Kyoto Culture Day

Kyoto is a beautiful city in Japan.  There are temples and shrines all across the city, and even into the foothills!  It used to be the capital before Tokyo, so there is so much to see and so much to do!  I feel that even if you lived in Kyoto for years, you still wouldn't see everything it has to offer.

That being said, I did not live in Kyoto and all of my visits were quick trips.  However, on one of my trips I discovered a Buddhist Temple in the Higashiyama area.  It is called Kodaiji and in the fall, the autumn foliage is just beautiful!  If you want to read more about this temple, here and here are some information sites in English.  It was only by chance that I discovered this temple, and after that first discovery I went back at least 3 more times!  In Japan, every  November 3, is a national holiday called  "Culture Day." 

In 2010, I decided to celebrate "Culture Day" by taking a quick trip to Kyoto.  It was a little early to see the maple leaves, but a few had started to turn so it was a great little adventure!  Of course I had to go to Kodaiji, because the leaves are gorgeous and it is one of my favorites to visit in Autumn!  It is beautiful, relaxing, and not as crowded as the "main" temples in Kyoto!  But don't take my word for it, just look at these pictures I took of Kodaiji!  And then, if you every get the chance to go to Kyoto, be sure to visit one of my favorite temples!  (However if you are going in the Spring, then you can skip Kodaiji and visit somewhere else, because this temple is best seen in the Fall!)

Sometimes I think I take too many pictures, but then other times I don't think I take enough...

~ Adventures in Anything & Everything

A Grand Adventure at the Canyon

This week has been busy, studying for my classes (with all the assignments and tests) is a little time consuming.  I feel like I could use a vacation, but that is not possible because finals are coming up next month!  So I thought about a vacation I took in 2007, and all the fun that I had with my sister on that trip!

I surprised my sister with a visit!  She was very gracious and let me stay with her, and she even took me to the Grand Canyon!  For those of you who don't know, the Grand Canyon is located in the State of Arizona, and it has two Rims, a North and a South.  The South Rim is where the majority of visitors go to see the Grand Canyon.  It is about 270 miles from Las Vegas to the South Rim.  That is great if you are coming from the south, but for those of you who live north, it is easier to visit the North Rim (because you don't have to drive all the way to Las Vegas and then over to the South Rim).  It is about 280 miles from the Cedar City/St. George area (located in southern Utah) to the North Rim.  One of the best parts (in my opinion) is driving through Zion's National Park on your way to the North Rim.  I like that desert beauty!

Zion's National Park

Zion's National Park

Zion's National Park

Zion's National Park

Zion's National Park

Zion's National Park

The North Rim is at a higher elevation than the South Rim and sometimes in the winter, the North Rim gets a dusting of snow!  I didn't see any snow because I went in August of 2007, but the weather was sunny and warm with a few clouds over the canyon.  Great weather for those of you who like the desert sorry for those of you who don't, but be sure to drink lots of water to stay hydrated.

So my sister buys the National Park Pass every year, living near at least 5 National Parks it is a good idea to buy one, because if you visit at least 4 National Parks (or the same one 4 times) it pays for itself!  I have heard that the North Rim has fewer visitors than the South Rim.  When we went, it wasn't very crowded at all and there was plenty of space to take pictures without having to jostling your way to the front of a crowd (which is what I've heard it is like at the South Rim), and lots of time to just sit and contemplate about the world around you (or anything really) with no one to tell you to move on.  And my sister was wonderful enough to use her park pass to take me to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!  It was my first visit ever to the Grand Canyon (how sad is it, that it took me over 20 years to finally visit), and I loved it!
 

The Canyon and me!

 View from the North Rim!

 The Grand Canyon!

 Great layers of history in those rocks!

 

The Grand Canyon!

~Adventures in Anything & Everything

Homemade Bread!!!

Today I made bread!  I used to make bread all the time, but life has become busier and I always seem to put it off.  Not today, I took the five (yes that is right you only need five) ingredients and made two loaves of bread!

Making bread is not a difficult thing to do, just time consuming.  The very first time I made bread was years and years ago.  I took an evening class that was offered at Dixie College, this was a class that my mother thought would be a waste of time and money (my parents were helping me with some of the costs of school).  In this class (the course title was Bread Making) I learned not only how to make white bread, but also banana bread, pumpkin bread, lemon bread, wheat bread and rolls.  My roommates at the time loved this class, because they could help me eat my assignments!  I never used "the dog ate my homework," but I could have used "my roommate ate my homework."  But in all reality there was no homework, everything was in class and it was the best class!  I wonder if they still offer it?  After my mom ate some of my bread, she decided that this was well worth the time and money, it gave me a skill!  That summer my parents didn't have to buy any bread at the store because I made bread at least once a week!

Today I didn't have a loaf pan to use, so I used a brownie pan (well, actually two)... and the loaves were really wide, but so good!  My roommate and I ate almost an entire loaf ourselves, probably because she had some homemade strawberry jam and I had received a jar of fresh local honey from my visiting teacher!  Maybe I'll make more tomorrow, it really isn't that hard to make and if you have the time it is so much fun!

~Adventures in Anything & Everything

Eating Sushi?!

That's it, I've decided... I will be doing a dual major!  With that out of the way, now all I need to worry about are my classes.  I love learning about maps and history, so that is a good combination right?!  History and Geography, hopefully the studies will fly along and bring me lots of adventures.

Speaking of adventures, I thought I would share about one of my first times eating sushi in Japan.  For those of you who know me (and those who have not yet had the chance) I don't like fish, or pretty much anything that comes from the ocean.  I know, I know, I must have broken several laws for hating and avoiding fish while I lived in Japan, but there you have it!  Fish and I have had our ups and downs (well downs mostly) but eating sushi or sashimi is part of the culture, right?!  Sashimi is the raw fish and nothing else (except for dipping it in wasabi and soy sauce) whereas sushi is the raw fish on top of a very small amount of rice (also with soy sauce and wasabi for dipping).  For me these are both equally difficult to eat, but maybe sushi a little less so because of the rice, then again it depends on what kind of sushi or sashimi it is...
I had successfully escaped eating any sushi for almost my entire first year in Japan.  So you can imagine my elation at going almost an entire year, (in the land of sushi, no less!) without having to eat it... but alas, my streak was not to continue.  We need to get a few things straight up front, for me, fish (cooked or raw) has a smell/texture/taste that makes me want to vomit swear off all food for the near future.  Now imagine trying to eat that!  I was on a roll with the no sushi kick, and was hoping to make it a full year, but all my hopes and dreams were dashed and shattered, because a farewell party was going to be held for two of my co-workers who would be leaving the BOE office.  So to appease those who would be leaving and to show those who would be staying, that I can accept challenges.  I ate one piece of sashimi and one piece of sushi.  I believe that the sashimi was salmon and the sushi was tuna, but I have tried to block this event from my memory because I threw up a little had to give up food for a few days after this event! 

One good thing did come out of this, I learned that if you sit next to the right person, they are more than willing to eat all of your sushi/sashimi and no one else will know (well, except I just told all of you, so now all of you know my secret!) or if you don't have that option use extreme amounts of wasabi and soy sauce to choke down quickly swallow eat the sushi/sashimi.

~Adventures in Anything & Everything

Storyboards & Books

As you know I am attending summer semester, and one of my classes is Don Quijote through Film, where for upper division Spanish credit the class watches various versions of Don Quijote and then writes a review and our impressions with a final project at the end of the semester.  Earlier this week I was drawing the storyboards that will be needed for the final project.  Each group will need to either film a scene (real or imagined) from Don Quijote or act one it out in front of the class during the last day.  My group has decided that it would be more entertaining if we act out our scene in class.

So one of the illustrations for the storyboard has Don Quijote being cared for by his niece.  My friend took one look at my drawing as proceeded to ask me "is that Jesus exercising the Devil?" and then she started to wonder "can Jesus exercise the Devil because he is the Devil?"  Oh what an interesting afternoon that turned out to be.  We never did decided on an answer.  However, I will always think of that conversation whenever I look at this storyboard.  Lets just say that it is a good thing I am not an art major; with the art skills I have, I would probably fail every class!  I am not being modest here... the only thing I can draw with any confidence is the facial profile of Marvin the Martin and that is only because I was asked by hundreds of children in Japan to draw my favorite cartoon character!

So I spent an afternoon in the library sketching and drawing the storyboards.  It seems ironic to me thinking back that one of the storyboards is of the scene in Don Quijote where his friends burn his books because they think the books are the source of his insanity.  I drew books being burned while sitting in the library.  It also reminded me of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury where books are burned, that is a great book!  For me, I love to read books (except for now I have no spare time to read) and one of my favorite things to do is curl up in the sunshine with a good book!  I wish I could show you this illustration, and maybe the other storyboards as well, but I had to turn them in this morning. 

~Adventures in Anything & Everything

Hokkaido

It was five short years ago this time in July that I went on a "mini-vacation" to Hokkaido, from July 16-22.  Hokkaido is the northern island  of four main islands that make up Japan.  In the summer this island is actually quite nice, not muggy and humid like the area I lived in.  Sapporo hosts an ice festival every year in February, but seeing as I went in July, sadly there were no ice sculptures on display.  There are a few significant sites in the city, mainly the botanical gardens and the old school house.

Dragonfly in the Botanical Gardens just waiting for something.

Old School House and Clock Tower.

But my favorites in Sapporo were the chocolate factory, the view from the tower (a good way to escape the hoards of people in Sapporo for their beer festival), and eating Sapporo ramen!

 The chocolate factory!

 The view from the tower!

 Sapporo ramen!

After a few days in Sapporo I decided to go see the lavender fields in Furano.  They are in bloom from mid July to early August.  And Furano is between Biei and Asahikawa.  Biei has been called "The Belly-Button of Hokkaido" and at the station there is a strange statue to commemorate this...

The belly-button of Hokkaido?

Lavender is planted alongside other flowers to make a rainbow of colors!

 But the best would be the lavender/cantaloupe flavored ice cream!

Asahikawa has a famous zoo, the "Asahiyama Zoo" which I hear is amazing during the winter because they let the penguins out to walk through the zoo twice a day!  However as I went to the zoo in summer, there was no penguin parade.

The penguins are swimming over me!

 Otaru is a port city.  Supposedly the seafood is wonderful, but I'm not a big seafood fan.  There is a music box shop (well actually there are two) and also place to make your own music box!

 Backside of the warehouses along the canal that lead to the harbor.

Let's make a music box!

And don't forget the hand blown glass... not as easy as it looks!

The best would be the Tengu at the top of the mountain overlooking the port.  "Legend has it that the Tengu (long-nosed goblin) has supernatural powers.  Touch his long red nose for protection from evil or the granting of your wish." 

Near the end of this trip I received a text message/e-mail on my phone.  I say text message/e-mail because for me it was a text message, but for my family who sent it, it was an e-mail.  My little brother sent a text message/e-mail informing me that he would be getting married later that year!  Now this is good news, but as I was living in Japan I needed to know exact dates so I could get the time off work.  All worked out well because I was able to get the time off and go back to Utah for the wedding, that is another adventure for another time!

~Adventures in Anything & Everything

Rainy Day

This morning as I was walking to campus in the rain it reminded me of a rainy morning in Japan that happened to me a few years ago...

It was the rainy season in Japan (which usually lasts from early May to late June/early July) and I needed to walk to the BOE (Board of Education) office for work that morning.  Now I didn't live very far from the office, in fact it was less than a 7 minute walk from my apartment to the city offices.  So I wasn't too concerned about the rain, getting a little wet would not a problem because I had a wonderful umbrella!  What I forgot to take into account would be the puddles in the road.
So I am walking along the street on the sidewalk and along came a car that sprayed the puddle up onto the sidewalk.  I saw that and thought, "if I walk on the far side of the sidewalk I should be fine."  Boy was I wrong, no sooner did I move out of the way than another car came and proceeded to splash me from the knees down.  That is not too bad, legs can dry.
Now I am waiting at the light to cross and walk down the street to get to the office.  The intersection had a pool of water, probably enough to fill a kiddy pool or five!  And every car made a beeline straight for that pool of water, in an attempt that could only be on purpose to get me wet!  Maybe it was a new game that I was unaware of and the drivers thought I wanted to play too!  Needless to say I was drenched from the waist down (front and back) and on my right side from my shoulder down!
Now you might say, "but you live so close, just go back for fresh clothes," that would be an option except I was running late that day (big shocker right, I know because I'm always early!) and needed to get the lead out.  As I walk in to the office, all of the nice Office Ladies ask me what happened and then they proceed to pull out hand towels so I can dry off!  Why do they keep hand towels in their desks?  At the time I was really grateful for those hand towels, but now that i think about it... am I the only one who thinks that is odd?

~ Adventures in Anything & Everything

Duomo & Gelato

Well I thought and thought about a past adventure to share, so here goes.  This semester I am taking 18 credit hours and I rarely spend any time outside or away from my computer because of this.  Six of those eighteen hours are for a Study Abroad course.  This course let me travel to Italy, France, and England for 10 days with 13 of my new 'closest' friends.  I'm going to share part of the trip with you here!

On May 21st of this year, I traveled with my 'new friends' to Italy, Florence in particular.  Florence was and is an overload to your sensory organs... the sights, the smells, the sounds!  What was really amazing was when the Duomo came into view... words can't describe the feelings that come up.

The Duomo has 463 steps to the top (although there are varying accounts of only 416 steps), silly me I forgot to count them as I was going up only to think of it when I was already half-way down!  A good reason to go back to Florence or Firenze as the natives call it.

But there is more to Florence than the Duomo, there is the Ponte Vecchio, the famous statue of David, and the hundreds of other naked statues in piazzas around town, tiny little chapels, the famous Uffizi Gallery, the Baptistery, and of course... gelato complete with my Italian photobomber enjoying his gelato as much as I am mine!

Gelato comes in all types of flavors and the ones made with real fruit are perfect for those who are lactose intolerant!  I am not lactose intolerant, so I was able to choose anything on the menu.

~Adventures in Anything & Everything

A Beginning

So I have been meaning to write about my adventures for a while now.  Something always seemed to stop me from starting a blog... well no more!  Today is the day to start a beginning!

I hope to share all of my adventures over the years before I completely forget them all... which will probably happen sooner than later, but it is inevitable that I will remember things differently if I keep putting this off...

So here goes, my name is Valerie and currently I have gone back to school (don't ask me why I put it off for so long) to get my Bachelors, specifically a BA in History.  I can speak English, some Spanish, a little Japanese, and can understand a (very) little Portuguese.  The last two came after living in Japan for 7 years.  The Spanish came about through 4 grueling years of "me llamo..." and "como se dice..." in Junior High and High school, which gave me no help what-so-ever when I eventually arrived to serve an LDS mission in Chile. 

~Adventures in Anything & Everything