Hi! I live in Cleveland Ohio. This summer my 19 year old cousin from Beijing, China is coming to visit me. His mother recently passed and he’s been very depressed so his dad thought it’d be good for him to behave a change of scenery. He has never been out of China before. He will be here for half of August. I would like to show him around the country. Unfortunately I am a very idle person and don’t travel much. I don’t have any knowledge on good places to go to. I’d like some recommendations!
I would prefer to stay in mainland United States (no Hawaii or Alaska) and maybe some of Canada. My cousin is very introverted and has spent most of his life indoors playing Minecraft or studying. His only passion that I know of is Minecraft. I was thinking maybe take him to some national parks because don’t they resemble the Minecraft world? But he’s travelled quite a bit in China and been to many mountains and national parks there, and I’m afraid America’s parks can’t quite compare and he’ll feel underwhelmed.
I currently am considered Utah and Arizona since he’s never been to a desert or plateau, although I’m a bit worried about Utah, I’ve heard there’s a lot of racism there and my cousin can’t speak English and will stand out a lot. I don’t want his memories of America to be full of name calling and racism. For that same reason we will be avoiding southern states for the most part.
I am also considering Los Angeles and New York. I know they have large Chinatowns and I think it would be cool for him to see those. Plus they’re pretty big cities and have a lot of stuff.
I was also considering Las Vegas but not too sure, I think he’ll get traumatized. Lol. He’s a very sheltered kid and China is a pretty culturally conservative country so walking next to strippers on the street isn’t ideal for him. Shame because I personally would love to visit Vegas someday.
I also considered ocean city, Maryland or other beach towns because theres nothing quite like them in China. But im afraid those are selfish, personal picks for myself, who loves beaches. I want this trip to revolve around my cousin, not me.
I just need some help finding places, every place I think of feels like it will be underwhelming and either bore or disgust him. Thanks!
Edit: forgot to ask, are there any Minecraft-related attractions? All he does is play Minecraft jf he’s not studying. I don’t play it so I wouldn’t know of any places but are there any that would interest him based on this?
Edit2: My parents and siblings will be coming too. My parents are in their 50s but have healthy bodies and don’t mind long walks or hikes. My siblings are all teenagers.