Vacation: Culture Shock

After recently reading a blog about a fellow students travels, I have been inspired to tell of my travels.  I haven't been to many places, but I have been to two places out west that have really captured my interest.  My first trip out west was last year for spring break.  I flew out to Los Angeles, California to visit my cousin who is out there aspiring to be an actor.  When I got out there it was a complete culture shock to me.  I didn't think that traveling within the United States would bring any kind of culture shock.  Growing up in Cornville, USA (as I like to call it), there isn't a lot of exposure to things outside the norm.  We are simple people that lead simple lives.  I grew up in a family of farmers ( although i never actually farmed myself) who are pretty stuck in their way of life and nothing is going to interrupt that.  One of the first things I saw out in California was the Church of Scientology.  I am a very devout Christian, so seeing this so-called church was VERY new to me.

This a picture of the sign outside the church, which looks more like an insane asylum than a church.

This is a picture of me standing by the huge metal lion outside the "church."

I don't know too much about Scientology, but my cousin who has lived in LA for awhile said that along with the building being a church, it is also a detox center.  One has to go through a process of detox before becoming a member of a church.  It was weird walking around the proximity of the church because you would see people go in and out of the Scientology Church and they were all wearing blue polos.  They all walked around with blank expressions on their faces.  Tyler(my cousin) said that usually if you are anywhere near the church there people who will try to persuade you to take a tour of the church.  He then told me that one of his friends did the tour just to see what the church was all about.  Apparently the tour was around two hours and completely bogus.  It was a bit terrifying to be within feet of the church.  I have found a website that explains Scientology and its basic principles.  Click here to see this website.  

I really enjoyed California and living life for a little bit in completely different setting than what I'm used to.  It is a very beautiful place with interesting and exciting things to see.  I got to visit Orange County one day while I was out there and I was able to capture the essence of the West Coast.  The Pacific Ocean is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.  It is truly the product of something greater than any one of us. My camera does not do justice to what my eyes have seen.  I will never forget how I felt when I looked out and saw the depths of the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

This is a view of Laguna Beach that I was able to capture in the late afternoon.  It was absolutely beautiful and I would have been content staying in that exact spot for the remainder of my vacation.

For my next post I would like to share another trip I experience out west in Colorado!!