•     Chicago is the third largest American city. It is in the state of Illinois on Lake Michigan. It was founded in the 1830s and quickly became the transportation, financial and industrial centre of the American Middle West.

•     The world's first skyscrapers appeared in Chicago. They were built after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The fire lasted 27 hours and destroyed 17,450 buildings.
•     During Prohibition Chicago was known for its gangsters. The most notorious of them was Al Capone. He had seven rival criminals murdered in the St Valentine's Day Massacre, but the police couldn't find enough evidence on which to arrest him. He was finally sent to prison in 1931 for not paying enough income tax.

• Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States. The Los Angeles area, which includes the city itself and its suburbs, has a population of 13.6 million.
• Los Angeles's nicknames are LA and the City of Angels. Some people also call it 'La-La Land' because they think the city is full of strange and crazy people.
  
• The inhabitants of Los Angeles are called Angelenos.

There are many opportunities to study in the United States for international students.
There are Universities that offer professional degrees and certifications, language schools that offer English training to prepare students to attend the English speaking universities, private K-12 schools that offer programs for children ages 5 to 18 to learn English and complete high school, and there are intensive English programs that teach longer classes in shorter time. These programs are great ways to experience the United States and get an education from schools with good reputations. Many international students don't know how to arrange their education in the United States. Here is a how-to plan for international students: