We Extension Students went on a trip to the Southwest last week. It was a phenomenal and amazing trip. We visited some museums, a village of Native Americans, some wonderful Mexican restaurants and the Grand Canyon. Through this trip, we learned many stunning things at Acoma Pueblo, Montezuma Castle, and the Grand Canyon.
First, I really took delight in the Acoma Pueblo visit. “Acoma" means a group of Native Americans and “Pueblo" means village. Their village sits on top of a high mesa and it is called “Sky City.” Before this trip, I had learned that Native Americans faces look like Asian people. When I met with them for the first time, I was surprised by this true. We joined an Acoma tour by an Acoma man is a very good talker. The village has an old admirable church and it is used twice a year; Christmas and the day to pray for the repose of their ancestors. Inside of the church, I saw some rainbows on the wall. The colors each have meanings such as nature, mother, earth, or water. Many buildings in the village include houses are made from clay and straw mainly. And we also learned about a horno. It is a traditional dome shaped oven. People who have the horno make some breads or potteries using it. An old horno shape is stairs style not dome shaped. It was very interesting to learn the life that has been passed down from their ancestors.
Second, I visited Montezuma Castle I was looking forward to visiting very much. It was my topic for presentation of American West class, so I have had some information about the castle before the Southwest Trip. Montezuma Castle is located inside a cliff, about 80 feet up from the base, and it is known as the best preserved cliff dwelling. When I saw the castle, I came up with one question about how people went up to the castle. The answer is surprisingly that it doesn't have stairs in the castle, they used some ladders to enter the castle. However, we couldn't see their ladders because the ladders became extinct long time ago. Learning the life of the ancients' people and history was so much fun.
Finally, I experienced speechlessness for the first time in my entire life at Grand Canyon. The landscape was incredibly enormous and astonishing. To my surprise, the canyon is over 2 million years old. It means they are older than the time dinosaurs lived in this earth. Moreover, a long time ago, the Grand Canyon was at bottom of sea. I found some fossils in a cliff. They were absolutely unbelievable. I took tons of pictures and talked with people from various countries. At the Grand Canyon, I met a Brazilian family, and guys from Germany and Indonesia. They made my trip more enjoyable because they told us about the famous spots of Grand Canyon and shared the impressions of them. I also saw many Japanese people and talked with some of them in English. It was little strange but I became confident talking with strangers. I had a wonderful time there and I'll never forget that time.
As you can see, I had a stunning time through this trip and experienced many amazing things that I cannot possibly explain with my words. I'm really glad to have gone there with Extension family.
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| Wide Sky Blue from Sky City |
First, I really took delight in the Acoma Pueblo visit. “Acoma" means a group of Native Americans and “Pueblo" means village. Their village sits on top of a high mesa and it is called “Sky City.” Before this trip, I had learned that Native Americans faces look like Asian people. When I met with them for the first time, I was surprised by this true. We joined an Acoma tour by an Acoma man is a very good talker. The village has an old admirable church and it is used twice a year; Christmas and the day to pray for the repose of their ancestors. Inside of the church, I saw some rainbows on the wall. The colors each have meanings such as nature, mother, earth, or water. Many buildings in the village include houses are made from clay and straw mainly. And we also learned about a horno. It is a traditional dome shaped oven. People who have the horno make some breads or potteries using it. An old horno shape is stairs style not dome shaped. It was very interesting to learn the life that has been passed down from their ancestors.
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| Amazing Montezuma |
Second, I visited Montezuma Castle I was looking forward to visiting very much. It was my topic for presentation of American West class, so I have had some information about the castle before the Southwest Trip. Montezuma Castle is located inside a cliff, about 80 feet up from the base, and it is known as the best preserved cliff dwelling. When I saw the castle, I came up with one question about how people went up to the castle. The answer is surprisingly that it doesn't have stairs in the castle, they used some ladders to enter the castle. However, we couldn't see their ladders because the ladders became extinct long time ago. Learning the life of the ancients' people and history was so much fun.
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| Super Grand Canyon |
Finally, I experienced speechlessness for the first time in my entire life at Grand Canyon. The landscape was incredibly enormous and astonishing. To my surprise, the canyon is over 2 million years old. It means they are older than the time dinosaurs lived in this earth. Moreover, a long time ago, the Grand Canyon was at bottom of sea. I found some fossils in a cliff. They were absolutely unbelievable. I took tons of pictures and talked with people from various countries. At the Grand Canyon, I met a Brazilian family, and guys from Germany and Indonesia. They made my trip more enjoyable because they told us about the famous spots of Grand Canyon and shared the impressions of them. I also saw many Japanese people and talked with some of them in English. It was little strange but I became confident talking with strangers. I had a wonderful time there and I'll never forget that time.
As you can see, I had a stunning time through this trip and experienced many amazing things that I cannot possibly explain with my words. I'm really glad to have gone there with Extension family.