arrival

At the passport check and at the custom, they take your fingerprints (just the index) and a new photo, do they check with those they have from the visa, or they just like to accumulate data on separate databanks? From JFK to NY there are various option, I took the more public, airport train + metro. The system at the airport seem to take into account the derangement of the visitors, there are many people whose job seems that to help people getting around. The metro is another thing. It is not easy to understand which way the train is going, and more lines are running on the same track. Moreover maps are relatively rare. Vagons, on the day of my arrival, December 30 were empty. How is this possible. Are new yorkers on vacation? I took line E till Lexington /53rd, there only staircases on the way out, a little effort with my two suitcases, then fresh air. New York feels like New York. Vapours from manholes, skyscrapers, yellow taxis. I walk till my host's building.