Beautiful Historic Phoenix

The entire group outside the Arizona State Capitol Building!

Jokingly sitting on it!

Oops! We got a little too close!

Beautiful Arizona Day!

A view from the student perspective!

Our awesome Bus Driver and our Monitor, Liz!

The group climed to the top to enjoy the view!

Shopping! Some girls enjoying the Scottsdale Shopping Mall!

            It is the 11th of June and we are wandering around in the dessert for two days now. The water is getting less; the snakes are getting more – No, just kidding; yes, it is hot in Phoenix, Arizona! Mostly because of us – let’s face it: A group of exchange students from 17 different countries traveling around the west-coast: That is truly hot! But so is the weather.   We already realized that when we left our planes at June 10th, coming from all over the US to experience summer, sun and fun as well as culture, sights and a ton of new friends. The Belo trip was something all of us had been looking forward to for weeks. And now it is finally here…
           We started out pretty relaxed with a free afternoon after our arrival in Phoenix – which pretty much meant for most of us to jump into the pool. It didn’t take us too long and the first friendships were made; some chatting about the different experiences during our exchange  over here, one of two water fights over there – that seemed pretty promising! In the evening we all got to know our chaperones, monitors and our coordinator during dinner; and now we can assure you that those amazing people will not only take good care for our safety, but as well will provide a ton of fun.                                                                    
          This morning we left , after a good breakfast , for a tour around Phoenix. In the heat of over 90 degrees Fahrenheit we hiked through the park, up a little mountain to a beautiful rock formation called “The Hole”. Generally it is, as the name says,  a big hole in a mountain. That gives a bunch of great pictures, though.  And it feels awfully good to look down to the ground, thinking: “Man, I climbed that in that heat!” Furthermore we visited the state capitol building, informing ourselves about some history of Arizona. It might sound strange, but people actually settled in the middle of a dessert for economic reasons. Already in the 11th century, Native Americans used the Salt and Verde Rivers of central Arizona for agriculture. It feels awesome to stand on the ground that already saw the footprints of Native Americans and millions of people in the following hundreds of years. Anyhow, after a little stop at the mall we now leave for the Grand Canyon. In front of us a couple more days of extreme heat are laying  since our destination, after this huge natural wonder, is the lively town of Las Vegas.
    Continue to check in with us daily, you won’t regret it! We still have to tell you, dear area-reps, host-families, families at home, friends and who else is reading, about Los Angeles, Yosemite, San Francisco and much more. Best greetings from all of us: Your cowboys and -girls, crocodile hunters, desert-explorers, kings and queens of the western highways…  We surely have the time of our lives!

Larissa Sander – Germany