A Day in L.A.!

I am always encouraging my very studious AP students to get out of their normal routine and try something new that they haven't done before. We recently finished studying a post-modern novella by Banana Yoshimoto called Kitchen. In this novella, which was originally written in Japanese, the main character Mikage relates love and family relationships to food. She does not eat food, she SAVORS food. Yesterday my AP Lit. students and I decided to take a trip to L.A. and savor the local flavors. We decided to take the metro rather than drive in our cars so that we could take in more of the culture and see the L.A. natives close up. It was SUCH a fun day!

We started in Norwalk on the metro green line and transferred lines until we arrived at the historic Grand Central Station in downtown L.A. We walked across the street to Olvera street where the oldest house in L.A. is located along with great Mexican shops and treats. Dan and I shared a churro, taquitos, and chile relleno. Yum! Many of the students walked across the street to have lunch at the historic luncheon counter, Philippe's, where they feasted on french dip sandwiches. After Olvera street we took a 15 minute walk to Little Tokyo to endulge in our favorite Japanese treats. We had mochi ice cream, katsudan, and Japanese bakery items. After a quick stop at the Buhddist Temple and the original Los Angeles Times building we headed over to the historic Grand Central Market across the street from the famous Bradbury building. There we sampled Mexican pastries, pupusas from El Salvador, and ceviche. We then headed back to Norwalk on the metro after a full day and VERY full stomachs! Today I enjoyed being a teacher! Much thanks to Dan for coming along to keep me company and be the camera man!