From America – Study at the University of Saint Joseph #10
August 6th,
It's a hard rain morning. We were much worried about the weather in New York City today. On the way to New York, heavy rain kept on falling onto the highway we were running on by bus, but fortunately, when we went into the New York area, the rain stopped and the sushine came again to us!
In New York, our first destination was the Empire State Building, which is the traditional landmark since 1931 located in Midtown, Manhattan. Yes, the Empire State Building is an authentic American cultural icon. From the observatory of 86th floor, you can see the Hudson Rivier, the East River, the Liverty Tower and the skyscrapers, Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Madison Square Garden, the Statue of Liberty, and Liberty Island. This magnificent view makes us feel this is New York.
Professor Kathleen Mullin used be a crimminal lawyer working for many years in this New York City, which mneans that she is an authentice New Yorker. She took us from the Empire State Building to the south end of Manhattan, Battery Park, by New York City subway. The air at the subway and it stations was so rough that it is completely different from the ones in Tokyo. Nothing more than such kind of real experiences makes us feel impressed.
We got on a commuter ferry boat from Battery Park and took a quick tour to see Statue of Liberty standing there on Liverty Island. The view of Statue of Liberty was so amazing that the students were eager to take photos. Then we took a subway to Battery Park to the world fanciest 5 th avenue. We walked through this marvelous avenue to move on to Museum of Modern Art at 5th avenue in Midtown of Manhattan where many museums and libraries stretch this area. So many fine art works from post impressionism works to Andy Warhol are exhibited that it will take much time to watch all the works. We took a look at some of the famous works there and enjoyed this touchy atmosphere of New York. “Yes, this is New York, the city of artists”
And then we took a quick walk tour to our final destination of Times Square. So many people from so many countries are walking, yelling, shouting, laughing and taking pictures. Messy, busy, noisy and funky place is there. In term of “diversity”, there is no comparing New York to Tokyo. Here in New York, the languages we can hear from around are French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Arabic, Swahili, Japanese and some more African languages. Regardless of some statements of the President, such super diversity and overwhelming self-assertion are the power and the identity of the United States of America. We beleive that "this makes America great again!"
雨が激しく降る朝になってしまいました。ニューヨークへのデイトリップ、途中までは強く雨が降り続けていましたが、ニューヨークエリアに入ると、雨は上がり、日差しも出てきました。
エンパイアステイトビルディングへ。1931年に完成したニューヨークのシグネチャー。86階の展望台からは、ハドソンリバー、イーストリバー、リバティータワーと摩天楼群、クライスラービル、ブルックリン橋、マディソンスクエアガーデン、自由の女神、リバティーアイランド、などがよく見えます。ニューヨークへ来たんだ！という実感に感激します。
エンパイアステートビルディングのあとは、マンハッタンの最南端、バッテリーパークに地下鉄で移動。ニューヨークの地下鉄を体験するものとても良い勉強になります。東京の地下鉄とは空気が違う。スーパー・ラフな感じ。ネットや映像ではわからないこの体感。さすがに引率のキャサリーン教授はバリバリのニューヨーカー。ニューヨークで弁護士として長年働いていた方の引率。
バッテリーパークからフェリーに乗り、自由の女神像とリバティーアイランドを間近に見た後は、さらに地下鉄でメトロポリタン美術館へ。予習は十分。モネ、ピカソ、シャガール、ゴッホ、と言ったスーパースターの代表作を鑑賞します。もちろん、MOMAのシグネチャー・アーティストとも言えるアンディ・ウォーホルも。とにかくMOMAは、新しい時代を切り開くアートのための美術館。今の心地よさを振り切るすさまじいエネルギーを感じる美術館です。
ニューヨーク。最後は7th Avenueを通って、46丁目のタイムズ・スクエアへ。アメリカの大統領が何と言おうと、圧倒的な多国籍な空気と雑多なエネルギーに満ちた空間。どれだけの言語がそこで聞こえてくるのか。どれだけの国の人がそこに集っているのか。その凄まじい多様性と過剰なまでの自己主張が重なり合う空間こそが、アメリカのエネルギーであり、アメリカのアイデンティティであることを改めて確認しました。
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