On the 30th of July we had a pretty calm day at school and, at 1.40 PM, we left the campus to go the mall. I spent the time on the bus watching Netflix with a friend, I did not expect something like Walmart, but I was very surprised when I saw Sawgrass Mills! It’s a very big and wonderful mall to visit!
Inside the Mall
“I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist”
-Tammy Faye Bakker
Here’s the truth:
I bought some t-shirts and a pair of shorts from Forever 21. I bought a classic GUESS t-shirt and the other shirts were about music, like Pan!c and The Disco and Twenty One Pilots.
The Mall Map
The Mall was very dispersive and big, we didn’t have enough time to see all of it, but some of the prices were really high. I bought only things that were on sale or had a good discount, I feel less guilty in this way.
Stranger Things merch
Most of the people when they hear us talking think we’re spanish. I was paying the t-shirts and the cashier asked to us: ‘Is this some kind of weird spanish?’.
When we got home
After the dinner, me and my friends were too tired to go to the white party in the pool, instead we set a homemade party in our apartment between the six of us, we put on some music, used a black mask, watched some YouTube and played cards.
I have to admit it: The Campus is spectacular, but…
For a person with the cealiac disease, it’s very difficult to find something good and different to eat: I’m eating the same steak in the campus everyday! And, in the morning, the only thing I can eat in the cafeteria that is gluten-free, is steak, again.
After all, it is okay. Food won’t be perfect, but other things are. I knew a lot of new people, I’m very happy about that. I met them in classes, on the bus, in the stores…
My typical breakfast these mornings
“Food is the ingredient that binds us together”
-Vinie
Happiness
Everybody is nice and kind, or mostly, but I do not remember anybody talking to us in a rude way.
From the first moment I got into the US, I felt like people were more happy here than people in Italy. Maybe is it just Miami? The atmosphere here is different from the other places.
Modern David at Wynwood Walls
Is it bad that I’m starting to like the air conditioning here?
After surviving a Tornado in the first days, me and my group had a free week-end from school. We were very excited to find out that on Saturday we were going to see the Universal Studios! We woke up early in the morning, had breakfast, packed lunch and got on the bus, ready for a three-hours-long ride.
Universal fun!
When we reached our destination, I was stunned! I’d never thought that an Amusement Park could have been that BIG! In Italy, not that far from my home, there’s a park called Mirabilandia, one of the biggest in my country. The Universal Studios are three or four times bigger than it! I was completely shocked. We had a ticket that let us only visit one part of the park, I was kinda sad about that, but I really enjoyed this experience! What I enjoyed most were the roller coaster: I love feeling the danger.
“Life is like a roller coaster. It has its up and downs. But it’s your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.”
-leo
A roller coaster with MUSIC? Yes, please
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is a red steel roller coaster with a long waiting time. Before getting into the row, it’s obligatory to pass through a metal detector and leave bag and items in the lockers provided for free. But, when you actually get there… WOW. You get thirty seconds to choose a song, and it automatically play through the ride, and the train immediately begins to climb the lift. I was confused when I read the song choices that I had: I only knew four artist! Between classic rock and heavy metal, club and electronica, country, rap and hip-hop, I choose pop and disco! The artist that I picked was Gloria Gaynor, and the song was ‘I will Survive’. A perfect choice for a 167-foot lift ride, right? When the train reaches the top of the lift, it drops back to the ground, reaching a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour. It was insane! The train never stopped, it continued his ride very fast! I realized, thanks to this ride, that rap and hip-hop is more popular in the US than back in Italy and that there are a lot of US artists that are unknow in my country!
Hard Rock Cafe
We visited the biggest Hard Rock Cafe ever: the one in Orlando, the one inside the Universal Studios! I loved hearing the music, seeing items that belonged to famous artists like Lenny Kravitz and, of course, eating! I must eat gluten free food, so I ordered a Caesar Salad: it was delicious!
The wonderful Orlando Hard Rock Cafe
Wynwood Walls
On Sunday morning, we packed our lunch again and we left, again, for a one-hour-trip. Our destination was the center of Miami: I’d have never thought we would have seen something so incredible. Wynwood walls are pure art, with a deep message, and I couldn’t resist to take hundreds of pictures.
Miami Beach
During the afternoon, we went to the most beautiful seaside I’ve ever seen: Miami Beach! We rented a beach umbrella, and had a one-hour-long swim in the ocean with my friends! It was wonderful!
Bayside
After a long swim, we went shopping, finally! I bought some shirts in the Hard Rock Cafe of Miami, that looked like a boat. I also bought a new customize phone-case with a picture of Miami that i took, and we talked for hours with the guy who realized it. We tried to teach him some italian, he was so funny! Now we’re friends, we follow each other on Instagram!
Hello everybody, welcome to my blog! I’m Alice; a 17 years old teen from Bologna, Italy, who loves to travel . I’m currently studying architecture in my classes back in Italy, but I’m starting to feel that I won’t go down this road. I’d like to be part of the world of music, I’m really bad at singing, but I love the figures of the manager and music producer. I think I’ll have more opportunities to work in this sector in the U.S., so when I read about the opportunity to spend two weeks in an university in Miami, how could I say no?
My program
When I read about the program and the activities that I could do in Miami, I was amazed. I have class in the morning, in some days also in the afternoon, and some days off where I could do activities, like visiting the Universal Studios or the center of Miami. I’ll swim in the ocean for my first time ever in Miami Beach! I am going to stay there for two weeks, and I will sleep in an apartment with other five people.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
― Mark Twain
What can you expect to read?
I’m very glad I decided to go, exchange programs are the kind of experiences that I really enjoy to do. Meeting new people, improving my english, visiting a new city and finally having a taste of what USA is like. What really helps me during long trips and waiting times are music and, obviously, Netflix, so I’m going observe how different people deal with it there and let you take a look in my new experience by writing about traditions, the crazy weather, the flora and the fauna, food and mostly about music, of course!
Alice's blog 