Monthly Archive for February, 2010

Finally we see a American-like city. By saying this, I mean that we thought the united states is a country where skyscrapers are everywhere. Actually, this only happens in New York.

New York is the largest city in America. It is the economical, financial and cultural center of the United States, even the Earth. It is always regarded as an international city along with London and Paris. Take a look at Wall Street, the financial heart that drives the country.

Before visiting Wall Street, we took a boat tour to the Statue of Liberty. It used to be the first thing new immigrants see when they arrive in the New World. It is located on an isolated island – you can arrive there by boat only.

What’s that building like Triumphal Arch? New York University. We didn’t stay there long because of time.

In the afternoon we visited the headquarter of the United Nations. We were able to visit the Security Council and several exhibitions.

The beautiful and elegant campus is Columbia University’s.

Attention, Apple fans! See the Apple Store? That’s 5th Ave. I visited Central Park alone. But it’s winter, so the scenery was not nice.

At night we visited the Times Square. Only there can you see so many big screens. But don’t imagine how big it is – it’s only a junction!

Photos…here.

Feb 25

In our teacher’s words, Hollywood is like Wangfujing in a way. It is something that you really need to visit. But when you arrive there, you’ll soon notice that there’s nothing to see. What you can see there? Well, stars, Hollywood sign, expensive shops, nothing more. You can simply take a look at Google Street View, and that’s fine.

The name of the street is Hollywood Blvd. Just search for Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA.

Feb 26

I don’t know why don’t we visit UCLA. Instead, we went to USC – University of Southern California. Just another American private university. But its medical department is pretty nice.

Feb 13

For those who want to visit Disneyland, you have to understand one thing: it’s just an amusement part, just with a theme. So what you get is just roller coasters and water rides.
Then why Disneyland attracts many visitors every year? It is because the theme. Although roller coasters are common, you may not see roller coasters that drives through the space, that flies across the mountain, that you can shoot targets in. 

Weekends may not be a good time to visit because there is always a lot of people. The queue can be very long, and you have to wait for as long as 90 minutes. But you can get a fastpass or, if you’re alone, take the single rider’s queue.

Feb 14

Once upon a time, early movie companies began to move to California. It was because the sunshine here was bright & long enough. Since then, Hollywood has became the symbol of U.S. movie industry. Universal Studios, located in Universal City, CA, is the second oldest movie company in the world.

Of course, what we went to is a theme park opened by Universal Studios. But in the studio tour you can visit many stages where movies were made, and you can also see how those special effects were created.

If you want to visit this park, I strongly advise that you visit the studio tour first. It has Mandarin version available.

Here come the photos.

Date: Feb 11 to Feb 12

Many students complain that we have spent so much time on the road – trust me, although the US has fewer people and better highway system, getting from place to place still takes plenty of time. Under such pressure, the director Juan had to cancel one day’s lessons. We went shopping on that day – Feb 11.

Boys usually hate shopping. I walked in the mall for an hour and found nothing interesting. Then I had lunch at Burger King, which had hamburgers that look small but eat big. Finally I decided to buy a bag for my mom.

In the afternoon we visited a museum, just looks like LACMA. I bought a book there, $16 before tax, color, printed in Japan. In the US books are really expensive – our textbook is $40, so the price is reasonable.

The host family took us to the church in the night. What does a church look like? Well, that’s just a multifunction hall of a school – at night it’s a casual church. What did we do? At first it was like a concert – just no scream. Then the man told us a long long long long moral story – long enough to have a good sleep. Check the photos below.

On Feb 12 we visited the Getty Center. Everyone, including our host family and teachers said that it was great and we would like it. BUT, we had less than an hour in it! We just take a tram to the museum which located at the top of a mountain, walk around the building, and left – even without entering the building! Though the scenery was great outside, that’s absolutely not what we should do. In contrast, it took us 5 hours on the road.

Date: Feb 7

Among public universities, U.C. Berkeley might be the best one. It is famous for its biology, law, and economics department. Unlike Stanford, its culture is much more relaxed. This can be known by the difference of architecture. Anyway, the campus is elegant. It’s Sunday, so it’s quiet – maybe not on weekdays.

Lombard Street is famous, but not in winter. There’s no flowers in this season. You’d better get photos online. Photo used in title is grabbed from the Internet.

Union Square is named after the United Nations. The place where it was founded just lies next to the square. Around it are some expensive stores. Since there’s nothing to see, no photos here.

In the gallery below, before the Lombard St (last) is downtown San Francisco taken from the bus, and a famous bank.

Nothing special today. In the afternoon we went to Los Angeles.