In the summer of 1996, the world's attention was focused on my hometown of Atlanta, the host city of the 100th-anniversary Olympic Games. I will try to give a brief introduction to the capital of the "New South." Atlanta, which is located in the southeastern United States, is best known as a business city, being the headquarters of Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, and CNN. It is also the birthplace of the great civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the setting of the famous movie "Gone with the Wind."
Unlike other cities in the southeastern United States, Atlanta has few old buildings. The city was completely destroyed by fire during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Atlanta rose from the ashes to become a great modern city. Unlike most big American cities, Atlanta is well known for its greenery. Few large American cities have as many trees as Atlanta. Since Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola, very few people in the city drink Pepsi. In fact, Atlanta is sometimes called "Coca-Cola City."
Atlanta is a popular city for tourists. When in Atlanta, I recommend visiting the Coca-Cola museum, Stone Mountain Park, the Jimmy Carter Center, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, and Six Flags Amusement Park. At the Coca-Cola museum, you can see old advertisements, visit an old drugstore soda fountain (Coca-Cola was first served in drugstores in the late 1800s), and taste Coca-Cola drinks from around the world. President Carter's center is dedicated to world peace and King's center is devoted to equal rights for all people and "civil disobedience" (nonviolent political change). Stone Mountain is a very unusual mountain made of granite stone. Walking on top of this mountain of stone, you may feel like you are walking on the moon. On the side of the mountain, there is a large stone carving of the leaders of the South during the Civil War between the North and the South.
Atlanta is a center for sports, including baseball, basketball, and football. Atlanta's excellent baseball team ("The Braves") now enjoy use of the former Olympic Stadium, which is now called "Turner Field" after the owner of the Braves and CNN, Ted Turner. In addition to its strong support for sports, Atlanta also strongly supports live music. Numerous famous musicians and bands, such as The Black Crowes, James Brown, and R.E.M., have started in Atlanta and other cities in Georgia.
You can enjoy a wide variety of food in Atlanta. If you want to try Southern cooking, you should try Southern friend chicken, barbecue, cornbread, peaches, and fresh Georgia vegetables. You might also try "grits," which is similar to oatmeal. Georgia is not, however, famous for coffee. The Coca-Cola company named one of its Japanese coffee drinks "Georgia Coffee"in honor of its home state.
Downtown Atlanta can be dangerous at night. For this reason, I recommend that you stay in North Atlanta, which is safe and offers the best shopping and nightlife. Like people in most places in the southeastern United States, Atlantans are very friendly to guests in the city. This is called "Southern hospitality." I am sure you will enjoy Southern hospitality if you come to Atlanta. "Y'all" (you all) come!
Many people dream of living in a place without winters. These types of people helped settle the sunny state of Florida, which is called the "Sunshine State." In South Florida, one rarely has to wear a jacket in winter. Most cities are located on the coast by the ocean, so people can enjoy living by the water. On the east coast by the Atlantic Ocean, people can enjoy the sunrises, and on the west coast by the Gulf of Mexico, people enjoy the sunsets. Because of its tropical climate, South FLorida is most popular during the winter months when many tourists travel to Miami and Key West.
Although Florida is located just south of Georgia, Florida's culture is very different than that of Georgia because there is such a wide variety of cultures in Florida. This is especially true in Miami, which is known as a "melting pot," meaning that it has a mix or variety of cultures. In addition to the original white and black settlers who mostly came from other southern states, Miami now has a large number of Spanish speaking Cubans, who fled the nearby island of Cuba after the revolution led by military dictator Fidel Castro in the 1950s. People are often surprised to hear that the majority of people in Miami speak Spanish, not English. There are also numerous people from South America, the nearby islands of Haiti and Jamaica, Canada, Europe, and people from the northern United States living in Miami. Many of the immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, and other islands off the coast of south Florida risk their lives traveling to Florida in little boats in search of a better life in America.
Miami is an exciting and stylish international city. Numerous celebrities, including Madonna and Sylvester Stallone, have homes here. Many people enjoy the colorful, 1920s Art Deco style of architecture popular on Miami Beach. The art deco buildings are a favorite background for models and movies, including the recent movie "There's Something About Mary." "South Beach" is a favorite place for fashion designers, artists, models, writers and musicians. During the last few years of his life, the fashion designer Gianni Versace lived on "South Beach" until his tragic murder just outside his mansion in 1997. Unfortunately, Miami is dangerous as well as exciting.
Just south of Miami is the Everglades Park, which is home for numerous alligators and other wildlife. South Florida's most unusual sport is alligator wrestling. This sport is practiced by some very brave South Floridian Indians, who wrestle the alligator onto its back and rub its belly until the alligator falls asleep. Once asleep, the wrestler opens the alligators long jaws and places his own head inside. Unfortunately, there have been cases in which the Indian wrestlers have lost their noses performing this dangerous trick.
The first successful settlers of America, the Pilgrims, came to America from England on a ship named the Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrims left England in search of religious freedom. They were not allowed to practice their Puritan form of Christianity in England because it was different than the state church. The 66-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean was long and hard in the crowded ship. Many people became sick and some of them died in the journey. Finally, they landed in a place they named Plymouth. On arriving in their new home, the Pilgrims first stepped foot on a large rock, which they named "Plymouth Rock."
The Pilgrims quickly built homes, but they did not have enough food and warm clothing for the first cold winter in what is now the northern state of Massachusetts. Half of the Pilgrims died during the first winter. Fortunately, the Pilgrims were helped by American Indians who taught them how to grow crops such as corn and hunt animals such as turkeys. The Pilgrims decided to have a feast to give thanks for surviving the first year, and they invited their Indian friends to the first Thanksgiving feast.
Today, American families celebrate Thanksgiving with a big dinner on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a family holiday in which people frequently travel long distances to be with their families. People today eat some of the same food eaten at the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Turkey is the most popular food. For this reason, Thanksgiving is sometimes called "Turkey Day." Other favorite foods include cranberry sauce, corn, beans, and pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving is a time for families to give thanks for all the good things they have in their lives. Before eating, it is a custom in many families to talk about the things they are thankful for, including their families, friends, homes, food, and jobs. It is also common for Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving with big parades and football games.
Plymouth, today, is a small city of about 36,000 people, but it is a very popular city for tourists from around the world who are interested in early American history and the tradition of Thanksgiving. If you visit the city, you can see replicas (copies) of the Mayflower, early Pilgrim homes, and the famous Plymouth Rock. It is a place to think about freedom, especially the freedom of choosing one's own religion.
The northern state of Uttar Pradesh is the religious and tourist center of India. Uttar Pradesh includes the holy city of Varanasi, the Ganges River, Sarnath, and Agra. Varanasi is the holiest city in Hinduism, the main religion in India. The river Ganges, the holiest river in Hinduism, flows through this city. The nearby city of Sarnath is revered by Buddhists because it is the place where Gautama Buddha taught his first disciples. Agra is the home of the famous Taj Mahal.
Varanasi is a holy city full of Hindu temples. It is believed that if a Hindu is cremated on the side of the Ganges River in Varanasi that he will automatically go to heaven. Thus, the docks of the river are a major cremation place for Hindus. The Hindus also bathe in the Ganges River because they believe the river will give them spiritual power. There is an unusually large number of cows in Varanasi. In the Hindu religion, cows are considered to be holy. Therefore, cows are never eaten and cows are allowed to wander freely in the streets.
One sees less cows in the nearby Buddhist town of Sarnath, which is connected to Varanasi by a very rocky road. In the deer park of Sarnath, Gautama Buddha taught his firs lesson on the "middle path" after gaining enlightenment in Bodhgaya. Sarnath is a very peaceful place to visit with the deer park and ruins of ancient Buddhist temples. Most interesting are the temples built by Buddhist groups from many different Buddhist countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Japan. It is interesting to see the wide variety of styles of Buddhist art and architecture. One can see how Buddhism changed as it mixed with different Asian cultures.
The Taj Mahal is one of the most romantic places in the world. The white marble domed building by the side of the Yamuna River was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj changes color throughout the day. Sunset is a favorite time to view it. Construction began in 1631 and finished in 1653. The Taj was very expensive to build, since 20,000 people worked on its construction. After the Taj was completed, Shah Jahan decided to build another Taj in black marble next to the Taj Mahal as his own tomb. He could not complete his plans because he was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb, who thought his father was spending too much money.
While Uttar Pradesh is a very historical place, it also has modern problems, especially pollution and overpopulation. Uttar Pradesh has the highest population (over 166 million people) of any state in India. The city of Agra has been declared a pollution zoze, and it is becoming difficult to view the Taj Mahal from across the Yamuna River.
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