On January 6th, I got to visit Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s a place out of time; it reminds me the old Hollywood movies. That day, a group of 10 friends and I took a bus from our housing at 6 a.m., before transferring to another bus. Once onboard, I took advantage of the high-speed Internet connection on the bus to download music, TV shows, and apps – it is amazing to have that free service!
The first thing I saw when I got off the bus in Salt Lake City was a neon signal that made me feel like I was in Gotham City. My friends and I walked to the City Creek Mall, and on the way we saw some incredible wall paintings on the streets and a giant screen inside of a building. We ate breakfast in a really nice cafe, and then applied for our Social Security numbers. After taking care of that information, we started to explore the city!
On our way to the state capitol building, we saw the Mormon Temple. It’s breathtaking! I took some pictures there; Salt Lake has really beautiful architecture. We then arrived at the state capitol, which is located on a hill in front of a neighborhood with old houses. Standing there, I took some other pictures and saw monuments about Utah’s history. After our visit to the Capitol building, we walked again to the City Creek Mall and ate a delicious meal at Carl’s for lunch. We also went to a magic cards shop, where one of our friends wanted to buy cards. The most expensive there is valued at 15 thousand dollars! It was crazy! We headed back to the Mall, and everyone met up together again. I did a little shopping and bought a gift for a friend and some clothes for myself. I also video called my family to show them the city. We were on the phone together, and I was able to show them a water fountain with a fire show! After a full day, my friends and I then walked to the bus stop to head back to our host community. It was an excellent day off.
If you are a J-1 participant embarking on the Summer Work Travel program, I highly encourage you to keep a diary of your journey. It’s the best way to keep fresh memories of your Work and Travel experience. It even helps me to remember things that happened one month ago, and I couldn’t remember them any other way!
Do you want to explore the United States and share your life-changing journey with friends and family? Look into the Summer Work Travel program!