my travel experiences essay

I had always wanted to visit South Korea and I recently had the chance to spend a week in this amazing country. Unlike its northern neighbor which is pretty much closed to visitors, South Korea is a welcoming and hospitable country. It is an interesting place with a unique culture and a highly developing economy. I flew into the capital Seoul. On arrival in the city, it was the marked contrast between modern skyscrapers and high design shopping malls and shanty towns that was immediately striking. Wide streets lined by fancy boutiques lead to a labyrinth of narrow alleyways with tiny traditional shops and eateries and there is a clutch of great tourist attractions. My tour itinerary began on Seoul’s main boulevard, Sejongro, because I wanted to see the Royal Palace (Gyeongbok), the President’s residence, known as Cheongwadae or the Blue House, and the American Embassy. From here it’s a fairly short walk to Bukchon where there is the city’s largest collection of privately owned traditional wooden houses. It’s a charm with beautiful architecture and small courtyards, with the houses interspersed with quaint cafes and art galleries. Taking the same route the next day, I took a trip into the mountains that peak behind the President’s House, and climbed the one known as Bugaksan. This affords the opportunity to pass through the Sukjeongmun Gate and through the city’s ancient fortress wall. From here the Seoul Fortress is easily accessible and there are also amazing views of Seoul. Shopping in the Orient is an amazing experience so I made sure to pay a visit to the Shinsegae downtown department store. This huge emporium sells probably everything you can imagine and is a complete charm in the way the bottom floors sell all the basic staples of daily life – including the ubiquitous kimchee (fermented cabbage) and are frequented by Korean housewives while the upper floors.
Since I am a high school student, somebody might say I have my entire life ahead of me, with all of its beautiful experiences. But despite being so young, I already have a personal breath-taking experience, which I am sure I will carry with me until my last days: my first hike to the mountains.Though traveling is not a big deal for me today, before my trip to the mountains, I used to be a homebody. I had friends to hang out with, several hobbies, and I felt completely comfortable spending weeks or even months in my hometown—or sometimes even on my block—without going anywhere. All my demands of novelty were satisfied by the Discovery and National Geographic channels, and I seriously thought there was no difference between seeing something on the TV or with one’s own eyes.The situation changed when one day David, my best pal who always got a couple of colorful bugs in his head (or, in other words, was always carrying out several crazy plans at once) tumbled into my room and proclaimed his disgust for civilization. I will not describe how he managed to persuade me to join him on his journey to the Rocky Mountains; all I will say is we departed in five days.This was my first time in the mountains, so I was turning my head in all directions. Unfortunately, the weather was foggy most the time, and the higher we got into the mountains, the worse the visibility was. Even despite this fact, I still enjoyed the hike—I felt like I was Bear Grylls, whose show I used to watch with excitement: in the wild, with food and water in my backpack, carrying a flashlight and a knife. On the first day, we were making our way along the foothills; but the next day, we started to climb on one of the peaks. Though it was not that steep and high, I was still excited. I regularly hastened, and because of that I ran out of energy long before we got to the top; David, on the other hand was more.
The summer before my junior year in high school, my family and I took a trip to a completely new world. Being from a small town, I had never really been exposed to the elements of a large city such as New York City. My trip there was like discovering an entirely new way of life that I had only heard stories of previously. For about the tenth time the morning of the flight, I checked my room to make sure I didn’t leave anything essential behind. My stomach was doing flips as we arrived at the airport and made our way to the gate. It didn’t get much better than this: I watched through the window as the runway zoomed by and the buildings and houses became smaller and smaller as the plane gained altitude. An exhilarating feeling overcame me as I realized that I would soon be in one of the most amazing cities of the United States. As we stood waiting for a taxi outside of the airport, it was immediately apparent to me that New York City was not the same as New Caney, Texas. It seemed like everyone there was in a hurry to get to another place. The loud and constant sound of cars honking was heard throughout the entire trip. As soon as a car seemed to be going slower than the person behind him liked, he would hear the horn of that car to let him know that he was apparently holding everybody else up! When we found our hotel in Times Square, I noticed that it wasn’t just the cars that were in a hurry. Everyone in the streets was walking at a brisk pace that indicated a rush to be somewhere. The transportation of the city was also far different than anything that I had ever been exposed to. In my little town, a bike, a car, or even walking was perfectly suitable for getting around town, but in this foreign land, there were many more ways for one to get to another destination. Everywhere you looked, there were people hailing taxis, waiting on buses, rushing underground to the.
Prior to diving into this project, let it be known that I have already visited Paris, at the tail-end of a three month backpacking tour of Europe while on a shoestring budget. My traveling experience then was geared more towards taking in the must-see sights, visiting as many countries as possible and having a lot of drinks with people from many different countries. I had a wonderful time but, having grown up a bit, as well as having lived in a world-class city for five years now, my intentions and expectations for this journey will be far different. First, I visited all of the major museums in Paris, but had no background in either classical, impressionist or conceptual art. In turn, while I gained an appreciation -- one cannot help but have their perception altered by touring the great museums of Firenze, Rome, Paris, etc -- the first time around, I would like to return to the great museums with a finer eye and a more well rounded sense of appreciation for what I am seeing. Furthermore, my taste buds have developed magnificently since arriving in San Francisco, and a diet of bread, salami and yogurt will simply not do this time around. Wine and beer tastings, as well as restaurants, will play a significant role in this trip. Finally, my itinerary will be more sparse and relaxed. My first time through Europe, I was bouncing from city to city with two to four days to ingest everything, running from museum to cathedral to sight without breaks to rest or meditate. Looking through my photos, I was stunned to realize how many places I had been, but how few I remembered distinctly. This time, I will keep a more flexible schedule, allowing myself time to enjoy a cappucino, a novel or a few hours of people watching, in addition to the major sights. Itinerary Paris Having grown up in Seattle, I am no stranger to what some refer to as dreary weather. My last trip began in.
Please select from the following sample application essays: Essay 1: Princeton | Essay 2: Harvard | Essay 3: Princeton | Essay 4: Brown Note: The following essays were not edited by EssayEdge Editors. They appear as they were initially reviewed by admissions officers. Sample Essay 1 Princeton, Athlete (Football) I have learned a great many things from participating in varsity football. It has changed my entire outlook on and attitude toward life. Before my freshman year at [high-school], I was shy, had low self-esteem and turned away from seemingly impossible challenges. Football has altered all of these qualities. On the first day of freshman practice, the team warmed up with a game of touch football. The players were split up and the game began. However, during the game, I noticed that I didn't run as hard as I could, nor did I try to evade my defender and get open. The fact of the matter is that I really did not want to be thrown the ball. I didn't want to be the one at fault if I dropped the ball and the play didn't succeed. I did not want the responsibility of helping the team because I was too afraid of making a mistake. That aspect of my character led the first years of my high school life. I refrained from asking questions in class, afraid they might be considered too stupid or dumb by my classmates. All the while, I went to practice and everyday, I went home physically and mentally exhausted. Yet my apprehension prevailed as I continued to fear getting put in the game in case another player was injured. I was still afraid of making mistakes and getting blamed by screaming coaches and angry teammates. Sometimes these fears came true. During my sophomore season, my position at backup guard led me to play in the varsity games on many occasions. On such occasions, I often made mistakes. Most of the time the mistakes were not significant; they rarely changed the.