After preparing for a couple days before all the students arrived, the South Asian students presented on their cultures for the international students. You can read more here, and see a few student interviews here, beginning with Olga!
Monica
Mohammad
Rohini
Kultwisiso
Shilpi
Trip to America helped me to open a lot new, interesting, educational and simply superb things. I am very grateful for the opportunity from 360Plus organization and thank you very much for all support. This experience allowed me to see other side of the world, other opportunities and prospectives. It helped me to understand a lot about people, myself, even about animals and things, also about state governing. I learnt a lot from museums, historical signs, and of course from people. I had obtained a lot of beautiful and unforgettable impressions. I’ve met a lot of different people. I have seen the world. I got other look on the world. Different museums, signs, and architecture amazed me. We’ve attended 4 American cities, and every city was unique. Also unique was obtained experience. All new impressions and knowledge influenced me in good way. Thanks to 360Plus for help to me and others.
In general, to be honest, I did not expect that I would ever get to America, and even more so in this way. Even when I was near the US embassy in Poland, when they didn’t want to give me my passport because it wasn’t ready, I didn’t believe that such a thing was even possible. The first days in Los Angeles I had the impression that it seemed to me and was not real. During our stay, we had visits to Universal Studios and Disneyland, as well as trips around the city and to the sea, so at first the trip even felt like a vacation. The city itself is very quiet and without certain traffic, that is why I liked it, but I understand that I would not be able to stay in this place longer than we were due to the same reasons. Everyone does what he wants and when he wants, comparing this city with Washington, these are complete opposites. In fact, one of the wonderful experiences I got is living in a different rhythm of each city, so you can understand what you want in the future. In the next city – San Francisco, we stayed longer than in others, and it will probably be number 2 among my own “city rating”, because we had time to explore it the most and gained the same amount of scientific knowledge. We visited the Hiller Aviation Museum, Stanford University, Chinatown, Forests, California Academy of Sciences and visited the golden bridge many times. In each of these scientific places, I learned something new, starting with where and how certain models of airplanes were used, ending with the force of earthquakes in the city itself. Most of all, towards the end of the tour of this city, we visited forests and historical museums that had various nature themes. Of course, in any case, it was interesting to look around and get acquainted with something new, but when you have to wake up very early every day and return late in the evening, then the information for the day is not always well assimilated in the head, but it is also a new experience for all of us and a way out of comfort zone, which is also necessary. After San Francisco, we flew to Washington DC, which was very impressive at the beginning because this city is completely opposite to the first two, we visited. In fact, for an educational trip, Washington is an ideal city for this, because in my opinion it is a city that remembers its history and, based on it, improves its work for the future. I can’t say that I didn’t like this city, because the museums we visited during this time were really interesting to learn about the history of a new country, but I didn’t feel the excitement like in New York. I was mostly impressed by New York as a city, from which I expected the least delight. The movement of life, the contrast in the city and the excursions themselves were absolutely all interesting to me, as even the very perception of being in the city was completely different. The main thing about this trip is that the 360+ organization itself really knows how to plan trips and excursions for young people and does it so that in each city there is something that will be remembered for a long time, for example, the calm rhythm of life and entertainment in Los Angeles, nature and science in San Francisco, historic sites in Washington and the diverse sides of New York for the comfort of different nationalities. Personally, I sincerely thank all the sponsors and organizations that gave us such an opportunity as young students to visit America and learn about it better on our own experience in order to improve our native country in the future as well.
This trip is an unforgettable experience that I will remember for a long time. I am grateful to the 360+ project for the opportunity to visit and learn something new. The trip was very interesting and full. We visited four cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and New York. It was a dream for me to travel the world, and at first after coming to the USA I could not even believe that it was possible, because there were some difficulties with getting the visa, it seemed that nothing would work. It was strange at first because it was a different country and I was so far from home. But I’m also thankful that this trip brought me together with such wonderful people because we had so much fun together. Thanks to these people, this trip was even more interesting. In our first days in the city of Los Angeles, we walked and had fun at Disneyland and Universal Studios, but one of the highlights was the opportunity to take pictures with the “HOLLYWOOD” sign in the background of the Hollywood Hills and walk down the Walk of Fame. But for sure, I liked the city of San Francisco the most. It is from him that I have the best memories of a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge and a flight on an airplane over the city. Also, the nature of America in general is something incredibly attractive, with countless national parks of amazing beauty and diversity. Muir Woods was a very beautiful place. The park generally resembles a prehistoric forest, where giant redwoods and ancient ferns are at every step. It feels as if you are in “Jurassic Park” and a dinosaur is about to appear from behind the bush. The park is actually very large, the road runs through it. This is truly an amazing forest. Despite the fact that all the routes in it have been paved for a long time, you get the impression that you are wandering through the wet jungle of prehistoric times. There was also a lot of interesting things to do in the city of Washington, although we were not there for long. We took in the city itself on a bus tour that included stops at the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and a seasonal Potomac River Cruise. The trip through the capital of America was very interesting and informative, and then we continued and took the train to New York, which was also quite an interesting experience. As soon as we arrived in New York, leaving the train station, we immediately found ourselves in the city. The city itself was fundamentally different from the other three cities that we had already visited at that time. New York is an extremely beautiful city, but it is a huge metropolis that is constantly in a hurry. When you stand between these huge skyscrapers and look at them, you realize how tiny you are. Living in another country, especially in the early days, is quite a departure from the comfort zone. Other traditions, rules, new habits, food, language. In the end, the mentality. Absence of relatives, friends, favorite places, and coffee shops. You need to get used to a new country, overcome barriers, and in some ways even cross yourself. In general, I liked this trip, but I didn’t like that sometimes there was not enough time for some interesting places, since we had to be on time everywhere, and it was a shame that we never visited some places. But the impressions of this trip will remain in my heart for a long time. I am glad that I had the opportunity to appreciate and see with my own eyes the continuous whirlwind of New York life, and the calm and polite residents of Washington, the numerous museums, parks, and oceanariums, and the newest infrastructure of America. This trip taught me a lot, I gained an incredible experience, saw the New World, and dived into the different cultures and traditions of the people of this fantastic country.
