South Dakota Day 2 From the Students perspective!~

Howdy Family and Friends! Today was a day of adventure in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Keystone area! From my seat in the suburban, the roads were hard to see as it was SO foggy outside! Thank goodness for Joy--my copilot--who told me when corners were coming up and which way they would be turning. It was almost impossible to see the end of the front of the suburban!

Jonas: Mount Rushmore was just amazing. The whole story, the background and the implementation is just impressive. And I taught this 4 heads would be big… but then there was this “crazy horse”. Just the whole day was brilliant. Well… after 3 hours sleep last night, of course everybody was/is very tired but I think we still could enjoy this freezing, but wonderful, “South Dakota Day”!
Cece: Where to start? Well.. First of all, after the minimum hours of sleep we got last night we managed to get out of the door a little after than we were supposed to, but what are late nights with foreigners really about? Other than being extremely exhausted and also being very excited at the same time, we were at Mt. Rushmore, which was just like in the movies, GREAT, and visiting “Crazy Horse” was crazy big. I had a fun day and have gotten to experience a lot of what South Dakota has to offer!
Alessio: ciao, now I can say that South Dakota is not a boring state :D we had a lot of fun! We were at a museum , at dinosaur park, it was cooooooooold. We are having wonderful time, I can’t wait for tomorrow!
Philip: sooooooo…….. this day really was awesome. Gettin outta the bed wasn’t too much fun, after 4 hours of sleep, but it was worth the struggle! Dinosaur Park was – cold. Guess one has a real nice view on Rapid City from up there, but no, it has to be foggy…….. Anyway the dinosaurs were cool and the iceskating was too! The wildlife museum we went to was also cool, got a lotta pictures I could never get in nature – I know it’s cheating…. Then we drove to Keystone, which was kinda funny. It was foggy – I fell asleep – I woke up again – Fog was gone! Well the little village in the valley was sooooooo beautiful and had some real classical western buildings, like they have em in the movies. The cheap souvenir shop was cool too, just because it was cheap! And that candy shop – ohhhh I wanna live there! Anyway, after that we drove up to the faces, the landscape becoming cooler the further you drive. The guy who told us about the monument was real good, and the 4 presidents were even better! It’s much cooler than in any movies, but I guess everything you see yourself is better than in movies. I still just cannot get the idea of climbing up there outta my brain – To-Do list! Then we drove to Crazy Horse Memorial. The landscape fascinated me so much that I thought “I’m gonna be back in 10 years on a bike!”. Would love to do that right now. Since the memorial is still work-in-progress and will be that for a loooooooong time, the actual monument wasn’t too interesting, but the museum with the story about the guy who started it all and the display of tools they use was really interesting. Since Sara can’t wait to get her fingers on this computer, and I’ve written way too much anyway, that’s it from me!
Sara: So many amazing things happened today that it’s very difficult to summarize all the awesomeness that happened, but I’ll try. First, who wakes up at 8am after sleeping for only 3 hours? Seriously Jen, we’re teenagers, we need to sleep!! Second, I love the dinosaurs! And there was ice in the trees!! ICE IN THE TREES!!! Isn’t that extremely amazing?? I don’t think I could ever see that in Brazil… Third, the cruel animal museum… I don’t even want to comment on that. Fourth, Mt. Rushmore… How amazing, definitely the highlight of our SD trip! It was sooo much more than I could ever expect. It’s just incredible to see such a great monument and learn a little bit more about American history. Fifth, The crazy horse thingee… I still don’t get that thing.. Why would you build something that big?? Hahahha It was fun though and Dave kinda creeped on us ;) And just to share my opinion, I don’t think those carvings will ever be done… And last but not least, sixth highlight of our day, t.g.i Fridays and the pool!! Just hanging out with my fellow exchange students is a blessing and getting to know them a little bit more makes me so happy!! Love you all <3
Jess: I had a fantastic day even if I was suffering from minimal sleep also. The Dinosours were awesome but the view from up there was even better! I enjoy the Outdoor place a great deal! Seeing all the American animals was so interesting except for the creepy birds hanging off the roof and scaring me! Mt. Rushmore was certainly the highlight of my day. The history and all the thought behind the mountain is incredible! I thought Mt. Rushmore was big, but was shocked when I saw the Crazy Horse. The museum there was very interesting and we were even stalked whilst visiting there! To top it off I had a lovely kiddies meal which was BIG! Awesome day!
Simone: I s had a fantastic day! This trip is amazing and I loved to see Mt. Ruschmore it’s was so big and I have always wanted to see it. But whats makes this so amazing is that we have so much fun toghter and that we are laughing all the time.
Joy: we had way too much fun! Our sightseeing tour was very successful even though it was REAL cold. Mt. Rushmore was overwhelming but I found Crazy Horse even better since the story going with the memorial is even more interesting.
Sid: Visiting all of those places we’ve seen so far is just fabulous. Especially because it is not very common for a foreigner to go to South Dakota just to visit Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse! It makes the trip even better to know we are so lucky. Those two places were majestic and wonderful. It is even cooler than in the movies! But it was still very cold outside! Being together is the funniest part of this trip and I love it!
Angela: What an amazing day I had! We went to the amazing dianosour park…hahaha. Actually I like MT.RUSHMORE the best! I learned a lot and did enjoyed myself! Crazy Horse is also cool! I did saw a lot of things that China does not have. Well, guess what, I like my dinner!! It is sooooooo yummy!!! The best dished I had ever!! I am so happy today!! Expecting a new day comes!!
Bell: it was a awesome day ! I take a lot of picture and I love dianosour park so much !!! because it was very cold !! and that’s my first time to saw ice on the tree. AMAZING!! I love it and I always keep thinking when it snow, how’s is look like…. Love it !
Diana: I like dinasour very much because of the snow! It was so fun to see the snow on every piece of leaf. And the Mt. Rushmore is cool, too. I like the Outdoor campus west a lot! The animals look so real!!!
Frenchie : It was a niceeeee day ! …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Yes it was fabulous ! We saw dinosaurs, it doesn’t happen every day. I took pictures of Sara, my incredible sister, seeing ice on the tree for the very first time ! That was really sad to see stuffed animals. Poor innocent animals but still cuuute. Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse was amazing. And I obviously I enjoyed taking pictures of everybody. I found my job 

From our picture window to yours, have a great day!

South Dakota Day 1 from the students perspective!

Howdy family and friends! Today we embarked on an adventure of a lifetime...or shall I say, meeting of the nations! The STS exchange students plus one (Jonas) and 3 adults left Burwell to drive to Rapid City, SD. Here are a few of their thoughts about the trip this far. (We passed the computer around the room to get their thoughts on the day so far!

IHOP Cece
best place ever Sara
Chocolate cake…Adam Barker
Super clean hotel! Diana
The pool was awesome, it was hot and cold, Cece
Sara loved the waterslide,

Sara!! Jen is sooo awesome!! Hahahaha Love you…
Adam Schaefer…… I love you ilove you I love you. I love you I love you I love you… chocolate cake
Joy – we should have at least stopped one more time on the way up here (I almost peed my pants, bro!) eating pancakes at ihop was a great idea!
Melina – Frenchie says that we should do it forever. Let’s stay together. First evening was extremely awesome.
Sid – We should go on trip like this one all the time. This is so much fun. Gathering with all our STS group is just awesome!
-Alex Don’t eat the chocolate cake, I love you
Simone- This is so much fun! Love u
Diana- love the hotel sooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!
Angela-it is an awesome trip today! We had soooooooo much fun! Lov u Miss Jen!
Bell- AWESOME TRIP !!!! I love pancake !!
Cece- Norway says that ihop has the best pancakes in the world. I love our foreigners group AND MOST OF ALL I LOVE YOU, MAMMA
Jonas- Awesome, just awesome! Many people asked me “What is the perfect trip for you?” and I didn`t knew an answer. But now I can say: “THIS IS A TRIP! WITH JUST SO AWESOME PEOPLE!”
Philip: As everyone above said, it’s just AWESOME being in SD with a bunch of crazy kids and an even crazier Jen! If we would do that all the time – I would be in! I’ll be sleepy in school on Monday, well who cares!
Jess – Having the best time, love seeing another part of America, thank you Jen

Although the Thanks are great, its all about the students and providing an opportunity for them to see the world...one small piece at a time.

From OUR picture window to yours, have a great night!