It has been two weeks since I left the Netherlands and travelled to Tempe, Arizona, in the United States of America in order to attend Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University. I have already found my way (well, most of it) around campus, and I am currently trying to figure out all of the cool things that I can do in and around Arizona in my spare time. In this blog, I will tell you a little bit about some of the things that I definitely want to do, or places that I want to visit during my exchange period.

1. 1. The Grand Canyon
      One of the things that cannot be missing from my bucket list is, of course, the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is only a couple of hours away from Phoenix, and it is something I have seen in pictures and videos throughout my life, but never actually been to. Being in Arizona provides me with the great opportunity to go visit it. Even though I am a little bit afraid of heights, I think it will be an amazing experience. Nonetheless, as it is currently around 40 degrees Celsius every day, the other exchange students and me are waiting until it gets a little bit colder in order to be able to hike at the Grand Canyon; something I am looking forward to!
   2. Flagstaff
      When I walked out of the doors of the Sky Harbor airport of Arizona, I immediately noticed the immense heat surrounding me. I have the feeling that, as being used to the Dutch climate, I am not quite made for heats like the Arizona desert, but I am slowly getting used to it. Nevertheless, some of the other exchange students told me about Flagstaff, a place where it can actually snow (!!) sometimes. This also means that higher in the mountains of this city, you can ski. I think it would be pretty cool to be able to say that I have skid in Arizona! Flagstaff is known for its outdoor, and especially, hiking activities, but it is also known to be a great place for stargazing, something I love. Therefore, this is definitely a place I want to visit during my exchange period.
   3. Las Vegas
      This is a place I have only seen in movies, but I did hear a lot about it from other people. I know that in my high school arts class we talked a little bit about the fountains there, as they had lights and music and I remember that my teacher told me that there were even entire water shows with these fountains. Now, I know that fountains are not usually the first things that come to mind when people want to visit Las Vegas, but I thought this would be cool to see as well. Of course, it will be interesting and exciting to discover all of the places and to take a gamble in one of the casinos, or maybe get married, who knows. It seems like a place that I would like to visit once in my life, and I believe this is the right time!
      
   4. Salt Lake River Tubing
      I had not heard about this river or the tubing activities that you can exercise on it, but my Uber driver told me about this place. Salt Lake River tubing is an activity where you get a tube at one point of the Salt Lake River, after which you can just float down the river. It seems like a good and relaxing activity, which is always nice. There are a lot of mountains around the river and there are a lot of beautiful sights. The perfect activity after I will finish my exams.
   5. Monument Valley
      Monument Valley is a valley where you have a large amount of sandstone buttes. These sandstone buttes are like little mountains in the valley and have all different shapes and sizes. The highest sandstone butte reaches around 300 metres above the ground, which seems very impressive. I would love to go here once, as I believe it would be very cool to see this landscape. Because it is in the desert area, it is very hot and the countryside is mainly reddish colored, with a lot of sand. I would love to see just the actual desert and this seems the right place to visit if I do want to see a little more than sand and cactuses.
   6. Mexico
      As Phoenix is rather close to the border between the USA and Mexico, it is a great opportunity to go and explore another country as well. Another Uber driver (you learn a lot during these rides) told me that, even though people from Arizona tend to go to Mexico quite often, Mexico differs a lot from the United States. I believe it would be great to visit it during a break or the weekends, and it would be awesome to have the opportunity to go and explore a whole new country and a new culture as well. My suite mate told me about Puerto Peñasco, which seems like the perfect destination for fall break!
   7. Old Town Scottsdale
      Phoenix is a very big city and it has multiple cities that are situated directly next to it. Scottsdale is one of these cities, and it is the ideal oldtime Arizona experience. In the part of the city called ‘Old Town Scottsdale’ you can find saloons and other older styled places. It is like being in an old Western movie yourself! It seems great to experience, as I loved to watch Lucky Luke and the Daltons as a kid, and this brings back a lot of these memories. Additionally, it seems just great to experience what Arizona was like decades ago.

These are the things that I definitely want to see during my period abroad in the USA. I believe visiting these places will make my exchange adventure even more complete, as I can learn a lot at the University, but also explore a lot in my free time. I hope that I will soon be able to post a vlog with the realization of this bucket list and some amazing shots of what I will see there, so stay tuned!

Best wishes from Tempe, Arizona,
Rosemarijn