I Love to Travel!

Every person is unique, and every person has different interests. Some interests may be shared with others, and some may be things a person does on their own. Some interests may keep you close to home, and other interests, such as travel, may bring you far away from home. The world is a very big place, and there are so many different places a person can travel. Many parts of the world are totally different than they are here in the United States, with unique cultures, landscapes and people.
One of my favorite things to do is to travel to different places. For my age, I have done quite a bit of traveling. Some of the places I’ve visited in the United States are Florida, California, Washington DC, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, and all of the New England States. California and Florida are similar in some ways. They are both based on tourism and have a lot of fun things to do. I went to the Disney parks in both places; and although they were similar, many of the attractions were different. California also is known for their fine wineries, unlike Florida which is known for their fresh oranges. Washington, D.C. was very different compared to Florida and California. Washington, DC has cooler weather much of the year and is not full of theme parks. Instead, Washington is an extremely interesting place to visit because of all the history you can find there. With its many memorials, museums and political sites to visit, you could spend a month there and still not see everything! Texas is a large state, and the landscape is very different. It is similar to Arizona in many ways, with its dry, vast plains and cactus which can be seen all over.
I have been very fortunate to be able to visit many places outside of the United States as well. Some of these places include tropical islands such as Jamaica, Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Marten, and Punta Cana. These islands are considered to be “paradise” to many people because they are so tropical and have such beautiful beaches and waters. In Punta Cana, I was even able to hold a monkey! Mexico is similar to the islands because of the beautiful vacation resorts and the tropical vegetation. Mexico is a relaxing place to go, where you can relax by the pool or ocean and feel the warmth. The people there are very friendly and speak Spanish. Their culture is different than ours, making it feel very foreign and different than the United States. They even have toucans, parrots and other tropical birds sitting in the treetops! I have also been on a few cruise vacations which are wonderful, because you are able to visit many islands all on the same vacation!
In addition to the United States and the islands, I have been able to explore a few places in Europe as well. I have traveled to both England and Ireland and found them to be similar in many ways. Both of these countries are very old and have a lot of history to explore. You can see ancient castles and walls, even cities that have been there for many hundreds of years! The cultures again are similar, but different at the same time. In Ireland, Gaelic is the original language, although very few people speak it anymore. It is a very beautiful country and you can still see the old houses with thatched roofs. The people there are very friendly and make you feel at home right away. I have some cousins in Ireland who I was able to meet while I was visiting, which was wonderful. In England, especially London, the people there act very polite and more formal than in Ireland. I was able to visit Paris for one day, and took the Euro-Star train from London to get there. Paris is a beautiful city but is different than England or Ireland. There, I was able to see the Eiffel Tower, the famous Lourve Museum and other monuments. The people in Paris spoke French so it was more difficult to communicate with them. They were not as friendly to Americans as we had hoped, but it was still a wonderful place to see!
There are so many places around the world that I have not visited, but would love to! My dad travels a lot for his job and has taken me to many places I may not have been able to see which helped me to explore and let my interest in travel to grow. Since he does travel so much, I thought I would interview him and maybe learn something about a new place I haven’t been to.
When I began interviewing him, it was five thirty p.m. on April 12th. I asked him about places he had been, that I have not. He listed a few for me which included Alaska, New Orleans, Canada and others. I asked him what Alaska was like and he said it was a very beautiful place with a cold climate and a lot of mountains. He also told me a little more about Alaska’s culture which was a mixture of U.S. culture, Russian culture, and various Indian tribe cultures. He explained how this large state consists mostly of wildlife and land, but had less people than many states. Some examples of animals he saw there were bears, whales, eagles, moose, and mountain goats. Also, seeing the salmon fight the currents to reach their birthplace was amazing! People in Alaska are very active and love to go hiking, boating, fishing, ski mobiling, skiing, and hunting among other outside activities. Another thing you must do if in Alaska is to go on a “inside passage” cruise to see the huge glaciers, sea otters, puffins and other unique animals.
Next, my dad told me about another place he loves to visit; New Orleans. He said New Orleans is a very unique city with unique and interesting people. New Orleans is famous for their gumbo soup and beignets which are like donuts. The culture there is French. The city is most exciting during the famous Mardi Gras, right before the season of Lent, when everyone parties and there are parades and lots of music!
One place I have not been able to visit, but would love to, is China. Since it is located on the other side of the world, it would take quite a while to reach even by airplane. They speak a very different language than we do and have many different religions and religion majorities than we do in the U.S. and many other areas of the world. These religions include Chinese folk, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism and most people refer to all four religions. There is also a major time difference between the US and China; they are thirteen hours ahead of us. China also has many festivals each year such as the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival and the Spring Festival Flower Fair; in January, the Lantern Festival; in February, the Hainan International Coconut Festival and many others. There are also many traditional Chinese festivals, such as the Laba Festival. Many tourists visit China each year which has a very huge population. The people of China are limited to how many children they can have, due to population growth, unlike most areas of the world. The people in China have a very different culture and are known to be hard working. They also dress differently, eat different foods and speak a different language than we do in the U.S. Some of their great attractions are; the Great Wall, which is around 5,500 miles long and Crosses deserts, grasslands, mountains, plateaus and many other major pieces of land, from east China to west of China. The “Great Wall” of China took more than 2000 years to build.
This world of ours is a very large place with many different types of landscapes, people, cultures and traditions. I have been extremely fortunate to travel to places many people may never get a chance to see. I hope in the future, I can travel to China and other far away places and be able to share my experiences and travel with my own children. One thing is for sure; if you are interested in traveling you will never run out of places to see and people to meet!