Descriptive Essay

Traveling is one of my family’s favorite things to do. The family has visited numerous places throughout the United States, however, none are as memorable as Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta, there are many places to go and sights to see such as: Cola-cola factory, Cabbage Patch Kids Factory, Under Ground Mall, the Zoo, Atlanta Braves Stadium, Six Flags Over Georgia, Stone Mountain Park, and the Atlanta Aquarium, are all in or near the city of Atlanta. The three that we visit on every trip to Atlanta are Six Flags, Stone Mountain, and the Atlanta Aquarium.

When I flew to Haiti I was unsure of what to expect. From a bird’s-eye view, I saw a beautiful landscape with a vibrant ocean surrounding the island. Upon arrival, I saw poverty, run down buildings, and very little people with actual homes; however, I saw smiles, laughter, and happiness among the people. I’ve traveled a lot throughout my life, but this trip gave traveling meaning. Experiencing their culture and customs gave me a broader perspective on other lifestyles and what they endure.

Almost a decade has passed and yet, the daunting feeling of stepping off the plane, into the unknown remained. Thoughts rushed through my naïve mind, as the brisk breeze brushed my face.Where am I?Why am I here? Racing through the airport, I was overwhelmed as people paced past me, my mind filled with curiosity and my heart beating louder than a drum. Everything was new, the silence, the purity, the beauty.This new country seemed unrealistic to me, it felt like I was in a dream as I was introduced tonew things. Aspects I couldn’t understand as a little girl were all thrown at me in an instant, skin colours that I didn’t think existed, a new culture, and a new language which sounded like drivel. I slowly began to realize that this wasn’t a dream,

The very next week I was ready to experience what it’s like being in another country with different customs and culture. July 3 the day was finally here, I grabbed my suitcase and met with my grandma and we got ready for our flight. As I board the airplane, I had butterflies in my stomach. I think to myself “Wow this is really happening”. A few minutes past by and we take off. The take off was probably the greatest part of the flight, I wasn’t scared or nervous I was having so much fun. After 6-7 hours of being on a plane we finally land in Guatemala City. Leaving the airport everything gets my attention. Kids on the street playing soccer, buildings all next to each other, and color everywhere. I smell different foods from left to right, I'm amazed at everything, it's something I’ll never

It wasn’t my first time travelling outside the country. I had gone on numerous journeys with my parents, and my many experiences gave me a broad view of the world. From seeing the content beachside life of residents in Cancun to the bustling, trendy streets of London, the small fragments of the Earth’s surface I’ve been exposed to have opened my eyes to so much enjoyment and cultural enrichment.

Sitting on the plane alone, I wondered what the next three weeks would bring. The light hum of the plane’s engines seemed to go on forever and the dry stale air began to scratch the inside of my throat. My destination was The Netherlands, where the entirety of my family lives. Throughout my youth seeing my family was a rare occasion, once a year if we were lucky, but after my parents divorced, we stopped going altogether. It had been over eight years since I had last visited them and because of the many years of separation, I felt uneasy about it all. Throughout the flight I couldn’t help but to think to myself several questions like: What I might be able to learn and experience from these next three weeks? How I would feel when I would first arrive? And how different everything would be. Having been there only a

As I walked onto our Amsterdam bound plane in PDX, I couldn’t help but think about what I would have the privilege of seeing. In the next week and a half, I would visit the Acropolis in Athens, Epidaurus- the first amphitheater and major healing center, Ancient Olympia- the sight of the first ever Olympics, Pompeii and the world-famous Roman Coliseum. I’ve been many to many places: Hawaii, New York, Boston, Washington D.C, and Honduras, but I’d never been as excited to travel somewhere as I was then. Without the inspiration of some of the places I would be visiting, our world would be very different than the world we know. We might not have track races, theater programs, sporting stadiums or many other fixtures of life.

I officially declared my love for travel at the age of seven when my family and I took a trip to Barcelona, Spain. As soon as I arrived at the Majestic Hotel, the rush and excitement of being in a new place was a feeling I knew I never wanted to forget. Yet, it wasn’t until a family trip to Puerto Rico a few years ago that I realized my excitement about travel really stemmed from the additional meaning, and insight I was gaining into my own Hispanic heritage.

The trip started early morning in South Africa where my mom, brother and I had been staying before leaving. That morning I could barely eat my breakfast. I was so worried about not being able to recognize my dad. Shortly after we arrived at the airport for the first time was amazing, the place was gigantic. Walking into the airport all i could see was fast paced feet and suitcases moving fast in all directions. There was a lot of noise from security alarms to the voice intercoms. Surprisingly i saw many white people than I thought. At that moment I remembered how there was a small population of

When I decided to spend a semester abroad, I knew I was in for an experience. Not an easy or perfect experience, either – travel is tough, and after a few weeks, it can take a toll. I expected that. I figured I would have ups and downs, and so far, the trip has been almost entirely ups. Hear me when I say, though, that nothing – NOTHING – could have prepared me for the Plague Bus.

One year ago, I found myself sitting in a strange and mesmerizing world that was hard to comprehend. As I sat in the Charlotte D. International Airport, I was completely bewildered by the inundation of new inputs. Growing up in Guyana, migrating to South Florida when I was nine, and living in a multicultural environment, I was sure I had experienced everything the world had to offer. “Traveling would surely, only, be an extension of living in South Florida,” I thought. Yet, I felt like a foreigner sitting within my nation’s own boarder.

We must demand a world free of racism and bigotry and prejudice so that we—and generations after us—may enjoy all the abundance that travel offers, the beauty of the world that is open and rich and diverse in its people and cultures and geographies. And we must, in the midst of our many differences, find and celebrate our commonalities, our oneness. We must recognise that we are all on a journey. Whether we are moving across oceans or just a few kilometres, or in our mind’s eye, into a completely different world, whether we are doing so due to free will or circumstance—we are all

Upon arrival at a faraway country, jetlag clouds over while unfamiliar faces bustle by. Unique smells and bouncy music that you’ve never experienced before pulse through your ecstatic brain as you search for a bite to eat. Everything is new and exciting. Even the spoken language sounds like birds singing, not people conversing! The first peak at your new home – a quaint apartment overlooking the outskirt streets of Rome, makes your heart dance. Your new roommates are fabulous, tasting bizarre foods is amusing, and navigating to school on the unreliable bus system is an exhilarating challenge. Your trip here won’t be a smidge below awesome!

Like most clichés, the clichés often evoked when speaking about traveling—it’s eye-opening; it’s life-changing, etc.—have some truth to them. However, these promises that have been immortalized by traveling clichés aren’t automatically granted to you with the purchase of an airplane ticket, nor will there be an “eye opening experience” waiting to take your hand at the airport, because in today’s increasingly globalized world, it’s becoming harder and harder to truly immerse yourself in a foreign culture.

My journey the day I left my home country in search of a better life was not as pleasurable or exciting as I expected. Although it was not a long flight, the accumulation of unexpected vicissitudes during the trip made my dream of traveling an absolute nightmare. Not only my sadness to be leaving my family behind, the uncertainty to fly alone and for the first time, or my inexperience with the procedures at the airport contributed to this calamity, but even my neighbor on the plane added his bit of sand in the affair. All this situation was such traumatic to me that I even considered never daring to fly again.