My arrival in NYC at JFK

The 21th of September I left Belgium with my mom. When we arrived at JFK I was really shocked. The airport was very old and there was a lot of chaos and it wasn’t organized, there was no structure. I expected a modern airport because if you compare the airport in Brussels to JFK than Brussels airport is so much better and it isn’t even a big city like New York. But this wasn’t the point.There was one big line with so many people. We had to wait for so long. When it was my turn they asked me for a document that I did not have so they sent me to another place to complete it. After that I had to go back in line so I was very angry. I was tired and it was so crowded. The people were unfriendly. I didn’t expect it to be like that at all.

After the check-out, we looked for a taxi. An old man came to us and asked us where we wanted to go. I told him the place and he asked us to follow him. We followed him and he brought us to a strange place. When we saw the car, we were scared because it didn’t look like a taxi. It was just a normal car. It was the first time that I came to New York so I didn’t know about the local transportation and to be honest I didn't researched about it before. So we were there with the taxidriver and we were hesitating about wether we should go with him, or not. We had no other means of transportation so we took the cab.When we were on our way, the first song that was playing was Empire State from Alicia Keys. We were on the other side of New York so I saw all the huge buildings in the distance. It gave me a nice feeling when I was listening to that song and looking to Manhattan. But on the flip side, I was still scared. At one moment the taxi driver was calling a number and he talked in a strange language. So we were wondering what he was saying. He was asking questions about strange things, so we really felt uncomfortable. I had a mini deodorant in my bag so I held it in my hand if he did something, I would be able to defend myself.I think he sensed that we weren’t comfortable so he started talking about his children so we would feel better. After one hour, we arrived in Tarrytown. We were told to go to St. Johns building. There I got my room on the first floor. I went inside and met my roommate Clémentine from France.

When you go to another country for the first time, and in my case to another continent (not just for a holiday) then it's normal to observe everything and sometimes when you observe too much you probably get scared because you think about every bad thing that can happen.
Actually I deliberately didn't search about the transportation so I could do it when I arrived. You just arrive somewhere and you have to find your way. It sounds more adventurous then when someone comes and picks you up from the airport.

Anyway, my point is that I want to make this year an adventurous one. My decisions, my choices and my own plans.

Maybe good, maybe not.