First Day in Classes...

...Today I had my first classes and it was quite exciting.

- Strategic Management:
This seems to be a very useful and interesting course for my future life, but there is definitely a lot of homework to do. For each lesson there is a chapter and a case study to read and we have to be prepared for various questions. Furthermore there will be a project, two main exams and four pop-up exams to do. This mode of teaching is exactly what I have expected from the US. I'm looking forward to get more information about how difficult the topics/exams will be.

- Topics in Artificial Intelligence:
The professor here is quite funny and the topic seems to be okay. Unless this part of computer science is not my major interest anymore as this moved more to an higher level and more to the business and economic side during the time I did my BSc (Bachelor of Science) in Business Informatics in Vienna.

Let's see how it will go after the next courses at the college.

US Open 2008 - I'll be there...

...We wanted to join yesterday's evening session where King Rodger Federer and Venus Williams were playing, but the Arthur Ashe stadium was sold out. So we have been in the US Open 2008 - Grand Slam Tennis area but without luck.


Finally we have bought tickets for the evening session on September, 2nd for the Men's 4th/Women's Quarterfinals. I hope we will see good matches and I'm really looking forward to this event!

First Day at the City College - Class Registrations...

...Somehow we have managed it to get into our preferred classes (most of them were already closed due to too many students). Today we spent the whole day at the College and it is amazing how long it took us, but finally we are in. The great thing was that we met a Professor from the Economics department and she is originally from Vienna/Austria and she helped us getting into our courses and she speeded up the processes for us. She was really friendly and we also will take a class that she teaches (Government Regulations and Execute Decision Making; Description: Business influence and response to government regulation. Process models and analytical methods. Advisability of (proactive) corporate social responsibility). Amazing is also the tuition fee what we would have to pay in case you would study here without our program from the TU Vienna. Definitely it will be much higher when you are in Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia ... maybe some day I also have to pay this :-)

Tomorrow we will get our student ID and then I have finished the registration procedure on the City College. On Wednesday this week I'm having my first classes (Strategic Management and Topics in Artificial Intelligence).

Johannes

Finally We Moved to Our Flat...

...I can't believe it but Markus and I have arranged it yesterday having our first own flat in this city. The location is perfect (in Manhattanville/Uptown of Manhattan) as it is directly next to our university - between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue - just 3 minutes walk and we are at the campus of the City College. The area seems also to be okay for the next months here. To Downtown we need to take the subway #1 and it takes us around 15 minutes what is also acceptable as the trains run here 24x7. The flat itself is very nice in comparison to typical flats here, but it is quite $$$. Now I know why I have worked so many hours for NTS the past years :-) We have two bedrooms, a small living room, a big kitchen and a bathroom.

Kitchen with our typical big American fridge:

Living room and with the door to bedroom #1:
08/25/2008: Pictures will come.
08/27/2008: Pictures are online.

Sightseeing Day #2...

...On Saturday morning Markus (another exchange student from the Technical University of Vienna) and I met my sister Birgit and her boyfriend Christoph at the Empire State Building. After a security check and waiting a long time in the queue we went up to the observation platform (86th floor) of the highest building in NYC.
Picture to the north where you can see one side of Manhattan including the Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, etc. and on the horizon there is the borough "The Bronx":
Picture to the south with the other side of Manhattan including the Financial district, etc. - on the right side you can see New Jersey and on the left side there is Brooklyn:
After this we visited some other important places and then we took the ferry to Governors Island which is a small island in before Manhattan:
Starting from left - Christoph - Birgit - I - Markus:
From Governors Island you have also a nice view to the Statue of Liberty - one day we will also take the Staten Island ferry to go around this statue:
These were the most important news from NYC...

Johannes

Sightseeing Day #1...

...Yesterday we have completed our first sightseeing day in this city. We started our tour at the Central Park which is really huge and quite nice. A lot of people are doing there their daily work out:After that we went to the Times Square which is very very crowded but definitely you have to visit this place once you are in NYC. Everything there is like you know it quite well out of different movies:
The most amazing sign (out of thousands) was the BUBBA GUMP restaurant. Until yesterday I did not know that this company from the movie "Forrest Gump" does really exist:
Moreover we have visited the following places:
- Grand Central Station
- The Chrysler Building
- The Empire State Building
- Flatiron Building
- Small part of China Town
- Financial District (including Ground Zero)
- Wall Street
- Nearly the whole Broadway
- ...

Amazing Brooklyn Bridge (including the NYC Waterfalls)
"The Universal Soldier" - see here the full history about the NEW YORK KOREAN WAR VETERANS MEMORIAL:
We have completed our day with some friends in Harlem in a very nice bar called Shrine. First time during my stay here in NYC there. It was crazy because we were nearly the only white ones but it was really exciting with very good live music for free and good beer:
Yesterday evening my sister and her boyfriend arrived and we will spend the whole day with them visiting the most important places.

So far...

Landed in New York City...

...I had a very good trip without problems to NYC - flight and passport/customs control was fine.

In order to fight against our jetlag we went out yesterday with some Austrian friends (Sandra, etc.) and we had a very long and nice evening at the Marquee club.

After the long night we had our first breakfast in the morning - very typical:

Today Markus and I went around to check out also our flat where we can move in this Sunday (pictures will come once we are in). We heard from some sources that the area should be not fine, but our impression is the opposite and the location is quite good as we its 3 minutes away from our college.

Today we visited also our campus and it looks very nice - nearly so what I expected from different movies:

Entrance to the campus:Picture on the campus - see in the front the most amazing university hall:

Moreover we met the Dean of education which is a very nice person and he helped us a lot what is definitely not very usual. We can continue and hopefully finalize the course registration on Monday.

In general NYC is a very crowed place with a lot of different cultures and you can see nearly every nation there. The metro is not very nice and I expected more, but maybe it will be better when I know the whole system.

08/21/2008: I have currently some issue with the internet connection and therefore you have to wait for the pictures, but I'm sure that they will come soon.
08/22/2008: They are available.

So far...

Johannes

Ready for Take-Off...

...I hope that I have packed all things which are necessary for the next months in NYC in my two big luggage's. The max. weight for each piece is 23 kilo which should be enough.

Good bye Austria and I will update you with my next entry from New York City and hopefully also with the first pictures.

Johannes

Necessary Preparations - Final Call...

...for missing things. My check list for my six month study trip to New York City at The City University of New York - The City College is getting smaller and smaller what is good at this late stage.

Currently I'm in Upper Austria - Offenhausen at my parents place.

I will fly with Lufthansa from Munich at August, 20th and my departure time is 11:25 AM. The scheduled arrival time at the JFK airport in NYC is 2:45 PM.

See you soon!

Johannes