Meryem tells us about a trip to Atlanta
During my first vacation week in the US, I planned a trip to Atlanta with a friend of mine. Only for two and a half days, not a very long trip, but a trip that was filled with exciting adventures and so many new impressions that I will never forget.
The first place we went to immediately after our arrival was the World of Coca Cola. We took a picture with the statue of the inventor of Coca Cola in front of the building and after buying our tickets, we went inside to explore a world about this famous drink. We learned about the recipe, the inventors, the history, … about everything you could possibly learn about Coca Cola. We got to watch a movie about people from different parts of the world showing how important it is to cherish every day in your life, to live your life and do things you love to do, which turned out to be extremely emotional making our eyes tear. Not only did we learn a lot, we also got to try drinks from several continents, like lemon tea from Turkey as an example for Asia. It was a lot of fun and everybody received a bottle of Coke from the World of Coca Cola as a gift.
After getting some souvenirs, the next destination was the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, which changed my mood to the complete opposite. That is something I noticed during this trip: each place you go to influences you and the feelings you have. So at this place, I became very sad seeing how cruel people were and how they mistreated colored people just because of their skin color. I will never forget the photo of a white girl and several white men smiling as they were looking at an executed black man. It was horrible and I will never understand why people do not accept other people just because they have a different skin color, another religion, another nationality or simply an opinion that is not the same as theirs. In my opinion, all these things make this world beautiful and great, but it was definitely a very interesting and very informative place to go to.
Next, we decided to go to the Stone Mountain Park to look at the largest high-relief sculpture in the world, 400 feet above the ground measuring three acres – larger than a football field. It was very impressive to stand in front of it and to take pictures of it thinking how unbelievably large it is and how the artists created it.
On our second day in Atlanta, we decided to go to the Atlanta Botanical Garden in the morning. Again, the place completely ruled over my feelings. I was so calm and relaxed seeing so many colorful flowers and the first butterflies in this year. There were many kinds of orchids and tulips, all looking so beautiful. Apart from that, there were frogs from all over the world, some were poisonous too, even though they were so small and looked so cute, but we all know, that the first impression can turn out to be completely wrong.
After, we went to Piedmont Park for a little walk. A lot of people went there for a run whereof a lot of them were accompanied by their dogs. Then, we decided to go back to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, this time to go to the Visitor Center. We saw rooms in honor of Dr. King, his wife Coretta, Ghandhi, and Rosa Parks. We saw personal items that belonged to them, for instance a wallet and a suit of Dr. King. It was very impressive and interesting. My impression that Dr. King’s wife was a great supporter for him only got stronger as I went there. I was and still am fascinated by how much one single human being can achieve and change. It is true that if you really want to make a change, you can do it, you just have to believe in yourself.
Afterwards, we went to the Atlanta City Hall to take some pictures of it, because it really is a beautiful building, and then we went to the Centennial Olympic Park, which was really nice as well. We saw the Ferris wheel there, called SkyView Atlanta, and thought it would be perfect to go back at night time, which is what we did. Being up there was incredible and Atlanta looked so different when it was dark outside. We saw white horses pulling a beautiful carriage and the whole park was decorated with pretty lights. It was the best decision to do this on our last night in the city. And to make it even better, we went to a German restaurant for dinner, which had an amazing view on the skyline.
My trip to Atlanta was fantastic and I am very glad I went, because I came back feeling so much better as I learned so much by seeing and doing things I do not see or do every day.
Meryem Askin