a trip to AMERICAAAAAAAAAA :))

I think it is everybody’s dream to visit America one day. America is famous for its movies, actors, shops, food, cities, etc. I expect being in America is like being in a movie. Touristy cities full of lights and busy people. As I want one of my dreams come true I planned a ten-day trip to California, one of the most famous states of America.

Budget: 2000€

My journey will start in Venice, Italy. As I know it from previous journeys, a flight from Venice is always much cheaper than from Austria. Moreover, I live in the very south of Austria so it takes me less hours to go to Venice than to go to Vienna.

Flight:  702€ (Airline: Air Canada)

After more than 23 hours and two stops, in Brussels and Montreal, Canada, I will arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport on Monday the 14^th of April at 20:59. As it will be 9 o’clock in the evening I will go to sleep to be fit for the next day!

·         Check-in at the “Bayside Hotel” in Santa Monica (about 30min away from the Airport).

Day 1:

• ·         Trip to Hollywood to see the famous Hollywood sign in the Hollywood Hills
• ·         Walk Of Fame
• ·         Santa Monica Pier
• ·         Afterwards a short visit to Beverly Hills 
  
  
  
  

Day 2:

• ·         Explore Los Angeles Downtown
• ·         A trip to the
  Universal Studios – tour
  I have read that comedian Jimmy Fallon is the video host of the Studio Tour. He is the star of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and I really like his show that’s why I am looking forward to this! :D He will introduce entertaining clips seen on HD monitors in the trams.

Day 3:

• ·         In the morning start driving up the coast to San Francisco
• ·         a stop at Malibu Beach – enjoying a bit of sun
• ·         enjoying the beautiful scenery along the coast

Day 4:

• ·         in the evening arrival in San Francisco
• ·         check-in at „Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco - Union Square” (about 85€/N)

 Day 5:

• ·         In San Francisco I will book a tour which provides a sightseeing tour around San Francisco including visits to:

o   the Golden Gate Bridge,

o   the Palace of Fine Arts,

o    Fisherman`s Wharf,

o   Pier 39,

o   Chinatown,

o   North Beach,

o   Presidio National Park

o   as well as a trip to the famous Alcatraz Island with its former prison.

  This will only coast me about 80$.

Day 6:

• ·         Yosemite National Park – about 100$
• ·         Check-in at “Curry Village”
• ·         Dining - Curry Village offers some of the most varied Yosemite restaurant options

 Day 7:

• ·         trip to Las Vegas
• ·         check-in at the famous “Bellagio” hotel :D
• ·         A casino night

  

  Bellagio :D

Day 8:

• ·         visit a famous White Wedding Chapel
• ·         visit to the Shark Reef Aquarium

Day 9:

• ·         A tour to the Grand Canyon
• ·         Last dinner in the US

Day 10:

• ·         back to L.A and flight back home
• ·         Thursday, 24^th of April at 11 o’clock in the morning
• ·         Arrival in Venice: Friday, 15:40

Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. 

correction of the PC1 writing part

Studying English and studying Spanish, my second language, are different in a number of significant ways. Whereas I have been learning English for more than nine years, I have just started to learn the Spanish language. Not only have I been studying English for such a long period of time, I have also spent six months in an English-speaking country. In these six months I was confronted with the English language daily and was able to learn many new expressions and words. That is what puts me into even more pressure to be good at English class. As I attend the basic course in Spanish I do not have to cope with this pressure in my second language. In addition to the pressure I put myself into, the English teachers put some pressure on the students too. Students of the English language already have the basic knowledge of English and therefore teachers have high expectations. These are not the only differences for me between those two languages. The Spanish grammer for example is very different to the English grammer. The English grammer is easier as there are not so many articles for instance. I know I have to study hard for both of my languages in order to become an excellent translator and these differences just make it more interesting for me as well as more challenging.

correction of homework: "Story of Ireland"

The most fascinating aspect of Irish culture that I learned about by watching the Story of Ireland was the incredible solidarity among the population in Ireland. The Irish fought many years to gain independence from the British Empire. Although various revolutions failed they never gave up. Ireland wanted to have their own parliament which should be ruled in Dublin and not London anymore. To accomplish this, the Irish formed groups like the Irish Republican Brotherhood which tried to separate Ireland from Great Britain. These groups had a large supporting base not only from the Irish in Ireland but also from the Irish who emigrated to America during the Great Famine between 1845 and 1850. That the Irish in America supported these groups, even though they weren’t really affected by all the problems in Ireland that were caused by the British, showed that the Irish population is very patriotic. This solidarity really impressed me. The documentary film “The story of Ireland” showed five hours of fascinating Irish history. The five parts of this movie provide completely new as well as familiar information. 

"The land of opportunity.."

As I was studying some of the American culture I came across a lot of very interesting topics. Some topics really fascinated me! But I have to admit that I didn’t really know a lot about the American history before. Some terms had been totally new to me such as Appalachia, the Forty-Niners or the Louisiana Purchase and the Trail of Tears. As America is one of the biggest and most influential countries in the world I think it is necessary to know about its cultural background. 

A lot of the events happened in the 19^th century, such as the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 or the California gold rush in 1848. It fascinated me that so many people travelled to the US just because they wanted to get rich. I wonder if such an immigration wave would break out nowadays too. Probably not.
What really caught me was the speech of Martin Luther King. Of course his name wasn’t new to me but I have never listened to his whole speech before. I just knew his famous words “I have a dream..”. King mentioned some really important points in his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, who was a very important man in American history too. It is almost inconceivable that it took such a long time until the blacks got the same civil rights as the white population. Although the black people technically became citizens in 1868. It took another 100 years until the end of segregation. In 1963 Martin Luther King fought for the rights of the black population and 45 years later America got his first black president. What a great turn in America’s history :)

Talking about the president, I have also learned about the Capitol and the process how bills become laws. This was quite interesting as well. I think it is not that different from Austria’s system. Well, I am not quite sure as politics has never been one of my favorite topics :D 

Anyway, I really enjoyed learning something about the American culture and I think it is never bad to know the backgrounds and the beginnings of a foreign country. Especially if it is the culture of a world power.. 

the stereotypical image of the USA :D