My Final Days

I spent my final two days in America back in La Jolla. Compared to Miami weather, San Diego was very cool and comfortable. The city blessed my last days with more sunny skies, as usual.

In the afternoon after arrival, Kevin (Korean American) and I chilled out at La Jolla Cove one last time, having magical In-N-Out burger for the last time too. I'll be missing this place.

That night, I saw my volunteer host family again, and had some great conversation over delicious dinner at a sushi restaurant (not very well-known but incredible - Sushi Ota).

The next day, after loading all my belongings into Jeremy's (Korean American) car, a group of us hung out at La Jolla Shores Beach to have lunch.

After seeing the last of amazing La Jolla,

Jeremy and I headed north towards Los Angeles, where my flight was scheduled to depart late that night. On the way, we indulged, road-trippin style, by having Jack-in-the-box followed by Krispy Kreme donuts. Mm mmm.

After stopping over at Tahiti briefly,

my arrival back at Auckland was very interesting, as the New Zealand accent sounded like a really weird dialect of English.

It took at least a few days to wipe the reverse culture shock away, and with it, the climate shock of winter as well. Seeing family and friends back at home (Rotorua) and back at university (Auckland) were great. I still have the occasional American accent inadvertently thrown into conversations, and my road and shop names are confused at times too. It's kinda cool to be back as it is time to move on, but it's gonna take a little while to alleviate this enduring California-sickness. There are too many good memories for this to be an easy thing to do.

America exceeded my expectations in many ways, and surprised me in many ways too. Without a doubt, I'm happy with what the past six months have taught me. The amazing people that I met will never be forgotten. All the little things while studying at UCSD as an I-Houser won't ever be either. I'll always be a strong believer of the fact that traveling makes one wiser, and with great enthusiasm, will continue what I have started - exploring the world!

Miami, the Little Cuba

Getting from A to B has never been so hectic. In this case, Dulles International Airport (near D.C) to Miami International Airport. Basically, flight delays due to thunderstorms clouded all hopes of reaching Orlando in time to catch my flight from Orlando to Miami. After spending a memorable night in Orlando Airport, I had to fly to Fort Lauderdale and then shuttle it to Miami.

Finally arriving and driving into Miami, I could not physically avert my eyes from the beautiful views. Scenes from my young video-gaming days (namely Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) flashed multiple times, except this time it was reality.



That morning, the heat was unbearable. Lunch was awesome, as there was a very affordable and conveniently located cafe right next to the hostel where I stayed. The Spanish influence here in South Florida definitely sprung out, in the form of quality quesadillas and a crazy volume of nachos served before the main dish.

Seeing that I got a good few minutes of decent sleep the night before, I decided to capture the mindset of a nocturnal animal for a day, napping during the warmest hours surrounding midday. It was late afternoon and still sticky as ever when I ventured out to Miami Beach. My first encounter with locals came with two girls in bikinis asking me "Do you like our outfits?" Whoa.



Ocean Drive, stretching down the coast of Miami, convinced me with its Art Deco hotels.



Colourful mopeds were trendy means of transport,



and I saw an unbelievable amount of foreign people in the area ranging from Hispanic/Latino to Jamaican to French, but hardly any Asians. I witnessed long and novel tools that were used to pick out coconuts from tall trees, and beach volleyball galore.

I saw on my map a neighbourhood called Sunset Islands, but unfortunately it was a residential area with rich private property concealing all possible regions for public use. So instead, I walked over to Maurice Gibb Memorial Park, where I could see the famous Miami skyline through dusk (CSI: Miami styles).

As the day drew to a close, I realized that I had heard more Spanish spoken around me than English, a phenomenon experienced for the first time since Tijuana.

Lincoln Road nightlife was action-packed, with smartly-dressed people swarming this entertainment and shopping area.

I woke up at 6:00am the next morning to catch the sunrise (since I was on the East Coast).

Immediately afterwards, I tripped quite a distance by bus to pick up my bag from Miami International Airport (finally!) which had been camping in who-knows-where for the previous few days. After cleaning the shower-gel explosion aftermath that was the sticky interior of my just-arrived bag, I had the long-awaited shower that I truly deserved. Fresh clothes have never felt so damn good.

Later that day, I went to Little Havana to explore this suburban region that Miami is so famous for. This neighbourhood, and the city by and large, has had a huge Cuban population since the rise of power of Fidel Castro and the subsequent emigration of Cubans. Little Havana was almost entirely Spanish-speaking, and here I had a shot of Cuban Coffee.

Miami was upgrading by the hour, with newer and taller apartment buildings near the water.

I ended up spending the rest of the day's hours hiding under the shelter of Bayside Shopping Centre, because of seemingly endless thunderstorms that ravaged downtown late that afternoon. I envisioned the possibility of deja vu occuring the next morning for my flight from Miami back to San Diego.

Heading back across the bridge from West to East Miami, there was a very interesting character on the bus right next to me. I'm not sure if he was brainwashed or not, but he basically suddenly rose from his seat (inducing an irregular heartbeat), slid to the front of the bus, and started pretending he was Prince in front of stage. This was for a good ten minutes, with no-one else on the bus saying a word. Only muffled giggles facing the bus windows were seen and heard. To be honest he seemed a bit talented, but I am certain his sanity was questionable.

I had Johnny Rockets for dinner that night, to have the classic American burger. The nightlife was very colourful and showy, with almost all pedestrians dressed sharply in their going-out clothes.

Miami was my final city, and two aspects of it stood out - the beach-life, and the nightlife. It was sticky and humid even at midnight, so I was literally walking into every other shop to be rewarded by the A/C. I don't think Miami is a place where I'd wanna live, largely because of the climate. I left with the image of Miami as the "party central" city of America. It is likely that in the future, after the age of 21, I'll find myself back there for a proper vacation!

Washington D.C, the Capital

Arriving at the capital in the evening, I noticed that something was different. Washington D.C's buildings were not tall at all. There were no skyscrapers in sight! Later I would find out that there used to be a law that stated that no building could be taller than the dome of the Capitol on Capitol Hill. This obviously seemed to have an effect on Washington D.C's skyline.

The next morning, the heat was unbearable. Walking down the National Mall, I saw many well-known Smithsonian Museums.

I took shelter by going to the National Air and Space Museum.

This museum had the real Apollo 11 command module (the one that carried Neil Armstrong to the moon) and the real Wright flyer (the first flight by the Wright Brothers), among many other interesting displays. This was the most visited museum in the world!

I met Min later that day and we started exploring in the outdoor sauna.

We saw the Capitol,

with its gleaming white dome, and also the US Supreme Court.

then proceeded down Pennsylvania Ave...

to arguably the most famous address in the world, the White House. Around this area, while taking nosy peeks here and there, I could see glimpses of the nation's very important people - all suited up despite such a steaming hot day.

Ford's Theatre is where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

The Washington Monument is the white obelisk iconic of Washington D.C, made predominantly of stone. What was interesting about this monument was the observation that it had on it, a tan line. This was because of a halt in its construction. I had never seen so many American flags in one location before!

The World War II Memorial was meaningful, too.

While walking around Tidal Basin in order to get to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, we literally went off the path and through the sprinklers instead. Soaked socks were the way to go on a day like this, since a lot of the body's heat is lost through the feet.

The Franklin Roosevelt Memorial was next,

followed by the Korean War Memorial,

and then the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial, with great views of the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument, is the famous location of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.

After seeing the Vietnam War Memorial as well,

we headed over to see the famous Watergate Complex (site of burglary that led to President Nixon's Watergate Scandal).

We met up with Rachel (American) and Patrick (Hong Kong) later on that night to have dinner and to see the illuminated Washington D.C at night.

The next morning, I took the subway to the Pentagon, where all I did was see one of the five huge walls. No photos were allowed here. I felt like I didn't belong here, as people with army uniforms roamed the vicinity. I then went on to visit Arlington National Cemetery, which is the best known cemetery in the United States. John F Kennedy's grave here is lit by an eternal flame.

I then reached Dulles International Airport in order to catch a flight that was scheduled to leave Washington D.C for Miami in the early afternoon. Scheduled is the key word here.

Overall, I enjoyed Washington D.C. The capital was clean and pleasant, with patriotism displayed as expected with numerous memorials commemorating history-defining wars and important presidents of America! I didn't first-hand experience or observe the incredible rich-poor contrast that is supposed to plague this city, mainly because I didn't get the chance to visit the more ghetto areas of D.C.