After a stressful time, both at work and at home, Lisa realizes a long cherished dream and takes some time out. She travels to New York City for 9 1/2 weeks. Inquisitive and open-minded, she just wants to take things as they come. From the very first moment, she feels the wonderful sensation of this new-found freedom. She would most like to shout with joy, being at long last free from responsibility Almost every day, she experiences something thrilling and new in her chosen exile, finds everything extremely exciting and electrifying. By the end of the first week she has already explored the local district, mostly on foot and fast-paced. She wants to show the three visitors, who will be visiting her one after the other, everything there is to see. A demanding sight-seeing program lies ahead. Half-way through her stay, her visitors have left and calm descends. Lisa reflects upon her life in New York, the polarity which is constantly present, and asks herself many things with a fair share of scepticism. Her new "self"-consciousness leads to her the question of whether she would like to live in New York permanently. And what would her partner, family and friends say about that? Suddenly nothing seems to be of greater importance than her newly discovered self-determination. She increasingly begins to appreciate her own value and recognizes that the personal judgement of others is not important at all. She constantly wavers between the yearning to remain in New York City to start a new life and the joy of returning to German