I have lived in New York for three years. Before that, I used to live in a small town in Texas. When I was a kid, I would always play outside with my friends. We used to ride our bikes to the river and swim there every summer. My mother would always cook a big dinner for us when we came home.

When I was 18, I went to college in Austin ['ɔstɪn]. I lived there for four years. I studied engineering. After college, I worked at a company ['kʌmpəni] (empresa) in Houston ['hju:stən] for two years. I was working there when I received a job offer from a company in New York. I accepted the offer, and three years ago I moved to Manhattan.

Now I live in a small apartment in the East Village ['vɪlɪdʒ]. I work at an office in Midtown. Every morning I take the subway. I usually wake up at 7 am, shower, eat breakfast, and leave my apartment at 8:15. I arrive at the office at 8:45.

I am very happy in New York. I have made many friends here. I have visited a lot of museums and restaurants. I have been to Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, but my favorite neighborhood ['neɪbərhʊd] (barrio) is still the East Village.

I have never been to Europe, but I'm going to travel there next summer. I'm going to visit Spain and Portugal. I have already bought my plane ticket. I'll fly to Madrid on June 15th. I'm going to stay in Spain for two weeks, and then I'll take the train to Lisbon.

If the weather is good, I'll go to the beach in Portugal. If it rains, I'll visit museums and eat a lot of Portuguese food. I've heard (he oído) that the food in Portugal is amazing.

I think I will love Europe. I have always wanted to visit Barcelona and Lisbon. My friend Carlos has been to Barcelona three times, and he says it's the most beautiful city in the world.

Right now, I'm sitting in my apartment, writing this. My cat Luna is sleeping on the sofa. It's raining outside, but I don't mind [maɪnd] (no me importa). Tomorrow I'll go to work, and this weekend I'm going to start planning my trip to Europe.

Life in New York is very different from life in Texas. When I was living in Texas, everything was slow and quiet ['kwaɪət] (tranquilo). Here, everything is fast and loud [laʊd] (ruidoso). I used to drive everywhere in Texas, but in New York I take the subway or walk. I didn't use to eat at restaurants very much, but now I eat out almost every day.

I don't know if I'll live in New York forever [fər'ɛvər] (para siempre), but right now, I'm very happy here. It's the best city I have ever lived in.

college ['kɑlɪdʒ] - universidad

company ['kʌmpəni] - empresa

offer ['ɔfər] - oferta

accept [æk'sɛpt] - aceptar

neighborhood ['neɪbərhʊd] - barrio / vecindario

still [stɪl] - todavía / aún

plane ticket [pleɪn 'tɪkɪt] - billete de avión

heard [hɜrd] - oído (participio pasado de hear)

mind [maɪnd] - importar

plan [plæn] - planificar

quiet ['kwaɪət] - tranquilo / silencioso

loud [laʊd] - ruidoso / fuerte (para sonidos)

forever [fər'ɛvər] - para siempre