Laura-Jane Adventures

This year in February I celebrated my 19th birthday whilst living in the United States. This was the first time I had been away from my family in Scotland when celebrating a birthday. It was also a big contrast from how I celebrated the previous year, because turning 18 in most places across the world means you can legally drink. Therefore, you can imagine how wild my 18th birthday celebrations were. However, my 19th birthday was brilliant and it came with a new adventure which is a gift within itself.

During my time in the U.S. I have been extremely lucky to have two host families. My first host family, the Halls, took me to Chicago for my birthday – which was a fantastic weekend. My second host family, the Bells, took me to Cleveland, Ohio. This trip was a chance for me to meet my extended host family – they are amazing. We enjoyed many great conversations over the weekend.

To kick off the two days in Cleveland we had breakfast at an old style diner called ‘The Dinebar on Clifton’. The atmosphere was great and I thoroughly enjoyed their crab cake eggs benedict. Then it was on to seeing one of the Cleveland signs that are located around the city. The one we chose was in Edgewater Park which boasts stunning views over Lake Erie. Whilst there we met a beautiful horse named Friday.

After enjoying the views we visited the Cleveland Museum of Art. This is a wonderful building and has a sense of nature within the museum itself – the café and gift shop are surrounded by trees and a small pond. My favourite exhibits were the Swedish Modern Design, which was full of beautiful patterns, and ‘Who RU2 Day”, this was a collection of art highlighting mass media and the part it places in society. I found this very interesting and it challenged my thinking around the subject.

That night we enjoyed dinner at a traditional family run, Polish restaurant called Sokolowski’s. My host mums parents are of Polish heritage so she was excited to eat here and for myself to taste some traditional Polish cuisine. It was a very busy place so whilst we waited on a table we explored the area of Tremont in Cleveland. This part of the city has little boutiques, unique street art and a few bars to enjoy a drink with dinner. When it was time to eat at Sokolowski’s I enjoyed some famous Pierogi’s and got myself a t-shirt as a memory of the occasion. It was great to be able to make that memory with my host mum.

Before heading back to the house we decided to go to a book store called Visible Voice. The store had a lovely atmosphere and there was also a little wine bar where a small band were playing. We enjoyed the music whilst browsing through some books.

The last thing we did on our quick visit to Cleveland in February, was have brunch at Pier W, which is where my host Auntie works. This restaurant overlooks Lake Erie and is hailed as the Best Seafood restaurant in Cleveland. The brunch was buffet style and had everything I could think of when it comes to breakfast food. I definitely indulged and it makes me full just thinking about how much I ate that day.

My first time in Cleveland was fantastic and later in my exchange I was lucky enough to visit for a second time before heading to New York with my host auntie and cousin. Their family is wonderful and I am grateful to now be part of it.

Lots of love,

Laura Jane x