Arrival in the US

Friday 2 March 2007
Sometime between 2 and 3pm Friday afternoon I arrived at JFK. It took almost no time to disembark, proceed through security, collect my bags and proceed through customs. The arrivals terminal was much quieter than I expected, I was only asked twice by one man if I needed a taxi - quite a different airport to Singapore, Bangkok and Phnom Penh! So I changed my Aussie dollars for some mighty US currency, including some quarters and phoned Grace and Daniel to let them know I had arrived and would make my way to Philadelphia.

Negotiating the train systems, I made my way from JFK to my final destination, 30th Street Station. Out the front window of the first train I could see signs to the Bronx, Manhattan, Boston and the Van Wyck, rows and rows of similar houses with two front doors, delis, mechanics, HUGE cars, freeways and traffic lined up as far as one could see.

The major station on the way was Penn Station, which I found out later, is underneath the famous Madison Square gardens. When I first emerged from the platform in the bowels of the station, lugging my enormous suitcase up the stairs into the main station area, my nostrills were filled with the aromas of freshly popped and buttered corn, and my ears with great music from a band playing lively trumpets and bass - good enough to attact the attention of commuters who all seemed intent on their path to the next destination. This was a train station of proportions and action like I'd never seen it, not huge or enormous, bigger and busier with only a few folk that stood or sat still, even the musicians were energetic. I purchased my $68 ticket for my 1.5 hour journey and when I enquired as to which platform I should wait on I was kindly told to watch the board and wait for the call for my train number 658. Before the customer service desk was an open area with a downward escalator and a departures board being constantly updated with train number, destination and time, only the trains with a status of BOARDING would display the platform number. Just as the trains were about due to arrive across the PA an announcement would come - the train number, destination time and platform, the departures board would be updated with the platorm and the waiting passengers would simaltaneously turn on their heel and head in the direction of the platform. Once on the train, I settled back in my extra wide seat and watched the landscape passing by - incredible, I'm in America!!

The moon followed me as the colours of the sky change from pale blue to orange to dark blue and we pulled in to 30th street station, I was relieved to see an escalator to carry my suitcase and I up into the sizeable, art-deco station where I was to meet my friends under the big clock.