Surviving New York: More Ups and Downs of a Swiss Miss

About the Book

What would you do? Choose between the joyful sound of cowbells or the ubiquitous honking of cars; the majestic Swiss Alps or the remarkable Manhattan Alps; the magically restorative mountain air or the stinky city air heavily scented by the smell of garbage, car fumes and hot dogs? After seven years of living an isolated island-life in the Pacific, Swiss-born Olivia listens to her gut feeling and leaves her shoe-box apartment in Auckland behind. And instead of returning to her safe and clean home country, she makes a detour to accept a job in the midst of Manhattan, a somewhat less isolated island. Crazy? Maybe. Worthwhile? Absolutely!

The welcome to the city that never sleeps isn’t exactly warm. Within the first month, she shares her not so fancy hotel room with a bunch of bed bugs, gets knocked out by the subway and receives a house visit by the police. After passing these tests to become a true New Yorker, she goes on an eighteen month-long journey where she experiences a lot of firsts: The first bamboo massage, vintage shopping trip, A-grade celebrity spotting, Pogo stick boot-camp and witnessing Federer win the US Open. She learns that NJ and NY are worlds apart; hailing a cab is trickier than expected and that standing in line and suing are New Yorkers’ two favorite pastimes. Inspired by the simple life of the Amish and the hard-working Cowboys of Montana, she considers a life in the Yukon bush with a pack of dogs.

About the Author

Olivia Vavrin was made in Switzerland and lived there for 23 years. After she decided to challenge herself and move away as far as possible, she landed in New Zealand, where she spent seven years of her life. As a Swiss-Kiwi, she packs her bags and accepts a job in the crazy and loud city of Manhattan. A culture shock extraordinaire welcomes her. After an incredible 18 months-long stay, she fills her suitcases yet again and relocates from the East-coast to the West-coast to live with her husband-to-be. She now resides in Fremont, California and continues to pay the bills by analyzing numbers. They are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child (and she is still holding on to the hope that doctors will find a way to deliver the baby via Fedex).

This is her second book. Her first one is called Surviving New Zealand-Ups and Downs of a Swiss Miss