Former Grant Student Shares Her Reflections on Eugene, Oregon

When I was on airplane, on my way to Eugene, Oregon I thought a lot. I was coming to the place I hadn’t heard about before. I looked out from the airplane and was very amazed. The view of Eugene was very pretty. It was even prettier after I left the airport.

I still remember all details. The flowers made Eugene colorful like rainbows. You could see flowers of different colors: light and dark pink, yellow, white, red and purple. The weather wasn’t too cold and it wasn’t too hot. There were a lot of people walking their pets near the roads. Children’s’ voices filled parks with happiness and enjoyment. I got to meet a lot of people in one day .They were very nice to me, asked me questions about my country and showed me different places.

I think the Willamette River that runs through Eugene makes its nature more beautiful. I often go to the bank of the river and watch people running, walking their dogs and children playing. Sometimes I take pictures near the bridge.

The places I enjoy visiting most in Eugene are the Saturday Market, Asian celebration and the Fairs and Festivals. I got to know about new things and tasted a lot of different food. I think the “Ducks”, the University of Oregon football team, are one of the best teams of Oregon. I enjoy watching their games a lot.   Also, Eugene is a very diverse city. There are a lot of different people.  I enjoy talking to them. I was very excited when I heard that my favorite brand “Nike” was founded in Eugene.

The only thing I wasn’t enjoying in my first days was rain. Afterwards I realized that rain wasn’t bothering me anymore. Eugene taught me to like and enjoy rain. I like seeing this city from passenger’s eyes, bicycle rider’s eyes and from walker’s eyes.

I am pretty sure that after I go back whenever somebody mentions the name of this amazing city my heart will be filled with happiness from good memories.