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!

Macaron Cooking Class!

I just signed up for a holiday macarons cooking class at Sur La Table in Salt Lake City!

If you've ever been to Europe with me, you know of my love of these delightful French cookies. They're a very unique sandwich cookie...some sort of delicious filling in the middle of two soft yet crisp (it makes sense if you've had one) meringue/almond meal cookies.

Even though I'm traditionally a straight up chocolate dessert kind of girl, macarons are fantastic in about any flavor you can imagine. I believe my love of salted caramel came from a macaron I tried at Laduree in France, long before that flavor was all over Starbucks and every other chain in the world.

When I was in London this summer and went to Paris for about eleven hours, I made a point of stopping in Laduree. When I returned to London, I learned there was one in Harrod's! So, of course, I had to go to Harrod's myself and see if they were as wonderful as the ones in Paris.

Of course, they were great...but I had to make sure ;) 

Anyways...the ability to make these fantastic concoctions has always escaped me, so I'm more than a little excited to take a class about it. Supposedly, the instructor is fantastic. The recipes are all holiday-themed, too, so it should be an introduction to some fun flavors!

Stay tuned for more macaron posts after I become an expert!

On the Road

Over the last couple of weeks, it seems like travel has come up a LOT.  So, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite travel experiences...

French Stereotype Night at Le Tour Eiffel

Studying abroad in Paris was a phenomenal experience over all, but obviously there were lots of little events that stood out while I was there.  "French Stereotype Night" was one of the first of many of our outings to the Eiffel Tower. On this particular night, we befriended a pair of Moroccans and practiced our French with them (they had initially tried to charge us to use their wine opener to open our bottles of wine), posed with berets and the French flag (see above) and had lots of wine and cheese. It was a great bonding experience for our little group of Americans!

European Public Transportation/The Munich Incident

Subways are awesome. Yes, I know New York City has an awesome subway system, too.  But the awesome thing with the London and Paris transportation (not just subways, but train networks, as well) systems is that you can get within walking distance of anywhere you need to go without ever having to use a car. Okay, maybe not absolutely everywhere...but you can get pretty damn close.

Oddly enough, my first time in Europe, I had a pretty bad experience with the Munich U-Bahn (subway).  When rushing to grab the train before it left with my school group, I happened to be running the fastest...and was the only one to make it onto the train before the doors closed. Since I was not running this tour and it was our first night in town, I had no idea where we were going or how to get around the city, nor did I speak a word of German (except for sheiße, which probably wouldn't have gotten me far). Ultimately, I did end up finding my group (which included my grandma...she was pretty relieved when I got back) after experiencing some more colorful areas of Munich. I definitely learned some very important things about traveling: always know your hotel's name, and always know where you're going!

My love of European public transportation is kind of ridiculous...I even made a little video of my study abroad experiences with the Paris Metro.  If you're clever, you might be able to find it on YouTube somewhere.

Trunk Bay, St. John, USVI

Most. Beautiful. Beach. Ever.  After returning from a few trips to Europe, I got a little bit of a big head...why would anyone vacation somewhere so close to home (I lived in Florida for a few years, so the Caribbean seemed WAY too close to be considered a vacation)?  Still, my parents wanted to visit the US Virgin Islands because my mom had lived there for awhile when she was fresh out of college. So, we went...and I fell in love, quickly deflating my little travel ego I had developed. Soft, super white sand...crystal clear water that seemed even cleaner than most pools...a coral reef just a short swim away... It really is the perfect beach destination.

Magnolia Bakery, New York City

If you know me, then you probably know of my love for cupcakes. It rivals my love for European public transportation, although I have yet to make any videos about cupcakes.  The vanilla-vanilla cupcake at Magnolia is still the best cupcake I have ever had in my life. I'm sincerely hoping that the recent news of Magnolia starting a franchise results in two things: 1. delicious Magnolia cupcakes close to me and 2. loyalty to the original, so amazing recipe. Seriously, guys...go eat these cupcakes.  They're so good that I made Josh wake up at 6am with me on Easter Sunday (our last day in NYC) so that we could trek across town (the subway stations nearby were closed) and buy a dozen to take home. 

More travel memories to come...

30 Days of Photos - Day 7

Day Seven - A photo of your most treasured possession

Blast from the past photo! This is a webcam picture from when I was studying abroad in Paris, France, and had dark hair!  But anyways...my blankie is my most treasured possession.  I've had it since I was born (my great-grandma made it for me!) and it still goes wherever I go, whether it be France, Indiana, Colorado or wherever else I end up!