On the 16th June I joined in Denver 43 other exchange students living all over America for our month long USA trip. Our first day on the bus was was a 7 hour drive from Denver to Durango, so everyone was chatting away meeting each other, the trip seemed to take forever so we were all happy when we finally arrived. Our first adventure of the trip was white water rafting, it was quite chilly in Durango and the water was freezing, it took 2 seconds in the water and my hands were bright red and my lips purple, but it was so much fun, it started off slow but towards the end we had waves going over our heads and we were hanging on for dear life. One boat tipped, so once we emerged from the massive waves, we set off down the river to rescue the two boys who had fallen out.. Hot pizza awaited us on the bank and thou we were all happy to eat we were all shivering and cold so looked forward to returning to the hotel for hot showers and warm clothes.That night we went to a small historic town in Durango and had free time there to look around. The next morning we had a short trip of just an hour to the Mesa Verde National park where we looked at ancient cliff dwellings, next stop was Flagstaff, another 7 hour bus trip.. On day three we proceeded to the Grand Canyon, it surely was very big, and a bit of a walk which silly me hadn't realized and was wearing a dress and sandals, it was also super hot, my group got about half way down the Canyon before heading back to the top, it was very pretty there. That afternoon we set off for Las Vegas, which we were all very excited about! we had dinner at a Casino, then we headed in the bus to the strip, it was amazing to see, all the lights. For the next day we had the day on our own to explore the Las Vegas strip, Charlotte (also from NZ) and I spent the day on our own going to all the hotels, shops and other various places, it was so amazing to see, I had a fabulous day. I think everyone really enjoyed Vegas and wanted to stay longer, one group of boys even got a Limo to get to the strip, they had wanted the full Vegas experience. That night most of the exchange students gathered at the pool to cool down and swim. Day 5 was an early rise and about a 6 hour journey to Los Angeles, we arrived at lunch time, and went to the famous Farmers Market. After lunch we had a Guide come on our bus and show us all the important sites of LA, stopping at Rodeo Drive and Hollywood Boulevard. I loved Rodeo Drive, seeing all the fabulous shops and I even spotted Australian model Abby Lee Kershaw being photographed. The next day we spent at Universal Studios which was a lot of fun, we went on all the rides, did the studio tour and watched some of the shows. Next we headed off to San Diego, everyone was really excited for the beach, some of the exchange students hadn't been in a whole year, after a 4 hour drive we arrived at Mission Bay, we were pretty disappointed as the weather was cold and windy, a few brave people swam, some shopped but most of us spent the day cuddled up with blankets and sweatshirts on the beach sleeping, listening to music and reading magazines. That night we went to a really cute Pizza place for dinner. The next day we had an 8 hour drive to Tucson, we had nothing planned for the day so once we arrived at 3 we all ran to the pool, it was super hot, you couldn't stay outside for long. We had a talent show that night which was funny, by now we had all started to form close relationships with each other and we were always having fun together. Our next journey no one was really looking forward to as, it was about a 10 hour drive to El Paso. Everyone slept on the bus, watched movies and entertained each other with a few stops thrown in for lunch and to stretch our legs. We arrived at 5pm had dinner and then went to a Game Centre where some people had a game of bowling. The following day we were in for another long drive this time to to San Antonio, once we arrived we had a few free hours to look around and eat dinner, San Antonio was really beautiful. Houston was next where we spent the day at Spashtown, it was so much fun, going on all the rides and swimming in the river rides and wave pools. The next morning we had a early wake up and headed to New Orleans where we went to the French Quarter and spent the day looking around. Tallahasse was our next stop, we had a long drive there then a pizza party that night at the hotel and in the morning headed to Orlando to spend the day at Epcot centre. My group went around Epcot to all the other countries it was really cool to see, we went on the rides there and I got my photo taken with Snow White which I was excited about. I ate at the French part of Epcot which was a delicious meal and then we headed to the Magical Kingdom to see the night show at the castle, I have to say it truely was magical. The next day again we had the whole day to explore Disney world, my group of friends and I started off the day at Animal Kingdom where we did the Mount Everest ride and the Safari before heading to Hollywood Studios to do a few rides. Next we boarded the Disney boat to back to the Magical Kingdom where we spent most of the day. We didn't quite manage to do all the rides because the lines were so long but we did most of the big ones. On Splash Mountain the ride stopped due to a malfunction so we stopped in the middle of the ride for about half an hour, my friends and I made the most of it, by taking photos and singing songs, I was frozen cold and wet but it was quite an adventure to be stuck on a ride, after that we got a free fast pass so lucky for us we were able to easily and quickly go on Space Mountain before heading back to Epcot to see the light show before catching the bus back to the hotel.. Disney World was amazing, another dream of mine come true!! Next on the itinerary was Myrtle Beach, which saw us leaving early in the morning and arriving at dinner time. The next day we had the whole day on the beach, it was lovely weather which was perfect and the water was super warm, a group of us girls went for a swim before going for about an hour and half walk to the pier to look around the shops and on the way back i got my hair braided which was pretty cool, it was the perfect beach day. The next day was July 4th, I was so excited and dressed in red, white and blue and when we arrived in Washington DC I brought myself an American flag to wave around, it was cool to see all the people there dressed up, there definitely was a lot of American pride. I was lucky to get the chance to catch a glimpse of President Obama speaking at his private party at the White House. We spent one more day in DC, I spent the day with my 2 best friends from the trip both from Sweden, we went to the Holocaust Museum then walked around the city looking at the Monuments and also made time for a little bit of shopping. I noticed there was a lot of security around, even to get into the building where we had lunch we had to show ID and have our bags screened as if we were at an airport, the people were very nice though. I was so excited for the next few days ahead, New York City here we come. Once we arrived we headed straight to Liberty Island where we got to see the Statue of Liberty up close, I thought it was really cool to see, after seeing it in so many photos, TV programmes and movies it felt good to finally be there myself. New York had been a huge dream of mine for so long, so once again another dream came true on the trip, I was so happy to be there. The next day we did a bus tour around New York then we had the rest of the day till 9.30pm to spend on our own, I went with a student from France down to Soho and looked in all the boutiques and shops before meeting my friend who now Models and lives in New York. We looked in some shops like the huge Macy's and Bloomingdales before taking the subway to Dillan's Candy shop, a 3 story building filled with candy, chocolate, desserts and even books and clothing owned by Dillan, Ralph Lauren's daughter. After that we headed to an Irish Pub for dinner, the next day I caught up with my friend again and she brought along 2 of her friends, we did some shopping, went to Grand Central station and the markets before heading to Central Park,. I loved Central Park and it was huge!!, there were fields everywhere, beach volleyball courts along with other sporting courts, playgrounds, even a zoo, a lake with a boat house (from the movie 27 dresses) it was amazing, we all walked through the Park, stopping often to take photos. After Central Park we headed to Time Square, their were lights everywhere, bill boards and large screens playing advertisements , their was also a lot of people. New York was amazing and after 3 fabulous days , I was sad to leave, I can't wait to go back. The next day was another travel day, we stopped in Cleveland for the night before heading to Chicago. In Chicago we spent the day at the Navy Pier it was gorgeous there, the water clear blue and beautiful weather, it was a nice relaxing last day. That night most of the exchange students packed into one room for our last night together; chatting away till early morning, I think I got about 3 hours sleep. The next morning I was up at 5am, getting ready to leave at 7 for the airport. It was a very sad morning; the last month had been unbelievable and I had made many good friends, been to places I had only dreamed off it definitely was the best month of my life and saying goodbye was very hard. The time was chaotic with the chaperone's trying to rush us to the bus, most of us girls were in tears and everyone was hugging and saying goodbyes, no one was ready to leave the tour. Finally we got to the airport and parted on our separate ways. We arrived at the airport at 8am and my flight was due to leave at 1pm so I had a bit of wait, I was lucky that 2 other boys were leaving with the same airline and around the same time so we were able to wait together. My only problem was that one was from Belgium and the other from France so they were speaking french most of the time and then would translate it into English for me, but it was good to have company. Finally it was time to hop on my plane and go home, I think I slept the whole way, I was very tired. It was sad the trip was over but good to get back to a normal routine, it definitely was a lot quieter. It was clear all the exchange students missed each other, as we were all on Facebook the next day writing and skyping each other.
I loved the tour, the things I did, the places I went and the people I met. It was all together a great adventure and the time of my life. This year is making so many of my dreams come true and I'm lucky, I've still got 6 months left and I will be making the most of my time here.