Traveling is very popular around the world. These days, more and more people visit foreign countries for several reasons such as vacation or for business. Although the purpose of the travel varies depending on people, many people compare their countries with one they are visiting. I believe that traveling is the best way of having new experiences and seeing different places. There are many kinds of differences, such as people, food, and customs. I learned these things while I visited east coast of the USA. However, the biggest difference that I observed during my East Coast trip were three different kinds of topography.
First of all, Boston, especially Beacon Hill looked different from Spokane. There were many buildings which were made of red bricks. Many mansions there had fancy flower beds and residents enjoyed planting these beautiful flowers. All mansions looked similar and few differences existed. In addition to these, there was stone pavement along these mansions, which makes the atmosphere more gorgeous. In Spokane, one-storied houses are more common, there were over three-storied houses in Beacon Hill. Many of them had a special door outside for their servant to enter through the basement. They had windows right next to the main entrance door, which we were able to see the inside of the house. Some of them even did not look like a "house", but it looked like a public building since the height of the houses were very tall. However, not everywhere in Boston had the same atmosphere. Even in the same city, there was diverse topography.
Compared to Beacon Hill, Washington D.C. also had a different atmosphere from Spokane. In Washington D.C., there were many cherry blossom trees, which had been given by Japan, planted along the river side and it made the place more gorgeous. Although Washington D.C. is an urban city, there was a lot of trees. There was a lot of green in Arlington cemetery and there was Tidal Basin and Potomac River which make the town naturally rich. Another remarkable point of the city was its short and white buildings. In Washington D.C., there is a restriction of height of the buildings. Therefore, people cannot build tall buildings. White buildings, on the other hand, have existed since many of the buildings are related to government, such as Congress, the White house and the Lincoln Memorial. Additionally, there were some historical buildings as well. Washington union station is a good example of this. It cannot be stated unconditionally that white and historical architectures are common in Washington D.C., but those were remarkable points of this city.
In addition to Boston and Washington D.C., the topography of North Philadelphia was completely different from Spokane. While we were on the Amtrak train, I found out that there were a lot of ruined buildings and too much graffiti drawn everywhere in the town. It was like a ghost town for me. Although I just saw it from the train, the atmosphere was savage and dangerous. Many people might think Philadelphia is an urban and developed city though, the atmosphere of outside the town was opposite from the center of Philadelphia.
As I explained above, I was able to discover the differences in just a week-trip. Three places which I mentioned in this essay had their own characteristics, which made each place special. Many people tend to have an image of a country from only one perspective. However, there is diversity not only among the countries, but also in a country.
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