Lai Yung Hui Wong wrote about the childhood magic of libraries. Yan Fang Li gave advice to new New Yorkers. Shu Dan Qiu‘s (above on the left) writing taught us how to choose a delicious crab to eat, and Xue Mei Lin (above on the right) shared her love of romance novels.

On Thursday, May 11, classes 2A and 2P traveled uptown to Symphony Space for a special performance. Actors read these students’ wonderful writing on stage to an audience of hundreds of people. 2A and 2P students enjoyed listening to stories by adult student writers from around the city – stories about crying babies, crowded trains, love, heartbreak, and much more. They were especially excited to hear their classmates’ writing read to such a big audience.

Every student received a booklet containing the selected writing.

All 2A and 2P students who submitted writing had their names printed in the booklet. Enjoy the students’ writing below:

Yan Fang Li

A New New Yorker

In my opinion, if you are a new New Yorker, in your first week, you have to find a hotel that is convenient for getting to shopping and the supermarket. It’s very important. Then go to a subway station to get a subway map and buy an unlimited weekly metro card. That way you can go anywhere quickly and save your money. After that you should search for an English class on Google or go to church. There the people are helpful, fun, and honest. You have to go to English class because students in English class are mostly from the same background as you and some students have been here for a long time. They have many experiences so they can help you with questions such as: How do you rent an apartment? How do you look for a job? How do you apply for healthcare? Where is a good restaurant? Also, you can make some friends in English class. I think classmates are friendly and very honest. If you have lived here for about one year, you can visit the tourist sites because by this time you should know which places are tourist sites. You should know a little about New York’s lifestyle and history. You can talk with people in simple English. So when you visit tourist sites you will be interested. In my opinion when you face a strange environment, you have to enrich yourself. That makes you less alone and makes you become strong!

 

Xue Mei Lin

Young and Healthy

I think I have a healthy lifestyle. I eat healthy food. I exercise. I don’t like to drink alcohol. I don’t like to smoke. I go to school from Monday to Thursday in the morning. After that I go to work. I always get home late. It looks really busy and sounds enriching. But it actually is boring. Whatever. I try to relax when I don’t have a customer. I like to read romance novels. When I am nervous I read. When I read I like to imagine. My day off is on Thursday. My children and I usually read before going to bed. My husband and my daughter asked me, why you like love stories? You are a grown woman. And I always say this keeps me young.

 

Lai Yung Hui Wong 

In My Childhood

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to visit a magical place. It was a large stone building. To my eyes, it looked just like a fairytale castle. People called it a library. It seemed like magic to me.

We went inside. It was filled with a lot of tables and chairs. People talked quietly and felt comfortable. Many books lined the walls. Mother told me books were like windows. She said, “Open a window, so that you can see many kinds of places and learn different kinds of things.”

I borrowed books after that day. I knew where I could find the best book on a shelf. If I wished to learn something special the book even told me, when I was reading, an answer.

As a child, every time I opened a book, it was like I opened a window to the world. As a teacher and a mother, books taught us. I hope you and your child will visit the magical place together. Your child will know the magic of reading.

 

Shu Dan Qiu

A Life Skill

My mother-in-law usually cooks for my family and she is good at cooking. Most of the dishes she cooks taste really good, but I like the fried crab with ginger and green onion the best. It is a mouth-watering dish. She always tells me, “the key to this dish is how fresh the crab is and how meaty it is.”  Actually I don’t really understand.

One day, my mother-in-law and I went shopping for food on 18th Avenue.  We chose some vegetables and fish. When we were going to pay, I saw many lively crabs near the counter. “It’s a good time to ask her how to choose delicious crab,” I thought. She seemed to understand my question and walked towards the crabs. She picked two crabs and held them up. Then she asked me, “What’s the difference between these two crabs?”

“I have no idea,” I said. She turned the crabs over and pointed to the abdominal flap.  “Male crab’s flap looks round, female crab’s flap looks like a triangle,” she said. “In fact, female crab tastes more delicious than male crab because it has more roe.”  She said it again.

“Do you know when crab tastes the best in the whole year?” she asked me. “It’s so easy for me. I know this,” I thought. “Crab tastes the best in summer time,” I answered.  “Not exactly. The best times to eat crab are in the first, fifth and ninth months of the lunar year.  Crab is meatier and more delicious at that time,” she said.

Now, I know how to choose crab and I also have gained a life skill.