fieldtrip

Field Trips

       It was 11:00 am on Saturday that I decided to go to Crystal Cathedral Church which is one of popular place for American people who are Christian. The strange thing that occurred to me was the decision to have this event at the Crystal Cathedral in the city of Orange. At the time, I had never heard of the place and the name itself appealed as something to my interest. Beside me, I asked my close friend, Susan, who lives near the church to take me there. Actually, it was the first time for me visiting in American religion since I have been in United States for a couple years. Thus, I first had no idea where I should go and how to deal with other people who have different background such as language, religious, and so on. I mean I always stick with my basic background as Vietnamese culture. I, for example, mostly meet Vietnamese friends and speak Vietnamese language. By the way, before entering the main church gate (on the south side), there was not a lot of joy in the faces of the people who walk on the sidewalks.
          As for the Crystal Cathedral itself, when my first sight looked at the church, it caused me interested of it. I remember it having some open sections where it seemed like they forgot to finish the wall but I'm sure that was done intentionally of course. The way the opening was angled in order to keep possible rainfall from penetrating the holy stage was somewhat impressive. The large usage of glass panels not only provides an aesthetic look to the structure but it also keeps the church well lit with what many would claim as the "holy light" from up above. The overall complex of the Crystal Cathedral is something to marvel over due to its overwhelming size. It was so elegance and huge. Seemingly, Lots of people had fresh face; some were smiling and some was laughing. Wow! I said loudly while I was walking in through the entrance hall that a whole building is made almost entirely of glass. Then, I started surveying and looking around the church. When I got into one room, which was decorated an altar of rich marble, I felt so cold because of its decorating; I guess. Moreover, I obviously saw most people seemed so soft and warm. They, for example, gave me smile although they did not even know me or I looked so different from them. They were greeting me with a polite word and accent. After that, I doubt why lots of people went to the Reservation center where is outside the hall. Finally, it had someone walked toward me, and then she just invited me to attend the holiday celebrations as The Glory of Christmas-the time- honored story of the Infant Child. It was funny that my friend and I immediately brought tickets because we both never tended to get involved with it and we knew nothing about American religious. Reasonably, I at least can get to know they better and know what they perform in the special event.   From my thought, Crystal Cathedral Church was such a stunning places that I should keep in mind although I just took forty-five minutes to observe surrounding me.

     Bodhi Tree Bookstore

        My friend and I knew that we were really in L.A. Upon entering the store, in which the Bodhi Tree Bookstore is located, smells so good. As I first came into the store, the aroma of the incense burning   with baskets of rocks and wind chimes next to me gave out a certain vibe to the store. The store itself was very well organized, and limited on space, but they made very good use of it. The environment was pleasant but most of the people kept to themselves. When I say pleasant, I mean that since the bookstore is pretty small. We usually feel uncomfortable in these types of stores because we feel eyes glaring at us, waiting to catch a shoplifter. But, I did not notice anyone even giving us the slightest sign of suspicion.
         We felt at ease pulling up a chair, and free to roam careless and our senses lead us to the tea. I usually drink tea at home but my friend was a virgin when it comes to tea. It was funny to see her get ecstatic after drinking the tea because he believed that the tea increased her senses. (Later on, I went to the old bookstore to purchase some of the Chinese herbal tea to find out that it was caffeine free and a product of Celestial Seasonings.) As we browsed through the bookstore, the words Zen Buddhist caught my eye. I looked through the books and happened to notice that a lot of the books were written by what appeared to be a Vietnamese person. I don't recall the name of the author but I wished I had. This called to my attention because I grew up in the Vietnamese culture and its values flow through my blood. I never knew that so many Vietnamese were followers of Zen Buddha or even that one of the more influential writers was Viet himself. Although, I could be mistaken because the guy could have been Chinese, but I don't care because this is my story so I can say whatever I want.
         While, I spent most the time looking at the books on Zen Buddhism, my friends attention was focused on the books of martial arts. She called me over giggling about some book focused on massaging. She flipped to the section of the testicular massaging. We both almost crapped in our pants as she read the steps to massaging your nuts out loud. At this time, I felt that we had enough of this experience for one night and decided it was a good time to leave before we disturb the rest of the people. As we were driving towards our next adventure, my friend was bright awake with much energy. She didn't know why she had so much energy so I told her that it must have been that Chinese herbal tea. She told me that the tea made her feel like more of a spiritual person. We were very happy on the way home becasue we had a good time there. And as in my opion, if you have never seen a Bodhi tree, go behind the store and in their parking lot you�ll discover this unique tree.