I think each one of us has a dream place, mine was and still is New York City. Don't ask me why, because I can't answer. I don't know. I grew up with the idea that NY was the perfect city. Crowded, busy, full of yellow taxis and skyscrapers. The city of lights, the one that never sleeps. There is always something going on and it's exciting.

Well, my dream became reality one year ago today. I woke up at 3 am in order to catch a plane and fly out from Denver to The Big Apple. I was so happy I couldn't describe how I felt wth words. I am not a morning person but I can tell you it wasn't hard to wake up, even if it was super early and I probably slept less than 2 hours that night.

I had a layover in Chicago, and it has been hard not being able to make a stop there as well, I bet it is beautiful. As soon as the airplane touched the ground I felt something inside me, like if the younger me whispered in my ear "I knew you would make it to New York".

I spent my first night at the hotel in Newark, attending a BELO presentation with nearly 90 fellow exchange students from all over the world. I will never forget when, the next morning, our bus came out of the Lincoln Tunnel. My eyes pictured the New Yorker building, and that meant just one thing: I was finally in Manhattan. I stepped out of the bus at 9 am, in front of the Public Library. I couldn't stop looking around me, everything was so huge.

Speaking about getting a full experience of the city, we even got stuck in the traffic and yes that ain't fun. We were supposed to spend approximately two hours in Times Square, ended up having like half an hour of free time there. What can I say? Beautiful, yes. But I've always pictured it differently in my head; like the Statue of Liberty, that I thought was enormous.

Sometimes I think back in time and I realize I had the beautiful opportunity to visit so many places that now I don't even know where I would like to settle in the future. Even if I visited NY, three days weren't enough to really live it, this is why I want to move there sometime, get lost in streets I don't know with a cup of coffee in my hand. I've always wanted to visit it but during my staying in the US I actually fell in love with another city of which I knew very little about.. San Francisco!
And you, did you manage to go back to your host country after your high school exchange?
Did you go elsewhere for college? Comment!

Check out "What to do in New York City." <--

- Cris