Writing 1

2009.8.12 Writing -1 why to NY
New York is on the opposite side of the earth from my country, Taiwan, so when it is 12 noon in NY, it is midnight in Taiwan. Last November, my company chose me as one of four trainees to have a one-year job-training in our New York branch. With the blessing of my family and under the envious eyes of my colleagues, I started my first time trip to the Big Apple, New York.

Our company rents a house for us in Flushing. To my surprise, I do not need to use English in my daily life, because where I live and where I work, I can use Chinese as well. Especially in Flushing, everyone speaks in Chinese, and there are Chinese restaurants and Chinese supermarkets everywhere, it is not like living in America. But on the other hand, New York is the place of different races of people, which forms various cultures and makes this city so attractive.

The working hours here are less than in Taiwan, usually I do not have to work overtime, and thus I have much time to explore the city after work. As the summer arrives, day light lasts until 8 or 9 pm and many free events are held in NYC. I love the art performances very much. I enjoy the Broadway shows and musicals. Opera and all kinds of dance, ballet, and museums all open my eyes. I have had many brand new experiences here. For example, last week I went to one of my favorite places, Lincoln Center, which is the largest performing art centers in the world and has 12 organizations which present over 5,000 performances by artists from around the world. When I went to Avery Fisher Hall for the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, they gave me a "stage seat", because it is the cheapest seat so I went to the top floor, then the usher told me, your seat is in the orchestra, so I went back to the first floor to my seat "on the stage", which faced the audience and the conductor but was behinded the orchestra members. What a different view to the music performance! I like the conductor, French-Canadian Yannick's performance; this was his New York debut. And the music was so colorful with various feelings: happy, sad, angry, and merry. The man next to me told me that though it started at 8:00pm, they provide pre-concert recitals at 7:00pm, which is also good and like a special gift to the audience. The whole night, I was soaked into Mozart’s beautiful melody elicited by the Maestro’s. What a wonderful and abundant art city is New York!

In a word, I like New York, except the subway. To see Shakespeare in the Park, Museum Mils, Philharmonic concert and opera in the park expand my horizon of life.
Furthermore, my company gave me a chance to study English in ICNY two afternoons a week. At ICNY I can meet different people and makes friend around the world. Besides, I can learn American culture through the volunteers; I am so thankful that I can be in New York and cherish the once in the life time experience.