journal day 1

The first day experience was very good except I was so tired afterwards.  I am a mother of two school kids and working full time.  I still have to prepare dinner and night time rituals for the kids after the long day.  It was a lot.  However, It was all worth it to find out so much about Queens, the borough I have lived all the time since I came to the US in 1997.

Queens is the most diverse county with 48% of foreign born population in New York and in the US by far.  It is the second most populated borough in New York City (BG, 493).  The 7 train I have been using all the time from Flushing Main Street to the Time Square is called the "International Express" since it travels through many different ethnic communities (BG, 493).   I take Jackie Robinson Parkway to Ridgewood where my husband's stores are located, and I always see the huge cemetary alone the parkway.  I did not know it is referred to as the "terminal moraine" due to the 1851 law prohibited further burial in Manhattan due to space limitation (BG, 493).  These are only some facts related to my daily life in Queens.  There are many other interesting facts to learn about Queens that I found out by this class's tours.

I have taken my kids to Corona Park Hall of Science and Flushing Park to see the annual Draggon Boat Festivals.  I just found out now that Flushing Park was once a dump ground and it was built for the world's fair in 1939-40 (BG, 497).  I can see the Unisphere in Corona Park every time I pass by LIE or Van Wyck Parkway.  Now I know it is was also built for the first world's fair and it states the theme of "Man's achievements of a shrinking globe in an expanding universe" (BG, 497).  I didn't even know the Panorama and the water shed existed before this class.  The Panorama is a miniature 3D map of the five boroughs.  It shows almost every single building and roads of the boroughs.  It is an amazing creation of human being.

The Museum of the Moving Art in Astoria changed my view towards Museums. To be honest, the setup was too contemporary to be a museum according to my mind set.   I would not think it is the biggest tourist attractions in Queens as it was referred to in the Blue Guide Book.  I have not much interest in Hollywood stars.  I checked out the equipments used in the past to make movies, and how the masks were made for the actors/actresses.  I do like to see all the old TV sets from the begginning of TV years.  That was the most I enjoyed from the museum. It makes sense for the museum and some film making studios to be in Astoria since Astoria was the center of film making industry before WW II (BG, 499).

I love the 5 Pointz place.  This place looks bizzard and a little scary to me.  I would not go there by myself.  However, It is such an artistic place!  I can't believe these aerosol artists have no formal/professional training can do such a wonderful job.  It is a unique place for these natural born artists to show their talent, interests, and freely express their wild imagination. 

 

I like natural and peaceful sites.  I enjoyed the water front city view in Long Island City.  The sun was setting 



when we got there.  I loved the picture I cought below.  It really shows this artistic yet urban neighborhood.  The park we were in is a historical site of the old transporation system.  I like the way the partial railroad tracks and those loading docks were saved.  It's hard to find such a modern living space with live history visibly attached to it.  It is a beautiful place for us to end the class tour and relax before going back home.