Heavenly Trip!

The South West Trip was a perfect time for me to know cultures, nature, and histories. I not only learned them, but also I could come in contact with Extension members. The long trip brought me a lot of happiness and energy.

First, I was quite intrigued by the magnificent nature around the South West. I had never seen such a fascinating scene. It was vast and terrific! I especially want to tell about the Grand Canyon. It was sometimes brilliant because of the sun, but I noticed it showed us colorful and mysterious reactions when the sun set. When I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time, I couldn’t say anything. A couple of minutes, we were immersed in our world. I thought people were very tiny, but nature is profound, majestic, and dazzling! The Colorado River was also grand! I was so excited and moved. When I see the pictures which were painted by famous artists, I thought people feel different even if they see the same thing. In the night, I went outside, and I gazed at stars. I could watch so many stars. I felt I was in the planetarium because there were a lot of stars. I thought as if I could catch the stars. The best memory of me was shooting stars★ I had been keen to see shooting stars since I was an preschool student. I desired a lot of things, but they were too fast to wish. I was so sad, but I enjoyed talking to my friends about our desires for about 1 hour! Compared with my hometown, we can’t see such a lot of shooting stars because of the lights and smoke. I was satisfied with the whole day.

Next, some cultural and holy places we visited gave me impressions. For example, Acoma Pueblo was very sacred place. When I knew the history, I was surprised because I found the cultural differences between this area and Japan. In Japan, male supremacy was common in the past age, I sometimes feel that even now. In Acoma, they obey women. I couldn’t believe it because I thought men in most countries have absolute power. In the afternoon, we visited the elementary school which Acoma Pueblo students go to. I was little nervous because I couldn’t figure out the English which the children spoke. It’s too fast! At first, Kindergarten’s kids and I enjoyed playing with paper balloons. Maybe it was first time to play with it, and they looked glad. I was also glad to see their faces. I had a wonderful time with them. I heard that they can't marry people who are same tribes. I was amazed because I felt gap between America. In Spokane, I learned American people are diverse, so I thought it depends on the area!

Finally, one of my favorite place is Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. I was enthralled by her work and I became a fan! I sent a letter in Writing Class, and I researched about her. Since then I was looking forward to going there! I love especially flowers which were drawn by her. Her work was interesting and beautiful. Her own way painting was very fascinating! If she was alive, I would see her!

I’m grateful for teachers, an advisor, and Extension members, a bus driver, tour guide, and so on. I had a nice memory with them. Thank you very much ;-)