We are afraid our first impressions won't fit here.

Let's start from the moment we arrived at JFK. Everything went according to plan before that, which rarely happens to us. Already at the exit, after passport control (which, by the way, is just a formality), we couldn't find our second suitcase.

Tip! If you encounter this problem, which is unlikely, don't panic. Go straight to the office of your airline (there are a huge number of them at the airport) that you just flew with (we had Airfrance) and file a claim with your address. Within a day, they should deliver the suitcase to your apartment.

So, we are standing without a suitcase in front of a bunch of exits at NY airport, having no idea where to go. Of course, we decided not to look anything up in advance and just figure it out on the spot; it's more interesting that way. A Russian guy managed to approach us (do we really stand out that much?) and offered to take a taxi, but we refused, which we advise you to do as well—you'll save money. We decided to take the AirTrain to the Subway.

Once we reached the subway, we were politely and helpfully explained how to use the local cards, and they drew a route on a piece of paper to our friend's station (yes, yes, we were very lucky with our friend, more on that later). We were surprised that sometimes you have to transfer from one train to another (on the same line). In principle, you should quickly figure out the local subway map; compared to others, it's not complicated. As we were riding, life was boiling around us—I wanted to grab a camera and film a movie with free actors. Someone might just start singing (this happens often here) while listening to a player, or a conversation would strike up between strangers.

Tip! If you are going to use the subway in New York often, buy a weekly or even a monthly card right away, as transport here is very expensive and significantly worse in quality than ours.

Having spent our first $14, we decided to head up before reaching our station (or rather, before we could take it anymore). We didn't know what neighborhood we were in at the time; we wanted to find internet to check our friend's address. A street opened up before us—the very street from those American movies. Low brick houses, a straight road stretching far ahead, signs, taxis, shops... After walking a couple of blocks, doubts crept in—there were only Black people around, not a single white person. We started to slowly guess where we had ended up.

Later, closer to the evening, we called our friend from a payphone and headed to his place. On the way, at one of the subway transfers, we listened to a free concert. A group of Black guys was belting out top-tier rap at the top of their lungs, and some of those waiting for the train were nodding along to the beat.

We want to note that while we were looking for the house, every passerby—I repeat, every passerby—helped us as much as they could. People here are very friendly and responsive; in the first few days, we didn't meet anyone who refused to give advice. Whenever we got lost and tried to find something on the map ourselves, or just stood there not knowing where to go, passersby would approach us, police officers would drive up, and subway workers would call out over the microphone to show us the way. All of this surprised us.

Tip! Don't be shy about approaching people; with rare exceptions, they will never refuse to help. This could be help in finding a route, a job, or housing. Just don't abuse that help.

Having reached our friend in Brooklyn, we collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep. That's how our first day in NY went.