Travel to United States! - DylanLiu's blog

Taking the opportunity of participating in SC24, we traveled to this mysterious country on the other side of the earth and experienced the completely different lifestyle, culture and customs.

We lived in a house in the downtown. Although it’s reported that it’s really dangerous there(A gunfight may break out),But during the 5 days I was there, everything was very peaceful.

This is a three-story villa with a small garden. We found this homestay on Airbnb. The owners are a Spanish couple. They are very gentle and polite. They rented it to us for 600CNY a night. So my other two classmates and I also experienced the style of living in a big villa. After all, China is the most populous country in the world. Everyone lives in elevator apartment buildings, and there are crowds of people everywhere. As an American city dominated by heavy industry: Atlanta (Atlanta is the birthplace of Coca-Cola), people here live almost like a rural life. People drive to vacation on weekends, and their work is not very busy during the weekdays.

On the first day at GA, we three Chinese college students, who were on the other side of the earth for the first time, felt extremely curious and confused. The streets here were too empty compared to those in China, and there were almost no people.The prices here are too high. A bowl of noodles that costs only 10 yuan in China costs 120 yuan here.

It is worth mentioning that Atlanta was once the venue for the Olympic Games. It has the Century Olympic Park and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A huge Mercedes-Benz logo is hung on the huge stadium. It is said that the logo is so large that it can be clearly seen on remote sensing satellites!

On our last day before leaving the United States, since we had to transfer at Los Angeles Airport, we spent a day touring Los Angeles. Compared to Atlanta, this coastal city in California has a more prosperous American style. We took a Delta Airlines flight to Los Angeles, California, which was exactly what I had seen in movies and TV shows. As soon as we got off the plane, we saw the blue sky and the low skyline.

After storing our luggage, we were hungry and went to the famous IN-N-OUT to eat authentic American fast food. Ordering in the United States is very simple, without fancy names, which is very friendly to me who has difficulty making choices. The cute chef also gave us commemorative hats, which was so cute.

As college students, we first visited UCLA, the top public university in the United States. This should be an academic sanctuary that countless students dream of, but the high tuition fees in the United States are prohibitive.

Unlike the low-rise buildings outside, UCLA’s architectural style is full of classical style.

College life in the United States looks completely different from that in China. On sunny afternoons, students are lying on the lawn enjoying the nature and fresh air. Some are having a picnic, some are chatting, and some are sleeping. Everyone looks very relaxed. In China, even in new research universities like SUSTech, everyone is mainly busy with scientific research and studies, and it is rare to see such a sense of relaxation.

Frankly speaking, the streets of LA are not as beautiful as I imagined, probably because the culture of driving cars is prevalent in the United States, and we walked the whole way. There are few pedestrians on the streets, and there is some garbage. What I hate most is the smell of cigarettes everywhere. As the home of Hollywood, the world-famous film and television base, the famous Walk of Fame is just a narrow road with stars printed on the ground. It turns out that many things will only feel real when you are there in person. But what lies behind this should be the culture of the film and television industry. But to be honest, the movies made by Hollywood in the past two years are really not very good.

However, this trip was also unforgettable for me, because in the evening we came to the Griffith Observatory, the filming location of one of my favorite movies: La La Land.

There is an ancient sundial used for timekeeping here, and the view is very wide. You can see a huge astronomical telescope and the famous Hollywood sign.

In general, the United States gives me the impression of a city full of primitive wildness, which may be related to their culture of advocating absolute freedom.

Portrait of a satirical politician on the street