A Letter from New York
Dear Aunt Julia,
I have so much to tell you, I don’t know where to begin! Remember last summer when I told you that I was planning to enter the TeenSay Magazine essay contest? Well, I entered, and my essay, "Improving Community Safety," won! The prize was a weekend trip to New York City, with a visit to the TeenSay offices to see how they publish the magazine each month. Three of us were chosen to go from Texas: two other contest winners, and myself.
My mom took me to the airport for the flight to New York. The group leader, Ms. Alvarez, was really friendly and easy to talk to. She is in charge of marketing and special promotions at TeenSay Magazine. She introduced me to the other contest winners. Irene is from Arlington, and she’s 13 years old like me. She won a prize for the series of photographs she took. The other winner is a 15-year-old boy named Eddie. Eddie won the TeenSay community spirit award for cleaning up and improving the neighborhood parks in his town.
I was surprised at how quick the flight seemed. Since Ms. Alvarez and I were sitting next to each other, she told me a lot about herself and how she had ended up working at TeenSay Magazine. She said that as a young girl she had always enjoyed writing stories and interviewing people. She also loved planning and organizing events. After college, she got a job as a reporter at TeenSay, and then she gradually moved into their marketing and special promotions department.
Before I knew it, we were landing in New York. At the airport, we were picked up in a limousine—just like celebrities! We drove to the TeenSay offices downtown. All during the ride, Irene and Eddie and I were pressed up against the windows like little kids, staring at the buildings and the people we passed. You wouldn’t believe how different New York is from Texas! The colors, the smells, the noises—everything is different. We couldn’t get over how crowded it was: all of the people and cars on the streets and so much going on. We were excited to jump in and start seeing the sights.
When we arrived at the TeenSay offices, Ms. Alvarez took us on a tour. We got to see how a magazine goes from a rough manuscript to a finished issue. I couldn’t believe how much work and detail goes into each issue, and how many people it takes to do the work. My favorite part was seeing the bulletin board where sketches, rough drafts, and outlines get pinned up in sequence.
By the time the tour was over, Ms. Alvarez took us to her favorite restaurant, and on the way there we had a chance to do some window-shopping and check out some of the sights. All around us, people were speaking different languages. I told Ms. Alvarez that I thought I could spend a whole year in New York and still not see everything!
When I see you at Mom’s birthday party next week, I will tell you all about the sightseeing we are going to do tomorrow. So far, it has been a great trip.
Love,
Yoshiko
From the letter, which one is not the difference between New York and Yoshiko’s hometown?
The languages they used.
The food.
The people.
The buildings.