April 10th 2009: A Presidential Party!

Today was the final day, the last day in our amazing trip. Everybody was a little sad in the beginning because nobody wants to leave. But still we managed to get the day started in a good way and in a matter of minutes everybody was happy and ready to hit the town.

First we went to the White House. We hoped to see President Obama but he wasn’t home. We walked around and it was very pretty! Our next stop was Georgetown. It was very beautiful but only rich people and expensive. We stayed there for lunch and shopping. We think almost everybody got some shopping done.

Then we went to the Air and Space Museum with stuff about planes and rockets. It was interesting. We also went to the botanic garden with a lot of pretty flowers. There was a desert, a Hawaii & a jungle theme. It was really nice with all the nature and the pretty flowers.

The Holocaust Museum was the second last thing on our list for our final day. It was an experience for everybody in its own way.

PARTY TIME! at the Hard Rock Café in Washington D.C. Everybody took so many pictures that there still is flashlights in front of our eyes. The food was really good and filling and the waiters were cute. A lot of people bought a souvenir from our last place together. And then the day ended.

And then at the end we had a meeting with everyone and now it’s all done, and we are finishing this block!

OH BOY, WHAT A TRIP!!

- Hannah (Germany) & Julie (Denmark)

April 9th 2009: Exploring Washington D.C!

Today we woke up at about 7:00 and ate breakfast. It was sunny! We went to the Air force Memorial. It was HUGE! They have tall statues. The symbol is for peace.

Next, we went to the Roosevelt Memorial, and after that we went to the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Their statues were also HUGE! There were a lot of visitors and students.









For lunch, we wnt to Grand Central Station. Thedre were a bunch of kinds of foods! It was cool! After we ate lunch, we went to the U.S. Capitol Building and walked around there.

Then we went to Arlington Cemetary. It was really respectful. There are over 13,000 people asleep there. I felt really sad...

Next we went back to the hotel. Then we went to have dinner next to our hotel. It was good food! We had country presentations there. It was pretty amazing. We sang our naional anthem, told about our flag's meaning, and answered questions about our country. We learned about other countries' government, culture, food, festivals, people, places, and so on. It was sooooo much FUN. We came back to the hptel around 11:30.

We had a pretty good day! Thank you BELO, parents, and our friends!

-Ayumi Oikawa and Saori Wada (Japan)

April 8th 2009 - Bye Bye New York... and Welcome to Washington DC!!!

Hi guys!

Today we said goodbye to NYC and some of the new friends we made during the
tour. It was sad to leave the students who were not going to Washington.D.C.,
so many had a farewell party the night before and everyone looked a little bit tired in the morning! The bus took off at 8:30 a.m.. We had a last glympse of the skyline of Manhattan before we started the 5 hour trip to Washington D.C.. It didn't seem that long though, as we watched the movie "27 Dresses", which was not really interesting, but rathera good choice for spending time on the way. Many people simply fell asleep, so they missed the second movie, "American Gangster", which was sad because the movie was really good. However, it was really a lot of fun watching others' cute sleepy faces!

We arrived at D.C. at about 1:00 p.m.. Everyone got excited when the American
Capitol building appeared outside the window! We hardly had any time taking
pictures when more landmarks showed up, including Washington memorial, Lincoln memorial and the Pentagon. We had some time having lunch and shopping in a huge mall with four floors of all kinds of departments in Arlington, VA. We really love shopping!

After lunch we went to Mount Vernon, the house of the first U.S. president,
George Washington. We took hundreds of pictures in front of the beautiful
mansion. Then we went around the beautiful gardens and farms in small groups. We waited on the line to see the inside of the mansion.The guides explained to us about all kinds of anecdotes happened in the rooms, which was not only interesting but also educational.



At 6:00 p.m. We had a traditional feast at Mount Vernon. The restaurant had
excellent food and a relaxing old-style environment. Everyone had a great time
chatting, taking pictures and eating meat and mash potatoes, or steaks... After having our bellies filled with soda and apple pies, we started to head towards the hotel, while enjoying the jokes told by our fellow Belo USA guides. They were hilarious!

It was somehow a short and relaxing day as we spent most of the time on the
way to D.C.. However it is necessary for us since we'll have a rest in the
fancy inn and prepare for the 2 days of wonderful trip ahead!




Jose Vargas (Mexico) & Kevin Wu (China)

April 7th 2009 - Celebrity Sighting!!!

We started the day with a visit at the Empire State Building. We went up to the 86th floor and after the bad weather from Monday we finally were able to take a good view of the city. Everyone took a lot of pictures in front of a beautiful background.


After the Empire State Building, we walked to the biggest Macy's store in the world. We had two hours time to go shopping and eat lunch but it wasn't that easy to find what we were looking for because it was such a big area.

Following lunch, our groups separated and one of them went to Grand Central Station, one of the oldest and most amazing train stations I've ever seen. The other group went to the United Nations. We could go around by ourselves and buy souvenirs in the gift shop or buy and send postcards to our families here in the US or in our home countries. We could also buy and see all the flags of the countries in the United Nations. The other group even got to go on a tour through the United Nations building which, by the way, stands on international territory.

Next we went to the NBC studios and got a guided tour through some of the studios. We saw the studio of Saturday Night Live and the Late Night Show. Some people even saw Zac Efron at a photo shooting!



Closing the day was dinner at an Italian restaurant and going on a shopping tour for two hours at Times Square. We left Times Square at about 10pm but the other group got a little more time to shop because their bus had a flat tire.

So all in all, you could say we started our trip at Times Square and closed it at the same spot.

-Maike (Germany)

April 7th 2009 - The City That Never Sleeps

Our day stayed out with a visit to the Empire State Building which already was quite crowded. But the view from the top was worth waiting for, though I have to say that Manhattan looks a little unreal when you are actually there and don't just see it on TV.



From the Empire State Building, we walked to the world's biggest Macy's. In this general area we had about two hours to shop and eat lunch. Following lunch, one group headed to Grand Central Station and then to the UN while the other group did it the other way around. Grand Central Station is exactly like movies such as Madagascar show them and is housed in one of the most beautiful buildings of New York.

After this short stop we headed through the canyons of Manhattan towards the UN. The UN complex, by the way, is not on US but international territory. Shortly after we arrived, Raphael pulled a miracle by arranging a tour through th UN for us. The tour was definitely among the most interesting but also emotionally shocking parts of our trip. At first we saw gifts that many nations gave for the UN, such as an ivory carving from China whose complxity you can only belive if you saw it yourself. Then we saw a new sections called The Goals of the Century which are led by fighting world hunger and poverty. Last we saw the meeting hall and a few more gifts such as a guitar made from an AK-47.

Next up was a visit to the NBC studios. The funny part here was that close to no one knew the shows whose sets we visited. We closed the day by eating Italian and going on a two-hour shopping tour.



Last thing to say: Times Square at night is one of the most impressive things you're gonna see in your lifetime.

-Hendrik (Germany)

April 6th 2009: A New York-Styled Birthday!

On Monday, my birthday, we started our day with a tour to the Statue of Liberty. Even though it was raining cats and dogs, we were in an excited mood and took many great pictures.






On our way to Ground Zero, we stopped at Wall Street in the Financial District to visit the bull, the symbol of optimism and prosperity in the financial market. People say that by touching the bull, brings you luck... I wonder whether we will all become rich now!




Having a little free time before dinner, we explored Chinatown. It was a good opportunity for many of us to buy "I Love New York" t-shirts as a souvenir.

This evening we had a delicious dinner in a restaurant in Chinatown, where YFU students sang me "Happy Birthday" in the languages of 18 different countries. An amazing choir!

To make the day perfect, we ended our day with a Broadway musical..."Chicago"!


I returned to the hotel completely exhausted and tired, but I had the best, most unforgettable birthday in my life.

-Johanna (Germany)

April 5th 2009 - Our First Day in the Big Apple

Hi Everybody!

Today was the first day in New York City! Most of the people woke up around 7 and went to eat breakfast at the hotel. We were divided into four groups and two busses and at 8.30 everybody was ready to head to Manhattan.

When we came out of Lincoln Tunnel we had our first look, a beautiful sky line, of the city. When we finally entered to the city, our first stop was on Time Square. That was AWESOME! We walked around Time Square for a while and everyone got a bunch of good pictures. At the Time Square two nice guides joined us and gave us a lot new information about the city while driving through Manhattan.



Next stop was the Central Park. We say the spot where John Lennon was murdered and a quick view of the beautiful park. After that we drove around Harlem and also saw a view of the new Yankee Stadium. And about that time was time for lunch and so we went to the University of Columbia area and had lunch. We walked around the campus which was pretty .


Then we went to Metropolitan Museum of Art. We saw all kind of stuff for example, an ancient Egyptian tomb, marble statues, modern art and beautiful paintings.

Our next stop was a place that we all had been waited for the whole day, Alvin Ailey, the Hip Hop class! It was really fun but also difficult, thank God we had good teachers.


After the long day we all were hungry, so we went to eat dinner at Dallas BBQ. Portions were huge and after the delicious dinner we headed back to the hotel. Some of us went to the swimming pool and some just relaxed.



The first day was very exciting and we are really looking forward to tomorrow's adventures! The whole group including chaperones and other staff is absolutely awesome!!!!

Sanna (Finland),Wiebke (Germany) and Anna (Finland)