Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on Friday!

Today was our last full day together -- an amazing and jam-packed day! We left the hotel bright and early to catch the ferries to Alcatraz Island. The audio tour of the jailhouse was amazing in its detailed descriptions of daily routine and attempted escapes. 

After we escaped from the island and enjoyed some free time on Pier 39, we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge and walked its entire 1.7-mile length under an uncharacteristically blue sky.

From the Marin side of the bridge, we rushed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and our goodbye party. 

Reflecting on the week, we are amazed by the students we’ve met, the experiences we’ve shared, and the relationships we’ve watched develop. We know we’ll miss each of you moving forward, and here are some great memories we're taking with us. 

 xox,

Your Belo staff: Rosalia, Gwen, Laura, and Maddy

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“I really enjoyed walking over the bridge. That was my favorite thing because the view of San Francisco was so amazing, and the weather was great! Everyone told us that San Francisco is always foggy, but today it was beautiful.”
- Emelie (Sweeden)

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“The beach in Santa Monica was perfect.”

- Sofie (Sweeden)

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“Coming here made my dream come true. We all speak English together, people form many nations, and that makes me so happy.”
- Boonyaporn (Thailand)

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“My favorite thing was seeing Jessie McCartney on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was getting his make up done, and he was with an actress.”
- Elise (Norway)

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“I don’t have a single favorite thing. It’s just like everything we did – the people. Making friends with international people from all over the world was my favorite part of this trip.
- Hanna (Finland)

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 “My favorite thing was Universal Studios. It was so cool to see how they make movies – like how they make a fake flood during the studio tour. I was taking pictures and was so worried that my camera would break!”
- Junia (Sweeden)

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“I think our farewell party is the most fun because everybody is dancing – all different people dancing together. And I think this dance makes everybody closer. I also really liked the Golden Gate Bridge – seeing it was my dream. In the future I want to move to California, and stay here!”
- Saruta (Thailand)

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“I really liked the Golden Gate Bridge because I like to explore things and see things, take pictures and everything. When we got to the other side, I didn’t want to stop walking!.”
- Nickolai (Denmark)

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“I’ve been high and I’ve been low. I’ve been yes and I’ve been no. I’ve been rock and roll and disco. Would you save me, San Francisco? That’s a Train song. San Francisco saved me, and I had a great time!"
- Giaccomo (Italy)

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“My favorite thing was all the people I’ve met. I’ve met so many great people this week, it’s kind of sad that I may never see them again. Maybe. You never know.”
- Fabian (Germany)

San Francisco all day long

Today started with the wonderful Hilton breakfast and a bus trip to pier 39 to see the lazy sea lions hanging out together.

Then we walked to the cable car station at Hyde Street. We made our way over the huge hill and some of us got the chance to stand/hang off the side like you always see in the movies!

We got off at the end of the line and--of course--got time to go shopping in the big and expensive San Francisco stores.

After having some lunch (our group went to an Italian restaurant that Anne (Germany) knew from a previous California trip), we met up as a group and got into the buses together with tour guides who showed us around for the rest of the day. With them, we stopped at the popular Lombard street to take some pictures. Then, we went on to Land's End to take more pictures and enjoy the marvelous Pacific Ocean panorama.

After that, we headed to the De Young Arts Museum for a quick educational stop. I (Kotaro) was particularly happy to spend time in the Japanese Tea Garden outside -- it was truly lovely.

Our last stop of the tour was the Twin Peaks Park, where we took a group photo and a lot of other pictures of the amazing view.

The weather was so clear that we could even see the Golden Gate Bridge all the way from Twin Peaks!

 

Then we drove to China Town and Li (China) told us some things about Chinese history and culture on the way. He also taught us some Chinese words like 'hello', 'thank you' and 'I love you'. By the time he was done we arrived in Chinatown, which is the biggest Chinatown in the US, and had a little bit of free time before dinner.

After a big dinner, we headed back to the hotel because we'll board the bus at 7:30 tomorrow morning for our Alcatraz trip!

Sweet dreams,
- Matthias (Germany) and Kotaro (Japan)

Road trip to San Francisco!

We packed our bags last night so that we could sleep a little longer this morning. After breakfast, we started an amazing journey to San Francisco. The scenery was really pretty.

On our bus, we watched Forest Gump and Catch Me if You Can. We also listened to a lot of music. We sang each country's national anthem, and that was really impressive because there were so many anthems I had never heard before. Thailand, Germany, Italian. Michaela was the only person from the Czech Republic on the bus, but she still sang - alone! South Korea was represented too, but Sugyeong wasn't center stage.

The second stop we made was really cool. The area was made in the style of a small Californian village. It looked like an old European market. Sugyeong bought fresh blueberries and a plum! The was a lot of garlic for sale, but neither of us bought any.

In San Francisco, we went to Bubba Gump for dinner. This restaurant was inspired by the movie Forest Gump -- good thing we had just watched it! Sugyeong had some of the fried shrimp for which Bubba Gump is famous and we had a great time hanging out with friends from Japan and Austria, and other places. The restaurant did a trivia quiz. Because we had just seen the movie Forest Gump, we knew some of the answers. Michaela won a prize, and Sugyeong knew one of the answers, but wasn't quick enough to raise her hand.

Now we're checked into our new hotel and are ready for a big day tomorrow!
- Sugyeong (Korea) and Michaela (Czech Republic)

It's a Small World After All!

Disneyland is the place of hopes and dreams from every childhood, and our day in Disney today did not disappoint! 

When you arrive on the main road where there are candy shops, clothes shops, and Mickey Mouse, the three-year-old kid that you have in your heart just dances. 

My (Li’s) favorite ride was Space Mountain because it felt like I was in space. It was totally dark except for the stars that were shining. In the same area of the park, Jack really enjoyed seeing the storm troopers because he grew up loving the Star Wars movies.

My (Jack’s) favorite activity was Flying Tires. We went in because the ride’s name Italian -- Casa dela Tire -- and I am Italian. It turned out to be an activity that was kind of meant for three-year-old kids, but even though it was a slow ride, I was still so excited! Everyone also enjoyed the water rides a lot!

While we were riding the Cars roller coaster, a lot of students went to see a water and light show called World of Color. Everyone said World of Color was so cool with music and movies projected onto fountains! Here’s a picture of one of Disneyland’s breath-taking sights in the daylight and during World of Color. Aren’t the fountains beautiful in the video?!

Still, it was worth it to miss the water show. The Cars roller coaster was awesome – it really seemed like the movie! The ride is like a race. And even though our friends Miguel (Spain) and Florian (France) beat us, we still had an awesome time.

By the time we finished the Cars ride and the World of Color show finished, it was time to go back to the hotel and pack for San Francisco, but as this picture shows, Giovana (Brazil) and Camillla (Italy) really held onto their last minutes in Disneyland – they didn’t want to leave!

 

- Li (China) and Giacomo (Italy)

Whirlwind tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica

First thing this morning we took the busses to Madame Tussaud's wax museum. My (Saki) favorite statue was Bruce Willis because, and it really looked like him. We took a picture where we look like boyfriend and girlfriend, and it is so cool! 

My (Airi's) favorite was Selena Gomez. She was really skinny, and it was surreal. Her face was really small cute. We took lots of pictures with wax statues -- and some without!

Outside, we walked up and down the Walk of Fame, where there are stars in the pavement. Hollywood is such a city! It's really different than Saki's host town in Maine. Then we went shopping and had lunch. We got clothes from H&M and Forever 21, and we saw the impressive Chinese Theater!

From Hollywood we went to Beverly Hills, where we just walked around. The stores are so expensive, we didn't buy anything. We are such chickens and almost felt like we couldn't even go in, but we did go into Burberry for a few seconds. The neighborhood was so pretty, with so many beautiful, huge houses. We want to live there someday! Or at least visit.

After Beverly Hills, we went to the beach! We played beach volleyball, which was very fun. Other students played beach soccer, some went roller skating, some did even more shopping! We tried to go swimming in the water, but it was way too cold. We only got wet up to our knees.

 

Then it was dinner time! The restaurant had crazy decorations, and the waiters were so cool. They talked to us and made jokes while serving American-Italian food: spaghetti, chicken, alfredo, salad, and awesome brownies for dessert. One waiter stood on top of a chair so he could get our entire table into one photo!

The day is winding down now, and we can't wait for Disneyland tomorrow!

- Saki (Japan) and Airi (Japan)

Welcome to Los Angeles!!

First thing this morning, we drove to the Griffith Observatory, and when we saw the Hollywood sign, it was amazing. We could hardly believe it was real! The wonderful weather also gave us a clear view of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean.

Then we went to Universal Studios, and it was so cool and so hot. We all took a group photo in front of the rotating globe and screamed for the video camera: welcome to Universal Studios!

The best part was when we saw Shrek and the Donkey! They talked to us for a while and then said, 'bye girls from the international princess program' when we left. There were other actors throughout the park that talked to us and were very funny and nice. Some people also got their faces professionally painted in the park. Looks so cool!

Shopping was another amazing part of the day. City Walk outside of the Universal Studios had loud music and crazy lights -- as well as awesome clothes for sale. And we didn't just shop for ourselves, we also got a few things for our host families.

At the end of the City Walk was Hard Rock Cafe, where we had dinner. It was my (Ana's) first time in a Hard Rock Cafe. Maria had been once before in Madrid. We really liked the car hanging in the middle of the restaurant -- and the entire second floor of the restaurant was full of Belo students!

Driving home from Hard Rock Cafe, the city lights were beautiful, the music was loud, and we were very happy, tired, and ready to get in the hot tub.

Can't wait for tomorrow,
Ana (Spain) and Maria (Spain)

Here it is, the CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE TRIP! Get ready to visit glamorous Los Angeles and funky San Francisco! We will be going to the place where dreams come true: DISNEY LAND and the place where movies are made: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!  It's going to be a week of adventure, excitement and friendship...we hope you are as excited as we are!

This blog will be our journal of all the fun things we'll be doing. Every day, we'll be posting our stories and our pictures so our families and friends can experience the trip along with us. It's going to be a wonderful time, so get ready...IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!