And We had to go to Utah to Taste the Devil's Balls

After getting a late start (and some extra sleep :)) we started the day off at Capouto's Deli where we enjoyed some wonderful food and world class chocolate--Andi and Ken bought us a taste of Amedei 9 (voted the best chocolate in the world) and Devil's Balls. Then we headed to Temple square to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Here we were lead on a guided tour by two of the sisters which included a giant statue of Jesus that spoke to us. I think that we were all a little overwhelmed but intrigued by the religious expression we saw at the "meca" of the Mormon church. The old, intricate buildings, statues and pictures of prophets, giant murals, and the long skirts worn by all the woman of the church stuck out to me as we toured.
From Temple Square we rushed to catch a sneak peak showing of Outrage, a movie about closeted politicians, at an independent theater. We were all struck by the contrast of the two major activities. As we sat down to eat some delicious Thai food at a cute local restaurant we talked about how once again a city had surpassed our expectations and forced us to take it out of the box that we had put it in our minds. Personally, I used to view Salt Lake City as one-dimensional because of its role in the Mormon church. However, it was very inspiring to see how individuals like the owner of Capouto's and some of the people we spoke to at the film had created diverstiy and culture in this city. It made me think about the not so distant future when I may or may not have a lot of options about where I am living and working. And how ideally, I would be able to pick a city that I loved and work there but realistically it may come down to moving wherever there are jobs. I was inspired that the people living there refuse to let one dimension of their people dominate their culture. Salt Lake City demonstrated a very new and refreshing way of looking at community.