First impression

First impression of New York

 One of my routines is to bring my child to the playground as soon as school is over. Thankfully, it brings me little jewel-like joy when I asked and had small talk with parents who watch their children playing. 

 In Korea, someone asks something to others without reason, and they are treated as strange people.  That's why Korean usually reluctant to talk to street persons who they don't know before. To do that, they have some purpose of selling things or mission work to say "Trust in Jesus." 

 But, in America, small talk is familiar scenery anywhere, that I think it's an excellent way to expand our range of interests, activities, and knowledge. 
 Every so often, I meet a person who has the same situation as an immigrant. And then I am pleased to ask what is the impression of America. To that question, many people give different answers depending on their own unique experiences, backgrounds, opinions, and cultures. 

 In my case, I moved to Germany in 2016. My husband needed to get more challenges to achieve his studies. At that time, I was working as a researcher in the medical informatics field. Almost I exhausted with overloading as multiplayer. 

 The first view I saw from the window of an airplane getting off at Frankfurt Airport in Germany was a variety of green, rectangular-shaped lawns. It was winter, and it was amazing to see the green scene. Of course, Korean grass turns yellow in winter. But, as I later found out, the German turf was green all year round. And I could see people walking and often stopping to see trees or flowers. Unfortunately, when I was in Korea, I couldn't afford to stop seeing flowers. The green feeling and the appearance of people who enjoy nature remain sincerely as images of Germany.

 After living in Germany for 8 years, I moved to the United States. When I arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport, I was rather impressed by the paintings inside the airport. It consists of 28 panels, 8 x 350 ft, installed above the waiting line for screening for entry into New York. It was made by an artist, Debora Masters, and she expressed relief through her artworks, like a folding screen with a series of pictures. The pictures describe our ordinary living such as dinner, vacation, sport, and family time. In addition, the friendly paintings where the various races gather and enjoy daily life helped to relieve vague anxiety about unfamiliar places. 

My image of America goes back to my childhood and connected to the movie " Back to the future," an American science fiction. The impressive part of the movie was Marty's (Michael J. Fox) house, where the home passed the front yard with the post box, opened the fence, and entered the backyard. There are not many detached houses with yards in Korea, and also, it is a rare sight to see the places with front yards and backyards, so such a scene was interesting. 
Now I live in suburban New York, and I feel some liberty and impression whenever I look around the street's post boxes. The post boxes are different, like colors, shapes, and designs, and it has only kept their rules about the height by post offices' regulations. When I was in Korea, I was well educated that I should always be in the same style as my group. That's why I felt freedom when I saw various colorful mailboxes on the streets. This diversity in life gives me joyful freedom and broadens my view of the world. I wonder if this is the role art is pursuing.

Walking New York, by Debora Masters, John F. Kennedy airport

The Diversity is a artistic expression by Jaime Chou and Noah Van Blarcom. Diversity can be defined as the quality or state of having many different forms, types or ideas. Diversity is the idea of everyone and everything coming in different shapes, forms, colors and sizes. 
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If there is a wish for me, just as I felt freedom and hope when I saw the mailbox for the first time, I would like my work to convey that diversity to someone.