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Everyone has an objective in life, whether to find a company, start a lemonade stand, or travel back to when you were little to stop an embarrassing moment. Along the way, branches of side objectives appear, and they, with your intention, can be taken. The piano was one of the small side objectives branching off from the current general goal all kids have, school, and it has grown into quite the branch, as here I am for the fourth year returning to the Golden Key Recital in Weill Hall, New York City.

After getting used to traveling to NYC, this journey was not about to be just the performance. Why waste time, energy, money, gas, and more time to play less than four minutes of a song when there’s a big “Apple” to explore? I mean, it only is NYC. So, the first stop of our trip was Wall Street. Mom wanted me to see the Charging Bull statue in downtown Manhattan. It symbolizes the financial industry, and while I’ve never seen it, most have a pretty good idea of how it may look.

I guess that’s all it will ever be—an approximation. The number of people surrounding the bull was so dense that the only visible part was the back and the tail. A mass of swarming tourists covered the head. Life lesson: never rumor about an object giving good luck because, for example, the bull’s head was being patted, rubbed, and hugged over and over again, which not only made things difficult to see but also unsanitary.

Philadelphia is an excellent city around our neighborhood. If only our Chinatown section were better… but this is New York! What am I talking about? NYC has a substantial Chinese ethnic group, and you need good food to satisfy the Chinese people. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that great, as the food was all right. Dim Sum is essential because it allows people to have a great experience. The food and the noise of moving people pushing trolleys may be overwhelming, but you must see the Jing Fong Restaurant. Many dishes are traditional, such as chicken fingers, a steamed bun filled with barbecue pork, rice noodle rolls, Yuba rolls, and shrimp dumplings. Although the population of Asians is high, the quality of this biggest Chinese restaurant wasn’t improving. The variety of dishes was relatively low compared to little inky-dinky Philadelphia. While not having all that many choices, the dining area setting was quite something to look at. The ceiling rose high over our heads, hanging large, majestic chandeliers. The tables, crammed against one another, formed a sea of red with the tablecloth, and navigating to the bathroom was quite the adventure.

A miniature stop was at Central Park, which isn’t tiny. The light breeze gave a calming feel as I strolled along the banks of the winding ponds and bicycle roads, avoiding horse manure and geese poop. Nature's beauty contrasted with city life, having a spot of peace and tranquility within a chaotic world of business and conflict. Whether it’s a jog through the area or just lying on the grass for seven hours, which I highly do not recommend, every one of us feels relaxed.

The trip went downhill from there. I hated the performance because it was nerve-racking, and I messed up majorly. No problem, as I need to shrug it off. Life is all about this—shrugging off errors so they don’t become mistakes. All classes have that hanging up on a poster, and most don’t pay much attention. Nevertheless, you can’t let these moments spoil others, such as city life and my travels today.

【红霞译】

人人都有自己的奋斗目标，无论独建公司经商创业，或者摆摊站台卖柠檬水饮料，哪怕时间旅行重返儿时尴尬困窘之地，一路走来，杂七杂八的事情漫布途中，与你结伴同行。钢琴本来无足轻重，但因为所有适龄学童个个身手不凡，结果成为盛开在人们心目中一朵奇葩，致使我连续第四年参加在纽约卡内基威尔演奏厅举行的“金色键盘音乐节汇演”。

我对纽约地理经纬算作了如指掌，所以这回出行并非仅仅为了表演，“苹果”之大无奇不有，何必单把时间、精力、金钱、财力乃至生命投放在一首不足四分钟的曲目上。今天首站指向华尔街，妈妈有意要我见识一下铜牛雕像，它象征着金融业，我从未亲眼见过，因此借机逛逛曼哈顿下城也不枉纽约之行。

我明白耳闻不如一见，哪怕看个大概也好。铜牛四周可谓里三层外三层，早已被游客围得水泄不通，惟有后背和尾巴尚暴露在光天化日之下，整个头部完全淹没在滚滚人流当中。人生训诫：对于吉祥物千万不要以讹传讹，否则下场肯定会像铜牛那样横遭拍打历经抚摸任意熊抱，简直不堪入目，况且又欠卫生。

家门口的费城堪称一座了不起的城市，假如再有上乘的唐人街定会为它锦上添花……纽约全然不同！我说什么来着？纽约城毕竟华人居多，只有美味珍馔才能让炎黄子孙心满意足，然而并非每家餐馆都能做到这一点，当然打打牙祭不成问题。可品尝“广式早茶”的重要性在于，要使广大就餐者享受到各式各样的民间风味。也许食物本身与服务员手推糕点小车来回走动带来的嘈杂声叫人感到不可思议，但这正是金丰大酒楼特色所在，它的不少菜肴沿袭了中国传统，譬如：凤爪、叉烧包、肠粉、腐竹卷以及虾饺，前来就餐的大多为亚裔食客，这个所谓中国城最大餐馆的饭菜质量可真是徒有虚名，与乌漆麻黑连身子都转不开的费城小馆相比，“金丰”的早茶种类实在寒酸，其内部装潢倒是打造得金碧辉煌，天花板高悬，水晶吊灯气派；餐桌一张紧挨一张，红色座椅汇聚成鲜活的海洋，起身上趟厕所无异于一场冒险。

期间我还顺便道访中央公园，那可不是小打小闹的地方。漫步在蜿蜒曲折的池塘边，穿梭于自行车道旁，迎面吹拂的微风给人带来一种恬静的感觉，我得小心走路，尽量躲着马粪鹅屎下脚。中央公园自然之美彻底优化了都市生活，俨然成为到处充满利益冲突的世界金融中心一块陶冶心智的净土。无论你来跑步健身，还是躺在草坪上休息七个钟头（我不建议这么做），我们每一位无不身心放松。

纽约之行到此出现状况。我讨厌登台表演，因为神经过度紧张的时候，往往容易丑态百出。别担心，我不会在意弹奏失误，大不了耸耸肩膀一笑了之，人生难免出现这样那样的问题，懂得纠正过失才能避免铸成错误。再说各个班级纷纷张贴壁报，有谁在乎谁好谁差。无论怎样，你都不要因为一时失意而影响整个心情，以我为例，当下没有什么比享受纽约都市生活欣赏春游时光更为可贵。