My awareness of New York

   “If you love him, take him to New York, for it is heaven; if you hate him, take him to New York, for it is hell.” Twenty years ago, there was a TV play A Native of Beijing in New York of all the rage in China, saying that classical line. It told a story of Beijingers who wanted to settle down and make enterprise in New York but suffered great setbacks in life. They deeply realized that commercial competitions and fast-paced work had a big impact on their own spirit, which made New York both like a heaven and a hell. When I came to New York last weekend, I didn’t know whether I loved or hated it, maybe I felt homesick and wondered about my future.

   The flourish in Manhattan shocked me——Time Square was so crowded that it was just similar to the Wangfujing Street in Beijing. The masterpieces in Metropolitan Museum of Art were extremely wonderful that they almost brought me from 21^th century back to 18^th century. Then I  visited Lincoln Center, the center of the classic arts, which reminded me of the hero in A Native of Beijing in New York who also gave a concert to his lover here. I thought it was the culture of New York that attracted Chinese to come here.

   I spent a lot of time in Central Park .My friend who is studying in New York told me, “You can’t recognize the rich or the poor, because there are always some rich men jogging in the park but wearing tattered clothes.” After the strip tour was over, I experienced the “work” of the poor.

Outside the Broadway theater, after we finished the show, some black singers performed several songs on the street. And then, they expressed a willingness to give one of us a CD, and signed on it. We were very happy, but then they charged us $20! Since it was too expensive, we wanted to return the good. However, it was like a rapid reversal of face. One of the singers said, “There is already my signature on the CD, no return.” We had to pay for it considering our safety. There is also a similar phenomenon in China. For example, somebody  breaks a piece of china in front of a passerby deliberately, lies that it was the passerby’s fault, and blackmails them for money. I think they are  poor and their ordinary work can't satisfy their basic needs. Maybe there is a gap between the rich and the poor and they compare  themselves,they want more and the illegal request.

Finding every aspect of New York——positive and negative, I could see the common law of the composition of a society when I compared it to Beijing. I have known this city better, and certainly the tour makes the place look more lively.