I have traveled to many states in the U.S. when I was in high school, but most places that I have been to are in southern parts of Massachusetts. Because Massachusetts is very cold during winter, I usually planned to go somewhere warm for my breaks. Before I decided to come to Vermont for college, the only thing I know about Vermont is this: Vermont is a very safe, quiet and cold place where many teenagers do not like live in.
I am originally from Tianjin (Tientsin), the fifth largest city with a population of 15 million people in China. For me, especially a kid growing up in an urban area, Vermont could be a boring place. During the summer before college started, I inadvertently looked at a book - 100 of the Most Beautiful Places around the World - that I bought when I was in middle school. When I was turning the pages, I was surprised that I saw a very familiar name on the catalog, and that name is Vermont. I did not realize that Vermont was considered as one of most beautiful places around the world until I saw its name in this book by accident. I did not pay attention to this name when I was young, because I did not even know where Vermont is.
Because Vermont is called “the Green Mountain” state, there are a lot of mountains which people can hike any time. The book used positive language and friendly evaluation to describe Vermont during the fall season. The book says that you do not know how gorgeous the fall season is if you do not come to Vermont. Vermont has the most beautiful autumn around the world - it is going to be a scene of “red sea” in late October. I have hiked a few times in Vermont, and this is the picture that I photographed during this summer. I am also going to hike again in October, so I will show you some pictures of late fall in Vermont in next blog.
After I studied in Vermont for two years, Vermont somehow changed my personal perspectives of living in a suburban area. I realized that I was wrong to describe Vermont is a boring for many teenagers. Actually, Vermont truly has a lot of exciting places for younger adults to explore after they come. For example, hiking different mountains, kayaking, skiing, swimming in rivers, cliff jumping and more! These are the outdoor activities that many American teenagers were doing when they were younger. I grew up in a city, where I did not even have a chance to do this. When I saw my American friends doing these activities, I was a little afraid to do because I did not have any experience.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I started to love Vermont because here are a lot of things that I could not often do in China. This is also a great opportunity for most urban kids to exercise themselves and have a different experience of living in the U.S. Most Chinese students who come to the U.S for studying mainly grew up in an urban place. If they still choose a big city for studying like New York, Chicago, Atlanta and etc, they might experience the same things that they experienced in China before, and they will not have as many as opportunities of outdoor activities that students have in Vermont. Having a unique experience is very important for students. As soon as they learned the skills, the students are going to benefit a lot in future.
Last but not least, if the Five Great Lakes are considered as the largest freshwater lake in the U.S, a giant lake located in Vermont, Lake Champlain, is the sixth largest freshwater lake in the country. Its catchment area is more than 8000 sq mi. Tons of people come to Vermont to visit because of this lake. People come to Vermont in summer for camping, fishing and many water activities. In fall, 99% of Vermonters would hike a mountain in Vermont for the “red sea.” During winter time, Vermont is probably the best area for American people to ski in Northeast in the U.S.; not even American people, Vermont also has a lot of international visitors coming here to ski from Europe. Vermont is a great place for Chinese student to study because the beauty of Vermont gives students a natural power. Most people who had been here usually said Vermont is the place where they mostly want to come back and visit again. In the movie, which won Academy Awards, Forrest Gump, Forrest ran from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean after he lost Jenny, and he ran through a small town with bright red leaves. Probably a lot of people did not know that scene was shot in Vermont. There is no place to catch a better sight of autumn than Vermont.
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