My name is Juliana Manjarrés Romero, I am one of the twelve Colombian exchange students who visited the United States during the first three weeks of January.
Traveling all the way to North America was an amazing journey for all of us, because not only did we get to learn about the US, but also to visit places such as: Minneapolis, Memphis and Rochester. The purpose of the trip was to have fun sharing what the Colombian culture is like and at the same time learning about Americans' lifestyle. This was possible because each one of us got to stay with sponsor families and go to school with the host teenager. All the new, amusing and unforgettable events we lived will always be remembered as the cultural trip to the United States.
The first of all the incredible experiences we lived was visiting “Mall of America” in Minneapolis, which is the biggest mall of the western continent. Two whole days in this place were not enough to go through it all, however we got to do what every teenage girl loves: go shopping. Unfortunately we stayed only four days in Minneapolis, but there was another city expecting us: Rochester, Minnesota. We were told that it was going to be very cold up there, yet, the weather caught us off guard since we’d never experienced such cold temperatures before. Despite the freezing climate, we completely enjoyed our stay in this city; it was absolutely delightful to stay with sponsor families and go to “Lourdes High School” with the teen host. Additionally, we visited the “Assisi Heights” and “Mayo Clinic”, where we performed traditional Colombian songs and dances. Although we stayed in Rochester for only one week, it was enough time to live a whole bunch of unknown experiences for us.
More...
