b'Our flight to Texas was mostlyOne of my favourite days was the uneventful; however, afterThursday, where we started the day at several films and hours of sleep,school but left afterwards to visit the we landed at George BushHouston Galleria Mall. The mall was Intercontinental Airport. We wereabsolutely massive with countless rows picked up by our coach andof shops and restaurants to choose finally reached our destination, thefrom. We ended this day by going to Hyatt Place Sugarland hotel. Wewatch an away match for the Dulles were met with the warm receptionHigh School football (the American of Mrs McMahon, who helpedversion) team, and even though they organise the trip from the USA side,did not win, it was still amazing to see and Principal Stewart, the head ofhow different the sports culture is in the John Foster Dulles High School.States compared to how we do it in the We spent our first evening touringUK. Each team had their own band and the local area and capped it off withset of cheerleaders and at half time, they tasty. Food in the USA is much better than fooda trip to the local Target, where wehad a grand show. We concluded the in the UK! Once we finished exploring the mall,indulged in some of the local cuisine. day with a warm meal at McDonalds.we had the opportunity to go to the HoustonOn Monday, we woke up at 6am toOn the trip, we visited so many more Police Department. We got to see inside theattend our first day at the high school.parts of Texas such as the Gulf of cop car, the daily roll call and even got theImmediately, you could see how hugeMexico and the Galveston Pier, Brazoria chance to wear a police vestit was amazing! their school was in comparison to ours;County Fair, the Lone Star Flight After this, we went back to the hotel to getsome of the hallways were nearly asMuseum, and even a police station! The changed to go to the American football game. Iwide as our classrooms! We were pairedtrip was an amazing experience for me was very impressed as it was like a professionalwith our American counterparts andand everyone else; I will never forget the game, with cheerleaders, a half-time show,attended all their lessons, whether it wascountless memories and all the pictures I and even sponsors, just for a high schoolband class, algebra, or world history. Wetook during that week!game. It was a fantastic experience with a greatended the day by spending our eveningRaza Khan, Year 11atmosphere created by us. Although I did notat Main Event Entertainment, playing laser understand the rules of American football, ittag, bowling, and pool.was great to watch people being wrestled to the ground. We grabbed McDonalds on the way back to the hotel as it was very late and we were all very tired.By Friday, it had dawned on me DAY 7 that this would be the final day in Texas with a full day of activities. We boarded the yellow school bus for the final time to go to the Lone Star Flight Museum. We saw some of the planes and fighter planes as well as played on a flight simulator, which was great. After the museum, we had the opportunity, thanks to Major Hawn, to go to a US Air Force base. It was amazing as we watched many fighter jets landing and taking off.Finally, we travelled to the coast and Galveston Pier, where we had the afternoon/evening to explore the pier and to go on the amusement rides. Galveston was definitely one of the highlights of the trip!This was the day we left; we DAY 8/9 woke up, packed ourOn the first full day, we went to the Brazoria County Fair. suitcases and went down to breakfast.We saw many extraordinary thingscorn dogs, fried Oreos, adrenaline-Then, we drove to the airport, boarded therushing rides and all the other classic thingsand of course, the rodeo. After multiple plane, and off we went back to the UK! doses of classic Texas patriotism being shown, followed by a two-minute silence and the national anthem, we watched as men were thrown in the ring while riding on the horses backs, and lassoing the bull and tying its horns and feet; it was ferocious, but very CONCLUSION: exciting and thrilling.This was the best trip I have ever been on inAnother great day was when we went to one of the biggest malls in the my life! Massive thank you to Mr Sanders, Mrnorthern hemisphere, the Houston Galleria Mall. Alongside this, we went Thaper and Miss Macilwraith for organising theto the Houston Police station and were given a tour by the Chief and trip and making it enjoyable for all of us. shown allaspects of an American police station. We even had a Jovan Singh Mann, Year 10 chance to be put in handcuffs! On the day before the journey back home, we went to Galveston beach. A chance to see what an American sandy beach was like and seeing the Gulf of Mexico for the first time! After taking some group photos, we went to the famous Pleasure Pier and went on the amusement rides there. One rollercoaster went up to 52 miles per hour, which was exhilarating and one of my favourite parts of the trip, being an adrenaline junky! Cameron Lai, Year 1149'