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The Unforgettable Trip - Haluna Nakatsuka

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The Unforgettable Trip
Haluna Nakatsuka

I traveled to the Southwest with Extension students and teachers for seven days. Honestly, I didn’t have an interest in this trip that much. However, I learned about America’s deep history, touched a lot of nature, and spoke English a lot during the trip. This trip was absolutely super special.

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Acoma Pueblo - Sky City
First of all, I learned about America’s deep history. I studied the world history when I was a high school student, so I knew a part of American history. However, I didn’t know the history around New Mexico and Arizona. One of the interesting history is that the people of New Mexico traveled a long journey riding on the horses with a lot of heavy things which they needed. The end of Santa Fe trail is The Plaza in Santa Fe. There are many outside shops that sells handmade jewelry and arts made by Native American who are relatives in The Plaza. The sunset view of the city was beautiful. Another place with a lot of history is Acoma Pueblo. There is known as “Sky City” because it sits on the high place of the mesa. The people still live there without water and electricity. The buildings are made by real adobe which is made from earth and organic material. The city has nothing special, however, the scenery I’ve never seen anywhere else is beautiful. I had never heard about these two places and their history. I appreciated having studied the history, I enjoyed the places a lot.

The Grand Canyon from the airplane
Second, I touched a lot of nature. Because I live in the city, I hardly touch and see any scenery. However, I touched nature every day and thought nature was great during the trip. Especially, the Grand Canyon was amazing. I can’t imagine the Earth has been here so long. I always wondered how everything was formed. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery. Views are always different depending on where I see them from. The color of the sky, rocks and trees look beautiful more than usual. The wind is cool. People are very tiny compared to the Grand Canyon. I watched the sun set and the sun rise from the Grand Canyon. While watching the sun rise, I felt excitement to have free time to explore the Grand Canyon. I was given energy of the day. I spent a crisp morning. Watching the sun set, I felt sad because it meant it was the end of the fantastic day. I walked a lot that day. I enjoyed talking with my group friends, learning the Grand Canyon and feeling the great nature. I usually don’t enjoy being in nature but I liked nature during this trip. I learned to respect nature.

My friends of group 3
Third, I spoke English a lot. It was nice to take a break from school but still learn about American history, and only having to speak English. Thanks to my best friend Anna and my group friends, I always enjoyed speaking English. Even in the hotel, Anna and I spoke English. I am always stimulated by her. I learned a lot of new things from her. We played many games, such as Taboo and Charades. The games had a lot of new vocabulary for us. We learned a lot, but also had fun. Also, my group friends spoke English a lot. It was sometimes hard to say what we really wanted. We stayed together every day, but we didn’t have any trouble. When I visited Laguna/Acoma school, the students were interested in our own language. Then they asked me to speak English. However, I rarely spoke Japanese during the trip. While I chatted with my friend in Japanese to show them, I felt uncomfortable. I spoke very strong Kansai dialect unusually. That was ridiculous. Thanks to speaking EO, I was filled with a sense of achievement. Thanks to it, the trip became more awesome.

This trip became a priceless memory in my life. I learned, saw, touched, heard and felt many things. I also met and talked with many people. I visited many places. If I had not been an Extension student, I would have never visited these places. I am lucky to have visited because I may never have the opportunity to again. Thanks to my friends and teachers, I had a great time more times or dozens of times than I expected. I really enjoyed learning about America’s deep history, touching great nature and speaking English only. All of them made this trip super wonderful.
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