10 Things I Learned In NEW YORK CITY

The first thing i learned when I arrived in New York was that people don't really care about anyone but themselves. Unlike the great state of Iowa, people in New York are very selfish and full of themselves in a way. I wouldn't say they all are like that though. It was you against every other person out there.

The second thing I learned in NYC was that walking equals the city. People don't own cars, instead they walk or take the bus/subway train everywhere. It is a large change from getting in your car and driving ten to twenty miles to the next town. Overall I can say I walked twenty five miles. Man I was tired!

Third off I learned that the traffic in New York City is the worse in the world. I couldn't imagine living and having to drive anywhere within the city. Road Rage is something that pretty much runs through my blood. Just the sight of some of the roads and traffic and all the horns makes my blood boil.

The fourth thing was how different people talk and all the slang and different words they use. One major example would be our dinner at the Italian Mia restaurant. The woman taking care of us didn't have a quiet bone in her body. From the second I walked in she was screaming "GOD BLESS AMERICA! SIT SIT SIT!" From that minute forward I was only there for the food. At one point I thought to myself that after the one hundredth time she said "GOD BLESS AMERICA" I really started to think she really didn't love America...

The fifth thing I learned was there were black squirrels in New York. Walking through a park in north Manhattan Ashley stopped the group and pointed and yelled "BLACK SQUIRREL!" Believe it or not it was black, and not very shy either. The group continued on but not without a good laugh. Thanks Ashley!

The sixth thing I learned was that homeless people don't like to be touched. Walking down Broadway Ave. Kalli accidentally bumped into a homeless guy and out of no where the man started yelling and mumbling horrible words to Kalli and our group. I'm not going to repeat any of the things he said but I'm sure you can imagine.

Seventh thing I learned was money was not meant to stay in my pocket. Money blew through my hands faster than I could walk. I wouldn't say everything was expensive but when you buy a lot of stuff you get the feeling that money soon vanishes.

The eighth thing I learned while in NYC was that your friends are what makes everything better. Walking through Time Square and walking with your best friends was a great experience. I couldn't pick a better group to go on a once in a life time trip.

The ninth thing on my top ten list of things I learned in NYC was our tour guide Janet. Janet was an awesome person to give us a tour. She was born in New york City and lived there ever since. She knew everything and was very easy to ask questions to. Thanks Janet.

And finally the TENTH thing I learned was about CHINATOWN. Chinatown was an experience I will never forget! It is like walking into a different world. Kt, Kalli, Sydney and me were trying to find the "purse people" and it was not hard to find them. Actually they found us. We soon experienced a true purse go down. It felt like we were in a movie and the police would jump out at anytime. We finally got the purses and were on our way to the next stop in New York City!

Over all New York City was an amazing place to visit and these are only a few spots and places that were awesome. I would recommend the great city to any tourist!

I was Brought to my Senses

I was brought to my senses. Just recently I went to a vocal jazz festival at Southwestern Community College in Creston. It was an experience that I look forward to every year. At school I am apart of the ADM Vocal Jazz Choir. It is a select group of sixteen people who sing a large repertoire of jazz, a'capella, and select ballets that require a much greater level of music ability. We perform about 20 to 30 performances a year and everyone is a different experience.

We sing for all of the home concerts, which are not as strict as some of the competitions we go to like State Jazz. State Jazz is where every vocal jazz group goes to compete for a division one, two, three, or four rating. This year our jazz choir received a high two, which is a great honor because only about ten schools in the state received a one rating. Another thing the ADM jazz choir performs at is the SWCC and Kirckwood festivals. These festivals are experiences that are indescribable.

We leave around 6 in the morning, along with about 25 other schools from all over the Midwest. When we get to the college we perform for upwards of 500 people and are watched by a professional group or individual. These groups come from all over the world like the Idea of North from Australia, The Real Group from Sweden, and Rajaton from Finland. We also saw m-pact from L.A. All of these groups go around the world performing and clinician festivals. Once we have performed we are taken into another room and clinic ed for about an hour and work with the professional group. This experience is awesome because you learn so much in that one hour and feel great walking out of the room.

The rest of the day is spent watching other choirs from all over. These groups are just as good as us or even better. Later that night we are invited to a performance by the performing group. These concerts are awesome and beat any concert I have ever seen by a world famous singer.

Once the concert is over and we have seen upwards of 20 schools perform we are on our way home at around eleven at night. It was a long day but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Well I would trade positions with a professional up on stage.