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The prevalence of email has become a global phenomenon since 1994. That year happened to mark one of the golden periods of economic prosperity in Taiwan, with the lower USD/New Taiwan Dollars exchange rate making both tuition and boarding less expensive for studying in the United States. A group of Taiwanese students in their 20s took the opportunity to start an adventure, and met each other for the first time in the State University of New York at Buffalo. Among them was Hwei-Hang Su, a 22-year-old born and raised in rural Southern Taiwan. She chose to study Linguistics, against her father's advice that she should study something more "practical". Shy and plain-looking but ultimately witty and chivalrous, Hwei-Hang was determined to explore America's diverse culture as well as the colourful customs and beliefs of the other countries.
Told with a profound sense of humour, the stories of Hwei-Hang and her friends in Buffalo are a joy to read as they went through massive mayhem, troubles, fights, laughs, tears and surprises. This book, first of a series, depicts their entry to the Brave New World in 1994, where New York State Route 425, hidden by Route 62 (Niagara falls Boulevard), proved to be the source of serenity, courage and faith that they needed in order to face all the difficulties at school and in life.
About the author
I-Ping Wan received her PhD in Linguistics from the Department of Linguistics, as well as a PhD Certificate from the Centre for Cognitive Science, of the State University of New York at Buffalo. She taught Chinese and linguistics at Buffalo before returning to teach English at the National Dong Hua University in Taiwan. Since 2000, I-Ping has been teaching at the Graduate Institute of Linguistics of the National Chengchi University in Taipei. She finished writing "New York State Route 425" while working as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University in 2007.
