The American Dream
- Hoang Giang Nguyen
- Oct 13, 2019
- 3 min read
My first overseas trip was to the United States. I have to admit that it was a luck for me to have this chance. My mum knew about a children summer camp in the US through her friend, and luckily Vietnamese delegation was lacking a boy. She asked me if I wanted to go to the US, and I thought she was just joking at first. For a boy who had never had the chance to travel beyond the border of Vietnam, I was quite shocked. Going to the US was something like a dream for me.
Our delegation has 5 people, comprising 4 kids and a leader. As we arrived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, we were welcomed by a very friendly host family. During the 4-day stay at their house, I had the chance to learn more about the American culture such as the food, daily activities and family bonding. We were also taken out for picnics, shopping and trekking into the nature.
Then, our host took us to our campsite at Harrison Bay State Park. It immediately gave me a great sense of freshness as there were trees all around. Every morning when I woke up, I saw a herd of deer walking around our campsite, an experience that I have never had before. I was simply overwhelmed by the natural ambiance of this place.
After we put our stuff away, 9 delegations from 9 different countries came together to introduce and design a schedule for our daily activities. This was an educational summer camp so every day we were taught about several existing issues around the world. We were also encouraged to raise our ideas about how to overcome these issues.
Interestingly, each delegation had one whole day to do their cultural activities. In this way, we had a great opportunity to educate other people about the culture of Vietnam, and also learn about the cultures of 8 other countries. Our food was the highlight of our culture. We cooked traditional Pho for the whole camp and everyone just loved it. They also loved our traditional handicrafts. We took this opportunity to exchange these with their souvenirs.
After spending three weeks at the camp, we flew to Chicago for another 3 days before heading back to Vietnam. Returning from the nature, the modern side of the US became more fascinating. Our delegation visited some of the most popular attractions there. One of these is The Bean (Cloud Gate) – a large stainless steel figure lying in the central of Chicago. It allows tourists to take great selfies that can capture the blue sky, high buildings and also themselves because it serves as a big mirror of this city. We also visited the Skydeck at Willis Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. It offers a very wide view of Chicago. Furthermore, there is a glass box sticking out of the building on 103rd floor, and you will experience the thrill of looking down from such a high level. In Chicago, I also get to know about the American culture of tipping for services such as taxi, restaurant and cafe.
The Bean (Cloud Gate), Chicago
Overall, my first trip abroad was incredible. I got to learn and experience so many new things and made a lot of new friends. I’m looking forward to meet these friends again when I have the opportunity to visit their countries. I also can’t wait to come back to the US one day, as there are so many cities I didn’t have time to stopover.
ความคิดเห็น