Last week, I traveled to New Mexico and Arizona for the South West Trip. The trip was more interesting than the East Coast Trip because I ate traditional foods, felt nature, learned a lot of cultures, saw beautiful pictures , visited museum to see art, and traditional architectures.
First, I enjoyed eating delicious foods. I ate many foods which I cannot eat in Spokane and Japan. Basically, I don’t eat spicy food in my daily life because it is too hot for me. However, I wanted to challenge myself to eat spicy foods during the Southwest Trip. On the first day of the trip, I went to a Mexican restaurant and I was surprised to know that chips are free to eat. Then a clerk said that the salsa sauce is mild taste, so I ate one piece of chip with salsa sauce. However, the sauce was too hot for me!! I could not believe that the sauce is mild. Then I realized that the sense of taste of Mexican foods is completely different from Spokane. On few days later, we went to a restaurant named “Cowgirl.” It is a Mexican restaurant and the atmosphere of the restaurant was so cool because all clerks put on the cowboy hat. It was buffet style and there was tortilla, tacos and salad. The taste was great but beef tacos were too spicy so I gave up eating. Also there was surprising food during the trip. It was my first time to eat fried bread. At high school, the students gave us fried bread. It was too oily and big for me so it was difficult for me to eat all of it. After that, when I ordered Navajo burger at the restaurant, I learned the fried bread is Navajos traditional food. It was too big to eat. Anyway, I cannot eat Southwest traditional foods in Japan and Spokane, so I enjoyed eating Mexican foods.
Secondly, I felt nature with my senses. At first when I arrived at New Mexico, I thought the sky and sun is closer than Spokane. Actually, the elevation is higher than Spokane and Japan. Almost all day, there was no cloud in the sky. The sky was clear and the color is beautiful sky blue. I had never seen such a great sky. Especially, at the Grand Canyon, the sky changed depend on weather and sun. When I saw the sunset, the sky turned to orange. On another front, the sky turned pink when I saw the sunrise. In addition, the color is not only one color but also sometimes several shades. The sunshine reflects rocks and the rocks also changed color. The view was awesome. I think I cannot see such a great view at other places. I enjoyed feeling nature so much.
Next, through the trip, I learned Native American culture. I did not know about Native American well because I learned American history from “Columbus ‘discovered’ America” when I was junior high school student. That is why I didn’t know about them. Through the American West class, I learned about Native American history. It was my first time for me to learn about it and it was interesting. At the Pueblo Culture Center, a man told us a lot of things which are basic knowledge. I learned about their spirit and the way of thinking. The Native American spirit and the religion is similar to Shinto which is my presentation topic. They worshipped nature like rocks and mountains. Therefore I learned about their religion in comparised to Shinto. After learning about the Native American culture, we went to Sky City. The life at Sky City is amazing because there is no electricity, enough water and especially they live on the mesa. I cannot believe their life but I appreciate that they are keeping their tradition still now. The tour of Sky City was interesting. The guide introduced a lot of information but unfortunately, I could not understand what he said because his intonation is different from Spokane people. It was hard for me to understand his words. But Karen taught me what he said and detail so I could understand the guide. The experience at Sky City became my treasure and one of my knowledge. In addition, I learned another Indian culture. We went to Wupatki National Monument to know about the Sinagua. The architecture was amazing and huge. I cannot believe that they lived there because around there, there is nothing and in summer it must be hot. But I was surprised to see a blow hele. About 900 years ago, there was a skill to make it. I was impressed their wisdom. During this tour, I learned much culture. Actually, I want to know more about them.
During this tour, I had a lot of opportunities to see many kinds of arts. We went to the Georgia O’Keeffe's Museum in Santa Fe. Before we went there, Karen had a lecture about picture and her life. I really like her point of view. When I saw the picture of her, I could not say anything. The art was sensible and dynamic. Also her pictures connect to Japan. She likes Japan so much and she used Japanese no-tan (濃淡) style. The guide taught us background of her painting. After knowing about it, I changed my image of pictures. At the Grand Canyon, we visited the Kolb Studio. There were many pictures of the Grand Canyon drawn by many artists. Through the picture, I knew the many beautiful places where we could not go. Also I noticed that depend on the weather and seasons, the Grand Canyon changes atmospheres. In many pictures, I found my favorite picture. It is the scene of the Colorado River and cliff. There was the orange sunset and it reflects on the cliff. I love it because the picture shows the beautiful scene but also I felt sadness. On another front, I saw another art at Sky City. It is called Pottery which is the ornament made by Native American. On the pottery there are many pictures, lines, and symbols which is related to the Native American. I really like the pictures because I feel sacred spirit. I bought the owl pottery for my grandmother because she is collecting owls. I think the owl is special because I met artist directly. Through learning the arts, I learn the culture of South West of America.
Finally, during the trip, I saw a lot of great architecture. First of all, almost all buildings in Santa Fe were made by adobe style. It is cute because it used earth color, such as brown and sky blue. I think it also shows the Native American culture in which they treat
In conclusion, I learned many things especially, Indian culture in the trip. Due to the research before trip, I could understand the places deeply. The Southwest Trip is my best trip in my life. I am grateful to have the wonderful trip!!