. The moment I stepped from the plane, I knew it had been wise to keep an extra sweater in my bag. The gusts of wind that were seeping in through the cracks of the tunnel were enough to cause my teeth to chatter.

I then queued for about 3 hours (in a sheltered area, thank god) for immigration and customs, which gave me plenty of time to wear my FASS hoodie and read the entire NYU Global Students handbook cover to cover. Using the 30min of free wifi provided at the airport, I was able to Between you to tell you that I had safely landed.

For the remaining 2.5 hours, I made my acquaintance with several terms, including the Metrocard. This NY equivalent of an MRT card allows me to use the train and bus service for about USD 2.50 per ride. You can also get a monthly pass with unlimited rides for USD 110 - not a bad deal, eh?

And apparently, you don't usually have to wait 3 hours to clear Customs. This exception was due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, so the airport was understaffed. I finally got all the processes done, picked up my luggage and walked out of the airport...

...only to almost be blown away by the strong gusts of wind. OMG IT WAS FREEZING!!! Even a day at Tsukiji Market would not have prepared me for this.

My host, Valient, had told me that it would be too late to pick me up from the airport and I would have to take a cab there on my own, so I got into one as fast as possible after resisting the best efforts of the wind to rip my Takoyaki rings from its plastic bag. The driver didn't speak much English but at least he was more helpful than Valient.

The apartment is actually on the opposite side from the main road, so we had a hard time locating it. The cab driver had to call him to ascertain if we were at the right location. When he picked up, he was extremely gruff, unhappy to have been awoken at 2 in the morning - yeap, it was that deep into the night. He then hung up abruptly in the middle of the conversation, frustrated that neither of us could locate his place.

I didn't want to trouble the driver any more, so I paid him the fare. He helped me to unload my bags and I walked around the area, using my intuition. I finally found the place and stepped into the welcoming warmth of his house.

Yippee, I didn't freeze to death! I turned on the light, instantly locating the couch which I had rented out to sleep for the next 2 nights in the living room.

I set my bags down and rummaged through them, preparing to shower and sleep. I had gotten no further than unlocking my bags than a big, burly black man appeared from behind the divider - you know, similar to those curtains that Shin used to separate us from the Korean girls.

"Yo dude, what's going on, man?"

"Uh, hi, I'm Clement. Pleased to meet you."

Ignoring my outstretched hand, he prowled past me and locked the main door, then inspected my stuff distractedly.

"Yeah, d'you mind if you could just shut the lights really quickly? I have a guest who's got to be up at 7am tomorrow."

"Oh, sure, no problem. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, man."

"Oh wait, do you have wifi?"

"Oh dude, it's not on the listing? Yeah, I have the password out back. I'll hand it to you tomorrow, alright? It's 2 in the morning."

"Oh, sure thing. Goodnight!"

He then vanished as swiftly as he had appeared. I had to continue looking for my bathing stuff in the dark. At least the shower was decent - better than Shin's. The ceiling was dangerously low, though, and while changing I whacked my hand on the lamp. Luckily it stayed intact.

Shower done, I went back to the couch, where comfortable blankets had been prepared, and snuggled under the covers to sleep.

(Part 2 to come soon!)