Ein unvergessliches Erlebnis

On our fist day we went on a sight seeing tour across Downtown Manhattan. Although it rained a bit we had a good time. After that we went to the 9/11 museum, and then by boat to Liberty and Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty is enormous and beautiful, on Ellis Island we learned a lot about the immigrants, who came from Europe to America in the hope to start a better life. We also walked halfway down Brooklyn Bridge, famous for its architecture and great views. Our last stop that evening was Chinatown, one small but nice neighbourhood. Later we went on thze night tour on a double- decker bus but this time we drove around Manhattan and Brooklyn. NYC at night is really special, everything looks so different, it was really amazing and a great experience.

On the next day we went Uptown to the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We also saw Rockefeller Center and Times Square. Times Square is incredible, lots of colors and billboards ! Next day we walked across Central Park, a unique work of art, we didn't expect such a big park in this huge city. Our next stop was the MOMA, abbreviation for the Museum of Modern Art, we had the honour to see a few masterpieces by Miro, Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and of course Renoir. The Empire State Building amazed us all, there was a great view and we took a lot of photos. After this we went to Macy's, the biggest store of the world , and much to our surprise the arrival of Beyonce was expected. Believe it or not, we had the chance to see her in person and to take a few pictures.

After these wonderful days in New York City we left for Buffalo; finally we got to meet our host-families. We went with our host-sisters to school and learned a lot about their school system and culture. On Saturday evening we saw a hockey game, the stadium was gigantic and full of people. We were lucky and had great seats, we loved the match, the Buffalo Sabers were playing against the Toronto Maple Leaves, in the end the Sabers won.
  
In Washington

 
At school there was a special week called "Homecoming week", students and teachers dressed up for each day. On Monday was "the Lion King", on Tuesday "Peter Pan", on Wednesday "Princess Day", on Thursday "Toga breakfast" and finally on Friday we wore their school colors. One of those days we went on a field trip: to the court in Downtown Buffalo. A unique occasion that we will never forget; we attended a drug case and had the opportunity to talk to a judgeas well as to learn about their judicial system. On Friday was a special football game called "Homecoming game", it was impressive while on Saturday there was the Homecoming dance. A big event, a school dance where everybody dressed nicely and had fun. On Sunday evening we were invited to Farewell dinner. It was a typical Thanksgiving dinner especially for the Bozen students and their hosts. The families wanted us to experience the American way of life. One of my favourite evenings was when we went to the wonderful musical 'The Lion King'.

The hardest thing on this journey was to say goodbye to our host-families, it just was a day of tears. Our next destination was Washington DC, a fantastic and unforgettable city. We visited the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, World War II. Memorial, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. In Arlington cemetery we were impressed by JFK and his wife's tomb . After three awesome weeks we finally had to leave the United States but for us WFO students it remains an unforgettable and incredible experience.

by Valentina Pichler 4 B-EU