Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, and China Town in San Fransisco

The first group at Alcatraz, June 2015

Today, we left at 7:15 to go to San Fransisco. We were divided in two groups: one first visited Alcatraz, the famous prison, before spending some time in the city. The other group began by spending time in the city and then Alcatraz. 

Golden Gate Bridge, June 2015

Later in the day, we had a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge and we had dinner in China town. We enjoyed the sunset and prepared the picnic for tomorrow before coming back to the hotel. Everyone had a wonderful day, thank you to Terra North America and our chaperons for this awesome trip!

Starting to feel like a family <3
Eating dinner at Jimmy's; a Chinese restaurant in China Town, San Fransisco, CA, June 2015

Monterrey Bay and Carmel Beach

Waiting for Lunch at Monterrey Bay, June 2015

Today we went to Monterrey Bay and Carmel Beach.  It was awesome.   Some of us went to the beach and some were walking around, taking pictures.  It was really cold but I think, everybody felt the positive vibes of the beach. We had a nice time and after 2 hours on the bus we arrived at a shopping mall in Oakland. When we got to the hotel, everybody decided to go to the pool and talk about their exchanges and the trip. We think this trip is just fantastic.

Getting some sun at Carmel Beach, June 2015

Having fun at the beach and shopping with the best exchange students is the GREATEST thing ever!! Going to different places with different people is another unique experience!! We are having a super good time so far, everyone loves it!!!

Thank you,

Artur Melo from Brazil, Tsan-Wen Chen from Taiwan.

Venice, Santa Monica, Malibu, and Santa Barbara Beach

Today we spend most of the day at the beach. We went to Venice, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara beach.

We started the day by taking the bus at 8:00 am; everyone was so exited because we where going to the beach. After 45 minutes we arrived at Venice beach. We where taking pictures by the water (it was so pretty) and we tried to swim but the water was too cold. :( We stayed there for 40 minutes and then we walked to Santa Monica beach, once we got there we went to eat lunch.

Santa Monica, June 2015

After eating we went back to the bus and while we were driving we saw Malibu Beach, one of the most famous beach in the world. A lot of movies where filmed there. After 2 hours of driving we arrived at Santa Barbara beach. We stayed there for one and a half hours to take some pictures, play in the sand, and some of us went into the water.

Sleepy Students on the way to Santa Barbara, June 2015

When we got back on the bus, Ron had this amazing idea, each one of us will go to the front of the bus and introduce our-self. And allow everyone to ask questions. This was a fun time. We went to Panera for dinner and after this long day we took the bus for the last time and arrived at the hotel. Once we got there everyone went to the pool and played some games.

This day was fun and we all loved it !!!!

We are looking forward for tomorrow in San Fransisco.

Thank you,

Anne-Charlotte Ritouret from France and Camila Penha from Paraguay

Disneyland and California Adventure

Today we spent the day at Disneyland and California Adventure! It was the first day that the banana hat had to be worn by the banana king (the winner of all the stupid stories) and that was Danny – of course, why doesn't that surprise us? ;)

California Adventure, June 2015

 We started the day in California Adventure. The first ride was so much fun because all of us rode together! After that we broke into smaller groups and we had just as much fun during the whole day. Everybody went on different rides and could decide individually when they would like to go to Disneyland.

At Disneyland, California, June 2015

In the evening, right when the parade started, we met up again. It was very crowded so we held hands with each other to get through to our meeting place. What an amazing parade! All the lights and beautiful dresses of the princesses were sooo magical. Most of us probably felt like we were little kids again. Right after the parade there was a firework show behind the castle. We couldn't enjoy it from the spot we wanted to because security people forced us to move out of the way. The firework show was amazing though and there was music that made you feel like you were in a movie. The crown jewel of the evening was the “Fantasmic” show. It was a full entertainment show with lot's of fire, fireworks, lasers, music, popular Disney artists, and water fountains.

We were extremely exhausted after but we were really excited to see who was going to be the next banana queen or king. There were a lot of good chances to be the queen or the king. But of course it was a king!!!!!!!! The winner was Sergio who accidentally went into the women restrooms! It was such a beautiful day! Thank you everyone!

-Annalena Burki, from Switzerland and Ines Ibanez Sala, from Spain

Universal Studios and Dinner at Bubba Gump

Second day of our trip and this is becoming better and better. We checked out from the hotel early in the morning, with our minds focused on spending the day at Universal Studios. Around 10 am we arrived there and we started taking pictures at the famous Universal Studios Globe. After some pictures we went in. The first impression we all had was like being inside a movie where we were the main characters. We split into different groups and headed out to the rides. The studios recreate so many different TV shows and movies, that sometimes it was hard for us to decide where we wanted to go to.

Jurassic Park Ride, Universal Studios, California, June 2015

Jurassic Park was one of the favorites attractions for all the exchange students. Once the sun was getting too hot, it was a great chance to cool down thanks to the great water splash that this ride had at the end. There were some cool simulators from movies and TV shows, such as The Simpsons, Shrek, the always funny Minions, robots from Transformers... It was a really involving experience that made us feel like being inside of the screen with the characters.

There was also a tour around the Studios, where we learned the magic behind the cameras and how some of the cool special effects that we see on the movies are made. It was amazing to see how the sets were displayed and how they could recreate so many different places, from European cities to wild jungles like in Jurassic Park. This tour also passed by some famous neighborhoods from the TV show “Desperate Housewives” that drove some of the passengers on our tour bus crazy. The tour also stopped at some special effect scenes from movies that looked really real to us, but the most surprising was the one at a subway station that simulated a 8.3 earthquake.

Girls jumping in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, June 2015

At 6.30 pm we all got back together to go to dinner. The place was nearby the park, in the City Walk, and it was called Bubba Gump, well known by the lovers of the movie Forest Gump. The decoration of the place was inspired by the movie, and the staff from the restaurant treated us very well, entertaining us with a fun Trivia game about the film.

Dinner at Bubba Gump, June 2015

After a delicious and satisfying meal, we got into the bus, and headed to our new hotel where we were assigned our new roommates. It was an awesome day that gave us a chance to spend time with out new international friends and get to know more about the movies world. Today just as visitors, maybe tomorrow as stars.

Orientation, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, LA

We are exchange students from all around the world. In our final days of our exchange year we are so lucky to have the chance to go on this trip of the West Coast with Terra North America. In our first day of the trip, we had orientation where we got to know the other exchange students and rules for the trip. In this orientation, all the exchange students were so happy and also excited. The North Terra manager, assistant, and chaperons bring this comfortable and happy feelings that this trip is going to be a good and fun time. After the orientation we had an awesome tour of some areas of interest in Los Angeles. During the day we got to know each other better and see with our own eyes why this city is so famous.

At Orientation

 We started at the Hollywood sign. We got out of the bus like crazy and having fun. We were screaming because we were so ready for this tour. People were looking at us and saw how happy we were. We took pictures every single minute so we could save this memory forever. After that everybody was dancing, singing, and having so much fun when we got on the bus. For lunch time we went to a Farmers Market for eating and shopping. That was a perfect place to buy some souvenirs from this amazing city. This Farmers Market was so rich in culinary where we could try the different fruits and foods from different countries.

Hollywood Sign Group Photo

We got impressed at how rich and fancy Beverly Hills is. Then we went to Hollywood Street. An amazing avenue where we can find fun, fame and our imagination. It is a cool place to see different characters and shows. It's also a good place to shop for exchange students because we are shopaholics. However, all this is being possible because we became really good friends. We are living our American dream and we are so thankful to Terra North America for helping us fulfill these dreams.

Jumping Photo at Beverly Hills Sign

Coming soon...