Stay Abroad - New York

In Defense Of Food - A Book I read on my Stay Abroad

2011-08-25T05:43:00.001-04:00

In Defense of Food - An eater's manifesto
Eat food, Not too much, mostly plants
By Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan, bestselling author of four previous books, wrote this book to help people answer the complicated question about what healthy food is. This book is his newest #1 New York Times Bestseller of him, with the title "In Defense of Food". Not only does Pollan suggest on how to eat healthier, but he also questions the nutrition science he calls "nutritionism". This is a summary for the readers of this blog. I hope that reading it has an impact on how you buy and eat your food.

Being Omnivores
Humans are omnivores, which means they are creatures who eat almost everything. We have to eat a wide variety of food in order to stay healthy. Herbivores on the other side, cows for example, have a diet which consists exclusively of plants. Concluding, people should receive their nutrients, which can be described as the pieces of a puzzle of food, from many different sources. A problem nowadays is that even though many people believe to eat a grand variety foods, they do not really do so. According to Pollan, the reason for this is food processing. Before explaining why processed foods reduce our variable nutrient intake, I will provide some information about processed foods in the next paragraph.

Processed Foods
The methods and techniques to transform raw products into food are called food processing. During food processing, nutrients can be added or subtracted, which changes the nutritional value of what one is consuming. Food is processed to make it better storable or transportable, different looking or different tasting, edible or allegedly more healthy. When Pollan talks about food processing, he means industrial food processing. Basically everything that happens between the farmer harvesting his produce on the field, and the customer buying food in a supermarket.

Nutritionism - Work in Progress
Due to the complexity of nutrition, scientists still come across major paradoxes and errors. A few examples from the book on how nutritionists believe that they understand food and its impact on the body.

1827
William Prout proposes to classify food as a whole of three different parts: Carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
1842
Justus von Liebig declared that the big three (carbohydrates, fats, proteins) and minerals (his discovery) solves the mystery of the human diet. (Liebig's "Baby-Formula" failed due to missing vitamins etc.)
1912
Casimir Funk called vital organic compounds "vitamins". The discovery of vitamins and the healing of illnesses like beriberi improved the image of nutritionists. For a long time, vitamins were believed to increase health in general.
1961
The American Heart Association recommended a diet low in saturated fat (which is found in cheese, butter chocolate, coconut oil etc.) and cholesterol (found in eggs, sausages, dairy products - vital in certain amounts) from animal products. The meat and dairy industries opposed to a nationwide diet guideline for economical reasons.
2001
A group of nutrition scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health wrote a paper: "Types of Dietary Fat and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A critical review. The authors disprove all the aspects of the recommendation of the American Heart Association, that had dominated Americas way of eating for the last 40 years.

Context of food
Pollan opposes the reductive science in nutrition science and receives confirmation by a New York University (NYU) nutritionist: "The problem with the nutrient by nutrient nutrition science is that we forget the context of the food, of the diet, of the lifestyle." Unfortunately, students at NYU and other universities learn nutrient by nutrient, which does not make a lot of sense, but fits the education system. Pollan provokes by saying that the government and the public health organizations are just too coward to admit that the idea of dietary fat was responsible for chronic diseases and has been an error. Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health wrote a "critical review" where they confirm Pollan saying that "it is now increasingly recognized that the low-fat campaign has been based on little scientific evidence and may have caused unintended health consequences."

The Low-Fat-Illusion
There are three ways Pollan argues against the low-fat-illusion. One is the scientific way where he explains that without certain fats, our body is not able to subtract certain nutrients from plants. For example: Eating tomatoes with olive oil makes the lycopene they contain more available to the body. - The carbohydrates in a bagel are absorbed more slowly if the bagel is schmeared with peanut butter. The insulin response to the carbohydrates after eating that bagel is delayed because of the fiber, fat and protein in the peanut butter. That is why Pollan believes it is a good thing to eat dessert at the end of a meal rather than at the beginning.

The other approach is observing historical changes and trying to match dietary changes to increases of illnesses such as CHD (coronary heart disease) or other. These historical changes did not only introduce new products to the diet but also reduce foods people used to eat for a long time. For one there is the obvious replacement of vegetables by meat. Meat has become the main dish, whereas vegetables became a side dish. There is another example Pollan refers to several times in his book: The introduction of Margarine which started to replace butter. He calls Margarine the first important synthetic food appearing in our diet. Margarine was said to be healthier than butter, because "bad nutrients" such as cholesterol and saturated fats where eliminated whereas vitamins and polyunsaturated fats where added. Pollan explains that such a product can only be as smart as its creator. The scientists producing did not know at the time, that making vegetable oil solid by "blasting it with hydrogen, turned out to produce unhealthy trans fats which we now know are more dangerous than the saturated fats they were designed to replace."

Finally, there is a very easily understandable third way of arguing. Not only did we eat more meat during the last 60 years, but also did the big steak take a lot of space on our plate that used to be reserved for vegetables. So by eating more of something, people will eat less of something else.

From Quality to Quantity
The farming industry has to feed more and more people while keeping the costs as low as possible. People take cheap food for granted and there is only a small percentage of people who are able and willing to pay more for food than the bare minimum. Mass production of corn and soy was subsidized by the government which thereby defended the interests of the big food companies.
The problem of the mass production is not only the decrease of quality of the produce, but also the decrease of variety.

About quality
The nutrient content of 34 crops have declined. Examples are vitamin C (by 20%), iron (by 15%), riboflavin (by 38%), and calcium (by 16%). That means that in order to receive the amount of iron you would have gotten from a single apple in 1940, you would now have to eat 3 apples today. Our body still needs the same amount to stay healthy though. In order to get the nutrients our body needs, we have to eat a lot more than we ate 70 years ago. Could that be a reason for obesity?

About variety
Today's supermarkets are full with many different products, but some ingredients appear in almost every processed food: Corn and soy. These two crops grow very fast and contain a lot of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These macronutrients are very efficiently turned into meat and diary products or processed foods of any kind. As cows or chicken grow fast when fed with a corn or soy based diet, the meat contains these ingredients too. Imagine eating a steak with a corn salad - or a soy based meat replacement. You even have corn in your Coke - in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. That means that we eat too much corn and soy which undoubtedly changes our diet. Next time you are in the supermarket, check the ingredients of your groceries and see how many of them contain processed corn or soy. Post that as a comment in this blog!

It is funny how people think that they could still define what they are eating. Pollan writes about a product called "Sara Lee's Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread. Attentive readers of this blog might think that this is a contradiction in terms. Apparently not anymore. The list of ingredients has more then 40 items! Is this really bread? Your grandmother would probably deny that and say that in order to make bread, one simply needs flour, yeast, water, and a pinch of salt. Now, I trust my grandmothers cooking a lot more than I trust those company-sponsored nutrition scientists.

An Easy Helper
In order to chose the real products, one may need some help. Pollan created a list with some points that very easy to remember and help when grocery shopping. Here just a few:
1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
2. Don't eat anything incapable of rotting.
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that
a) are unfamiliar
b) are unpronounceable
c) are more than five in number
d) include high-fructose corn syrup
4. Avoid food products that make health claims (Health claims are written on a box. In order to be in a box, any food needs to be processed)
5. Shop the peripheries of a supermarket and stay out of the middle (You will find cans and boxes in the middle and fruit, fish, and frozen foods on the outside.
6. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible and shake the hand that feeds you. (There is no high-fructose corn syrup in what you buy at the farmers market)

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what they eat. For everyone not particularly interested in a healthy diet, it is a must!

Internship with Reto Stuber and a visit of a Conference

2011-08-21T09:40:00.002-04:00

During the last week, I had the chance to stay in Brooklyn where Reto Stuber and his girlfriend Melissa live. I was doing another internship with Reto, and as last time when I worked with him, I learned a lot about Internet Marketing and Social Media for businesses. The highlight of this week of work was most definitely the visit of a Conference in New York. Reto allowed me to visit the keynote speech, which was held by an Idol of mine: Gary Vaynerchuk.

Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur who has revolutionized the way people look at interacting with their Social Media communities. While developing his family’s local liquor store into a national industry leader, he observed the extraordinary potential of what he has called "The Thank You Economy" (also the name of a best selling book written by him). As a consultant, he introduced those same principles into the business world at large, with successful applications in sports, consumer goods, and retail. Askmen.com named Gary on its list of the Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2009.

I have seen many of his videos about wine tasting, which I think are not only highly educative, but also very entertaining. Before I will summarize his most important ideas of the keynote, I would like you to see at least one of his shows yourself. Click here to watch one or two of his 1000 episodes: http://bit.ly/winelibrarytv

Keynote by Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary entertained the attendees with an enthusiastic speech and a long Q&A session in an easy-going style and using many curse words. The standing ovations at the end of the keynote and the long line at the book signing booth confirmed the success he has with his style and his ideas.

The main points Gary Vaynerchuk made during his keynote was that every person is a brand, and people should use their communication skills on Social Media and in real life to build brand equity with a long term objective. Meaning that you have to interact with people that need your help or are interested in the same thing you are on the internet. You need to talk to those people, or help them if necessary, to show them that you care. In doing so, people have a positive connection to you as a professional and a private person. As you helped them for free or just interacted with them on a certain topic, they will consider you as a friend and not just as another guy trying to sell stuff. Now guess who they will trust with their next problem and where they are finally going to buy what they need? They come to your business, because they started to know and trust you.

In his book, The Thank You Economy, Gary says that people used to buy their meat at the butcher's shop they always went. They went there, either because their mother used to go there or because they got to know the butcher and have a personal connection to him. Times have changed though. Many butcher stores went out of business because they could not compete with prizes mayor corporations had to offer. But now times have changed once more and people still want to interact and communicate. Only now, they do it over Social Media. This is the chance for every business, to give customers a little more value by personally interacting with them. The butcher has the chance of interacting with customers, only today and tomorrow it will be over Social Media channels.

A signed copy of "The Thank You Economy"

A great percentage of marketers need to present a good return on investment. Gary considers Social Media to be a long term marketing tool. He used many analogies when trying to convince the attendees that return on investment is not the most important thing:
- Don't try to convert like a 19 year old trying to get a girl!
- It's like a marathon versus a sprint!
- A campaign is a one-night stand!
- Slow roll it as much as you can! Don't go for the kill, the deer will be dead.
The essence of this message is that brand equity is much more important than the immediate return on investment.

Gary is a very down-to-earth person with interest in real life issues. So he decided that rather than talking about his own business or his own clients, it would be much more interesting to hear what the audience had to say. That is why he decided to make a extensive question and answer session. In the next paragraph you can read about the most interesting questions.

On the question how he felt about outsourcing Social Media, Gary replied that he would not recommend it. The reason is that people are thrilled to talk about an issue with the person responsible. The problem is that if people find out that they have not been talking to that person but a 17 year old intern, it could destroy your whole business.

Another guy asked: What if someone runs a website and a personal blog, but still thinks that it is not necessary to appear on Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. They say that on these sites, people are just telling their friends and the world where they are going to eat or what they are watching on TV?
Gary replied: As Social Media is a tool to interact with people, it should be used that way too. Meaning that when interacting, we are not constantly saying what we are doing, but we are also listening. There are many ways of "listening" to what people are saying on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Co. And if someone is saying something related to your field of expertise, you have to start a conversation with him and show him that you care and that you are the expert on this topic.
Another reason is that Google will most certainly manage to change its algorithm to a context based search. Meaning that if you search for something on google in the future, the results will be based on your Social Media interactions more than on search engine optimized websites.

Chatting with Gary Vaynerchuk

I am looking forward to coming back to Switzerland and applying everything I have learned. There are still many books to be read and hours to be invested but I like the work of an internet marketer a lot and want to continue improving my skills.

Thanks for reading and thanks once more for commenting!

Another Indian Week

2011-08-19T18:45:00.002-04:00

This is one of my last blog posts in this particular blog. As my stay abroad comes to an end, I will not be writing on this blog anymore. But I will still post another two or three blog posts. So, keep posted!

Before going back to work with Reto Stuber, I was allowed to stay once more in the upper east side with Nikhil Mahen and on the upper west side with Yatish Uchil. You might remember those guys from previous blog posts. I cooked a Swiss dish at Nikhil's and at Yatish's place. Unfortunately, the Röschti (hash browns) and Züri Gschnätzlets (Veal chopped the Zurich style) did not turn out to be good both times. It turned out to be really delicious when I made it at Nikhil's apartment. The time I made it for Yatish and his roommates, it turned out to be really flavorless and tasteless. The upside of this mishap is that I have the chance to make it up to them when he and his roommate will come to visit me in Berne next February.

Butter Chicken (by Nikhil Mahen)

2011-08-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

Butter Chicken (Nikhil Mahen Style)

Shopping list (for two persons)

3 chicken breasts
butter
1 big onion
2 cloves of garlic
15 ounces of tomato puree (4-5 dl)
3 ounces of fresh cream (1 dl)
salt
black pepper
red chili powder
Garam masala (Indian spice mixture*)
oil
Tandoori masala (Indian spice mixture*)
4 pieces of Nan (Indian bread*)

1. Chop and marinate the chicken with Tandoori Chicken Masala (A powder containing Kashmiri Chilli, ginger powder, dry mango powder, dry Mehendi, black and white pepper powder, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and Jeera powder) and some black pepper and salt. Marinate the chicken for as long as possible (up to 3 hours) in the fridge.

Nikhil chopping the chicken

2. Sauté the onions and the garlic in some butter and olive oil, freshly cut ginger and cumin. Some people add a little bit of cinnamon.

3. Boil Tomato Purée with a spoonful of butter and add the cream after it started boiling. Add red chilli and Garam Masala and some salt. The translation of Garam is hot, Masala is the word for mixture of spices. Ingredients of Garam Masala are Cumin, Black pepper, Coriander seeds, Cardamon Amomum seeds, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cassia, Ginger, and Mace. You'll find Garam Masala in every Indian store.

4. Indians usually roast the marinated chicken in a clay oven. As we don't have a clay oven in Nikhil's apartment, we use the regular oven. Set the oven temperature to 375 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit (around 200 degrees Celsius). It will take around 15 minutes.

5. Once the chicken is done, put everything together and boil it for another 20-25 minutes on a low flame.

How to eat

Indian food is supposed to be eaten by hand: Tear a piece of the nan bread apart and try to pick a piece of chicken with the nan. Only the fingertips are supposed to be dirty, but it takes a while to learn that. As Butter Chicken is a fairly heavy meal, it is best served with a cold beer.

Me trying to grab the chicken.

Enjoy!

* You can find the Masalas and the Nan in every Indian store. If you have an Indian restaurant close to you, send someone to pick up fresh nan.

Phoenix, AZ

2011-08-10T10:51:00.001-04:00

There were different reasons why I wanted to go to Phoenix, AZ. I was really looking forward to seeing all my friends again that I've met five years ago, and I also wanted to surprise my uncle by showing up unexpectedly. In addition, I wanted to experience the heat in Phoenix in summer.

I arrived in the afternoon at the Greyhound station in Phoenix. I was wearing long linen pants and a sweater because Greyhound drivers tend to turn up the air conditioning as much as they can. So I stepped off the cool bus in Phoenix and the outside temperature stroke me with its 112 degrees Fahrenheit (over 44 degrees Celsius). As my friend Lhyn was still working, she sent a friend of hers to pick me up. In an air-conditioned car he took me to the dental clinic where Lhyn was working. From there we drove back to her house which is in Goodyear, in the south-west part of Phoenix.

Soon after we arrived, her three year old son AJ and her husband Daniel arrived. After going shopping for groceries, we lit the grill and ate delicious steak and corn. Daniel took me out with another friend of ours, Eric. We went to various local clubs in Goodyear and ended up in Eric's favorite, the Lighthouse. I liked the Lighthouse as well, because it is very laid back and they have pool tables and karaoke. I excused myself from the karaoke and tried my luck at on the pool table. Even though pool is not my strong suit I enjoyed the night out.

Trying my luck at the pool table

The next day was rather expensive: As I had lost my iPhone in New Orleans, I wanted buy a new one in the States. Because of the Dollar rate and Apple products being cheaper here, I decided to buy an unlocked white iPhone. Even though it is expensive, I wanted to have an iPhone again. Also, I had the chance to have lunch at a In n' Out Burgers. It is my favorite burger chain!

In n' Out Burgers

In the evening, I learned that in order to be allowed in in certain clubs, the Swiss picture ID is not enough. So Daniel's friend Vance had to drive me back to the apartment to get my passport. We went to different bars only to end up in the Lighthouse again. It was another great night, which made the day even more expensive, but we enjoyed ourselfes a lot.

Lhyn and Daniel, ready for the clubs

The third day included two very American things, one of them being Laser Tag. Laser Tag is a game where one has to tag other people with a laser gun. After five minutes, we where all very into it and it was one of the best work outs I had in my life. Actually, as I am writing this, three days later, I still have sore muscles.
The other American thing was a house party, including "Beer Pong", a game which I am apparently very good at. We had another great evening at Vance's house that ended with enthusiastic discussions with Eric at around 5am.

Eric and I playing "Beer Pong"

The next day was a very lazy day before I ended up going to the airport. The plane left at 10.30pm and landed approximately four and a half hours later at 6am in New York. The math actually adds up if one takes into account the time difference. So after arriving at JFK Airport I went to Nikhil's place where I am allowed to stay another couple of nights. I slept the whole day until 5pm because after the last few nights I was really in need of some sleep. When Nikhil came back, we decided to cook an Indian dish called Butter Chicken. I wrote down the recipe and it will be in my next blog post.

Thanks to all of you guys in Phoenix! I had a great time!

New Orleans

2011-08-05T14:36:00.001-04:00

The time I spent in New Orleans has been incredibly interesting, but also a little unfortunate. New Orleans is definitely worth visiting, even in Summer when it can be very hot and humid.
As you may have read in a previous post, I have lost my iPhone with all the video footage for my planned video blog post. Fortunately, there may be some pictures available that I have sent to my girlfriend before leaving the hostel.

Getting there
After my last blog post from the Greyhound station and some good Mexican food, I went on a 22 hours bus ride with transfers in Orlando and Tallahassee. The schedule was unfortunate because all passengers had to leave the bus for "service and cleaning" at 12.30am and 4am for 50 minutes, resulting in little to no sleep.

In some TV shows, I saw that New Orleans is considered to be the most dangerous city in the United States, so I decided to take a cab to a hostel which I booked on the bus. I found out later on the list of the most dangerous cities in the US, New Orleans is only ranked number #13, behind Cleveland, OH, (#4), where I have stayed without concerns. Before leaving the hostel I heard from two girls who were robbed two nights ago. They got off the street car (a kind of tram) two stations too early and encountered two guys, supposedly with guns, threatening to kill them if they did not give them their handbags.

Even though I had just heard this story, I decided to walk to the famous French Quarter because it was 10am and there were cars on the road. The French Quarter is incredibly cute and different from everything I have seen in the US so far. The buildings are over 200 years old, which is quite rare in the US. What you can see during the early afternoon are many different small art galleries and bars preparing for the night.

Bourbon Street, New Orleans LA

I had the choice between the Louisiana History Museum and an exhibition about the Kathrina Hurricane and the floods that followed. I decided for the latter and spent three hours in the Museum. It was very interesting to see an exhibition about an event I remembered and read about myself. Five years after this catastrophe I could not see any sign of what had happened.

I tried to escape the heat using the hostel's pool, but even that was rather warm. I took advantage of the comfortable backyard and skyped with friends and family in the shadow of some trees before going for dinner downtown. I then went to Morton's Steakhouse, which is an upscale restaurant, where the waiter showed me the different kinds of meat and fish they had. He also showed me on real vegetables how they are going to be cut and held a living lobster under my nose, explaining how they were going to prepare it the kitchen.
I ordered the Eisberg Salad with Blue Cheese, the New York Cut Steak with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, and a warm chocolate cake with ice cream. Even though it was super delicious, I was not able to finish all of it so I let them "doggie-bag" for me. As it would not have been very comfortable to take it with me when visiting the bars, I decided to give it to one of the few homeless people at the riverfront. I hope that they enjoyed it.

After eating, I started walking to Bourbon Street. Since I received more feedback from the last video blog post, I wanted to improve my video blogs even more. I wanted to make it seem like a documentary, so I filmed myself walking through Bourbon Street, going in bars and commenting on the music and the atmosphere. The disappointment of the first five bars got blown away at the last bar, where I first did not even want to go in. I saw an incredible performance of Chucky C singing both his own songs and also covering Louis Armstrong and other famous Singers. I liked it so much that I bought a CD. If it works, here is a sample one of his songs.

Chucky C and his band

The night was rather short due to my early bus leaving at 6.15am the next day. I prepared everything the night before, so I could just take a shower in the morning and then leave. I sent a last Whatsapp message to my girlfriend before taking a cab to the Greyhound station. Ten minutes after the bus had left New Orleans, I wanted to take a picture of the swampy landscape. That is when I realized that I did not have my iPhone anymore. You can read in my previous post what I did to try to get it back. Had I known that I had to buy a new iPhone, I would most probably not have eaten that luxurious the night before. Anyway, when traveling, one needs to be aware of unexpected cost.

I am now arriving in Phoenix, AZ, after a 33h bus ride. The plan is to visit some friends I have stayed with on my previous travels.

Thank you for reading and for commenting.

Oops... Bummer..!

2011-08-03T08:40:00.001-04:00

Instead of posting another video blogpost, I have to inform everyone that I have most probably lost my phone. It must have slipped out of my pocket this morning around 5.30am in the cab. Even though I called the company and they asked the driver (he said he did not find it), the phone has already been turned off.

With the "Find My iPhone"-app from Apple on my iPad, I sent a remote lock on my phone. In addition, I sent an order to the phone to let it ring at full volume and to show this message:

I ve lost my phone... please contact me on 347-649-4394...
Matt

It is a pitty because not only will I have to buy a new phone, order a Sim-Card, and deal with a lot of bureaucratic bs, I also lost all the photo and video footage from New Orleans.

I am on the Bus in direction of Phoenix, AZ, and try to organize everything as good as possible. I do not have the possibility to check my big rucksack if I have put my phone in there by accident. The rucksack is located underneath the bus and is unavailable until Houston, TX. There is a slight chance that I have put it in the rucksack, but I am most certain that I did not.

Please note: I will not be able to respond to any call, message or Whatsapp-message until further notice. You can still reach me over all different Social Media plattforms or my US cellphone.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Second Video Blogpost

2011-08-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

This is my second video blogpost. I shot the video in one whole time, without re-recording of any kind. I realize that there are many mistakes in it, but it seems more authentic. Thanks for your comments...

First Video Blogpost

2011-07-30T19:21:00.000-04:00

This is the first video blogpost. It will be a series of four or five videos to update you what I have been doing lately. I hope that during these videos, I will make some emprovements on my speaking skills especially in fluency, tone and variability.

For my own defense I would like to say that I have not prepared this post and was not able to translate, verify or re-record what I have said. It is all spontaneous and live.

I would be happy about constructive criticism and comments.

Great People

2011-07-20T08:27:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have written something in my blog. But a lot has happened since the last blog entry. Because of Couchsurfing, I had a very nice barbecue where I had the most tender meat I have tasted so far. I enjoyed Mexican and Japanese Food with a lovely couple from New Jersey, and was introduced to New York's longest continuously operating bar and restaurant: Pete's Tavern 1864.

About Couchsurfing
The advantages that Couchsurfing has brought to my stay abroad have been tremendous so far and I am sure that there are more exciting encounters going to happen. The disadvantage of Couchsurfing is the dependence of a couchsurfer on the host. Even if the decision to host someone is totally voluntary and one does not receive any money in return, a host still needs to be 100% reliable. His guest will usually not have an option other than looking for an expensive last minute hotel if the host does not show up or stops answering the email.

Sleeping arrangements
I am happy to own a US cellular phone, that way I have the possibility of communicating with possible hosts in a more direct and therefore easier way. Furthermore, I am lucky to know Zapo with whom I had the possibility to stay a few nights longer than expected. Tonight though, for the first time on my stay abroad, I sleep in a regular hostel together with other travelers. Unfortunately, as my blog has not been fed with stories lately, I will not be able to take advantage of the international crowd here. I will have to focus my energy on writing about the exciting activities and wonderful encounters last weeks.

Will DosSantos had invited me to visit his cousin in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, there were some transportation issues and there was no space left for me to join him, meaning that the meeting with Will had been delayed for a couple of days. Luckily, I was able to count on Zapo and stayed another three nights on his couch. This ship has meanwhile sailed though. His roommate who is working a lot and is seldom at home complained in an email about the fact that the living room has turned in a dorm room and that he was not happy about it. Pity! Even though I completely understand his point of view, I would have preferred he speaking to me directly about the matter, as I have thought that it would be no problem with me sleeping there. Nevertheless, I have lost the very useful option of spending the night at Zapo's place. I am very thankful to have had this privilege. Thank you Zapo for everything!

4th of July
I met Will a couple of days later in Hoboken, which is on the other side of the Hudson River in New Jersey. I was very happy about the fact that I was going to spend the 4th of July with an American. Will has moved to the USA when he was only four years old and I therefore consider him a real American. His father immigrated from Brazil when he was in his 30ies and has worked in Elisabeth, NJ for the last 30 years. While driving to his girlfriend Aurora, Will told me that we were invited to spend the evening with Aurora's neighbor, Manny Caamano, who lived only four stories higher than she did. Manny's whole family was having food and drinks on his balcony. Aurora wanted to contribute something by preparing a Cheese Fondue. Luckily, Cheese Fondue is not unknown by Swiss people and I was happy to help her out. The taste was very interesting but not bad at all and the Fondue was liked by everyone.

We almost missed the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks because we kept on enjoying the view.

Great Folks
It is great, how easy it is to meet and become friends with American people. Manny, the neighbor of my host's girlfriend, invited me to play tennis a few days later. He returned from work early due to a bomb threat in his office building. After playing 30-40 minutes in the full sun, we enjoyed cooling off in his building's own swimming pool.
For dinner, Manny and his girlfriend, Maria, invited me to a Mexican restaurant with the most beautiful view on Manhattan. I had the chance to return the favor by inviting both of them for a dinner in a Japanese restaurant with some sushi and sake.

I was also invited to a barbecue in Elisabeth, NJ. Will said that I was most welcome to come to a barbecue which his brother, Steve, was organizing. I found out only when I arrived there that it was in fact Steve's birthday. It was not a regular barbecue: Rachel, Steve's girlfriend, and Steve have been working a lot. They have been preparing the smoked bacon for this barbecue for over 10! days. Here are just a few of the finest delicatessens they served: Self-made Burgers (half bacon, half angus beef), self-made sausages, mussels, and ribs (which have first been cooked (7min), then marinated and grilled (7min), and then slow roasted in aluminum foil (3h) until they literally fell off the bone).

Pete's Tavern 1864
Another gastronomic and culinary highlight was the Burger at Pete's Tavern. This establishment is New York's longest continuously operating bar and restaurant. Being host to many celebrities, Pete's bar looks exactly as on the black and white pictures inside. The restaurant and bar has appeared on television in famous shows like "Sex and the City", "Seinfeld", or "Law and Order".
On August 8th, my friend Normen and his wife, Andrea, will travel through New York on their Honeymoon and as a gift, I plan on inviting them to this famous restaurant for a burger.

The meat fell off the bone...

How to succeed...
The most impressive and exciting thing I did on my stay abroad has most certainly been the visit of a Broadway musical staring Daniel Radcliffe (known from the Harry Potter series) and John Laroquette (he appeared in many movies and had his own television show). The name of the musical was "how to succeed in business without really trying". http://www.howtosucceedbroadway.com/
The musical is a new production a story that is based on a satirical, and bestselling book with the same title. The perfection of the show was astonishing and most impressive. Even though it was not cheap, it was totally worth it. I encourage anyone who visits New York to go see a Broadway musical.

That's it for the moment... I will write about my upcoming internship in the next blogpost.

Gary Vaynerchuk and Wine Library

2011-07-05T16:36:00.000-04:00

The whole day was about one thing: See what all the fuss is about!

Gary Vaynerchuk is the son of an owner of what used to be a small liquor store in New Jersey. Growing up, Gary was not allowed to drink wine but he read about different flavors and tastes in the Wine Spectator and similar Wine Journals and tasted the flavors mentioned in these magazines. For example if Wine Spectator characterized a wine to have a black currant or rose taste, he went to the stores and tried them and learned about these tastes. By the time he turned 21, his palate was already developed and he was able to differentiate the various flavors and tastes that wine has to offer.

In 2006, Gary started a videoblag, called Wine Library TV where he tasted wine in a very down-to-earth and fun way. The show attracted over 90,000 viewers in 2011. With the success of Wine Library TV the liquor store grew from a $4 million dollar business to a $45 million dollar business. The success can be traced to the use of Social Media which he wrote two books on. Due to his books I became very interested in how companies can use Social Media to improve their business. I am looking forward to an internship with Reto Stuber, who has his own Social Media company in Brooklyn.

You can see past episodes of WLTV at this link: http://tv.winelibrary.com/

The Father of Will DosSantos (my couchsurfing host) drove me to the store in Springfield, NJ where I obtained an impression of what had happened to the once small liquor store.

2nd Floor of the Wine Library in Springfield, NJ.

The Wine Library is a beautiful, well organized wine store with a huge selection of wine organized by country and grape. In addition, there is a Slow Food section with delicious cheeses and meats. Slow Food is a movement from Europe to balance out the widely known, unhealthy Fast Food habits. When I return home, I will try to send samples of our great Tuscan salami to Gary because I believe it would fit perfectly in his store.

Unfortunately, I just missed him so I shopped for "schwag" as he calls shirts and other merchandise of his show. I bought two bottles of wine as gifts for Will and Zapo as a thank you for staying at their homes.

Queens

2011-07-04T10:36:00.002-04:00

First couchsurfing experience
I left Manhattan heading to Queens for my appointment with Nat Chua. I arrived at the agreed time but no one responded at the door. So I waited in front of the building for 15 minutes and was not sure wether I was at the correct address or if I was mistaken with the date. Just when I asked the next person who passed if the address was correct, Nat appeared at the door and let me in. He did not hear the doorbell and was not sure if I was coming or not. After showing me his house, Nat and I had breakfast. He said that he is about to go to Upstate New York to plant some corn. After the meal he left me the keys to his entire house. A little overwhelmed, I started to realize that for the next three days, I would have my very own town house with a little terrace and wireless internet.

Nat and I in front of his house

Laundry and more
As it is very hot and humid in New York during Summer I was glad to have the possibility to do my laundry. During the entire day, I did nothing but taking care of my laundry and writing. Both assignments were finished during my stay in Queens, which was a huge relief. There was another thing that needed to be taken care of: As I will have a lot of contact to different people due to couchsurfing, I decided to buy a US cellphone. It has been many years since I used another phone than the iPhone, but it is fun typing a message on a keypad like this. The total cost was USD 150 including unlimited minutes and texts to US phones. If you are in the USA, please give me a call: 347 649 4394!

Photo of my phone

Be a tourist
Caspar, my friend from Switzerland was still in New York, so we decided to do some sightseeing. We visited Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island.

Times Square
Being the centre of Broadway's theaters, Times Square is one of the main tourist attractions in New York. With so many billboards and advertisement screens, Time Square is illuminated both by day and by night. Times Square is situated at the intersection of Broadway and 7th avenue.

Times Square

The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a sign of freedom and was a gift from France to the United States of America. The size of the statue is impressive. Being constructed in France, the 150 feet (46m) statue had to be disassembled in different pieces in order to be transported from France to New York in 1885.

The Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island
For immigrants between 1892 and 1954, Ellis island was the first encounter with the land of endless possibilities. Before receiving the final permission to immigrate, people had to pass through a long procedure. Since 1990, Ellis Island has a museum explaining the mandatory procedures immigrants had to pass.

Queens
As mentioned, Nat lives in Queens which is to the North East of Manhattan. It is usually quickly reachable by Metro. But at night, the trip from Greenwich Village to Jackson Heights took sometimes over 90 minutes. I read in the Lonely Planet, that Queens is "the most ethnically divers county in the country". It was great! It has been 5 years since I have been to Mexico, and it was only in Queens where I tasted the real Mexican food outside of Mexico. One will not find the real Mexican flavor in fast food chains such as Taco Bell or others. However, you can find the real thing at the street vendors in Queens. They may not always have the highest hygiene-standards but the food is very delicious.

Taco for as little as USD 2.50.

The High Line, a garden on the second floor
At first, the unused railway track was planed to be torn down. Fortunately, the Government changed their mind and designed a place of true beauty. The High Line is now a 1.45 mile (2.33 km) park about 30 feet (10m) over the streets of New York. I spent many hours walking and reading in this quiet place which is not more than 5 minutes away from Bank Street.

The High Line

Staying (or getting?) in shape
The United States of America are known to serve a lot of unhealthy food. And the organic meals one can actually find at various places tend to be more expensive than a slice of pizza or a shish kebab from around the corner. But as I promised my girlfriend that I will not come back chubby and I need to do sports to stay happy, I did two more runs: One was a sightseeing-run over Brooklyn Bridge and through Battery Park, and the other one was through Central Park. I tracked both runs with my iPhone using "Runkeeper". You can find my routes here: http://runkeeper.com/user/Maettu/activity/41705277

Next couch
I moved back to Zapo's home at Bank Street before getting to my next couch in New Jersey on today. I am looking forward to meet Will DosSantos. If he would have received another car, he would have invited me to spend the weekend in New Hampshire with his friends. Unfortunately, I have not received an answer and the stay at his place is uncertain at the moment.

At this link you'll find selected photos: http://gallery.me.com/maettu712#100085&bgcolor=black&view=grid
At this link are is my complete gallery from the US: http://gallery.me.com/maettu712#100071&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Please comment..!

First days in Manhattan

2011-07-02T17:15:00.006-04:00

Finally, all my papers are submitted and I can focus 100% on my stay here in New York. Thanks to Skype, Dropbox and Co. the exchange of all documents and thoughts went perfectly. I wrote about the trip to D.C. in the last post and finished it with Pepe, Caspar, and me leaving for Darien, CT...

alive @5
Pepe has been working in the United States as ja coach for junior sailors for many years and is currently living in a room of a mansion out in Tokeneke Woods in Darien, Connecticut. Unfortunately we just missed the "alive @5 Festival", a festival with live music in the streets of Stamford, CT which takes place every Thursday in June and July, so we decided to check out some bars in the area. Stamford is the place to be in the area, with many universities and bars. I talked with Anne Culver who works for the Royal Bank of Scotland and we talked about Stamford and the festival. It was the first talk with an "native" American person during the first three days. All the others immigrated from Argentina, France, Netherlands, or other places.

Mac and Cheese
Before leaving for New York, we were invited for delicious macaroni and cheese by very good friends of Pepe. The Enkema Van Dijk family is very lively and very open-hearted. Their youngest son sails Optimist and left on the same day for the US Nationals in Los Angeles, CA. Their daughter is 17 years old and has been in the local news due to her success in Tennis competitions. She also teaches tennis to children and maybe I can book a private lesson with her.

Quiet neighborhood in Tokeneke woods.

People in New York
We reached New York at around 2pm and organized to meet Zapo at five in Washington Square Park which is in Greenwich Village, near the New York University. The humid and warm weather made us sleepy and we decided to wait an hour in the park rather than walking around with our luggage. We just looked at the people strolling through the park which was very interesting: We saw Hare Krishnas singing themselves into trance, homeless people high-fiving the clean-up personnel, many people who must just have thought that it would be a good opportunity for them to take their shirt off... there was almost no "regular" person walking by. But who am I to judge, sitting there with my large rucksack...
Zapo arrived around 5, just after finishing an intermediate exam. He is already a lawyer in Buenos Aires and is now studying American law in New York. He just moved from Harlem to West Village and is now living with a friend on Bank Street in the West Village. He let us sleep on his couch and said that I will always be welcome during the time I am on my stay abroad. This makes organizing my sleeping arrangements a lot less stressful and I am very thankful for that.

Zapo's Place
New York's streets are generally organized in a grid-like way with avenues alining from North to South and streets oriented from West to East. Except for the place where Zapo lives. Zapo lives on 42 Bank Street in West Village where the streets are no longer numbered but named. They change direction and are headed diagonally and some avenues that stay North to South and others change names and direction. There is even one corner in West Village where one arrives at the corner of 12th street and 4th street. Other than the confusing streets, it is really beautiful in West Village. Zapo lives on the third floor in a small but pretty three-room apartment with another guy who is subletting one room. The apartment does not have a balcony but one can use the fire escape just like one.

Reading a book on the "balcony"

Being part of a minority
The Neighborhood is not only very pretty and quiet, but also colorful. During the time we arrived, it was probably the most colorful time of the year. West Village is considered to be the place where the gay rights movement started in the 1980s. There where so many gay and lesbian couples in the streets and in the bars that they outnumbered the straight couples at least by factor ten. There where so many colorful and funnily dressed people. The state of New York has just voted in favor of same-sex marriage and it was gay-pride week with a major parade on 7th Avenue, on the same weekend. For the first time in my life, I understood how gays must feel in other places. I felt like an outsider and it felt not good. But I am really glad that gay people can express their love for each other in the same way straight people can. At least in New York and seven other states. Let us just hope it stays this way. In California, the Mormon church raised over USD 43 million with the help of the catholic church to forbid same-sex marriage in the state.

Happy store owners after the vote

Writing for PH Bern
In order to have an internet connection, I had to go to restaurants. I spent 3-5 hours daily consuming delicious organic beverages and food in order to finish papers and communicating with Annik and Nadja. Thanks to Dropbox and Skype, we where able to finish all of our assignments on time and are happy that everything worked out well.

When in Rome...
Before going to a Baseball game, we wanted to hit some balls ourselves, so we went to the Upper West Side to a batting cage where we tried to hit the balls a machine threw at us at 65 miles per hour. It was not so difficult to hit the ball, but very difficult to hit it good. When we went to see the New York Yankees, the most successful baseball team in the world, we realized that the 65 miles was nothing. Not only did the machine trow the ball to the same spot almost all the time, but a professional baseball pitcher (the person who throws the ball) throws the ball with more than 90 miles per hour.
It was not the first time that I went to see a baseball game but it is always great. There are many people generally in a good mood and the prices are not unaffordable. In the end, the Yankees won with 6 to 4 after having trouble in the beginning where the Colorado Rockies lead 3 to 0. Before leaving Manhattan for three days, I went to play golf. There is a driving range in Chelsea (about 10 minutes by foot) that is built on an unused pier at the Hudson River.

Training in the batting cages and enjoying the Yankee game.

You can find more photos at the following link: http://gallery.me.com/maettu712/100085
Please leave a comment..!

Washington D.C.

2011-06-28T20:18:00.006-04:00

Going to D.C. has improved my sleeping arrangements for my stay abroad. Pepe, an Argentinian friend, organized a bus from New York (near Penn station) to D.C.. The bus was equipped with wireless internet and was actually the place I uploaded the last blogpost. We stayed in the apartment of Pepe's girlfriend Pili (short for Pilar), who lived only a few blocks away from the White House. As it turned out, a friend of Pepe and me is studying American law in New York and he contacted him immediately. Zapo, short for Ignacio Zapiola, was my host for the days when returning to New York (more about that in the next blogpost).

Appreciating D.C.

There were three things I wanted to do in D.C.: Walking down the National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, visiting the famous Smithsonian museum of American History and eat a burger where Obama had lunch with Medvedev. As I had only planed to stay in D.C for one and a half day, I had to figure out a way in order for all my plans to fit in.
In the first part you will encounter my activities and in the second part I will describe my impressions of the Museum of American History in more detail.

National Mall

I decided that in order to enjoy the famous burger at noon, I was going to need some workout. So I ran from the White House to the Washington Monument, to the Lincoln Memorial,d to the Capitol, and back to the White House (had I not not have taken so many pictures during the run, I would have had a better pace... all my friends are telling me that I was slow!). The National Mall is oriented from east to west and the total length from the steps of the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is 1.9 miles (3.0 km).

- The Lincoln memorial was built to honor Abraham Lincoln who was the 16th President of the United States. (More about the famous presidents in the historical paragraph)
- The Washington Monument, which is a 555 feet (170 m) tall obelisk, was built to remember the first President (George Washington). The construction dured 36 years between 1848 and 1884. The obelisk was completed nearly 30 years after the architect's death. The delay was caused by a lack of funds and the American Civil War.
- The United States Capitol can be compared to the Federal Palace of Switzerland, and it is the place where the Congress holds its session. The Congress consists of the Senate (two senators per U.S. state) and the House of Representatives (435 voting representatives proportionally distributed to the 50 U.S. states) and is the legislative power.

Details and pictures on: http://runkeeper.com/user/Maettu/activity/40382383

Ray's Hell Burger

Coming home hungry from running, Pepe, Pili and I left D.C. for Ray's Hell Burger. Even if it is just a few Metro stations away, we were no longer in D.C. but in Virginia. This trip may seem very time-consuming just for having a burger, but it was totally worth it. On the menu were only burgers, but the variety was incredible. One was able to choose either one of the 13 burgers from the menu or customize his own choosing from many different ingredients. I chose the "B.I.G. Poppa" which contained a juicy "au Poivre Burger", aged Danish blue cheese, Cognac and Sherry sautéed mushrooms, and grilled onions.

The B.I.G. Poppa

Smithsonian Museum of American History

The most interesting exhibitions of the Museum of American History were in my opinion "America on the Move" where the evolution of transportation in the US was documented and "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" which was about the lives of the the 44 American Presidents of the United States of America.

America on the Move

The Museum's transportation exhibition consists of 26,000 square feet (over 2300 square meters) of history about the methods of transportation. Detailed documentaries about the Mississippi waterway telling the most impressive stories about the obstacles that the old paddle steamers encountered. Difficulties ranged from shoals due to moving sand banks to the Black Death (also known as pest) because of hygiene problems on the boat. Even today, the Mississippi River is very important for the transportation of corn, wheat, and cotton.

The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden

On most dollar bills in circulation are faces of one of the Presidents of the United States except for the 10$ and the 100$ Bill.

1$ George Washington
5$ Abraham Lincoln
20$ Andrew Jackson
50$ Ulysses Grant

But what did they do to deserve such honor? The exhibition about the American Presidents held a lot of information about who they were and their accomplishments as presidents.

George Washington (President from 1789-1797)
George Washington was commander in charge and considered to be responsible for the victory in the American Revolutionary War 1775 until 1783. He is regarded as the "Father of his country" initiating the Constitution from which the Swiss Federal Constitution is deviated.

Abraham Lincoln (President from 1861-1865)
Having led the country through the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was the first president being assassinated. He's most known quote is about the principles of nationalism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy.

Andrew Jackson (President from 1829-1837)
Although Jackson is praised as protector of democracy and liberty of the American citizens, he is criticized for his support for slavery and Indian removal. Jackson was the last president to have been a veteran of the American Revolution.

Ulysses Grand (President from 1769-1877)
Grand was military commander during the Civil War. After Grant left Office, he made a bid for a third presidential term which was unsuccessful. Even though Grant won many battles for the USA, he dyed being bankrupt.

After the assassination of Lincoln, there have been over 20 known attempts to kill Presidents of the United States. The most recent one who was killed was John F. Kennedy during a political trip in Dallas, Texas. The shortest time of presidency was 31 days by the 9th president William Harrison. Even though the weather was cold, Harrison held a long inauguration speech. He died 31 days after of pneumonia.

Eisenhower's Golfclubs

I left D.C. with Pepe to his home in Darien about which I will write in my next blogpost.
I uploaded all my photos here: http://gallery.me.com/maettu712#gallery

First Post from New York

2011-06-21T12:34:00.001-04:00

Change of plans

As I have not receive a positive reaction on my requests for couchsurfing for the first week, I decided to slightly change my plans. I have always wanted to visit Washington D.C. to learn about the capital of the United States and see the sights D.C. is famous for. People usually call Washington, District of Columbia, only D.C., that is what I will do as well. Fortunately, a friend of mine has an apartment in D.C. where I will be allowed to stay for two nights. At the moment, I am in a bus (with wireless internet, which is great) in direction D.C..

Arriving in New York

After landing at John F. Kennedy airport in New York after a long flight, one has to know that it is still a long way to Manhattan or even to fresh air. The line in front of the customs inspection seemed shorter than it actually was, taking me almost 90 minutes to pass. Fortunately, I had my ESTA form (I wrote about it in a previous post) and my declaration form filled out correctly. If one fills out the form incorrectly, as happened to an older asian couple when I was in line, one has to go all the way back to where the forms are, fill them out (still without assistance), and wait in line again for another hour and a half. At the customs inspection every visitor is greeted by the personnel of Homeland Security that scans their fingerprints (not just one, all of them), takes a photo, and lets them pass to the baggage claim. After that, there is only one short line where declaration forms are checked, and then the heavily climatized airport can be left.

I would guess that 80% of all motorized vehicles are taxis.

Economize wherever it is possible

As I have to economize money wherever it is possible, I did not take the a taxi or shuttle bus to the city but took the AirTrain to the nearest subway station. From there I rode the subway into the Big Apple. This passage cost me USD 7.50 and compared to a USD 35-40 fare for a taxi it was money worth saving for other things. I spent the first night in a hotel in the middle of the city. It was one of the cheapest places there was (at USD 150!) and I was glad to share it with a friend who happened to visit New York during the first week I am here. On monday 27th I will meet Nat Chua who is going to be my first host in New York.

Modifying my to-do list

I just wrote that I have to save money in order to spend it on other things. And there are many other things, some on my to-do list that cost a lot of money. Unfortunately, some of the tasks on my list are to be delayed for to various reasons:
One activity was to climb the stairs of the Empire State Building. Due to security reasons, the stairs are for emergencies only, except on the first weekend in February, when there is a race up the Empire State Building. The only way for me to reach the observation deck and enjoy the magnificent view was to take the elevator. The advantage of taking the elevator is for one that it takes only a few minutes to reach the 86th floor and that one is not all sweaty when arriving on top.

The Empire State Building, 381m (1250ft), built in 1929-1931

View from the observation deck on the 86th floor, direction NE.

Another thing I will probably not be able to do is to see a Broadway show. The musical I wanted to attend was "the Book of Mormon" by the makers of South Park. The show is such a success that it is sold out until October and the only legal way to obtain a ticket is through a broker, who is asking for USD 400 or more, and has tickets available only from the end of July. As this is beyond my financial possibilities, I am not going to be able to see that musical. Unless maybe, if I happen to pass at the entrance and someone is selling a ticket for less... We will see about that. Of course, if anyone would like a customized photo of the inside of a Broadway Theatre, I would be happy to make you an offer.

Preparations

2011-06-19T16:24:00.000-04:00

On the day before leaving for New York, there are several things that need to be taken care of:

Proper Goodbyes

As I will be leaving my family, friends and my girlfriend for two months, proper goodbyes were in order. As there was very limited time to visit everyone after the exams on friday, I decided to say good-bye to my grandparents and my aunt over the phone, and my family I visited during the week of the exams. With my girlfriend, I had a great last weekend including watching a double rainbow form the Uetliberg (the mountain next to Zurich, http://tinyurl.com/6xbsele), having brunch in a nice Moroccan restaurant and sailing the the 29er (an extremely athletic sailboat, http://tinyurl.com/69cctm4) on the lake of Zurich. However, saying goodbye is difficult even when leaving for a city as great as New York. I will miss you guys a lot! Special thanks to Caspar Buettner who hosted me one more time in Zurich before leaving for a distant country.

Task List when in New York

Due to the seven exams I had during the last two weeks, there was very little time to prepare my stay abroad. I started to go through the New York City city guide from Lonely Planet on saturday night. It seems that New York has unlimited possibilities and thousands of sights worth visiting. Looking at the city guide, I decided that the following activities are mandatory for my stay in New York:

I will...

...climb the stairs of the Empire State Building.
...jog through Central Park.
...ride a classic yellow New York Taxi Cab.
...see a Broadway Musical.
...eat something indefinable in Chinatown.
...visit a Jazz Club.
...learn how to dance Salsa New York Style (On 2).
...use the Staten Island Ferry.
...visit a public school in New York.
...see a game of the New York Yankees.
...visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
...learn about the history of the United States.
...memorize all the States and their nicknames.
...take a stroll on the High Line.
...visit the Museum of Modern Art.
...cross the East River walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.

If any of my readers have any suggestions for other sights or actions one needs to see or do, feel free to comment in the comments section below. If you want a customized photo of New York, visit this link: http://tinyurl.com/5scofkm.

Never miss a post - use an RSS Reader

2011-05-04T17:14:00.003-04:00

With over 184 Million blogs worldwide (count 2008), it is difficult to maintain an overview of the blog one is currently reading. There is a possibility how to stay up to date with all the different blogs. It is called Really Simple Syndication, more known as RSS. The RSS Format shows text and pictures in a very simple layout, which can be imported to an RSS Reader or an email application as Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook. One sees a new blog entry almost as if receiving a new email.

In order to obtain the so called RSS Feed in your email, following needs to be done:

1. A click on the blue RSS-button on the right hand side of the URL.
2. A click on Actions - Subscribe in Mail
3. The posts are now in the email application and a new post looks like a new email.

If one wants to use the email application for email only, the download of a dedicated RSS Reader is necessary. Good RSS Readers are NetNewsWire or Reeder.

http://reederapp.com/
http://netnewswireapp.com/

Mobile Test

2011-05-01T11:15:00.001-04:00

This is the first post from my iphone. I downloaded the app BlogPress in order to post blog entries directly from my mobile phone. The developers of BlogPress advertise their app to be the easiest way to blog from a mobile device.

I write directly from my second work place Pizza-Blitz. I applied for a job as pizza delivery guy a few weeks ago, in order to earn money for my stay abroad. The money earned is directly transferred to a banc account specially created for the mentioned purpose.

Pizza Blitz on a lazy afternoon. May 1st 2011

This post is mainly a test on how this tool works, that is why I also inserted a picture and tried to change the font to italics in some parts of the text.

Made on my iPhone

4 steps to the USA

2011-04-25T11:11:00.003-04:00

When planing on visiting the USA, there are different steps one needs to take to fill the requirements for a visa-free entry.

The traveler needs to be a citizen of a member state of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Switzerland is one of 36 countries in the VWP, that are considered as developed countries with high-income economies.
For more information visit: http://tinyurl.com/3bln5e

Secondly, the passport needs to meet the criteria required. The Swiss Government has changed the Swiss Passport 4 times in the last ten years. One can visit the USA without a visa if in possession of a "Passport 03" if issued before October 25th 2006, a "Passport 06" or the new "Passport 10". With a "Passport 03" issued later than October 26th 2006 and a "Provisional Passport", one needs to apply for a travel visa which would be a big administrative effort.
Fortunately, I possess an early "Passport 03" meaning I will not need a visa.

When not in need of a travel visa, the traveller nets to fill out an ESTA travel permit. With this ESTA form, one declares to not have illnesses or addictions, not to have any criminal intentions or not to plan on applying for a citizenship or a work visa. It is only since July 1st 2010 when the green form one had to fill out on the airplane disappeared. Since then, one needs to fill out the same ESTA form online at least 72 hours before departing. This form refers only to getting there, the actual permission of entering the country is still given by the local authorities at the airport.

Before take off the Airline sends all the personal data including passport number and address in the USA and so on to the local authorities. If all 4 criteria are met, one is allowed to enter the USA without a visa.

First Blog entry

2011-04-11T16:24:00.005-04:00

This is my first blog entry on this site. On the left side you can find entries about school visits (I hope there are going to be many) and couch surfing (www.couchsurfing.org) experiences. On the right side is the actual weather in New York and the total of my page views and you can also share blog entries over Facebook, Twitter or email.

There are different goals I would like to attempt. As I already visited the United States of America, I adapted an American accent which needs to be perfected. My reading and speaking is not as fluent as I wish it to be and I am sure that I am going to improve that while living two months in New York. Furthermore, I believe that a teacher of English is more believable if he can implement some personal stories and experiences while teaching.

I still have not given up on the thought that I could find a job in the United States. I will ask in restaurants, small stores or schools if there is work for me. If any of you, dear readers, know anyone who owns a restaurant, a little office or is CEO of a major company in New York (or close by), feel free to leave a comment in the section below.