tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441783387799873322024-03-13T08:24:37.147-07:00West Coast 2012 (BUS I)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-43286109475177629692012-06-25T04:56:00.000-07:002012-06-26T04:56:59.693-07:00Hollywood!!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Today we
got the pleasure of sleeping in a little bit as we left for downtown <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city> after an
amazing breakfast. We drove all the way to the walk of fame and saw the Sunset
Blvd. The Walk of Fame, against our expectations, was HUGE and pretty crowded,
as the attractions on the sides of the famous sidewalk were very inviting to
tourists and super cheap, and of course the LA citizens used the busy streets
for their benefit, which resulted in us being tapped on the shoulder every
fifth minute with somebody asking : ‘’ A sightseeing tour maybe ?’’ or’’ Do you
wanna buy my record ?’’ While walking down, we passed things such as the wax
museum, the Chinese theater, where they had the dog-actor from ‘’The Artist’’
and the Hard Rock Café. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After spending
way too much money, we moved on to Farmers Market, an amazing place with a huge
speciality variety of food. We got a food-pass over 15 bucks and it was really
cool to experience the intercontinental taste present. As we had a lot of
freetime, we went to visit the Open Air Mall or just go shopping in the
shopping area. As the location is very pretty and has huge stores of all kinds
of brands with unusual products, the three hours flew by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This was
followed by the highlight of the day: a visit of the world of the rich and
famous: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Beverley</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Hills</st1:placename></st1:place>. This absolutely GORGEUS part of
the actually pretty ugly town LA gave us a glance into the other side of the
American life : 3 out of 4 cars were Lamborghinis or Ferraris and designers
stores such as Gucci, Prada and Rolex ( just to name a few) were all across the
place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We walked
around in the town looking at the famous shops or walked to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Beverley</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Hills</st1:placename></st1:place> sign in a close park to take
pictures. Following, we had our last ride in our beloved bus with our beloved
driver Antonio back to the Hotel where we are all getting ready for the party
tonight. Last mention : YOLO !! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By Sophia
Kramer and Martin Strack<o:p></o:p></span></div>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-76991410953181958802012-06-24T04:52:00.000-07:002012-06-26T05:40:06.844-07:00Disneyland!!<br />
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Today we had a really early wake-up because we wanted to be at the park right away when it opens, get the best rides without long lines... Unfortunately that never happened!! Antonio took the bus to get it cleaned that took FOREVER!! After all, we left 30 minutes late, but who cares, we were heading to the happiest place on the earth. We strarted in the park called California Adventure park, that is right next to actual Disneyland. This was the place where we enjoyed crazy rides and roller coasters. Just a week ago, they opened there a new section called The Cars. However, the waiting time for that was at least 4 hours and they ran out of fast passes early in the morning and new fast passes were coming out only on the next day morning.</div>
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Weather was very hot, the sun was shinning, and everybody got some sunburn. Out of all the rides, we picked The California Screamin' as the best one. But there were many other good rides, such as Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Hollywood Tower, and Mickey's fun wheel..... We had free time for 12 hours and everybody was in small groups, so it was really hard to find each other, because of millions of people and two HUGE parks.</div>
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We all met up by the Princess' Castle to watch 15 minutes long firework show. It was absolutely faaaaaaaaaaaabulous!!! During the fireworks, famous Disney music and fireworks were matching with each other which made totally gorgeous. Also, Tinker Bell and Dumbo decided to fly above the magical castle. After the fireworks we went to see another show by the lake. The show was called Mickey's imagination and it was mix of special effects, acting, fireworks and parts of Disney movies. The show included some amazing moments and it was all done very well.</div>
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Today was full of magic. Now we all are dead tired and ready to sleep because we got to the hotel around 12.30am. Tomorrow is going to be our last full day of the trip which is pretty sad..</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4CTVltXW6Rc/T-mtjiKL7BI/AAAAAAAAAIg/3uuQ_w_uZ3w/s1600/kubo+1434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4CTVltXW6Rc/T-mtjiKL7BI/AAAAAAAAAIg/3uuQ_w_uZ3w/s320/kubo+1434.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="FI">Kubo, Tuuli and Lucas</span></div>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-40533283504253351432012-06-23T00:23:00.000-07:002012-06-26T04:48:25.876-07:00Back to L.A.!!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, everybody’s parents are going to be mad,
because it was a spending money day! Woho! Yes, we went to the shopping center,
outlet actually, and it was very interesting, Except, we practiced our
handwriting by signing all the credit card bills. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The outlet is located on a
very south of <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state>, on the border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>, which
was cool. While driving, we could see on the other side a Mexican town/state <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tijuana</st1:place></st1:city>. That was pretty
amazing. Also, the big fence or wall is surrounding the outlet, so nobody could
come to US illegally. Pretty scary, but again, an amazing experience. Thanks again to our amazing driver who always
knows where to take us and pick the best spots for us, whether it’s for
shopping or sightseeing. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After shopping, and visiting one of our favorite
stores like Forever 21, we got a bit peckish for some tucker so we met at food
court at 1:30, and ate subway. Later, we hit the road towards the famous <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laguna beach</st1:place></st1:city>. Place full
of cool stores, amazing beach and rich people with amazing cars. We all were
impressed with its look. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyways, when we came to the beach a lot of us wanted
to swim in the pacific, which was a horrible idea because the water was
freezing. But hey, at least now, we can brag to our friends and family that we
have swam there. Later, we kind of split up and some of us went shopping, and
just checking out the city, while others stayed at the beach and played volleyball,
laid and enjoy the sun, or even swim (just brave ones). Some of us were looking
for rich husbands (Alice and Nika) to move there, because it was absolutely
beautiful. So many hot surfer guys at the same place, that’s never bad! In one
word, a dream place! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Further, after counting all the heads and verifying that
everybody’s there, we headed to our next location. We came where we have
started, the great <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>. Dinner was at the Buffet which is always
good. We ate and went back to the hotel. This time, we switched hotels with Bus
2, and actually Comfort Inn is better! Woho! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyways, we are super tired so we
need to go sleeping. This blog is written by Alice who is showering, Laura and
Nika who actually did some work, unlike <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alice</st1:place></st1:city>.
But that’s okay. We still love her (jk we don’t). Anyways, GOOD NIGHT
everybody, and get prepared for a new day, an amazing day at <st1:place w:st="on">Disneyland</st1:place>! <o:p></o:p></span></div>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-63290144300980568242012-06-21T00:07:00.000-07:002012-06-26T04:49:50.061-07:00Arrival in San Diego and TALENT SHOW!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Today we
are reporting about the amazing trip from <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state>
to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia:
</b>“When did you wake up this morning?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Today I actually got up at 6.45 am because the bus left at 7.45 am and this
morning I did not want to miss breakfast.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia: </b>“Well,
that is pretty early. I bet some people were late again?!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:</b>
“Yeah it was sort of early but actually most of the people were on time, so we
got on the road by 8.00 am”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia: </b>“So
I have heard you have had a long bus ride today, what do you want to tell us
about that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Yeah, the trip was freaking long, yesterday they told us it is going to be 7
hours, but because of the traffic and some restroom stops it took us about 10
hours to get to San Diego”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r0goKFeM2vY/T-QRjQE952I/AAAAAAAAAHY/OhehO83GFL4/s1600/IMG_9455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r0goKFeM2vY/T-QRjQE952I/AAAAAAAAAHY/OhehO83GFL4/s320/IMG_9455.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia: </b>“So
10 hours is a long time. I would be so bored, what did you guys do to get the
time over?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:</b>
“Well, some of us listened to music, others were sleeping (how could you ever
sleep on the bus?????) and the people that did not want to do either one,
watched a movie like the Notebook (people were actually crying) or Zohan (and
here everybody was laughing a lot)”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia:</b> “Wow,
that sounds like fun actually, but wait another important thing, did you eat
anything?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Mhm, of course. How could you ever life without food. Yeah, we went to a
Chinese buffet and had a good lunch.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bO6Q6b-auwI/T-QSwIvZv_I/AAAAAAAAAHg/wvSmapG_bzs/s1600/IMG_9485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bO6Q6b-auwI/T-QSwIvZv_I/AAAAAAAAAHg/wvSmapG_bzs/s320/IMG_9485.jpg" width="213" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia: </b>“So
we talked a long time about the bus ride, but that can’t be too interesting.
Did you actually arrive at the hotel?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Sure. Thanks to our experienced and loved bus driver ANTONIO, we got to the
hotel at 6 pm, what gave us a little time to relax and prepare for the talent
show”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia:</b> “A
talent show? That sounds amazing, but what about dinner???”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Well, dinner sounds like an important part of the day to you. We had a little
pizza party and every body enjoyed it. After that we were ready to roll. The
talent show could start”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia: </b>“So
this was the night of the hidden talents. Can you give me some examples
please?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Of course. We saw all kinds of dances from Salsa in <st1:place w:st="on">South
America</st1:place> to a traditional german kids song”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GAfOG4_ahaA/T-QVweMlt4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/eEOKasfjrWk/s1600/IMG_9512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GAfOG4_ahaA/T-QVweMlt4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/eEOKasfjrWk/s320/IMG_9512.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia:</b> “So
what were you favorite ones”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Well, three of the talents will be shown to the other bus group at the last
night in LA. Our group decided, that Juan and Vivien with their Salsa dance,
Marcello and his beautiful brazilian voice and Amanda`s funny way of singing
without opening her mouth should perform and represent our crazy group at this
last party”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia:
</b>”Now, that sounds like a fun day. Do you have anything planed for tonight?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:</b> “Just
the usual “going to bed at curfew time </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US">” no just kidding. I guess we are just <i>quietly</i> hanging around and have a good
time”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Julia:
</b>“Well, thank you very much for sharing your story with me. Have a great rest of
the trip”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Caroline:
</b>“Thanks, und gute Nacht (vielleicht </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US">)”<o:p></o:p></span></div>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-14312085632128345512012-06-20T23:00:00.001-07:002012-06-22T00:26:13.772-07:00Grand Canyon<br />
To start, this was absolutely the best day so far on this trip. We saw one of the 7 natural wonders of the world – Grand Canyon! How amazing is that?!<br />
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Moreover, in the morning, our meeting time was 8:15, and it went kind of smoothly, few of us were late but it was not a big deal and the day went as planned. We came at Grand Canyon on time because of Antonio who is the the best, fastes bus driver ever. Now, he is like a part of our little Rotary family, we love him and because he always have some surprises for us, today, we had one for him! We got him a keychain with his name on it, to always remember us, the best group!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyways, back to the main topic, which is Grand Canyon. We
can all agree that it was absolutely one of the best experience ever. When we
first spotted that huge Canyon everybody got Goosebumps and were excited like
little kids (Especially Amy, who is our chaperone and who is 28 :P). When we
started walking around the canyon, and taking all these pictures, we all
wondered how could we even describe this amazing place to our friends and
family. Pictures are not as near real as the whole feeling of being there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EsLYErxnnDc/T-K7UQa0O9I/AAAAAAAAAG8/VAuyZRWc4xw/s1600/DSC00787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EsLYErxnnDc/T-K7UQa0O9I/AAAAAAAAAG8/VAuyZRWc4xw/s320/DSC00787.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
After that first station (45minute stop) we headed to a little hike. Well, actually it wasn’t so little. We walked on the edge of the canyon for about 2 hours. Although it was super hot, we were tired and exhausted, we can all agree that it was worth it. We were excited and fascinated by the view all the way through. We couldn’t hide our happiness and excitement, because we were taking pictures on every single rock.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Also, we saw few birds that are rare to see, because there are just 400 of them, and we were few lucky ones who captured them in pictures. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TgEgoRD2lOE/T-K7tTGoipI/AAAAAAAAAHM/fCDtk1mN6N4/s1600/DSC00803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TgEgoRD2lOE/T-K7tTGoipI/AAAAAAAAAHM/fCDtk1mN6N4/s320/DSC00803.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">After that long walk, we headed to the lunch which was in the Imax cinema (National Geography building). There, we watched an amazing movie about Grand Canyon. It was very interesting, and the proof of that is that nobody fell on sleep</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Wingdings, Arial;">J</span><span style="background-color: white;">. That was the end of the day in the Grand Canyon. We will forever keep this amazing place in our memories!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
When we left, some of the people wanted to shop and some wanted to relax next to the pool, so we divided our bus in two groups. One, small group, went to the little town called Williams, and others went back to the hotel. For dinner, we went to a really nice place in that town, and nobody left hungry! Some of the boys made friends, actually waitress called Barbara (a.k.a Barby) who was bringing food without stopping. This is how we wrapped our incredible day! Tomorrow, we will conquer San Diego, so good night everybody and get ready for a 8 hour drive!<br />
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Nika (Croatia) and Alice (Italy)Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-85940555218348188652012-06-19T22:20:00.003-07:002012-06-20T19:08:54.456-07:00On our Way to the Grand Canyon!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today has been a very exciting but relaxing day! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First we slept in, ate perfect breakfast and left towards Arizona at
9:30 am. We ate our lunch in a town called Williams after sitting in the bus
about 5 hours. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lunch was awwwesooommee! After eating we had some free time = SHOPPING!
An hour later we arrived at our hotel, which has appeared to be the nicest
hotel on our trip. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0FHyf5knyfs/T-KA2SsDPLI/AAAAAAAAAGA/jG3wSfXImUg/s1600/DSC00702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0FHyf5knyfs/T-KA2SsDPLI/AAAAAAAAAGA/jG3wSfXImUg/s320/DSC00702.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We laid out by the pool in the about 100 degree weather! The pool and
jacuzzi are outdoors and we also have a tennis court and a volleyball net where
we spent some time. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our dinner was a delicious sub with chips by the pool. But yet, the day
of excitement was not over, as a surprise we had four different cakes to
celebrate this trips two birthday kids, Megan and Kim. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now we are just hanging out at the cool hotel area until our late
curfew at 11.30, wohooooooo!!!!! :D<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">XOXO<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Silja Soittila, Julia Scherlin and Martin Strack<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-69825769233816941412012-06-19T17:02:00.003-07:002012-06-19T17:04:11.806-07:00Henderson / Las Vegas<br />
Hello everyone,<br />
<br />
This is Giovanna and Marcelo from Brasil!! Waking up so early for a 7-hour trip was tough, but at the<br />
end was totally worth it!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGD47Z8flXg/T-ESrgeK9hI/AAAAAAAAAF0/FEdzBQKa5TI/s1600/DSC00669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGD47Z8flXg/T-ESrgeK9hI/AAAAAAAAAF0/FEdzBQKa5TI/s320/DSC00669.JPG" width="320" /></a>We drove through the beautiful landscape of California and Nevada, seeing how impressive the desert<br />
can be. The Brazilians made enough noise on the bus to annoy every single person we could. However<br />
everyone had fun, watched movies, listened to our awesome “DJs”, got to know people better, got<br />
some sleep (all of us needed it!), etc.<br />
<br />
On our way to Nevada we stopped by MC Donald’s and after all the confusion with the 52 orders, we<br />
finally got to our hotel. It was kind of surprising getting off the bus with a 41 degrees C, but the hotel<br />
had a cool and big swimming pool that a couple of us enjoyed before getting ready to go to….bam bam<br />
bam…the fabulous Las Vegas!!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5QO72-3qPw/T-ESPhqUdyI/AAAAAAAAAFs/nFDebw9qTpU/s1600/DSC00675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5QO72-3qPw/T-ESPhqUdyI/AAAAAAAAAFs/nFDebw9qTpU/s320/DSC00675.JPG" width="320" /></a>No words to describe how wonderful Vegas is! We never saw the group so happy and excited like today,<br />
not even our tiredness prevented us from having a great time. Once we got there, we were amazed by<br />
all the buildings, casinos, hotels, stores, everything you can think of.<br />
<br />
We ate at Hard Rock Café at the Las Vegas Boulevard; Marcelo noticed how everyone was in such a<br />
really good mood, because we were in a beautiful place, with good people, music and food. ALL AT THE<br />
SAME TIME!! Obviously, we took hundreds of pictures and had so much fun exploring the place.<br />
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Because we are such a great, responsible and obedient group, our ABSOLUTELY AWESOME driver<br />
Antonio surprised us by taking the group to the Bellagio’s water show (btw, do you know he is also an<br />
engineer? Wooow! Haaha!). It was amazing, the water would follow the songs, we saw the Eifel Tower,<br />
the lights were on…it was undescribable!<br />
<br />
Then another SURPRISE!! We visited the old downtown Vegas, really pretty and still lively! Everyone got<br />
excited with the ceiling covered with the biggest digital screen ever. Had so much fun! On the way back<br />
we had more Brazilian songs being horribly sang: ”Prim Prim Prim alguem ligo pra mim…”<br />
<br />
Chilled on the pool doing water fights and taking pictures underwater! Had a blast as always!<br />
<br />
Seems like each day gets better, maybe for the fact that we are getting to know people better. WE LOVE<br />
ALL OF YOU GUYS! This trip should never end!<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o7GuGHrMiLk/T-ERbJFqo8I/AAAAAAAAAFY/ZbJi_0SQd5M/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+6192012+15444+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o7GuGHrMiLk/T-ERbJFqo8I/AAAAAAAAAFY/ZbJi_0SQd5M/s320/Fullscreen+capture+6192012+15444+AM.bmp.jpg" width="184" /></a><br />
Kisses and hugs from Brazil!!<br />
<br />
Marmar e Gigi <3<br />
<br />Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-60142055537840699882012-06-19T01:11:00.003-07:002012-06-19T01:11:54.527-07:00Yosemite<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Guten
Morgen. Hyvaa Huomenta, Good morning.</span></div>
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After a small breakfast and a needed cup of coffee, we started our journey to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yosemite</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">National park</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Full of enthusiasm we
entered the bus. Unfortunately, no one expected a three hour ride. After one
hour, we finally stopped at a gas station. A heat wave of 99 degrees hit us
like a ton of bricks. Even the South Americans put sun block on, in order to
not compete with the Europeans in burning. Later, everyone was sprinting to the
cold beverages to cool them down. After hydration we continued our adventure. <br />
<br />
The closer we got to the Park, the more breathtaking views we got to see. From
a dry landscape to <st1:metricconverter productid="1.5 km" w:st="on">1.5 km</st1:metricconverter>
high Waterfalls. A lunch was provided under a so called “lower Waterfall”.
After an energizing snack, everybody walked their way through the beautiful
parts of the park. A huge crowd was drawn to the small pool of water which was
located underneath the Waterfall. It was one of the best spots for climbers and
tourists. Most pictures were taken on the upper part to see the nature of <st1:place w:st="on">Yosemite</st1:place>. Certain people were brave enough to go to the
next level and step under the Waterfall. The cold water scared most of us,
unfortunately only some realized that you only live once (YOLO!!). </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Besides Waterfalls, long rivers caught Tourists attention. A rental of canoes
was provided; sadly we did not have enough time. All in all, the view and the smell of the pine trees reminded some of us of
their home countries.<br />
<br />
The two hour ride to the dinner flew by fast. Everyone was tired and exhausted
on the ride home to the Hotel. Luckily, our tour dj aka Juan got us pumped up
with music. Before we were allowed to leave the Bus, our Chaperones informed us
that we are leaving early in the morning for another looooooooooooooooooong 7h
Bus ride adventure to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Henderson</st1:place></st1:city>!!!<br />
We ended our day normally by going into the pool. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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Fathers Day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">(Alles gute zum Vatertag, hyvaa isanpaivaa)<br />
We love you, </span></div>
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Sonja Brendes (<st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>)
Heini Teikari, Katriina Rimpinen (<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-3983261657497467442012-06-17T01:46:00.002-07:002012-06-17T01:47:23.312-07:00San Francisco<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">THE BEST
DAY SO FAR!!<br />
We all woke up with a feeling of having a good day, because there was no <b>fire alarm. </b>We grabbed something to
eat, got into the bus and we were heading to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>. The bus was divided into two
groups, the first group started with a tour in the USP Alcatraz. The second
group was just enjoying their free times in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>’s downtown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Alcatraz
was a federal prison located on a small island about two miles from the
downtown of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:city></st1:place>,
so we had to take a ferry to the island; it took us about 12 minutes. During
the tour in <st1:place w:st="on">Alcatraz</st1:place> we were able to see all
the cells where the most popular and dangerous prisoners were held, such as the
legendary Al Capone. We also saw all those cool places that we knew only from
the movies. <br />
<br /><br />
For lunch, we went to Hard Rock Café, the food was very good!! The entire
restaurant sang “Happy Birthday” to Mégane, who just turned 18 today. HAPPY
BIRTHDAY MÉGANE! Some people did a little bit of shopping in the Hard Rock Café
shop. After the lunch the second group went to Alcatraz and the first group had
their free time in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The city is
simply amazing! Even though everybody had to walk a lot up and down on the very
steep hills of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>
and burned their skins under super hot weather, it sucked, but it was worth it
A LOT! After all this walking we found one of the most gorgeous places for
pictures and we blew some money in the stores of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>!<br />
<br /> After those things we all got back in the bus, we went to the place that
everybody had been waiting for the entire day: THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. … more
pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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For dinner,
we went to “<st1:placename w:st="on">China</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Town</st1:placetype>”, the world famous <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">China</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Town</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
it was one of the best dinners we had ‘till now (in Lucas’ opinion)!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Antônio the world best bus driver ever (in Kubo’s opinion) surprised everybody
with a wonderful view of the night downtown, which means even more
pictures…YOLO!<br />
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Such a great day… don’t you think so?!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">by Lucas and Kubo!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-62612989082370116012012-06-16T00:03:00.001-07:002012-06-16T00:03:33.005-07:00Monterrey / Carmel / San Francisco<br />
Hello!<br />
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On day four, we travelled more than in the past three days. We got to know each other better and better, which Juan, our crazy Argentinian, showed in a practical joke. He called many of the guy's rooms, telling us to get out of our rooms due to a fire alarm. That woke most of us up and we went straight to breakfast.<br />
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We loaded the bus and got ready to drive north. Our first stop was in Monterey, a historic city in California. We eat lunch and had some free time for shopping.<br />
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Our next destination was Carmel, one of the most spectacular coasts of this region. The city by itself seemed kind of rustic. We walked all the way down to the beach, which was amazing. The sand was almost white, and everything looked gorgeous with the rocks and the beautiful Golf course in the background.<br />
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We left Carmel and continued driving towards San Francisco. Our hotel for the next two days is located in Oakland, where we ate dinner at Denny's. There was a firework show going on at the Oakland- San Diego Baseball game. We went outside of the hotel to get a better look at it.<br />
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We are looking forward to seeing the famous city of San Francisco and the prison of Alcatraz tomorrow.<br />
Very tired, we are heading to bed for a good night sleep.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
Felix and Michael<br />
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<br />Terra North America Userhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360665283993404629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-78964204048605566052012-06-15T00:12:00.000-07:002012-06-15T00:18:01.672-07:00Venice Beach / Santa Monica / Malibu / Santa Barbara<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello everybody!<br />
We started the day at 8.30 by loading the bus at the hotel in LA to head to out first stop at Venice Beach. This is an alternative city with a lot of cool people. We walked around on the beach, taking pictures of our selves in the Pacific Ocean and of course posing with some life guards; there was also a shopping street with a lot of souvenir stores.
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About 10 minutes away we stopped the bus again, in Santa Monica, where most of us headed to the famous pier. Here we of course took a lot of pictures but also took some rides on the roller coasters. Santa Monica also has a nice shopping street where we spent some money.
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We had a delicious lunch at Denny's before we loaded the bus again to take off to Malibu. Then we had a short stop to see the beach, use the bathroom and pose for pictures with some surfers.
This time we boarded the bus for a longer trip and 1,5 hours later, we arrived in Santa Barbara, which was so beautiful. On our way here we also saw some really cool houses/mansions.
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Some of us walked out on the pier and the beach to watch the amazing view while some of us took a bus downtown to explore the historical city. Due to the downtown shoppers our departure was a little delayed, they did not know the buses back stopped running at 6pm so they had to run all the way back to our bus.
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Now everybody was hungry but the food was worth waiting for. We drove about an hour through beautiful hilly California to a buffet restaurant where we all ate so much. Then we all rolled with our full belly's out to the bus so we could drive to the hotel here in Atascadero, where we finally are sitting now!
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Today was awesome and we can't wait to go to bed so we can wake up tomorrow, bright and early, and be ready for a new beautiful day in Monterey, Carmel and finally San Francisco!
Vivian Zapata and Julia Scherlin
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It’s a real pleasure to have the
opportunity to be the first exchange student writing in this blog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">As you can see, we landed all safe!! Right
now I am writing from the beautiful city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>, a place where thousands of famous
celebrities chose to live in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">We met with some more than a hundred
exchange students from all over the world, representing until now in the best
way, the Rotary Central States and his own countries. They divided us in two
groups. Bus 1 is the one we are part of (super cool), and it didn’t take too
long to get along with everyone in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">As soon as we got up, after listening to
some words and rules from our excellent staff, we went to the wonderful <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">park</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Universal Studios</st1:placename></st1:place>!!! This place that has
been bringing unique entertainment experiences for more than 100 years to
millions of people around the world, including us now. It was awesome!! Unreal,
like my Canadian’s friends would say. In our way, we passed by the hill with
the <st1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place> sign, but because it was too
foggy we could hardly see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I wouldn’t say we were tired, the trip
just started, but after walk all day long there, we finished our night in the
pool and the hot tub that our Holiday Inn hotel provides us. What a hard life,
eh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">To our parents; host parents; Rotarians and
Terra North America staff, we say thank you a lot for making this possible. We
will be in touch with you for the following fourteen days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Wishing you the best of lucks,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Best Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Juan Bechara</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Coordination meeting prior to students arrival</span><br />
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Exchange Students living in USA from all over the world are
meeting today at the LAX Airport in Los Angeles (CA) to start one of their
biggest adventures on the Exchange Year - the West Coast Trip! <span lang="EN-US">For the next 14 days, exchange
students will live together traveling around USA and visiting unforgetable and
exciting places like Disneyland, Universal Studios, San Francisco and its
landmark (the Golden Gate Bridge), Santa Monica, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, San
Diego and much more! Follow our blog to keep posted on what's happening at the
tour...</span></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644178338779987332.post-1163660943730749712012-05-08T08:26:00.003-07:002012-05-08T08:26:14.861-07:00WEST COAST - Coming soon!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8WUkYcFrzKk/T6k6_Q6fVuI/AAAAAAAADbg/a_i1EflPSYU/s1600/WestCoast+(Capa).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8WUkYcFrzKk/T6k6_Q6fVuI/AAAAAAAADbg/a_i1EflPSYU/s400/WestCoast+(Capa).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0