【明報專訊】WELCOME BACK! I hope you had a wonderful summer, because I certainly did. After the end of term, I went to New York with my family for a week before my two‑week summer school at Yale University. I had high hopes for New York, having watched Gossip Girl, Brooklyn Nine‑Nine, and listened to Alicia Keys' New York State Of Mind. After visiting, however, I found New York a touch disappointing because some places, such as Times Square and Wall Street, resembled a slightly dirtier version of Hong Kong. It is a charming city nonetheless, with world‑class art in museums such as the Met, underground Jazz bars, a beautiful skyline, smoked salmon cream cheese bagels, interesting neighbourhoods and architecture, the cultural diversity, the Central Park in the middle of a concrete jungle, and my personal highlight — the Broadway musicals, which were outstanding in scripts, acting as well as singing. We also went on a campus tour around Columbia University, which was impressive, but small. And for anyone planning to visit New York, be prepared to pay the exorbitant prices — once we were charged US$130 just for a breakfast that served three!