Sunday, April 29, 2018:

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning, absolutely exhausted. After getting ready and eating a breakfast of dosa, I got in the car and drove with my mom to my school, Stratford San Jose Middle School. I was a little late, so I was the last person to board the bus. I got on with my black Samsonite Suitcase and my backpack, both labelled with World Strides tags and stuffed with food I had bought the previous evening at Lucky’s. While talking to Anousha and Cady, I rode the bus and we reached the San Jose Airport. We all zipped thro killugh security, none of us having checked in bags. I was worried my Cetaphil wouldn’t get through, but I was fine. Cady got held up for her Contacts Lens Liquid, and Sanjana had to throw away her makeupll. I picked up a passion tea lemonade from Starbucks, and then it was time to board the flight. My seating was nice, and I was between Lakshmi and Poornima. Lakshmi slept, and I watched Sherlock with Poornima, having downloaded the episodes from Netflix offline. I also had WiFi, because I downloaded the United App. As the flight was a layover, we stopped in Chicago and after using the restroom I picked up a tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwich. While I ate my phone charged, and after we boarded the plane to Norfolk, Virginia. The class was split into two groups- I was in group A. Group B was going to Richmond, Virginia. we landed, picked luggage up, and drove to the golden Corral restaurant on a fun tours bus. All of us chipped In and gave ten dollars each for our driver George. At the restaurant there wasn’t many vegetarian options, so I had pizza and Mac and cheese. The desert bar was amazing though, with ice cream, a chocolate fountain, pie, and cakes. Once dinner was over we boarded the bus and went to an African Music Ceremony. We learned that these festivals were very scarce for the enslaved, so they learned to enjoy them. We stood in a circle, singing and dancing. Mr Guansing was among those who was called to dance singularly. Later, we drove to the Hilton Hotel, and I got a room with Anousha, Carine, and Alexa. We showered, brushed, and went to sleep around midnight.

Monday, April 30, 2018

I messed up when I set my alarm clock, so we woke at 6:30. We stayed in bed until the wake-up call came at 6:50, though I didn’t get out of bed until 7:20. All of us got dressed and put our World Strides lanyards on before leaving for breakfast. Alexa and Carine forgot their room key so I brought both. I had scrambled eggs, cereal, and tea for breakfast, after which we checked out of the hotel and came down. We all boarded the bus once more and drove to the Capitol building in Williamsburg, which was apparently the Capitol of Virginia before Richmond, which was changed due to security issues on the river. We toured the building and learned about it’s history, then went for lunch at the William Mary college. I ate pizza and salad, then ice cream for desert. Later we went to the glassblowing area, where we saw a person make vases out of melted glass. It was really cool. After this we went to the Jamestown Colony, where we learned about how slavery came to be, the Powatan fight with the Virginians, and how the Virginians came to Virginia as colonists. It was really interesting and I bought a necklace for my sister Pia at their gift shop. Once this was over we took a long bus ride in which I fell asleep to dinner at a Mexican place. After dinner there was another long bus ride to DC, and we entered the Hilton Hotel. I was still rooming with the same people, and we all washed up before going to bed at midnight.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

We woke up around 6 and had breakfast before boarding the bus. We wished George happy birthday, since yesterday was his birthday. Then we drove for a while, and reached the main DC. We stopped for a picture in front of the Capitol building and learned about the president and how he travels. Then we visited the Smithsonian and I looked around the presidential wing with Lakshmi, Poornima, and Melika. Then we went for lunch in a food court, and I had a sandwich and mango gelato. I love mango ice cream, but it is hard to find good ones. Then we visited the museum of African American History, and I learned a lot about slavery. For example, California used to ban African Americans from marrying, and Thomas Jefferson owned many slaves, even enslaving his own kids. We stopped to take pictures at the waterfall, which represented freedom, then left the museum. After, we stopped at the Jefferson Memorial, and I took pictures. After that memorial we stopped for dinner, though the food choices were limited for vegetarians. After, we stopped at the FDR memorial. We learned that FDR was elected 4 times and suffered from polio. After FDR we walked to the MLK junior memorial, where he was standing emerged from a block of stone. All statues in DC are supposed to be less than the statueon Capitol building, 19.5 feet tall, but MLK was 24 feet unlike Lincoln at 19 because he was standing on a block of stone that didn’t add to height. After MLK memorial we drove to the hotel. Anousha, Cady, Camilla, Anjani, Anna, Lakshmi, Melika, Layla, and others all played in the pool downstairs for a while, then went up and showered. In the pool we splashed and played Rainbow, where if the victim doesn’t guess the color of the rainbow correctly they are dunked.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

We woke up really late today, so Anousha and I scrambled to breakfast in 10 minutes flat. After breakfast we boarded the bus and headed out. First we stopped at the George Washington memorial, and learned a lot about him. We toured his house and visited his tomb. I also found out that he owned slaves. After that we went for lunch at a family restaurant, where it was all you can eat. Then we went to the WWII memorial, a beautiful place with large fountains. After, we went to the Newseum, which I really loved. I want to visit the museum again, definitely. After the Newseum we went to visit the Lincoln memorial. We also stopped at the Vietnam memorial and the Korean war memorial. It was really down to earth to see how many people died in those wars. After the memorial we drove to the White House and took pictures. I helped Mr. Takemoto with his Instagram story of the trip and clapped for an anti-gun protestor. After that we visited the Spy Museum, which I also loved. I did a James Bond hanging off a bar challenge, but I didn’t succeed. Jade got 30 seconds. For souvenirs I bought Harry Potter bokmarks and a t-shirt that said DENY EVERYTHING. After the museum we went for dinner at the Corner Care Bakery, which is one of my favorite restaurants. When Rohan B took my seat to escape Adarsh I took his, and I ended up rammed into the corner of a small booth with Rohan, Adarsh, Khattri, and Alex Ali. I eventually escaped, and we left the restaurant. For dinner I had pasta, salad, coke, and a cookie. After dinner we drove back to the hotel, showered, and got ready for bed. I spent a lot of time talking with Carine and Anousha.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

We got up this morning, like always, and packed our suitcases. After a delicious breakfast we got our suitcases and closed down the rooms before boarding the bus. We took a long drive and reached Arlington Cemetery. It was kind of sad, how many people died. It was also crazily hot, so I was sweating the entire time. Over there we got to see the grave of JFK and Robert Kennedy, his attorney general. We also got to see the changing of the guards, which was similar to Buckingham palace. After the trip we went back to the beautiful air conditioned bus, and our Tour guide left us. We then started on the drive to Philadelphia, a three hour drive. We stopped at a food court in Maryland, though we had very little time to eat as the lines were so long. I ended up getting a burrito, and a lot of my friends got Dunkin; Donuts. After lunch we drove all the way to Philadelphia, and we stopped to see the liberty Bell. After that we visited the Constitution museum, which I enjoyed. Dinner was next on the menu, and we stopped at Bobbys burger palace. I got an allergic reaction because my burger had chickpeas, so I had to have a Claritin. The Eastern Penitentiary was also nice, though I was really tired in the tour. After that, it was a nice drive to New Jersey, where our hotel was. We stopped and took our rooms. What was really cool was that I had an adjoining room to Sophia, Cady, Melika, and Poornima, so we could talk a lot. Finally, we went to bed.

Friday, April 4, 2018

We got up later than usual, having a nice breakfast. I wore my t-shirt from the spy museum today. We got on the bus and drove to Constitution hall. Our tour guide Sheila gave us a walking tour of Independence hall, and we got to see where the original Senate and House of Representatives met, along with where the Constitution was signed. We also saw Betty Ross’s resting place. She was the one to make the first American flag. We took a tour of the oldest neighborhood in the us, which was there in the 1700s. After, we stopped for lunch at a burger place. They actually had good burgers though, and I enjoyed. I craved Indian food after talking week without it. We drove to the airport and checked in before boarding the plane. Our flight took a layover in Chicago, and I picked up a parfait for dinner, along with a bagel Poornima gave me. Everything else was horrible or had meat. I slept on the second flight and we landed around 10. After a drive to the school I got to go home, finally.