The past three weeks my family and I have hosted my sister-in-law's cousin from Japan in our home. He is an 18 year old trendy Japanese boy and my sister and I were nervous about where to take and what to show him, and how to make it look cool. Last weekend we were making the trek, via my car, from Whyte ave to Downtown and my sister pointed out the Edmonton skyline (to Satoshi) and he noted that it was beautiful. My sister and I agreed. I felt proud that he was impressed with our city view. Looking at the city from a tourist perspective I think I would be impressed with this view as well as the view of our river valley which I drive everyday but very seldom enjoy the beauty of.

How I see nature in Edmonton.

I think we are very fortunate as Edmontonians because we get to experience all four seasons. Despite the unequal length of the seasons I look forward to each one for different reasons. Nature looks very different in Edmonton depending on the time of year. My favorite is fall, because of the amazing colors and the temperature is perfect! My fondest memories as a child are walking through Hawrlek park across the footbridge, with my family in   autumn and simply enjoying how beautiful nature was in our city. Despite the fact that fall does bring an extremely long winter it is still my favorite time of year. I think it smells the best outside and it brings about a sense of new beginnings and starting over. Another favorite place of mine in the fall are the parliament grounds. The trees here are outstanding and its a great place to walk around and enjoy the view.

How 380 has changed me

I came into this course with the idea that we would be attempting to thwart Edmonton stereotypes and perhpas change our current views that we hold of the city. A few months later I have actually learned that part of being an Edmontonian is embracing stereotypes and using them to add to our definition in a positive way. An example of this is the literature that has come from Leslea Kroll, in Ten Degrees of Separation. The comical interaction between what we can interpret to be Edmonton and Toronto feeds off of stereotypes that add to the diversity of the city. Toronto seems to think Edmonton strives to be like her, but what we can take away from this story is that maybe Edmonton wants to stand on its own and be unique. I really enjoyed this reading and got me thinking about Edmonton in relation to its rival cities. Edmonton might not be as big....the weather might not be as nice as places like Victoria, but this adds to the character and I think Edmonton inhabitants have learned to love what we have so far as a city and that this is the first step in growing together......maybe...thoughts?

If I had to write about a single Edmonton location.....I would probably choose Whyte ave. Its an amazing place to walk down with so much to do, and I love how the dynamic changes from day to night. In the day it is more relaxed and you see an older crowd: at night its a booming party street! Its great to have one spot to go where you can park your car and spend a whole day and night, on foot, seeing whatever you are in the mood for. I think Whyte ave is a very important part of our city and Edmontonians are proud of it. Anytime I have someone visiting from out of town I take them to whyte ave to show them a bit of what Edmonton is about.