The Silent "I"

Guest Post: A Letter from Hokkaido

2009-11-25T12:59:11-08:00

Frank took a business trip to Hokkaido, Japan last week, and agreed to let me share his ramen-powered Sapporo adventure.

Hi, Sweetie:

Here I am in Hokkaido, safe and sound. The flights from the US were uneventful, the usual trans-pacific 12 hour drag, and after a decent layover, I made the connection to the domestic ANA flight within Japan to Sapporo’s International Airport (actually Shin Chitose International Airport, about 20 miles south of Sapporo) with no trouble.

Actually, I take that back; there was a bit of trouble – I forgot to take my leftover Yen from the currency drawer at home, so I got to Sapporo at 9 pm with only US$ in hand, and by then the foreign exchange office was closed. I thought I might be stuck, but I asked at the information counter, and they directed me to a hidden row of ATMs, which took some time to find. Fortunately, they worked, and I could withdraw Japanese cash and be on my way. But not without noticing that the Sapporo International airport is HUGE – giant shopping malls (all closed at this time of night), and 4 floors of long curved corridors that go on forever. By the time I found the ATM, I’d walked nearly a half mile. Not quite what I wanted after traveling for nearly 20 hours.

The JR train station was in the airport basement, and once I got my ticket a train was ready to depart in a few minutes. The train was comfortable (all seats, not a sand-up commuter train), and, and in half an hour I was in town at the Shin Sapporo station.

The conference hotel was only a block from the station – I had a great printout from Google maps, showing the area in great detail – but to get out of the station I had to go through a maze of twisting shopping passages (all closed at this time of night) and a bridge to a back alley for bicycle parking before I finally found the tower of the Sheraton Sapporo Hotel in front of me. What a welcome sight that was. Even if it did look like a mini European cathedral from this end – clearly a hotel with an eye to the wedding market.

I checked in and the porter led me up the elevator to the 25^th floor. The room was a typical Japanese Western style hotel room – 2 beds, bathroom with a small but deep tub, desk area (with Ethernet cable), flat screen TV, mini-bar, and a tiny dresser with not enough drawers. That wasn’t really a problem - I simply unpacked by dumping my suitcase out onto the 2^nd bed and used that as my dresser. As you know, I don’t mind a bit of clutter, and I was tired.

After a nice hot bath – really necessary after a long, dehydrating flight – it was straight into bed and I was out fast.

But not for long – the usual westbound Asian jetlag wakeup at 2 AM kicked in, but I was able to force myself to snooze at least until 4 AM, when I was wide awake with no hope of return. I read a bit more of the John Grisham book I brought for the flight, then finally opened up the laptop and got my presentation finalized for the conference.

6:30 am and sunrise was coming outside the window, and I could look out over Hokkaido. My room faced north, so in the distance I could see banks of clouds hovering over the mountains. Although I’ve been to Japan countless times for business and sightseeing, business never took me to Hokkaido before, so this is something new. And it seems a little different – the streets below are wide, straight and spacious, there was a lot of empty space as the town changed into agricultural land in the distance. A Japanese frontier city, if there is such a thing.

Hokkaido is the northernmost major island in Japan, and although it’s at the same latitude as Chicago, it gets freezing blasts of air from Siberia, and it’s famous for harsh winter cold and piles of snow. Too cold for routine rice production, it was viewed as a wild wasteland by the more cultured civilizations of Kyoto and Edo, and was left to the Ainu indigenous people long after they were driven out of the other Japanese islands. So, Hokkaido was only settled recently by Japanese. The whole of Hokkaido has only 6 million people, less than some districts of Tokyo. I gather that, if you rent a car, there are large stretches of road here where you see no other cars or people – real wide open spaces of the Japanese frontier. Not the typical image of Japan, to say the least.

But, I didn’t rent a car, and 1/3 of those 6M people live in Sapporo, so up close it feels like your typical Japanese city, with rows of apartment blocks, towering office buildings, huge department stores and a great rail and subway network to get around.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. By 7 am the Café Dom - down by the fake mini-cathedral (Dom is German for Cathedral) - was open, and I had the breakfast buffet (almost dinnertime b y my body clock, and I was hungry), then went to register for the conference. I won’t bore you with those details, other than to say that, as Chairman of the US sister conference, the conference managers were very nice and respectful to me, inviting me to join the Steering committee lunch and made many introductions.

At the end of the day, dusk was falling, and I cut out on the last talks to catch the subway into the center of Sapporo proper. It would be a shame to come all this way and not see anything of the place itself, even though, by 4:30 pm, night was falling and I couldn’t see much. Fortunately, it’s easy to get around. I got out of the subway at Odori Park, and found myself in a grid of streets. Sapporo was laid out after Western influence came to Japan, and the streets are not only a grid but are all labeled with numbers – intersections are marked with signs like “North 1 West 2”, unlike Tokyo, where streets have no names and you stumble around by knowing landmarks.

So here I was, but I was not sure what all to actually do – Sapporo seems most famous for its winter Snow Festivals, with snow sculptures and ice carvings and winter lighting in the Odori park. But this was too early in the season for that.

I decided to make my first stop the famous Sapporo Clock Tower. It’s the symbol of the city, and photos of it were on all the city information I had. It’s the oldest building in Sapporo, and as I came up to it, I almost missed it, it was so dwarfed by the towering hotels and office towers nearby. It was all lit up in the evening, but I arrived to late to get in, so I just walked around the intimate grounds and took a few photos.

It seemed very out of place - an odd transplant from the American prairie into the heart of a Japanese city. The style is so familiar, one that could fit into any of a thousand American towns, especially where my family grew up in Kansas. So it seemed especially odd to find this at the spiritual heart of a Japanese city.

But, the history makes things clear. Soon after Japan started opening up to the West in the 19^th century, and when Sapporo was an infant town of a few thousand people, some Americans from Univ. Massachusetts Amherst came to Sapporo and had a vision of making an agricultural college in the Japanese North. They founded the Hokkaido Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University), and one of the first buildings they put up in 1876 was this American frontier style building with a clock from Boston in its tower. The clock has been keeping time ever since.

After the history lesson, it was time to move on. I was only wearing my suit from the conference, and the cold was beginning to get to me. And I was getting hungry. In the local tourist information on Sapporo, Ramen was described as a big deal here. With the winter cold, Hokkaido had made a name for itself with lots of varieties of ramen, and not just the wimpy noodles and weak soy broth of Tokyo, but hearty warm-you-up-on-a-cold-winter-day-when-you-need-to-shovel-2-kilometers-of-driveway noodles, made with a thick miso broth.

So, I set my next mission to find good Sapporo Ramen as I meandered my way towards the Sapporo JR station. Somewhere near the station, there were supposed to be ramen specialty streets, with shop after shop of noodles, but I wasn’t finding them. Instead, I was simply getting cold. It was now below freezing, with a few flakes of snow falling. Everyone else was walking around in real winter coats – they’re clearly serious about winter here, and I didn’t pack enough

As I neared the JR station, I did see a huge Bic Camera (ビックーカメラ ) store, and it reminded me that my Region 2 (Japan) DVD player at home (bought at Bic Camera in Tokyo) had quit working. This would be a chance to get a replacement, and since I didn't know when I’d be in Japan again, I thought I’d better check it out. After all, how else will we be able to play all my Japanese anime DVDs? Surely you’ve been missing that too, yes?

So, as I got into the elevator and began to look at the floor guide, I see that the 10^th floor (the restaurant floor for this building) is dominated by Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku (札幌ら〜めん共和国 ), one of the ramen restaurants advertised in my “about Sapporo” pamphlet. What luck! And, as it turns out, this is kind of a theme park of Ramen, with 8 restaurants that are selected branches of ramen shops in their respective cities from around Hokkaido. They stay or are replaced by popular vote, so, this may turn out to be the place to sample some of the best ramen from all over Hokkaido.

I slipped into the restaurant closest to the entrance, which turned out to be a shop from Ashikawa City ( 旭川市 ), in the central region of Hokkaido. After puzzling over the menu a bit, I ordered the mountain vegetables in miso ramen.

I was not disappointed. This was good, hearty ramen, with thick noodles and big vegetable chunks. A bigger bowl than I’m used to, and warm and delicious! The perfect thing to fight off the chill air outside. All complemented by a glass of beer – Sapporo brand, of course. And all for ¥1200.

Back down the elevator, fortified by ramen, I was ready to enter the world of Bic Camera. This electronics super store is like many of the famous Japanese stores, with floors dedicated to computers, to TVs, to washing machines, etc., but has this jingle playing over the PA system that infects the mind as it plays incessantly in the background, hypnotizing shoppers into buying unnecessary electronics. You can find this jingle on YouTube if you dare expose your brain cells to its hypnotic spell…

I found the portable DVD players on the 2^nd floor, and eventually pick a mid-priced Toshiba portable. There is some confusion at the register, since I want to pay with American Express, and the clerk wants to make some point, but I don’t understand. He opens up an English phrase handbook for clerks, and the point he is trying to make is “we only accept single payment”, which I don’t understand at all – “Is there a problem with the credit card? I have Visa…or do you need cash?” I tell him in Japanese, but he continues to point to this English phrase. I am stumped, since I don’t really have a clue what’s going on. After another clerk asks the guy what’s happening, he nods and proceeds to charge the American Express. OK… at least I got my player.

I also picked up a couple bargain bin DVDs to make sure the player works: アニー (Annie), since our son is “studying” that in school, and 第三の男 (The Third Man) with Orson Wells since it was just so cheap (¥440, or just under $5).

At this point, it’s 9 pm and I’m tired. Jetlag is telling me I should be ASLEEP, and so I find the JR tracks, buy my ticket for Shin Sapporo, and head back to the hotel. After another hot bath, and a quick check of the DVD player, once I get this written, I expect I’ll be out like a light.

Tomorrow, a pretty dull day – breakfast, more of the conference, a train ride to the Airport, a short hop to Narita and the long flight overnight home.

See you soon, stay warm and happy!

Frank

Santiago, Chile: Finding a Happy Place

2009-11-13T17:22:01-08:00

February 11, 2004

We left Easter Island on February 10 and started back to California via Santiago Chile. We arrived late in the afternoon, and Alex decided to have the worst temper tantrum of his life in the luggage claim area of the Santiago airport. He tried to throw himself on the luggage conveyor belt, but we managed to stop him in before he was tagged and sent on his way to Lima, Peru. Sometimes, traveling with a toddler is not all it's cracked up to be.

Santiago reminded me a lot of Los Angeles, a gigantic urban basin packed with buildings surrounded by mountains. We checked into the Santiago Marriott, which was conveniently located across the street from a toy store. It was Sunday, so Alex could do nothing more than gaze longingly out twentieth-floor window.

We woke up in the middle of the night to loud thunderstorms, which lit up the Andes off in the distance. It was a dramatic scene, particularly from the 20th floor of the hotel.

The next morning, we woke up to the Andes emerging from the clouds off in the distance. It turned into a beautiful, clear day, with the rain clearing away some of the smog. We decided to go out for some sightseeing.

Frank arranged for the hotel car to take us to the Bellavista area, a Bohemian neighborhood full of shops, retaurants and bars. The driver dropped us off at Pio Nono Street, where there are a number of jewelry stores selling beautiful blue lapis lazuli jewelry. Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious gemstone found primarily in Afghanistan and also mined in Ovalle, Chile.

Bellavista is also home to Santiago's nightlife, and we passed a number of discos, including one catering mainly to extraterrestrial clientele. I'm not sure you could find that in Los Angeles.

It was a warm and sunny day, with clear skies, quite pleasant on the shady, tree-lined street. We walked passed several small shops including one mannequin shop with a charming, old-fashioned sign.

We walked to the end of the street to find the Funicular, a mountainside train that transported us up to the top of San Cristobal San Cristobal in the Park Metropolitano.

After a ride on the rickety funicular, we arrived at the base of the giant statue of the Virgin Mary. The park offered a spectacular view of the city, and the beautiful, white sculpture of the serene Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.

There is a plaza at the base of the statue surrounded by kiosks selling souvenirs and snacks. We stopped for a soft drink and a group of boys, about 13-14 years old, approached us. One of them spoke up and asked if we were Americans. He told us they studied English in school and wanted to practice. The other two were shy, and didn't say much, but the brave one asked questions about where we were from and where we had been. They all smiled when we said we were from California, which they recognized as the home of Hollywood and Mickey Mouse. They were charming, sweet kids, and ran around the plaza, chasing Alex, which thrilled him to no end.

We continued our journey by taking a gondola tram across from one mountaintop to another. The cars were old, and the door didn't shut all the way, causing Frank to get vertigo and nearly start hyperventilating. It seems odd to me that a guy who travels on planes all the time can have such a terrible fear of heights, but he does. He said it was because we were completely closed in and he could see the ground through the crack in the door. He started sweating profusely, and said, "I'm doing this for you, so don't ever doubt how much I love you."

Alex and I thought the ride was great fun, and every time the car went bumping past the cable towers, Frank would suck his breath in through his teeth, like he was being punched in the gut. At one point, he just covered his eyes and repeated, "Find a happy place...find a happy place...find a happy place."

Alex and I stopped laughing long enough to start letting him know when we were going to hit a bump, which seemed to make it easier for Frank. We made it across without Frank hyperventilating or plunging to our death about 1,000 feet down.

We got out at a place called the Oasis, and had some ice cream. Another funicular ride down, and we found the subway. We rode the fast blue train to Escuela Militar, caught a taxi back to the hotel and headed to the airport to go home. Our fabulous South American Adventure ended in Santiago, and we flew home full of memories to last a lifetime.

Check out more great travel adventures and photos at Delicious Baby's Photo Friday!

Planning a Trip to Easter Island

2009-11-05T10:30:25-08:00

If you're interested in visiting Easter Island aka Isla de Pascua aka Rapa Nui aka "The Navel of the World," be forewarned that it is far, far away from any main airport hub and it will take a while to get there. Lan Chile flights out of Santiago, Chile leave twice weekly, stopping off in Easter Island en route to Tahiti. Your choices for direct flights are either out of Santiago or Papeete, Tahiti. Be sure to book your flights well in advance.

Further, there are limited hotel rooms on the island, and no major American or European chains. The hotels are locally owned due to laws preserving the rights of native Rapa Nui people in landownership. When we were there, there was a big debate among the Rapa Nui elders as to whether or not to allow Club Med to build a resort there. As far as I know, they didn't allow it. Part of the island's charm is the vast expanses of unspoiled land and the ability to see moai around nearly every bend in the road. Most hotels would be classified as "motels" by American standards, or large bed-and-breakfast style guest houses.

We stayed at the Tahatai Hotel, which was not exactly luxurious, but was perfectly fine. The hotel has its own restaurant, a pool, ocean views, and a friendly, accommodating multi-lingual staff who seemed to enjoy having kids in their midst. There were a number of other families staying there while we were there, and we enjoyed our experience.

As in Brazil, we found that having a personal guide was indispensible. We used Kia Koe Tours, and the guide was terrific, able to change gears with a pre-schooler's varying moods. There are also group tours available, but we have found these to be less than ideal for kids with varying levels of tolerance and stamina for hiking. I liked having a guide who was a native who could fill us in on the local politics and gossip as well as the historical facts.

We rented a car for a few days, and found the roads fairly easy to navigate. There are also about a hundred or so taxis on the island, so it's not difficult to call a taxi to take you to various points of interest. Most of the people speak Spanish, Rapa Nui, and some English, so we didn't find language to be a barrier to shopping or getting around the island. Rapa Nui Travel can help book cars, bikes, and excursions for you.

We found the people on Easter Island to be extremely hospitable and welcoming to kids. Our son was three and half when we visited, and he still remembers the moai, though not much else. Shop owners, restaurant workers, and people on the street often stopped to pat him on the head, say hello, and make friends with our little guy, as in other parts of South America.

Due to the lack of tree cover, the sun can be relentless, so be sure to pack high SPF sunscreen, hats, water bottles for day hikes. Most of the hikes we took were not terribly strenuous, but did involve some rocky paths that would not work for the mobility-impaired or for strollers.

The restaurants we visited while on the island were kid friendly, and many had simple kid-favorites like pasta, pizza, tacos, and chicken. For a fine dining experience, we recommend Le Taverne de Pescheur, owned and operated by a Basque fellow and his wife, who serve up locally-caught seafood dishes with a hearty Basque flair.

To make the most of your trip, we recommend going in late January - early February for the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival. The entire island participates in a number of native competitions, from the Birdman Triathalon to moai carving to an all-night team singing contest. The hotels fill up quickly, so be sure to book at least nine months prior. It's the hottest part of the summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so think of it as a great escape from our Northern Hemisphere winters.

Next year, another special event worth making the trip to Easter Island occurs: A total solar eclipse. On July 11, 2010, the eclipse will be visible from Easter Island, with the longest time of totality (4 1/2 minutes) landing in French Polynesia in Tuomotu Archipelago. Easter Island will be a prime viewing spot, and the idea of the mysterious moai surrounded by 360 degrees of twilight is pretty much an ideal time to make your journey. There are a number of tour companies offering including TravelQuest, the company we used for our 2009 eclipse cruise to China, Korea & Japan.

If you go, send me a photo will you? You know how we love eclipses, but sadly, this one is not in the budget!

Carnival of Cities Blog Carnival: November 4, 2009 Edition

2009-11-04T00:00:00-08:00

We have great group of travel bloggers providing their expert tips and advice on traveling in this week's Carnival of Cities! Join our intrepid travelers as they scour the globe for interesting, fun, and just plain cool places to go and things to see. I'll be your tour guide this week.

USA

Starting out on the East Coast, for all you baseball fans, Christian Carollo presents Back to Back: Philadelphia Phillies posted at Christian Carollo Photography. Christian documents last year's World Series winners and hopes for a repeat performance. Will they or won't they? Yankee fans might beg to diffah (as we used to say when I lived in the Bronx), but the Phillies fans in Christian's photos look like they are ready to bring it home again.

Moving down to Maryland, Jennifer takes us down on the farm with Homestead Farm – Poolesville, MD – You Capture Autumn posted at Two Kids and a Map. You can feel the fall nip in the air with her photos of a lovely pumpkin patch and cute kids.

Traveling on south to Florida, Amy at The Q Family takes us on a tour of one of her family's favorite destinations with Disney's Animal Kingdom: The Condense Version posted at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog. Amy also has some great tips for families traveling to Disney parks at the end of her post that you won't want to miss.

Moving on to the midwest, and my former home in Chicago, Illinois, Dominique King takes us Inside the Chicago Cultural Center at Midwest Guest. I never got to see this when I lived in Chicago in the 1980's, and it's definitely a must-see next time I visit.

Jack Norell reminded me of one of my favorite Chicago haunts in his post, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago over at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips. He has a gorgeous shot of kids meeting a polar bear that you just have to see to believe. I'd love to take my son there.

Moving a little farther west in Minnesota, Beth Blair shows us a great Midwest Shopping Destination: Mall of America at The Vacation Gals. Part theme-park, part shopper's heaven, this is like no mall you've ever seen before and worth a look. At least on our virtual vacation, we won't be running up the charge cards!

Family travel blogger Sheila Scarborough extraordinaire gives us a taste of the South (literally) with A Route 66 Oklahoma Landmark: Johnnie’s Onion Burger in El Reno posted at Family Travel Guide. If you like onions and burgers, or rather onions IN your burgers, Johnnie's in El Reno, OK is your kind of place. I wondered if they charged extra for mints.

What do you think of when you think of Main Street, USA? For me, it's Mayberry and small town life. That idyllic small town vision gets turned on its head in Mapping Main Street Las Vegas posted at TheWordWire.

Farther west, in my home state of California, Shelly Rivoli shows us The OTHER great place you've got to see in Monterey, California at Travels with Baby Tips. We go to Monterey frequently, and based on Shelly's enthusiastic recommendation, we'll be checking out her must-see place the next time we go.

The delightful Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby (trying saying that 3 times fast) shows us some fun, family-friendly attractions in Santa Monica With Kids: An Afternoon on the Pier over at DeliciousBaby.com.

Canada

Nancy D. Brown's post Best Things to See and Do in Victoria, Canada at What a Trip, reminded me of a great girl-friends only vacation I took a few years back, pre-husband, pre-kid, to Victoria, British Columbia. It's a truly wonderful place with or without kids in tow, and Nancy's post nails the highlights.

South America

Going south, Zhu posts some fantastic photos of Southern Hemisphere: Lima, Perú at Correr Es Mi Destino. If you think Peru is all about Machu Picchu, think again. Lima looks like a vibrant, exciting city.

Europe

Onto Europe, where Andy Hayes recommends Top Three Daytrips from Madrid at Sharing Travel Experiences. I've only been to the Costa del Sol and Granada, so I'm putting these three daytrips on my list for our next trip to Spain.

Andi shares her experience with American restaurants in France in French Friday – American Food in Paris at Misadventures with Andi. Her advice: Just say no to the Golden Arches and Mexican food in France. I couldn't agree more.

Travel to Moscow and beyond, with Gary Mullen who visits Sergiev Posad – Home of the Russian Doll at Culture Blog. Gary explores the origins of the adorable Russian nesting dolls and the town that spawned them. I have a few in my collection of travel souvenirs, and was interested to find out their origin.

Victoria and her family are preparing for an around-the-world trip (lucky people), and are preparing locally by doing a little Time Travelling. You can read about their preparations and adventures at It's a small world after all.

Africa

Last, but certainly not least, Mark gives us a photo tour of Rocks and Rhinos (Matobo, Zimbabwe) posted at Travel Wonders of the World. I was particularly struck by his quote from Cecil Rhodes, which describes a number of travel experiences, “The peacefulness of it all: the chaotic grandeur of it: it creates a feeling of awe and brings home to one how very small we all are.”

Thanks to everyone who submitted this time! Be sure to catch the next Carnival of Cities on November 18 at Family Travel Guide. Contact Sheila Scarborough at Family Travel Guide if you are interested in hosting the Carnival on your site.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of cities using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Submit to the Carnival of Cities Blog Carnival

2009-11-01T12:59:49-08:00

On Wednesday, November 4, I'm honored to be hosting the Carnival of Cities Blog Carnival. If you have a recent blog post about a place you love, tips on traveling there, or just want to extol the virtues of your hometown, just submit your entry using the Carnival Submission Form at the Carnival of Cities and I will post it here. It's an easy way to generate some link-love for your blog and check out some other great travel and hometown writers in one place.

The current Carnival is being hosted by the fabulous Vacation Gals, so check it out!

"Spring Awakening" Opens in San Jose

2009-10-30T12:56:50-07:00

A little bit of magic Broadway found its way to San Jose this week, with the opening of the Broadway hit Spring Awakening at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. Armed with a charming and dynamic young cast, a pop-rock score, and lively dance numbers, this 8-time Tony award winner is sure to be a hit with teens and young adults.

The cast, capably led by Christy Altomare as Wendla, Jake Epstein as Melchior, and Taylor Trensch as Moritz, tell the story of teens in 19th Century Germany exploring their budding sexuality. At turns comedic and tragic, the emotions are amplified by an indie-rock score using a modern vernacular, making it more like "Rent" than an Andrew Lloyd Weber period piece. It's quirky, creative, and fun, with serious cautionary messages for teens and adults. I enjoyed the piece overall, and think it is one that parents could use as a lynch pin for serious discussions about sex, suicide, sexual abuse, and abortion. I don't recommend this for kids under 14, due to the mature themes, brief nudity, and strong language.

To me, the standouts in the cast were Steffi D as Ilse, a troubled girl who runs away from sexual abuse at home. Steffi has a wonderful, emotive voice, perfect for ballads and rock numbers alike. I also enjoyed watching Andy Mientus as Hanschen, whose oily, brazen seduction of an innocent classmate, Ernst, was a scene-stealing moment. My husband thought he looked like Spike from Buffy the Vampire, and with his white-blond hair and swagger, I thought that was a fair comparison.

Where the show fell down for me was in the story line. Based on an 1891 play by Frank Wedekind that was banned for nearly 100 years, due to it's treatment of issues like homosexuality, teen suicide, and abortion. It seemed as though someone sat down with a laundry list of horrific events that could befall a teen and stitched them together into a loose storyline.

While the first act is all about discovery and confusion, my husband noted that the second act could have been called "Rude Awakening." The second half of the play seemed to reinforce nothing good can come of sex, including death, despair, and reform school. There didn't seem to be any sense of redemption or reconciliation, though the closing number talks of hope of rebirth and regeneration. I don't think the story naturally led to that conclusion.

I was also not thrilled with the reinforcement of the notion that all adults are the same, depicted literally by having every adult role played by the same man and woman. The adult characters seemed uniformly oblivious and unsympathetic to what the kids were going through, whether they were parents, teachers, or clergy. I can definitely see that from a child's perspective, that might appear to be true. I can understand why this show has such a large teen following, particularly for kids who feel marginalized or that their parents just don't understand the pressures they feel.

Our town recently been rocked by a serious of very public and painful teen suicides that has ripped the fabric of our community. It was particularly timely and poignant to watch this played out on stage, and the music seemed to be very much on point, particularly in showing the anger that kids feel that no matter what they do, as the song says, they're "totally f*cked". I hope if nothing else, this should could open a frank dialogue between teens and their parents.

Spring Awakening is part of a national tour that runs through Sunday, November 1 at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. For tickets, click here. For information on other cities and dates, check out the Spring Awakening tour website.

PHOTO 1: (l-r) Kimiko Glenn, Gabrielle Garza, Christy Altomare, and Sarah Hunt.

PHOTO 2: Steffi D. as Ilse

Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik. Photos used with permission of Carla Befera Public Relations.

Disclosure: I received two complimentary media passes to attend the show, but no other compensation for this review. Opinions expressed herein are solely mine.