The sum of all good things

We're now arriving to the end of our stay, with less than a hundred hours to spend here until our flight. It seems like a good time to take stock of our experiences in these past four months in the big apple. What have we accomplished in our time here? For my part, I've learned that working from a distance has its perks and its downfalls, but, while I don't plan on imposing this on my teammates again anytime soon, it is definitely a workable condition. Marion has achieved what she had set out to do, namely developing the content of her thesis to the point where she now has, more or less, to just put it on paper (a process that will likely take a couple of months more, but that will not require the intense collaboration she had with Achille during our stay).

The books that have accompanied us in
our discovery of the urban development
 and architectural heritage of the city  

And in the meantime we have discovered the city and its boroughs (most of them at least) in architectural walks, guided tours, pedestrian exploration, and books and films that have given us the impression of understanding a bit of the socio-geo-economic dynamics that make up this very complex city. We have learned to appreciate the artworks and performances that are available (the former spectacular in their scope and presentation, the latter influenced by an american approach to entertainment that mars either the performance or their public), as well as the architectural wealth that can be found in the heart of midtown as in the outskirts of the Bronx.

Our grocery shopping for one week (for 2 people)

Food, much as other worldly needs, was something that occupied our minds at the beginning of our stay. But with time we have learned to navigate our way through the stores, their offers, and their prices, finding a balance of variety, quality and budget (we will have to revise our price estimations of a couple of months ago). To get an inkling of our victuals consumption, here is an image of our average grocery shopping for a week, which comprises a short stop to Zabars and Citarella for specific products (bread, bananas), with a longer one at Westside Market for the bulk of our provisions.

Now we're left with the task of closing shop, disposing of excess material (we've managed to solve the problem of our portable washing machine), getting rid of the things we won't be able to carry home, and finally packing our 3 big suitcases with everything we will bring with us back to Switzerland.

And maybe after all that we'll still have some time to pretend we're tourists who just arrived for a couple of days in New York.