Writing this while having massive US Withdrawal right now, Washington D.C and College Park Maryland can be said as the most eventful place during my two weeks trip to the States. I was there to visit a friend of mine who was on exchange. I had a lot of amazing experience throughout my stay in College Park, Maryland, roughly just about 20 mins out of D.C. I would just like to take the opportunity to share some of my highlights here. I was staying in College Park for 6 days. It does seems to be rather long, but nice and relaxing. While it might not be really relevant since you will probably not stay here unless you are studying in the University of Maryland, I will still like to share a little on it.
Just before I head to the D.C part, talking abit about my time in UMD. It was actually amazing. I had a taste of an actual university, college life, making friends, living on campus, parties and the whole package. First up, I love visiting campuses overseas since they are so gorgeous. In fact the whole of College Park is like a small town, you can literally find everything here, from fast food, to Target and Pharmacys. Everything is done up for the students. While I am not sure that it will be cheaper than outside, it sure is convenient. Well, I can say that I have been at University of Maryland!
OMG! University of Maryland sure is gorgeous! The next day, I was up bright and early and went for a walk around campus. Surely the campus is huge, no wonder cars and college student are a thing here in the states. It is like the whole of Pasir Ris over there. Check out some of the pictures here. Some of the must see include the stadium, the chapel and simply all the famous red brick buildings.
Surely the most gorgeous place in the whole of UMD have to be the McKeldin Mall. Located in the heart of the city, it is super picturesque! I was right there during the graduation season, as such, there was plenty of people getting their pictures taken. I would love to study in such a beautiful place as well! I simply just spend a little of my time lying on the grass and soak up the sun.
I made some friends throughout my stay there and even attended a college house party though. How lovely is it to have a little fire pit at the back of your host and have some smores in this weather. Of course, plenty of drinks to go around. Even met some fellow Singaporeans as well, which was really lovely! Love meeting fellow countryman overseas.
Sadly speaking, I actually fell sick while in D.C. Sigh! Due to some awesome yet dirty Chipotle! Heck, it is one of the worse I have felt in a long time that result in me visiting a doc for the first time overseas. This is definitely too adventures for me! Well at least I guess it is an experience. Thankfully, I still managed to squeeze in a day to check out D.C itself. It was actually pretty lovely seeing all the monuments. Something that you are so familiar with after all the movies and TV Series that you have seen. One of the best thing to do is to walk thru the National Wall and you can get all of American History in a single walk. Getting a sight of my favourite State Department!
I think the most gorgeous and impressive place to take pictures is near the World War II Memorial and Washington Memorial. It is really nice!
And of course you could not get by without having a look at The White House too! Everywhere had heavy security and you can expect roadblocks here and there, although there isn’t nothing to be afraid of. The cops are very friendly, maybe it is good too. You can always get instructions and directions from them.
I also did something really unique while walking thru town! I stop by a Tesla store to have a look and end up taking a ride in a Tesla which is so awesome. The people here are super friendly! I wish I could drive one instead, sadly I do not have a local driving license! Heck, each of them only cost 39K. What a deal! I also had a look at the Chinatown and GeorgeTown. GeorgeTown is super nice to walk around. I love that it is so different from Washington D.C itself . It is charming with cobbled streets and georgian style houses. I love the walk down the main avenue, you can also find many stores and shops here as well. Lovely.
If you are passing by Union Station, stay for a little look too cause this is one of the most pretty train station in the country! The interior sure look impressive!
All in all, I didn’t really went to a ton of places in Washington D.C, but I guess I actually got a good feel of it and I really enjoyed my time at the University of Maryland. Made a ton of friends and some life long experiences. Next up, I am headed to Philly!
Seeing The World In Steps 