12/26/2014

Even though I bought tickets online, I still had to wake up early to get a ticket because I don’t have a printer. Well, I guess I did skip ahead a lot with that.

Anyway, there was security screening TWICE before I walked into the statue of liberty. One before boarding the boat, another before entering the statue of liberty. What?! That’s just too much, and they were airport style screening… no belt, no shoes, etc.

From the Pedestal (It’s Free with Online Reservation!)

Ellis Island

Ellis Island is the New York version of Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay Area.

According to my memories (haha), about 40% of Americans or their ancestors came to the United States from the Ellis Island. Many immigrants who came through this island suffered a lot, and many of them were directly sent back to their homeland, separating from their families for the rest of their lives. For people who successfully went through the immigration, their lives in the US weren’t easy either. Personally, I could relate a lot to these people, and it reminded me of my years in the US.

Museum of Modern Art (Free Admission on Fridays After 4 pm. Close At 8)

I think the museum did not expect that many people would come today because this week a lot of tourists are visiting New York. They initially had flow control, but at the end, they just passed out tickets upon entering the building.

It was a special exhibit (photography prohibited) of cutting and pasting. Some of the work was fabulous; the artist used the contrast between the different intensity of the same color to create an art work. To me, it was just amazing lol. Well, I know very little about art.

I guess the most famous painting there is this one.

It was too crowded with people taking picture of this painting. Hardly anyone was really taking deep observation of the actual art work.

Flushing

Flushing is a surprise of the trip. The old couple recommended this place, and it was definitely better than Manhattan’s Chinatown.

English, apparently, didn’t work well there. People were talking to me in Mandarin Chinese, and many of the menus do not have English translation and made it impossible for me to pronounce what I wanted to order!

I went into a shopping mall, and it was very like the Hong Kong style shopping mall. The first floor is supermarket and store, the underground is food court and it has Gong Cha and Sai Gong Dessert!!