Cultural Leisure in America

Chicago has first-class exhibition institutions, first-class equipment and management, including management department and exhibition center. The management department is MPEA: Metropolitan Terminal Exhibition Bureau. MPEA manages and presides over the North American Convention and Exhibition Center-Chicago McCormick Convention and Exhibition Center in a semi-enterprise way, and has the right to operate the Navy Pier, a lakeside tourist attraction in Chicago.

McCormick Convention and Exhibition Center is the most important large-scale convention and exhibition center in North America. It holds 50 large exhibitions and hundreds of small exhibitions every year, attracting more than 4 million visitors. It consists of South Pavilion, North Pavilion and Lakeside Center, with a total exhibition area of over 200,000 square meters and over 8,000 parking spaces.

This spring, the Chicago Kitchen and Bathroom Products Exhibition was held in McCormick. Nearly 100 world-renowned enterprises such as American Standard, General Electric, Kohler, Whirlpool and TOTO participated in the exhibition.

Under the guidance of the microphone, I saw Mr. Zhen Wenda, the world-famous host of cooking programs. This time, he is the spokesman of the new flat-concave dual-purpose burner designed by General Electric to meet the different cooking requirements of the East and the West. Around the booth, the audience crowded three floors from the inside out, and everyone was watching his wonderful performance with great interest.

Speaking of Zhen Wenda, he once swept the world with his humorous "MartinYan Xue" food and culture festival. When he saw him, he immediately thought of the colorful China cuisine. Like a missionary, he spread the cooking characteristics of China to every corner of the world.

In addition, the traditional household goods exposition, the annual international auto show and the exquisite food exhibition are all attractive highlights of McCormick, and the mayor of Chicago will personally deliver the opening speech at the exhibition.

Besides McCormick, the Navy Pier on the shore of Lake Michigan is also one of the main venues for various exhibitions. The exhibitions there are more cultural, such as large and medium-sized trade exhibitions, art exhibitions, photo exhibitions and international art exhibitions.

The naval wharf integrates commerce, tourism, culture and entertainment: the playground is the children's world; Lakeside restaurant is the first choice for people to get together; The long dike with a gentle breeze on the lake is a corridor for lovers; The unique geographical location is a must for travelers. At the Chicago Air Show every summer, the Navy Pier is the most popular attraction for the city's observers: when flocks of seagulls spread their wings, the lake is covered with colorful sailboats, which gently overflow the water; The blue sky is full of flying stunts and wonderful craftsmanship.

There is also a spacious and beautiful glass building "Crystal Garden" at the Navy Pier. More than 80 palm trees and other broad-leaved plants in the garden receive sunlight photosynthesis under the tall and transparent vault, and the evergreen seasons leave a tropical flavor for Chicago, a snowy city. Many politicians and cultural celebrities often hold dinner parties there.

I reported the exhibition on behalf of the company, and also participated in the 3xx Chicago Business Opportunity Exhibition on behalf of the company. Chicago Business Opportunity Exhibition is a big exhibition every spring. I found many companies and products I like, but their information is often in short supply. So they scanned my badge, and in a few days I received their introduction and beautiful photo album-this is also a high-tech efficiency. I remember that I used to leave my business card and send messages, but now I just scan it and enter the database.

Semi-primitive campsite

There are thousands of public camping bases in the United States, most of which are located in national parks or state parks, and are generally managed by their garden departments; In addition, there are non-public campsites, which can be selected at will according to personal preferences, such as a corner of the wilderness or a corner of the mountain.

Public camping bases can be roughly divided into three categories: civilized areas, semi-civilized and semi-primitive areas and pure primitive areas. Civilized communities have water, power and public health facilities; There are only old trees, bare stones, barren land and various flying insects and reptiles in the pure primitive area; In the semi-civilized and semi-primitive area between the two, there is a simple toilet, which has no pumping function, and there is a rocker shaft nearby-in order to test my hard-working ability, I chose this category for the first camping trip in my life.

The destination is Michigan Wild Park, which is an uncultivated natural wild forest with an area of 60,000 acres. I know from the internet that it is a black bear activity area. Out of curiosity, I downloaded and listened to the roar of the black bear in advance.

My wife and I set out in late July and enjoyed the summer scenery along the way. After about 10 hours, we finally arrived at the camp. We set up a big tent in a forest by the lake. Besides a wooden dining table and chair, there is also a barbecue oven and a flame arrester.

It takes 5 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the cabin. My husband and I have to transport everything back and forth many times. I arranged air mattress and sleeping bags and other bedding in the "room"; The husband arranges steam lamps, clotheslines and hand washing facilities outdoors; The puppies inspected the terrain near the tent and urinated to show the birth of a new territory.

It's getting dark That was the first time I slept outdoors. We are fully prepared. Everyone has a flashlight and a sharp knife next to their pillows, and there is a can of "pepper spray" within reach. According to experts, this is a weapon to drive away black bears.

Get up early and wash your face with underground ice water pumped by hand pump. The next day, during the day, we saw a little black bear, but it was already a "public servant" in the garden, playing the role of garbage cleaner and garden messenger. This is a domesticated bear that is very human. Every time I come out, I have an administrator to accompany me and wander around at will.

Walking in the forest, I was attacked by mosquitoes from beginning to end, and it took at least three months to get rid of my erythema. In the jungle, because the scenery is similar, an advanced compass is essential. I remember that horror film "Blair's Witch". Three college photography students got lost in the mountains and finally paid the price of their lives.

Five days passed quickly. Although swimming takes the place of bathing every day, we still miss the formal shower. On the last night, we drove to the public toilet in the civilized district. Most of the three generations travel together, driving a camper, with a small home and complete facilities. Some authentic families even bring televisions. Compared with their "luxury tour", our camp rent is only $8 per night, which is purely a "frugal tour".

In the United States, camping is an activity suitable for all ages. In Xian Yi, especially for teenagers, camping is a necessary extracurricular activity. As long as we look at the ability of American adults to cope with nature and wild life, we can get a glimpse of the benefits that camping brings to children's growth. Most families arrange camping for their children, and even those poor children have the opportunity to get out of their homes and get close to nature with the help of non-profit organizations. For example, since the establishment of 1877, Xinfeng Foundation has provided free summer camp activities for170,000 poor children in new york and its surrounding areas.

Art appreciation, cultural charger

I am a loyal art lover. As long as I have the chance, I won't miss all kinds of large-scale art exhibitions and festivals at home and abroad.

For example, there are many museums in Chicago, which is called "Museum City". Besides the Natural Museum, Art College Museum, Contemporary Art Museum, Science and Industry Museum, Planetarium and Aquarium, there are also some special museums, such as Polish Museum, Ukrainian Museum and Chinatown Museum in southern China. Radio and television museum, architecture museum, photography museum, etc. Reflects the development of science and technology. Every time I visit a museum, it's like a vivid history lesson, and I only have a glimpse of more than 50 museums in Chicago.

In the United States, my husband and I, who are also keen on film art, began a fanatical disc fan life. Because of different cultural backgrounds, our appreciation tastes are different. Fortunately, we have great convergence in the choice of films, and we will watch some authoritative film reviews and online film reviews before choosing films.

I found that American film culture is significantly different from China in some aspects. For example, there are many cartoons in the United States, so that the characters in the cartoons subsequently formed a large commercial market; There are many science fiction films in the United States, and there are a number of science fiction films with good consciousness as early as the era of black and white movies; American movies have a wide range of themes, both positive and negative are exposed, and most of the actors' performances are very vivid.

We often watch several selected DVDs on weekends, which is a bit like watching all-night movies in the past, only * changed to the living room.

Besides, I also like documentaries. Watching documentaries is a bit like having a class, getting some knowledge, getting some visual beauty, and sometimes enjoying wonderful music.

I especially like the French documentary Migratory Birds 200 1. Some people call it the most perfect documentary in French history. The advertising slogan of this documentary is: Let you enjoy the bird world you have never seen before. Using high-tech aerial photography system, we have tracked the flight of birds around the world for more than five years, followed them around the world, and uncovered the most beautiful and mysterious side of bird life; And the audience seems to be one of them, totally immersed in the fantastic nature.

In the documentary, Krupp is also worth mentioning, which won the International Documentary Federation Award and Sundance Film Festival Documentary Awards from 65438 to 0995. The documentary describes the artistic life and life track of Robert Crumb, an American alternative cartoonist. His works are numerous, and each one contains sharp thoughts that criticize the disadvantages of the times. Through this documentary, we can learn about a section of American history and American animation culture.

I have always been fascinated by ballet, which may be related to my love of gymnastics when I was a child. When I came to Chicago, I was deeply attracted by the local Joffrey Ballet. This troupe, composed of dancers Robert Joffrey and Lodders Appino, grew from only six actors to one of the American ballet companies on 1956 * * *. Joffrey Ballet was the first dance company to perform in the White House. Over the past half century, Joffrey Ballet has successfully presented countless unique ballet arts in more than 400 cities in the United States and more than 20 countries around the world.

Joffrey Ballet not only performs traditional ballet, but also integrates various dance elements into the art of ballet. I once bought a four-season ticket from the troupe and enjoyed many wonderful dance dramas, including original dance dramas adapted from Asian folk stories and European fairy tales. Every Christmas Eve, it is a traditional program for many American families for a family of three to watch the ballet Nutcracker. Personally, I have seen The Nutcracker many times, but Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker is the one with the liveliest actors, the liveliest atmosphere, the most gorgeous costumes and the most dazzling lights.

When I bought an annual ticket for ballet, I also bought an annual ticket for Chicago Lyric Opera House.

I have enjoyed nearly ten operas a year and sincerely admire the charm of opera. I listened to La Traviata, The Ring of Nibelungen, The Wedding of Figaro, Federio, Days, Don Juan, Masquerade, Tosca and Susanna. I was intoxicated not only by the beautiful melody of this music master, but also by the gorgeous voices of the actors and the exquisite design of the stage background. It turns out that classical opera can combine modern beauty so perfectly, and the real classic art becomes more and more brilliant with the passage of time.