My name is Felix. I am a Chinese 9-year-old. Brendan is my American friend and mentor. He is 25 years old and graduated from Yale. I have always planned to go to the USA, and at the time, Brendan was planning to go to the USA to visit his friends and his mom, so we planned to go together. My goals were to learn about American history and culture and to try out on-the-road learning.
We started to prepare in February. First, we learned about basic American history and then we planned what we would do on the trip. Then we made an USA Wall help with planning. At the time we were spending one hour per day to prepare. April 23rd was the day that we went to the USA.
When we got to the airport, we checked in, went through security, and waited at the gate. After we boarded the plane, the plane took off. On the plane, I watched some films and ate lunch. After twelve and a half hours of flight, we finally arrived at the airport in Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C. we went to the Washington Monument. The Washington Monument is like a huge pencil. On the top of the Washington Monument, I could see all of Washington, D.C. The Washington Monument is surrounded by lots of grass and is at the end of the Mall. We only stayed in Washington, D.C. for four days and then we went to Philadelphia.
In Philadelphia, we went to the Franklin Institute, a science museum. It has all kinds of things, human bodies, machines… It was really cool. We only stayed in Philadelphia for two days. Then we went to New York City.
In New York, we went to Central Park, the biggest park I’ve ever seen. We stayed in New York for four days and on the last day we went to see the musical “On the Town.” We even got to see backstage! After New York, we went to New Haven.
In New Haven, we went to Brendan’s friend Ian’s house and went kayaking in the sea.
When we were kayaking we tied up the two kayaks together with Brendan’s shirt, but Brendan kept splashing water on me. We stayed in New Haven for two days and then went to Boston.
In Boston, we went to a museum called the Institute for the Senate. It’s a museum about the Senate. We stayed in Boston for three days and then went to Maine.
In Maine, first, we went to Biddeford. Brendan’s home is in Biddeford so we stayed there. We went to an island there too! On the island, we played with Brendan’s dog Pixel and then read for a little bit. After four days in Biddeford, we went to Bar Harbor, another city in Maine.
In Bar Harbor, we went camping. On the day we went camping it rained, but we still went camping. In the morning I was good and warm but Brendan was cold and tired (a little grumpy too). On May 16th we started to prepare to come back to Beijing. After I packed all of my things, I still had a lot of space in my suitcase, so Brendan put some of his books in my suitcase, which became really heavy.
When we arrived at the Beijing airport after the long flight, I saw my mom and dad, which made me happy. I think this trip was really fun and exciting, and if I have another chance to go to the USA, I will definitely go.