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well, my job was to write about day 7 of the US trip. but to be honest, i dun remember much of what happened that day. even worse, i dun have any pictures or diary to help me recall the events on that particular day. but, i do know where we went that day, so i'm going to try to tell you my experience for day 7. that day, i recalled vividly, was the day every one looked forward to the most. it was the day we head for the legendary Universal Studio. we heard stories about how fun it was from a friend and we all can't wait for the day to start. we were literally jumping in our seats, asking whether or not we have reached even though we asked the same question a minute ago. we stepped out of the bus all charged up and ready to go. i remember very clearly, the very first ride we took (i forgot ride's name though). it was the jurassic-park-plastic-dinosaur-infested ride. it was very wet ride, literally. we were plunged down at hyper speed after a short tour around the 'park'. a picture of us was taken and i must say, we all looked pretty goofy. we came out drenched but it was so much fun that we took it once more, sitting at different seats. even though we knew what to expect from the ride, the kick of it was still there. our hearts still went to our throats and we screamed till our lungs ran out of air. the second ride we took was pretty awesome too. it was the mummy ride. it was so intense that we had to leave our belongings at this locker room. the queue for the ride was long but it surprisingly moved quite fast. as we sat in our seat, waiting for the ride to begin, we began to have small talks about our predictions for the ride, but i think, none of our predictions came close to what we have experienced. twist and turns, great animation and excellent special effects, ALL in the dark. and i mean, DARK. you cant even see your hands in front of your face. and yes, we screamed alot. not satisfied with riding the ride once, we went for our second time. and it was still awesome. we went to this 'show' afterwards which was fun and thrilling too, in a different sort of way. it showed us how a movie's (i forgot the title of the movie too) special effect was made. we were brought to this room where we were to experience first-hand of how fire worked. it was darn cool seeing flame shoot up and the amount of power fire has. it was magnificent but destructive at the same time. i guess it was, magnificently destructive. how is that for an oxymoron. we ate lunch after the 'show'. we were a famished group who would have eaten a cow if possible. we lined up and ordered our food, and ate our hearts out. the guys were pretty mean because they took my wallet away, scaring the hell out of me. but i guess their intention were good, because they were trying to teach me a lesson about keep valuable items with me. i can't remember the events after that. but i rememeber at the end of the day, i was in the bus with jun xian and we were talking about our lives and about how we dun want the trip to end so quickly (but it did anyway). we went back to our hotel and hit the sack as soon as we were in our beds. woke up the next morning probably 8 hours later (which felt like only 8 minutes) and head to the airport where we will be flying back home. though the fly was long, it didnt felt like it because we all slept in the plane. some of us, including myself, lost our voice because we screamed so much at Universal Studio. i wun ever forget how much we have that day. and know what, i miss everyone from the US trip ever since we parted from Changi Airport. i hope every one had as much fun as i did. _iris Gilroy We looked forward to the Gilroy trip with great anticipation, but before we could embark on the shopping trip of our lives, we paid the intel museum a visit. It was there where we learnt more about the founders of the Intel Musuem, Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, on how they founded Intel from scratch. We toured the studio and one of our fellow friend Abel had the unique opportunity to don on the space ship suit. After Intel, we tooked a coach to Gilroy, where we were briefed by Mr Ken Kwan on the ways of how to conquer Gilroy in the fastest and most efficient manner. It was then when the anticipation built up, and the air was filled with fission. Upon dropping at Gilroy, students scattered in every possible direction, aiming to get the best buys. We spent around 7 hours at Gilroy, my friends and I even managed to check out their popular burger joint, ‘In n Out”. The burger was truly amazing and scrumptious. At the end of the trip, we headed back to Ramada Hotel happily with our good purchases. Disney LandWe headed down to the Disney Hotel for a short tour, where we taken everywhere from their swimming pools, their bakeries, their normal rooms and finally the presidential room which was adorned with the best of facilities and furniture. After that, we headed down to Disneyland itself where we were greeted by many Disney character. We went on the famous Space Shuttle rides, Water log rides where we were drenched thoroughly. We witnessed many exciting moments together which will stay in my heart forever. J -jingxian-
   First trip of the day was Stanford.   California Governor Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Stanford was the founder of Stanford. It was name in honor of their child, Leland Stanford Jr who died just before his 16th birthday. Ever since their one and only child has passed away Leland Stanford consider “the children of California shall be our children”  Local and students of the university refer to the school as THE FARM, it is because the university was located on the former site of Leland Stanford’s horse farm.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-   After that we went to Intel museum which is the world leader in silicon innovation and develops technologies and products. The Intel Museum showcases Intel’s history and operations through unique exhibits and presentations designed to let us explore Intel® technologyIn Intel Museum we leant about microprocessor history, computer chip design and manufacturing. There was this exhibit which allows us to write our names in binary code.  One of us tried on the bunny suit, which is the outfit the engineers are required to put on before starting their work.
 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. After that we went for a tour around University of California, Berkeley. UC Berkeley is the oldest and has 10 campuses all together and 32 libraries they even have a few museum in their university. Did you know that Twin Peak also houses The Summit Resevoir. The resevoirprovides drinking water to residents, water for local fire departments, and is a necessary water source to the birdlife in the area. xoxo eve!!!
On day three we went to oracle corporation in silicon valley which is one of the major database company. ORACLE was one of the first companies to make its business applications available through the internet.  our hosts together with two of our lecturer  The speaker give a talk about oracle background and their database. Next we were divided into smaller groups for a tour around the company. Oracle is a company with nice cylinder shape building, scenery and working environment! Oracle also provide many facilities for their employees, and their employees are allow to use it even during working hours!!! Our next stop was one of the apple store to check out their product. Sort of a short stop there.In ORACLE they have never ending supply of their globe chocolate ball, mints and beverage. They provided us with lunch. buffet style.. the food was fab!!!  mint and globe choc balls    After apple was shopping time again. We headed to Great Mall.. Several shops which can be found in great mall are Banana Republic, Burlington Coat Factory, The Gap Outlet, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bebe, G by Guess, Levi's / Dockers Outlet, Nine West, Victoria Secret, etc... We were given a few hours for us to get our dinner and for us to shop.. Most of us will spend our time shopping!! To some of us shopping is much more important then filling our stomach!! So we have to spend our time wisely and try not to be late!!!   this is a map of great mall  xoxo eve!! Its been more than a month since I came back from the USA trip… it has indeed been an enjoyable trip, am rite peeps?!?! I doubt anyone have regretted coming, not me at least.. nonetheless, beside the peeps.. The tours. The visit… The site… The lecturers [Mr Ken and Mr Sim] … they rox the trip!! They made everything fell in place, for the students.. Thank you !! Hmmmm let me try to recall wad have happened and where have we gone for the full 7 days in USA specifically California.. Day1, We arrived in the San Francisco International Airport at about 10pm SF time.. the sky has turned dark and the weather was fantastic. The cold breeze.. the city light.. and everything. We then hopped onto our coach and headed to one of the supermarket called “LUCKY” for some grocery shopping. After spending about an hr there, we were all quite tired already.. due to jetlag… and stuffs. And guess where we go next? Its none other than our luxurious hotel –Courtyard By Marriott!!! Day 2, We were all told to wake up early in the morning to have our early breakfast, and because we are all very discipline students, we did as what we were told. We got ready and made sure we do not delay anyone (CROSS FINGER) *wink* hahhaha anyway, we hopped into the coach and began to explore the beautiful city of San Francisco.. everyone was frantically shooting.. passing their camera around.. Basically, we were amaze by everything we see. Not forgetting that we were supposed to pick up a city tour guide in San Francisco.. we stopped at union square, though we did not alight. The reason is because we have an extra member joining us for the next few hours. Guess who? Who will be soo dumb to guess wrongly rite? Of cos it’s our lovely huge Caucasian city tour guide! :P hahahha throughout his explanations and introduction to the city… we were practically aslp. HOWEVER, when we arrive at PIER 39 or 29? Lol… we were all ecstatic! Wad a beautiful place , I must say! Opposite this place , we can actually see this tiny little island in the centre of no where. It is actually the Alcatraz, the ancient tighly secured prison that is now open for tourist attraction. Sadly to say, we did not get a chance to go there. Or else, I can proudly tell my fren, “hey, I have been to ALCATRAZ!!!’ hahahhah after that, we went to THE FAMOUS GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE! As much as we wanted to see, the foggy weather actually failed us. Wad a disappointment! And then, we headed to the Chinatown in san Francisco.. and finally, we are back at the Singapore version of Orchard road, The Union Square! Ahhaha we shopped till all our legs numb! Hahahah there are Victoria secret, Chanel, Coach, Dior, Guess, Nike, and the list went on. However, a gentle reminder to the next badges who r coming here, DO NOT SHOP TOOOO MUCH!!! YOU GUYS WILL BE VISITING FACTORY OUTLET WHERE THE SAME ITEM COST HALF THE PRICE THAT U SEE IN UNION SQUARE! Take real good note of this, or u will regret. After a long day of visiting ang exploring and shopping, we eventually dragged our feet to the Oversea NUS Campus. We were given a warm welcome by the students. From half asleep to almost energetic.. can u imagine how beneficial the visit to this place is?? The students there were fantastic too.. they shared with us where to get good cheap stuff.. wad life in like is US.. etc etc.. By now, everyone was painting a fatigue picture on all their faces. And fell deep asleep once I arrived back in the hotel. ,By jessy. when i started typing this post, i didnt know what to type or how to start because there were just so many things i wanted to say. but i realise that some words are better left unsaid because they were meant to be felt in our hearts. living together with 3 of my room-mates made me learn so many life-learnt lessons that i wouldnt have learnt otherwise. how 3 totally different people can reside toegther under one roof can be so fun and enjoyable. of course, it wasnt only these 3 amazing person that made my trip so enjoyable, it was the entire group of US trip-ers; the jacuzzi group that i absolutely love chatting to and the party-animals that made the trip even more fun than it already was. this trip has made me open my eyes to opportunities that i never knew existed, and a whole new path that i never even thought worth considering before. so thank you teachers, for making this trip possible for the all of us. and to my 3 room-mates that i love ever so much, i'll always remember the messy floor and the crowded sink. cheers. _iris.
xoxo eve!!!!
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