UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!!

Welcome to Universal Studios!

We were so excited, we had to jump up in the air!

And scream and shout!

The House of Horrors brought us closer together

We rode lots of rides at Universal!

We met lots of characters, too!

And got into some dangerous situations

...And saw hi-tech explosions... (Fast & the Furious set)

And more pyrotechnics... (Waterworld show)

Then we went shopping on City Walk

We loved the holiday decorations...

Then we wen to Hard Rock for dinner

And enjoyed the meal, the music, and the good conversation!

Well, after our first night in L.A. we would like to say that we love our roommates at this hotel :) And we think it is awesome that there is a piano in the lobby because there are some talented students on this trip.

Today, we got in the bus and headed over to Universal Studios! On our way, we got a nice view of the Hollywood Sign and put on "Party in the USA" to celebrate! It's so unreal to be here.... When we arrived at Universal, we took a group picture with our trip shirts in front of the famous Universal Studios globe. Then we entered the park and all walked together through the House of Horrors. Some said it was really fun and funny, while others would describe it as anything but fun- scary, terrifying, creepy...

After that, we were really awake and ready to have free time in the park to ride all the rides and see some shows... We LOVED the Simpson's Ride (a virtual roller coaster) and some people rode the Mummy roller coaster 8 times during the day! The park was not crowded at all, so all the lines were short... We are lucky for that. We got together in the afternoon to go on the Studio Tour together because it is a long tour and it is much more fun with more people. The tour included sets from famous movies like "Jaws", "Psycho", "Fast & Furious" and the show Desperate Housewives. It also had a few kind of rides: King Kong 3-D 360, which was crazy! And an Earthquake simulator.

Later in the day, we rode more rides and then went to see the Waterworld show which was like watching a live film... It was sooo good with all the special effects, stunts and pyrotechnics. They are searching for a new actor to join the crew, but we don't think we are athletic and sporty enough for the job... Maybe we will find something else tomorrow.

When the park closed, we went into CityWalk to do some shopping. The street was so cool because all the signs were lit up and flashing and there were Christmas decorations... Even King Kong had a Santa hat on his head. It was pretty there. And then our Hollywood moments came: We got to meet someone famous! The band Metro Station- who sing "Shake It"- were eating at Hard Rock right by us! The lead singer is the brother of Miley Cyrus, and the other singer is from Hannah Montana! We got photos and autographs and then watched them perform a few songs after dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (the burgers were amazing, by the way! The whole place was pretty cool because there was a car in the middle!) The coolest part about seeing the band was that they gave YFU a shout out on stage so since somebody famous said our name, and we're in L.A., now we're kind of famous.

Overall it was a great day! We are starting to get the real spirit of Hollywood: Everything is possible here! We really don't want to leave!!! Really...

Catherine and Anna from Germany

CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!!!

Welcome to Beverly Hills... We are doing our best to look posh

OMG! It's Rodeo Drive!

Eric's Bugatti fits in perfectly there ;)

Everyone needs to experience a California sunset...

Ours was on Venice Beach!

Then we headed to the Santa Monica Pier to hang out

The famous ferris wheel on the Pier!

Just hanging out, looking at the Pacific Coast, before dinner...

Bubba Gump for dinner... Right on the Pier!

Felix feels just like Forrest with the Nike's and box of chocolates!

Hello all!


We woke up and did the typical breakfast (yum) and hotel check out in Las Vegas, then go on the bus and left for Los Angeles! We stopped on the way to eat lunch and many people tried the west coast fast food- In 'n' Out Burger- which was pretty great. Others ate Subway and Panda Express. Can't have a road trip without a little fast food ;)  After lunch we watched 17 Again in the bus and we are all in love with Zac Efron now. Before we knew it we were in L.A. (baby)...


Our first stop was Beverly Hills. It was really exciting to be there because we see it in all the movies and we were actually there! We walked up to the sign and took pictures and it was very much like a dream to see that and watch the exotic cars passing by the streets with shops by famous international designers. After a walk around, we got back to the bus and started a tour of some areas of L.A. with two great tour guides. The tour was interesting because they talked about gossip and scandals in Hollywood, the history of the neighborhoods and city, and other stories about the film industry.


We stopped at Venice Beach to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. It was magical and romantic as we walked along the promenade.... Then we left for Santa Monica, which is just north of Venice Beach. There is a famous pier there where many movies have been filmed. There was even a TV show (Revenge) being filmed on the beach tonight. We had a nice walk on the pier, just chilled and danced to the drums that were being played by a street-or pier- artist. We ate dinner soon after at Bubba Gumpp Shrimp, which was awesome because many of us have seen the film and it is so good! The food was great there and the servers were funny. They asked us trivia from the movie and gave prizes to whoever was the first to correctly answer.


After dinner, may of us were tired and ready to go to the hotel to relax. Some others were ready to party and danced the whole bus ride back to the hotel and then got in the pool and jacuzzi for a while. We also talked about silly questions we have been asked about our countries since we came to an American school. It is funny to hear about everyone's experiences.


Our first impressions of Los Angeles: the Hollywood sign made us have goosebumps, even though we saw it from far away in the bus... It made us sing "Party in the USA"... We liked what we saw today and we feel like this city is more chill than Las Vegas so we look forward to seeing more tomorrow and Friday!


For now, we need to get some rest! Until tomorrow...


Kevin ("the dancing queen of the trip") from Denmark

HOOVER DAM & LAS VEGAS STRIP!

Playing interactive games at the visitor's center at the Hoover Dam

Welcome to the HOOVER DAM!

We had the chance to be in two places at once!

The group in front of the famous Bellagio Hotel & Casino!

NYNY Hotel & Casino and its glorious roller coaster!

Strolling down the walkways on Las Vegas Boulevard

On top of the strip at the Stratosphere!

INSANITY- the ride at the Stratosphere

The first morning in Vegas started just how it’s supposed to be: with fatigue, hoarse voices and everything else that belongs to a real hangover! Don’t worry, mom and dad, it was only a limo hangover ;)

After a short and delicious breakfast we went straight to the Hoover Dam, one of the most important things in and around Las Vegas. Fortunately the weather was on our side – it was so sunny it felt more like a nice fall day than chilly December. At first we visited the new visitor’s center and than we had around one hour to explore the dam on our own. It was an amazing feeling to stand in the middle, right between the water and the deep hollow, staring down at about 400 meters of nothing. By the way – this place was also set of one of the Transformers movies.

Right after that we drove back where we stopped yesterday -> The Strip!!! Two hours before and after our first group picture in front of the Bellagio were way not enough time to see all the attractions that Las Vegas offers but enough to feel the spirit of the city. Some of the big bangs are: The M&M world, Hard Rock Café, MGM and the lions, Caesar Palace and the Venetian Hotel.

At four-thirty we all went back to busses to let our legs rest for a short time, just to walk into probably the most amazing experience you can have in the city of entertainment: The Stratosphere! We went up to the 109^th floor of the building to take pictures of the whole city lit up. We had the choice of three different- but each more intense (some would say terrifying)- attractions to ride way up at the top; we had the chance to fly over Las Vegas or be lifted and dropped on the roof of the tower. After all this adrenalin we all were hungry and needed the great dinner at the Stratosphere casino which was just as yesterday: SOOOO yummy and so much of everything. They really try to make us fat here!

Than we went back to the strip and the group split there. Everyone noticed, that even if Las Vegas is breath catching during the day, it’s glowing at night. It’s over the top all the time and it is just like a movie after the sun goes down. One part of us stayed at the strip to enjoy all the fun at night, the rest went to the MGM Grand to watch the amazing Cirque de Soleil show called Ka…. More on that:


For those who wanted to go, we had a chance to see a real show in a Las Vegas Hotel & Casino... And we chose a Cirque de Soleil show in the biggest hotel on the strip- the MGM Grand! We 21 students went with a staff and chaperone and it took us only 20 minutes to get to the theatre after we entered the MGM (because it was so HUGE)! The show itself- KA- was worth every penny!!! With special effects, pyrotechnics, and every other cool thing you can imagine, they took us into another world. The acrobatics, stage, set and music were just overwhelming. 
Still speechless from the show, we walked outside and were given a pretty nice surprise for our ride back- a PARTY BUS! We all filed in and could stand in there, so we partied our way back to the hotel and fell asleep after another awesome day on the West Adventure! (-Ronja, Germany)

Those of us who did not take the opportunity to see the show went back to the hotel and just hung out in the lobby. After all that we’ve seen, we can say that visiting Las Vegas (the City of Sin) should be on everybody’s bucket list.

Vegas, baby!

Stine and Stephan from Germany

VEGAS, BABY!!!!

Welcome to the Famous Route 66!!!

Mikayla (Australia), Elise and Solene (France) posing outside of a shop on Route 66

We go t to see the cars that inspired the film Cars

Felix (Finland), Kevin (Denmark), Tommi (Finland) and Amy (Australia)

One out of 6 of the Hummer LIMOS!!!

Students taking pictures on Freemont Street

Dancing on Freemont Street with a giant Christmas tree in the background

Singing and clapping along with "We Will Rock You" with the TV screen overhead

Our day started at eight o’clock with breakfast in Grand Canyon, AZ. We left at nine to travel to Las Vegas. On the way, we stopped at Selligran- on the famous Route 66! We crammed 100 people into a tiny souvenir shop because everyone wanted to buy something to remind them of this once in a lifetime experience. There was snow on the ground, but it was getting warmer…

We got back on the bus and finished our drive to Las Vegas, and we passed by the Hoover Dam on the way. It was so BIG! We can’t wait to go back there tomorrow. Our first stop when we go to Vegas was an Outlet Mall to eat lunch and shop! Everybody bought something from Tommy Hilfiger, and others shopped at their favorite stores and took advantage of the huge sales. After a few hours, we went back to the busses to go to the hotel. We like it there—very comfortable beds. In 1 ½ hour,s everyone did their best to get dressed up for dinner and the LIMO RIDE!!! Oh my gosh, it was sooo exciting!

We rode to a casino and had a buffet dinner with every type of food- they had EVERYTHING! They even had a self-serve ice cream machine. After dinner, we sang the birthday song to Roosa! And then we sang in all our own languages at the same time! And even though the dinner was amazing, we forgot all about it when the limos arrived to pick us up! The birthday girl’s present from Belo USA was a PINK limo! When they pulled up, everyone started screaming… In groups of 17 we got into 6 different Hummer H2 limos and the ride began!

The city tour was three stops. The first place we went was Freemont Street- the first street in Las Vegas, and now the home of a 400+ meter TV screen on the ceiling. We all had a chance to look around, take pictures and watch the Christmas band play, before all the casinos shut off their lights and the show started on the ceiling. There was an interactive music show with very impressive graphics… The show was so amazing that we had no choice but to dance and sing along. We formed a circle and clapped to the song “We Will Rock You” and put our arms around each other and swayed to “We are the Champions” by Queen! When the show was over, we hopped back in our limos where the party continued. It was seriously a party! The music was blaring and we could feel the bass on the seats; the sights of Las Vegas all flying by us, making the whole scene feel like a movie.

Our second stop was the Bellagio Hotel and Casino where there is a dancing water show in the fountain outside. We stayed for the water show, which was synchronized to the music “All That Jazz”… We were not just watching the show, but we were staring in wonder and awe because it felt like a dream. Across the street, we could see the Eiffel Tower lit up. We also had time to go inside the Belaggio and check out the Chocolate fountain and amazing Christmas decorations. There were even crystal flowers on the ceiling of the lobby.

At 11:15pm, we left in the limos to party on our way to our last stop- the famous Las Vegas sign! It was really cold, but everybody took many pictures and even the group picture was a lot of fun! Everybody was still super excited, but also very exhausted and happy to get back in the limo to go to the hotel.

The whole night was like a dream- a really good dream- and an amazing experience we will NEVER forget! Viva Las Vegas, baby!

More tomorrow!

Ronja- Germany

Lena- Germany

GRAND CANYON & SNOW DAY!!!

The AMAZING, beautiful, snowy GRAND CANYON!!!

Icicles formed on one of the cabins nearby... It really was a winter wonderland!

Elizabeth, Niki, Amy, Lhing, Pim and Mint loving the view of the huge canyon below

One of the seven wonders of the natural world!

The girls are staying warm while they walk around the rim of the canyon...

Lhing (Thailand) enjoys the day hiking and just being in nature...

The group walking along the path toward a hole in the rock up ahead...

Mint (Thailand) admires the view from the canyon trail...

Having fun in the snow!!!

Beautiful South Rim of the Grand Canyon

We woke up early – 7 o’clock- to check out of the hotel. We had a wonderful breakfast of omelets, sausage, cereals, oatmeal and pineapple! Then we headed to the bus and were off for the Grand Canyon. At first, we thought the 4-hour bus ride would take forever but it went by really fast. The first half we talked, slept, listened to music and then we stopped in a beautiful place to take pictures and stretch our legs. The second half of the trip we put on a movie, which was really nice. And we also enjoyed the view of the snowy landscape. It was so gorgeous, the snow was sparkling and there were hills and valleys.

We arrived at the Canyon around 12-noon. We walked through a pathway and got our first glimpse of the breathtaking view of the GRAND Canyon!!!!! OMG! We are overwhelmed because it was so surreal to be there. We were seeing it, we were there, but it still seemed crazy that it was not a giant portrait. We took many pictures and videos and it was strange to be there in winter because there was snow everywhere, which contrasted with the red and orange rocks. We were very lucky to be there today because all the snow fell yesterday and it was beautiful and sunny for us today. It was cold, but we then had the opportunity to go inside the gift shop, eat lunch at the Blue Angel Lodge and hang out by the fire in the lobby.

After our free time, a lot of us got together and walked down into the canyon to a point where there was a hole in the canyon rock and an arch over the small pathway. We took lots of pictures because the view was always changing. Every perspective we saw made the canyon look beautiful in a different way. There was a bus running between limited areas, so a few of us found that and took it to other locations in the park. Some people continued walking around the rim of the canyon, while others returned to the lodge for hot chocolate and coffee.

After we saw the sunset, we got back on the bus and rode to another area to eat an Italian dinner. We liked the food a lot and so we ate a little too much. And then, after we finished eating, they brought out cake and we sang happy birthday to Felix W. who just turned 16 today!!! But we didn’t sing it only in English, we sang it in German and in every other language of the trip! That means we sang the birthday song in 20 different languages! That will surely be a birthday he will never forget.

We left after dinner and headed for our hotel and straight for the indoor swimming pool! We had time to swim, hang out in the lobby and get to know everyone better.

It was an awesome day with a lot of adventure and beauty. Now we are heading to sleep because we’re super tired and we want to get a good night sleep before tomorrow because it’s time to head to Vegas, baby!!!

Elma- Finland

Natalia- Brazil

Carolin- Germany

WELCOME TO PHOENIX!

Our awesome hotel in Phoenix...The pool was heated ;)

The Arizona state Capitol building!

The "hole" in the rock at the nature park...

We all walked through the hole to look at the view of the desert and city

We were super excited for the trip to finally begin after so much time waiting for it! We- all 102 of us- came from many places to meet up in Phoenix for our West Adventure trip. When we arrived, we met up with many friends we already knew and we met lots of new people too! We got into our rooms and got to know our roommates, who come from different countries.

After some time at the hotel, we got on the busses and met our drivers- Bryan and Ray- and went to see the sites in Phoenix. It is a very different place because it is in the desert. Many of us came from the Northeast and Midwest, so it is much drier and the landscape is way different. The architecture is different too because it matches the landscape. The buildings were reds, yellows and greens, instead of gray and brown… We saw many palm trees and cacti J

We stopped first at the State Capital building where we saw a big cactus with no arms and we saw a moon rock. The building itself was neat- pretty unique and impressive- and on top was a statue marking the orientation of North, South, East and West. Then we went to a nature park where we got out and hiked up a hill to go into a hole in the hill. It looked small from the bus, but when we got there, we could all walk through it and it was HUGE. We had a beautiful view from there and we could watch the sunset. The hole was used by Native people as a lookout point and also to mark the seasons by marking where the sun’s shadow went through the hole during rainy times, etc. After the hole, we rode by a river that was the only non man-made river in Arizona. Then we went back to the hotel…

We had some free time to rest and hang out and then went to dinner.  We had “western” style food- burritos, churros, chips and salsa. It was good J After that, we had a meeting about the trip and we were introduced to the Belo staff and YFU chaperones. Then we had free time and went to the pool and hot tub! Other people hung out in the lobby or went to bed early because tomorrow is GRAND CANYON! Yayyy! We are super excited and looking forward to the upcoming days!!!

Sebastian- Denmark 

Anna- Finland 

Max-L- Germany