Hello from San Fransisco!

Once again, we checked out of another hotel and made our way to the beautiful city of San Francisco. In the bus we watched movies, and we stopped to get lunch. I finally got to try In-n-Out Burger! Anyway, we came to San Francisco, and it was so cool. The view from the bridge was beautiful and seeing all the houses and roads, that I’ve seen on TV so many times, was amazing. The city really impressed me. We got off the bus at Pier 39 and had free time to check out the shops. We had dinner at Bubba Gump and sang happy birthday to Balazs.

-Elin from Faroe Islands

Today we left from Merced for San Fransisco.  We went to the De Young Museum. We went to the Jean Paul Caurtier museum.  It was really cool, we liked it a lot.   There were models whose mouths moved and talked.  Another exhibit at the museum had photographs and paintings.  Then we went to Pier 39.  We saw the sea lions and we went shopping.  We went to Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner. The view was really great. We could see the ocean.  While we left the restaurant, we met other Rotary exchange students from Colorado. 

-In and Por from Thailand 

Sleeping in a little bit longer felt nice! And now here is the start to another wonderful day – Jean Paul Cartier Museum. Going to the museum was pretty cool. We saw a lot of interesting stuff and being able to go the art exhibit made it just better. The art exhibit had lots of weird but pretty amazing clothing and fashion accessories.  Some of the clothing in that exhibit could be worn by nobody but only Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry. After the museum we headed out to a beautiful place called “Pier 39.” It was a really cool place with a lot of happening. We got time to walk around that place, go to different stores and chill.  We took some wonderful pictures and then we went to Bubba Gump for dinner. The dinner was great but now comes the sad part – Saying goodbye to Dawn. 

-Jigs from India

Welcome to Yosemite National Park

Today we went to Yosemite National Park.  We hiked a trail next to a waterfall.  The hiking was very hard for everyone but I think all of us made it because the view was worth it.  When we got to the top of the waterfall we stopped to take pictures and eat a snack.  Then we hiked back down to see the view from a different angle.  After that, most of us rafted which was a very cool experience for us.  We didn’t take a camera so we don’t have any pictures.  With some friends we stopped at one of the beaches to just have fun and hang out and enjoy the view.  The only problem there is that the water was freezing.  I’m really glad I got to see all these wonderful places including Yosemite National Park because in Florida we don’t have them. It was an interesting experience for all of us. 

-Rafa from Ecuador 

Today we hiked at Yosemite National Park.  At the end of the hike we stopped on the river. We put our feet in the water which was really cold and refreshing.  We stayed about an hour. We took the bus to get lunch and the time flew by.  We then rode bikes through the hills  and saw all the scenery.  We saw other friends on the hike and raced with them.   The weather was cool and it felt nice compared to Florida.  We were able to eat whatever we wanted for dinner because we had a meal voucher. 

-Melanie from France

We went hiking in Yosemite today and it was a lot of fun, but I think it was a lot better when we went rafting after the hike. The river wasn’t too wild, but it was really entertaining fighting with the others. We all got really wet and the water was freezing. Johannes found a dead fish in the river and we threw it at each other. Finally we set it free again when we got back to the restaurant. On the rafting we were all tanning and chilling besides fighting too, so it was really nice after the hike.

-Balazs from Hungary

Beverly Hills, That's Where I Want to Be...

Today we went to see the famous Hollywood sign and take pictures next to it.  We also took pictures next to the Griffith observatory.  We drove through the neighborhoods and saw really nice homes.  Then we went to the famous Beverly Hills. This was more exciting as there were the most famous stores.  However, our excitement waned as we looked at the price tags.  Our biggest hope was to see someone famous but unfortunately that didn’t end up happening.  I’m really glad that I finally got to see this place because I have seen it in many movies and TV series.

-Carolina G from Brazil

I loved the view of LA from Griffith Observatory.  I really enjoyed the free time we had there to take pictures of the overview and Hollywood sign.  After that we went to Beverly Hills.  It looks just like I had imagined it to look like.   What I didn’t know, however, is that they only have very expensive, famous, and popular brands.  I loved just walking around Beverly Hills and I felt important because everyone there is dressed up in heels and suits.   I think I saw Maci from “Teen Mom” with her son and I was in a store that Sylvester Stallone visits often.   I loved being there and I definitely want to come back. 

-Lori from Croatia 

Beverly Hills is one of the most famous places in the world.  It is the place to go where you can meet famous people.  We went shopping, but you cannot really call it that because we did not buy a lot.  We went to Aldo and the saleswoman was really nice and talked to us a lot. We went to Chanel and all the high end stores.  Where I’m from in a small town, there are not all these expensive stores in one place.  We  took a lot of pictures with brand name signs and we were proud of ourselves because we got something from Beverly Hills.  We went to a big hotel to go to a restroom. The restrooms were beautiful with fresh flowers everywhere.

-Angie from France