2007年暑假创新素质实践行优秀作品选

Diaries in America

高二（18）班 张雅琦

I’m Zhang Yaqi. This is my English diary on my experience in America. We finished our 20-day trip in the U.S. a week ago. It was a so wonderful experience that helped us know better about American culture and American people. Besides, we’ve made many new friends and our spoken English has been improved. We practised English every day.

18,19 JULY

There were thirty-six students and four teachers in our group. We left Beijing to America on July 18th, and the first stop was San Francisco. I was so excited before flying into the sky, and so were my friends.

The journey was organized by University of Oregon and Hubei Educational Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, which is in order to let our 16-year-old teenagers learn about the American culture; open ours mind and broaden our horizon. The teachers also hoped we think about ours future after finishing the life of the middle school. I think most of us would like to go to America and continue our study there.
We’ve been to both the west and the east in the U.S. They’re quite different because of the culture. The first place we got to was San Francisco where we visited Silicon Valley, Stanford University, the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, SF Art Palace and Lombard Street. The weather in San Francisco was really strange. The sun was shining every day but wind always blew hard. So it was very cool in San Francisco and we had to bring a coat with us to keep warm. SF was really a nice city and we spent a good time here. But the east seemed more attractive to me.

27 JULY

I found the environment in LA was pretty good, and everything is covered by the blue sky, golden sunshine, and green grass. But the buildings there weren’t very high, beyond my imagination, maybe because of the earthquakes. I like this city, a beautiful hometown of the angels. We spent a whole day in the Disneyland. I really had a wonderful time there. I played lots of funny programs such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and so on. I think the most exciting program was the Great Parade. I enjoyed it very much. I took photos with many cartoon characters such as Winnie, Peter Pan and the Mickey Mouse. All the travelers went back to the happy childhood. We love this cartoon world.

28 JULY

We went to Hollywood Walk of Fame today. There are many big movie star’s names on the road such as Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Sean Pan. My favourite star is Johnny Depp. Captain Jack Sparrow that he acted in Pirates of the Caribbean was welcomed by many people. Then we went to the Hollywood Universal Studio. There are also many funny programs there such as Back to the Future, Mummy (More exciting than Disneyland). However, I got last and couldn’t find the exit at the end of the trip. I was very worried and asked a gentleman for help. He told me how to get out but I didn’t understand clearly. So I asked him if he could went to the exit with me. He said yes and we went to the exit together. When we got there, I said thanks to him. He just said goodbye and left quickly. It was very kind of him. These two days, we played very well, and I really admired the American people, who are full of imagination.

30 JULY

　Among the cities I visited, I think the city I like best is Boston. It’s reasonable. The Charles River is so nice, isn’t it? And I like the old buildings there. Besides, Boston is very classical. There’s another reason why Boston is so attractive to me. Because Harvard University and MIT are both in this city. They made a good impression on me. These two great universities made Boston very famous. Boston is also well-known for its sports clubs such as Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics.

2 August

When we arrived in New York, I realized the big different style between western and eastern cities in the US: the east is more modern than the west. We went to see the Statue of Liberty by boat in the morning. Then we travelled around in NY . I found New York looked very familiar because it was just what I’d seen in the movie, tall buildings were everywhere. They stand for the rich and strong of this country. When I stood at the cross-roads and looked up, the sky seemed very small, it reminded me of a Chinese idiom look at the sky in the well. We visited the main building of the U.N., Wall Street, Times Square and did some shopping in the NBA shop in the 5th Avenue. We all got the things we want. We visited the Columbia University, the West Point as well. All the things in NY are expensive, especially houses. So we had to live in New Jersey today.

Someone call NY the capital of the world, so it is. Though Wall Street is narrow, it’s the economic center of the world. And diplomatic agents from different countries discuss big problems in U.N. People come from across the world study here, work here, and live here. New York is a city that can contain different culture.

What a pity we missed the nocturne of NY, it must be amazing. But I ’m sure I’ll come back one day.

3 August

Today we left New York for Washington D.C. We visited Princeton University in the morning. In the afternoon, we stopped in Philadelphia——the third oldest city of the U.S. We visited the Hall of Independence and the Bell of Freedom there. Then we had a quick look at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 August

Washington D.C. was the last city of our trip. There we went to see the White House, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial,National Museum of Natural History and so on. Washington D.C. is a beautiful city which helps us get to know the 200-year history and the spirit of the U.S.

5 August

We went back to China today. These short twenty days, I learnt and understood a lot, I realized that to get knowledge, is to experience the mystery and the great of the world, not to read the books only. I’ve opened my mind and and I’ll set it to study hard from now on. I also developed friendship with friends. I’ll never forget this unforgettable journey.