YOUPOST 3

One of my biggest dreams is to travel the world. Sadly until now the farthest I’ve been away from home was Egypt – it was a great holiday, exotic and very different from anything I had ever seen before, but I still want to see more countries and get to know more cultures. If I could travel anywhere in the world right now I would probably choose the US. Why? Well, for one it’s one of the biggest countries in the world with a number of interesting places to visit. Cities such as New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, etc. are very well-known over here and locations for many movies and TV-series I love – which is another reason to visit: I’d love to compare TV and reality. Because sometimes when I watch my favorite TV-series I find myself wondering how close the way of living that is portrayed on TV is to reality and how much of it is only exaggerated. And of course, since I’m studying English now and learned so much about the most important events in American history in the last month, I became even more curious and interested in traveling there.

  

 

Choosing where to go to isn’t the easiest decision, because – as I mentioned before – it’s a really big country with countless intriguing places. I decided to plan a trip to New York, which is one of the most well-known cities of the world with a lot of famous sights, so it’s probably a great destination for my very first trip to the US. The next decision is when to go. After putting some thought into that question, I decided to plan my trip for February, when I have my five weeks semester break. I decided against going in summer, because I normally work in the summer holidays and I’ll need the money, as a trip to the US is expensive.

Money is actually my biggest problem when it comes to traveling in general and the reason why I don’t travel as much as I would like to. Being a student I get support from my parents, but they won’t pay all my travel costs just because I want to see the world. And only working in the summer holidays doesn’t earn me enough money to go to fascinating places all the time. But if I plan carefully and don’t expect the highest standard everywhere I go, I can get by fine. If I want to fly for under €500, I’ll have to prepare myself for a long and uncomfortable flight. The same goes for accommodation: I certainly won’t stay in a luxurious five-star hotel. 

When I’m finally in NYC I intent to make the most of it and see many of the famous sights and places. I’ll try to walk as much as possible, because you often find yourself in more interesting situations if you go by foot. You meet more people and maybe get ideas from occurrences in your surroundings you wouldn’t get from sitting in a car or train. And of course it’s also free. If I can’t reach a destination by foot, I’ll go by train or subway, but I’ll try to avoid taxis, as they are more expensive. 

I definitely want to visit the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero and take a walk through Central Park. Then I’d like to take a trip with the Staten Island Ferry and see the Brooklyn Bridge. I’d also like to see Madison Square Garden, because it’s one of the most famous arenas of the world. If I end up going to New York with my sisters and my father we’d definitely want to go to a hockey game in MSG as we are all big hockey fans and it would be an amazing experience for sure. I also want to see the Time Square and Broadway and maybe even watch a musical there, because I love musicals. 

 

In addition to all these things there’s another important element for me in traveling: food. I don’t need expensive restaurants with fancy dishes, but I always want to try typical food for the region I’m in. America is a melting pot, it unites many cultures in one country and that is also very noticeable in New York. The cuisine of New York City is influenced by the many ethnic groups that call the city their home now. I want to try as much international dishes as possible, starting with a trip to Chinatown, trying some New York-style plain pizza, having tacos, bagels and burgers, eating Vietnamese, Pakistani, Korean, Russian, and more. I’m generally very open when it comes to food and I like to try new things, so I think I’ll love that side of my journey.

I know that my bank account won’t be very happy about all my plans, but I’m generally quite good in spending the least money as possible. I’m aware that I’ll still spend a lot, but I’m sure that I will have some great experiences and much fun in return!