Day 1:
I arrived at school at 3:30am and arrived at London Heathrow airport two hours later. On the coach, we were given our trip jumpers to wear and I was very energetic, more than most people around me! After arriving, we made our way through check-in and security before having a bit of time to explore and get some breakfast. After a 10.5-hour flight, which was full of films and snacks, we finally arrived in the USA.
After the grilling by the US border protection officers, we left the airport, sleep deprived and all. Due to the time difference, we still had most of the day ahead of us – it was 10pm back in the UK when it was 3pm in Texas! Our coach pulled up at our hotel, where we were greeted by Principal Stewart and Mrs McMahon. They welcomed us with goodie bags, our IDs for school and a big banner. Then, we unpacked and went out for food and shopping at Target. Then, after over 25 hours awake, we got back to the hotel and went for a well-deserved sleep.
Day 2:
With a 9am start and some breakfast, we were going to the Brazoria County Fair! We arrived with perfect sunny weather and we saw some amazing things like pig weighing, cowboy hat making, petting zoos and all the other classic activities at a county fair. After a little time to explore, we went to the rodeo! We got there just as the sheep-back riding had started. This is where 3-, 4- or 5-year-olds rode on the back of sheep around the ring to see who could stay on the for the longest! It was fantastic and very funny to watch!
The time came for the main rodeo, which started with the first of many doses of classic Texas patriotism, with them honouring their troops, the rodeo, the flag and the country. We held a 2-minute silence and the national anthem was then sung… by someone who could not sing. The rodeo got underway with men and women getting thrown around the ring on the back of horses, them lassoing a bull’s horns and tying its feet up, then sprinting after bulls with a lasso and RKOing them. It was brutal but so entertaining! Once that had finished, we returned to the main fair and bought some food and drink before going on some rides. Eventually, we got back to the hotel before changing and then venturing out to Lupe Tortilla, a lovely Mexican restaurant, to end the day.
Day 3:
We had to be up bright and early at 5:30am for a day of school! As we left the hotel, we were greeted by a great sight – a classic American school bus. We were all extremely excited to get on as it was something we had seen in all the American films. We met Major Hawn, who was our bus driver for the remainder of the week, who drove us to John Foster Dulles High School, once again being met by Principal Stewart and Mrs McMahon.
Upon arriving, hundreds of eyes were staring at us as we walked through the main reception of the school. We met up with our partners for the school day, I was paired up with Jennifer, who I would be following for the next three days, and we got to know the dynamic in American schools. It is worlds apart from the dynamic of a British school! It was so eye-opening to see how the American pupils behaved, such as being on their phones while the teacher is talking or no-one stopping talking in class. It was also surprising that the people there were lovely, very welcoming and loved my accent!
After meeting teachers and participating in more lessons, we headed back to the hotel for a quick change before going to Main Event Entertainment. It is similar to Star City with arcades, laser tag, bowling and pool. My group and I mainly did laser tag before playing pool. Finally, we went back to the hotel to a needed sleep.
Day 4:
The fourth day started out the same as the previous day with me following my partner, Jennifer, around the school to attend lessons. However, after the school day, we played the Dulles High School football (which they call soccer) team in two friendly football games. In the first game, we conceded goals very quickly, initially because of me but we rallied and ended up winning the second game! After this, we returned to the hotel for a shower and relax before visiting the nearby First Colony Mall and then the Cheesecake Factory, which was so good.
Day 5:
On this warm day, we went to NASA Johnson Space Centre. As usual, we got on the yellow school bus and picked up the American students on the way. When we arrived, we passed by several rockets and replicas and I was surprised by how big the complex was – it was huge! Once inside, we split up into groups to explore the different exhibitions available. We learnt about the different space programmes such as the Apollo programme to the Moon and the International Space Station. Also, we saw the actual mission control consoles, a sample of real Moon rock, rocket parts and the best of all, a full-sized space shuttle! This space shuttle was on top of a real plane that was used to carry it from the shuttle’s landing site to the launch site, ready for its next mission. After this, we walked through the NASA Hall of Fame, a tribute to famous astronauts. We also visited the memorial that commemorated those who lost their lives doing their jobs at NASA, which was very eye opening.
After exploring the main exhibits, we went on a tram tour of the private NASA buildings. Along with a tour guide, we were taken around the grounds to our first stop, the astronaut training complex, which is where real astronauts train for their missions to space. We saw a mockup of the International Space Station and as we moved along, we saw engineers working on different things and it felt very official!
We left the NASA Johnson Space Centre to go to a Texan favorite, Buc-ees! It is basically a huge petrol station that sells everything, from drinks, to clothes to fresh cakes, you name it, Buc-ees sells it. Finally, we finished the day by going to an American diner for dinner.
Day 6:
With another early start, this was our last day at the school. We said goodbye to all our friends and then watched a musical called Clues, which was performed by some of the students. They taught us a dance routine and played some group games with them. Upon leaving the school early, we visited Houston Police Department, where we met the officers, who let us see their handcuffs and tasers. I recommend not wearing them because they have blood, sweat and tears on them because the officers cannot be bothered to clean them – their words, not mine!
Later on that day, we visited the Houston Galleria Mall and went in a diverse range of shops. It was incredibly fun and my friends and I enjoyed wandering around. After that, we went to watch a high school American football game. It was very entertaining and I was surprised how none of them ended up in the hospital, considering how aggressive their tackles were.
Day 7:
It was the last full day! We woke up at around 9am to go to the Lone Star Flight Museum. As before, we boarded the bus and picked up our American friends, before making our way to the museum. When we arrived, we were split into 3 groups to do a variety of activities! We firstly did some basics of flight training, where my partner and I learnt about navigation; we also learnt what is the optimum speed for a plane to fly at and what angle is the safest. From there, we moved on to learning how to perform an exterior check of an aircraft, checking to make sure no bolts are missing, no parts are blocked and that everything is free and correct. We also stepped inside the flight deck of a plane and checked that out before my favourite part, the flight simulator! We performed a 45-minute ‘flight’ around the Houston area and towards the coast on a simulator and it was so immersive. Afterwards, we had a tour of the different aircraft the museum had before heading to the interactive exhibits, where we could participate in some aerodynamic games, based around physics.
Then, our time at the Lone Star Flight Museum was over (or so we thought) as we boarded the bus again and were taken to a nearby US military base. Major Hawn, our driver, served in the US military and therefore had access to the base, providing the teachers could get approved. They all did and so, we got to explore what a live US military base had to offer in case the USA was attacked. While there, we visited the shop at the military base, which had everything on offer – the usual food and drink all the way to cases to keep your grenades in… After this, we travelled to the coast and the Gulf of Mexico, where we visited the Galveston pier, which was very relaxing and a fantastic way to end our time in Texas!
Day 8/9:
This was our final day in the USA, and after a quick shopping run in the morning, we sorted out some final things, weighed our bags and left the hotel. It was quite a sad day to be leaving after such a fantastic trip! Once we have checked into the airport and cleared security, we had some time to relax in the airport. Finally, we boarded the plane back to London Heathrow, before catching the coach back to Birmingham upon landing, where my parents collected me.
Conclusion:
This was a very memorable trip and it was definitely worth the money as I got to see and spend time with people who I never thought I would ever meet! With my friends, we laughed and enjoyed every bit of this trip. I would 100% go on this trip if it were available again!
Suhaib Ahmed (10A)
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