Culture Redux

I had a conversation the other day that reminded me of a post I made in my study abroad blog. I made a comment about how much more nature-y stuff there was to do within a few hours of where I live in Utah compared to where I grew up in Indiana. The native Hoosier still residing in Indiana who I was speaking with got a little offended. I tried to explain that I wasn't knocking Indiana (after all, I'm a native Hoosier, as well, and think I had a great time growing up there!), but it didn't really seem to help.

So, I wanted to share again something I realized while living in Paris.

One of the things that everyone keeps asking me is, "So, is the USA better than France?" The thing is, we're talking about culture here. There's no such thing as a "better" culture. France is different, but it's not better and it's not worse. It's just different. The same thing goes for any culture, whether it be German or Japanese or Egyptian or Iranian or Thai. No culture is inherently better or worse than another. They are just different.

The same thing is true for Utah and Indiana.

While "number of nature-y destinations within 3-4 hours" is not exactly a subjective number (although I'm sure you'd be hard-pressed to find a list with that exact name), perhaps the difference is in my perception. Since I have more nature-oriented friends in Utah, they know of more places to visit. I didn't really have any nature-oriented friends in Indiana (or the ones I did have did most of their nature-y stuff outside of Indiana). Going hiking and skiing and mountain biking and on random camping trips to deserts is an integral part of the culture in Utah. It's less of a thing in Indiana, probably because there are no mountains and no deserts.

Again, going back to my France statement that cultures are different, not better or worse, Utah and Indiana are definitely different. There are things I love and things I strongly dislike about both. I love that nature-focused attitude in Utah. I love the ski culture. However, I don't like the fact that the LDS church has its hand in every single government decision that is made in the state (as I very strongly believe in the complete separation of church and state). I love the friendliness of Midwesterners and their strong work ethic. I don't like that political ignorance is very common in my home state.

So, fear not my fellow Hoosiers. I'm not disowning my home state. I always have a good time when I go home and I'm proud to be from Indianapolis. Just don't expect me to move back soon...well, ever. There's too many other cultures out there for me to experience!

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Last night, I watched the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

As a rather large Robert Downey, Jr. fan, I'd been hearing how amazing it was for quite awhile but still had yet to see it. When I realized it was on HBOGO last night, I was thrilled!

Although the plot is kind of difficult to follow, the acting is incredible! It was RDJ's first big (I'm using big somewhat loosely here - although it was a decent hit overseas, it wasn't much of a hit here in the US) movie post-rehab/jail/all that fun stuff. If you're a fan of Iron Man due mainly to RDJ's acting, you'll like this one, too. If you just watch Iron Man for the explosions, you might also like this one. 

Here's the trailer if you want to judge for yourself:

Perry: Look up "idiot" in the dictionary. You know what you'll find? 
Harry: A picture of me? 
Perry: No! The definition of the word idiot, which you fucking are!

Birthday

April 28th was my birthday, and it was a great one! Of course, the day began with some Starbucks. Lindsey Vonn popped into Starbucks as Julia and I sat outside enjoying the warm weather, so that was a fun little birthday sighting. After some wandering around in Park City, we decided to head down to Salt Lake for some birthday pastries.

And my, what amazing birthday pastries they were!! Julia found a French bakery inside the Grand American Hotel and I had the best macarons I've had since actually being in France! To top it all off, they had a gorgeous flower-filled courtyard at the hotel where we got to sit and enjoy them.

Seriously...this vanilla macaron was life-changing.

After a quick Olive Garden lunch in SLC (yes, I gave into a chain restaurant - I cannot resist the breadsticks and salad), we headed back up to Park City! 

For dinner, a small group of us headed down to Main St. for dinner at Oishi, my favorite sushi place in town. It was delicious and it was great spending time with good friends! Julia planned an awesome day...it's great having a friend like her around!

So, that's this year's birthday! I'm excited for summer to be here so that I can enjoy some warm weather, get outside to run (although I must say skiing is a much more exciting outdoor activity) and not wear a coat!