I hoped this fantastic dream would
continue forever. We took a trip to the Southwest from October 17th to 23rd. The time passed very
fast, so this trip ended before I noticed. I did not want to go to bed the last
day. All things were curiosities
for me, so my ears were big like an elephant every time whenever I visited
somewhere. Everything was
very interesting and there were many new experiences for me such as architecture,
nature, University of New Mexico, Indian culture, and communicating with other
language.
I was surprised and kept big eyes to see
different kinds of houses such as Adobe architecture and Montezuma Castle. The
color and shape were very different from other architecture in Spokane, so I didn’t release my camera from my hand. Both Adobe and
Montezuma Castle uses some kind of red and brown color, so it felt very natural.
I enjoyed a town to see a lot of Adobe. The famous restaurant and cafe such as
MacDonald, and Starbucks were also Adobe!!
However, I especially love Montezuma Castle, because it is quite
different from the architecture we usually see. It was set in the cliff for
safety. I could not believe it when I learned it. How did they build it? How
did they live there? I have a lot of questions, so I was glad to see it and
know these facts!! I respected people who first built it. If I came up with an idea like
that building, I could
not build it. Our old Japanese
ancestors had
lived in cave a long time ago, so they may have tried to build the building
like that, because they had to defend themselves from dangerous animals. When I
saw Adobe architecture and Montezuma castle, I
felt their tradition and history. I cannot see the architecture like that in
Japan, so I was really impressed to see these houses.
I visited University of New Mexico
and this university was wonderful!! This
university has many good facilities
and service. We met one kind guide, and we learned a lot of great points
of this university from our guide. First, when I arrived there I thought where
were we, because I saw not
only university students but also many elementary students there. I
thought, “What are they doing there?”, and I knew this university has museums, halls, and a movie theater. A
lot of schools might
come to visit there. I could not believe it to know a university is used as the place many people can
enjoy. Next, we cannot use Wi-Fi, and we have to pay if we want to print in my
university. However, they are free in University of New Mexico. They are very good ideas for students, because
students often need internet and prints. Finally, I was unforeseen to hear one thing from a student there. If a
person who was from New Mexico high school, a person doesn’t need a test to
enter. I did not believe it, because I had never heard it in Japan, and so I
made sure of it many times. A lot of things were different such as service,
facility, and also rules. I compared my university with this university. All
universities have good points, but I thought we can lead a full life in
American universities more than Japan. I had a good time there to hear a lot of
things, and I was interested in the school policy. If I have a chance I want to
be a guide in my university, and I want people to introduce there like our
guide.
I was healed nature of the Southwest,
because we have opportunities to see wonderful landscape and view. All teachers
said, “The Grand Canyon is fabulous!! You will cry!!” I had never cried to see
scenery, so I could not image it. However, I understood this feeling. I did not
understand where I was standing!! The Grand Canyon is so huge. I thought, “How small
I am”. I heard these oldest rocks are 2 billion years old. Can you believe it?
I thought again I live in a small world. If I did not come back to America again, I would not know The Grand
Canyon, so I thought I had a good selection. The best memory there is
to see the sunset and sunrise. I had never seen them, so I was absolutely happy
to hear we can see
them. The Sunset and sunrise were very fast to finish. Then I was impressed and
thought I can do anything. The earth was always moving very hard, so we can
experience four seasons and we can live. I
appreciated the earth, and I thought a lot of people live in the world and my
worrying is very tiny. Japan also has nature, but Japan is smaller than
America, so we cannot see huge scenery like the Grand Canyon. This was very a valuable
experience. I may never go here again, but I will not forget these views.
I also marveled at a lot of interesting Indian culture.
There are many things we can learn in the South West, and we visited many museums
and churches. In some museums, a guide let us introduce about cultures and
histories, and I admired many things have
meaning such as color and ceremony. I found a lot of questions, because all
things are different for us. In the Pueblo Cultural center, I saw many things
which use some same color such as pottery, clothes and a carpet. These colors
have meaning. For instance, red means blood and green means Pueblo Indian. We
also use color as some signal, such as red is dangerous and blue is sad, but
Pueblo Indian’s idea is very unique and different from us, and they tell us a
story to use color. And also they have a
lot of faith. I was very curious about them. They sometimes sing a special song
with a drum, and its
ceremony also has meaning. They have
thought cloud is
father and drum is child, so this ceremony means a child calls his father. When
I heard this story, I thought how creative they are. I like fantasy and creative
story, so I marveled them
and I felt I was in an unknown world. As I introduced them, they have many
stories, and I learned a lot of things by asking many questions. I noticed it is very
important things to have the questions. As I did there, I may find interesting things if I try to
know the meaning around me.
I got fabulous memory to be in a
lot of languages in the South West. I cannot get an opportunity to communicate
with foreigners in Japan, because Japan is a very small land.
However, in America I can meet a lot of foreigners. Unfortunately, I had never
communicated with them, but I got a chance to communicate with French people
and Native Americans during the South West Trip. When I visited the Grand
Canyon, I met a French family. I am learning French, but I had not thought I
can get opportunity to talk with French people, so it was a miracle and exciting!! I know I cannot speak
French, but I wanted to communicate with them, so I jumped into them. I could
not understand their conversation as expected. However, they let us understand,
and finally we can understand what they want to say. I took
too much time to understand one sentence. Next, I went to a high school,
and we talked with Native American students. When I talked with my partner, I
was very impressed, because my partner said she can speak many Native American
languages and English. She can change her language depending on her situation,
and when I heard their language, absolutely I could not understand. In
addition, I did not think she talked some languages. Language is very
interesting. They change depend on countries and region, and if I do not know
these language, I cannot recognize these are languages. I thought if I can
speak many kinds of
languages, how I can
enjoy a conversation. I was stimulated by these situations, and I got valuable a
chance in the Southwest. I considered I want to study language
more and speak a lot of languages.
I have been to a lot of places for trip
such as Boston and Seattle. However, this Southwest Trip was the longest trip and the most valuable trip for me; because
I experienced many unexpected
things such as architectures,
landscape, the university, history, and world languages with my
friends!! Everyone was very hard worker so I can learn a lot of things with
them to help each other. In
addition, I was grateful to Jill, because we learned a lot of things in
her American West class such as history, culture, and famous places. We took a
test and also made a presentation about them, and thanks to them I enjoyed the Southwest
trip more. I considered
I was happy and lucky to
go back to America as an extension student. I made many fabulous memories!!!