We stayed in Bronx at Emilie’s friend, Bam Bam, he’s a jazz man, plays contrabass and guitar. This guy lives in NY for 2 years and swims in music. His flat mate is a drummer, and they share a nice space, where they are organising jams. All days we were waken up by his rehearsal. Each day we were here, Bam Bam repeats with another group. And almost every evening he has a concert.

She is Hungarian and has an amazing voice. Last week she was so sick, that Bam Bam took her to the hospital. She got cold, but she didn’t stayed at home to treat herself. If you leave for one week, you are replaced in all the contracts for good, and then it’s difficult to get back. I would say that it’s tough, but for a voice singer, it’s like to be pushed all the time to risk your career. If you get too sick, you can loose your voice, and then you cannot earn any money.

Multumesc mult, Bam Bam, I hope next time I’ll make a better photo in front of the so promised ‘ciorba de burta’.

New York is a big city, so I would expected that the people are nasty, like … in Paris. It’s a financial pole, so it’s even more true: ‘Time is money’, people work a lot.

BUT this is the best surprise, and amazing thing, the people are so nice, friendly, always about to make a funny comment.

I made the mistake to ask some directions to the driver. Because he was not sure, he asked two other persons. He kept me standing for ten minutes.

After a long walk in the Greek part in Brooklyn –  Astoria, I wanted to see how it is a local shop.

After seeing this, we had to fill our stomachs we the pasta cooked yesterday. There was one table in front of the shop, I asked if it’s possible to eat our staff to the nearby bakery. Of course we could, it’s a free country.

But seeing all those good things, and the pasta being so dry, I entered with the little change I had to buy some cheese. I said that I want a piece for my small dimes.

This guy asked me which type, so I pointed a rather small piece, where to cut from. He gave it for free: Efcharisto !

The train sounds like the sea waves. The parking looks like the sand. And we take our free lunch at a table in the first row. It’s such a good feeling to be free and to meet nice people.

On the bus from New York to Boston, the driver makes a speech:
“Hi, I am your driver, during the journey, please don’t walk, don’t stretch or do any other funny things. The bus is old, it has an internet connection for Nokia phone, not for iPhone. So please, mind that if you download a video you will kill everybody. If you need to make a call, please make it short and not loudly, don’t disturb your neighbours who might sleep, including me. In the back of the bus there is a toilet. Please don’t use it. If you fart once, it’s fine, but the second one will remain until Boston…”

  S’y frotter, c’est comme être happé dans un tourbillon, ou pris dans une toile d’araignée géante.

C’est un bain de culture, de mixité, dans des quartiers aux identités très fortes. On y croise des artistes, des paumés, des traders, des touristes et aussi de la misère, les inégalités sont grandes ici, mais le touriste se laisse emporter dans son tourbillon de vie: se perdre dans les quartiers d’Astoria, et y entendre parler grec; à Flushing, ne rien comprendre aux panneaux publicitaires en coréen; faire 3h de bus dans le Bronx pour prendre un bain d’argot; capter les accents en espagnol de tous les pays hispanophones possibles; faire la queue sur 200m pour le “pay what you will” de grands musées comme le MoMA, Guggenheim, la Fricks Collection, le Metropolitan Museum; traverser le pont de Brooklyn à la tombée du jour lorsque le vent souffle à t’arracher ton appareil photo; prendre le ferry vers la Staten Island pour entrevoir la Statue de la Liberté; se balader dans Central Park, et trouver toujours un nouveau chemin; se laisser enivrer par les mille possibilités de concerts, spectacles; acheter bio dans un magasin tendance de Greenwich village; suivre l’ancien chemin de fer Highline et voir le vert prendre le dessus; tenter d’avoir une vue panoramique de Manhattan sans se vider les poches; goûter à un café au Starbucks pour rester éveillé après une journée de marche et pouvoir profiter de la vie de nuit, essayer de comprendre les règles du base-ball sans s’endormir, …

Une semaine, c’est peu, et un mois ne serait pas suffisant, il faudrait peut-être y vivre pour commencer à apprécier pleinement cette effervescence.