Trip to LX

Today our team went to visit the campus at LX... out near 6th RR, and it really is in the boonies! Nothing around except for open land and pollution. The campus was great, because it reminded me of schools back in the states: Lots of large open areas, a few buildings gathered here and there, students walking in pairs here to there...

S and I met a lot of girls today by rushing one of the dorm buildings... We got at least 50 contacts for the LX team today. Woo hoo! I'm exhausted, but decided to make the trip out to SIT for internet, since tomorrow is a full Day with Dad.

We had an awesome Mid-Autumn Festival party on Saturday! We had more than 40 students gather with their moon cakes, and share about the holiday. Pretty much every student there had at least a short account of the Good News shared with them that night. I met a minority girl, and she already knew so much about it! Thank you for rapping for us!

I found out through an email from my dad yesterday that my grandmother passed away two days ago. I feel fine, actually relieved, because she had been suffering from multiple ailments for a really long time. It was taking a toll on my family as well, so we are glad that she is finally at rest now. Please keep my family in your minds through the aftermath.

I went for a run today, because I started training for the BJ Marathon. I will be running the 10K for the first time! I am very excited, and am nervous about the distance, but I will train my best, and hopefully be prepared for the task at hand! The race is in a month, so it should be enough time to get in shape.

My sister and I


Hee hee...

Watermelon Bash

My new roommate/teammates. Aren't they sweet?


After a harrowing day at IKEA, our brothers brought us some beautiful flowers to soothe our frazzled nerves.

Our party yesterday was a success! At least 50 girls showed up, played some games, and ate some sweet, juicy watermelon together.




It's been tough to adjust to the new team... new people, new personalities. I realized that I still have so much room to grow and learn in terms of people and relationships. Please rap for wisdom, love, and patience on my part in dealing with my teammates.

A Photogenic City

You know, when the weather is decent, BJ becomes a very photogenic city. We've had some incredible weather recently, as aforementioned, and here are some updates on how things have been while I've been back.





People who know where this is also know that this is an incredibly rare site... :)














Daybreak in our beautiful city...











Yesterday we got to go watch some wheelchair basketball, and I must say it is a truly inspiring thing to watch. The skill, bravery, and honor of these men and women inspire me to take what life gives to me and make some tasty lemonade. How about you? I highly recommend watching some of the events of the Paralympics on TV, and be inspired yourself... and maybe see me in the stands at some of the events! :)

Also, note that none of these photos have been touched up in any way! These blue skies are for REAL!

Note: I just realized that today is 9.11, and wanted to reflect on the events that happened 7 years ago. I recently watched some of a documentary on this momentous event on the National Geographic channel, and all the emotions of incredible sorrow, horror, fascination, anger, and outrage came rushing back to me in a span of seconds. How could this have happened? Are humans really capable of evil to this extent? How could I be safe at home, watching from the comfort of my living room couch, when people were being crushed by buildings, suffocating on dust and smoke, and being burned alive by airplane fuel? My mind and heart pounded with these unnerving thoughts.

And then the stories of heroic saves, self-sacrificing acts of kindness, and unconditional patriotism made me believe in humanity again. The stories of countless fire fighters, policemen, everyday white-collar workers, mothers, fathers, husbands, uncles, volunteers, random strangers coming together in the face of unspeakable tragedy to collectively empathize, sympathize, and throw their bodies into the recovery efforts. It made my mind and heart pound again, but with pride, appreciation, a yearning to be one with other Americans in this collective arm around the shoulder of lower Manhattan.

And my heart still pounds today. Father, bring peace to our hearts this day.

Signing off,

LovingEA

It's good to be back home...

Hello, family and friends. I am back home, and it feels so good. Soundtrack right now: "Through the Dark" by KT Tunstall. I feel settled, like I am back in my place. LA is still my hometown, and life seems good there, but I know that there is no place in the world that feels right right now but here in EA.

We've had some incredible weather this past week, and that's just another one of those quirks about this place that I love: unpredictable weather. I've gotten darker here in this past week than the two months I've spent in Korea and LA combined. Oh well, it'll fade by December anyways, so what's the point? :)

The Paralympics are starting today, and we've got tickets! We will be watching "goal ball", a game like handball, but for the seeing impaired... cool, huh? We also got tickets to men's and women's basketball, so I'll be posting up pictures from those events soon.

We've settled into our new apartment (3 Midwest girls, 1 EA intern, and me), a spacious 3 bed 2 bath apartment right next door to the guys' apartment. I'll take some pictures soon and post those up too :).

Another crazy fact! My roommate (the EA intern) got engaged last night! She is positively glowing these days, and I am so happy for her, though I do have concerns because of her age (22), and the fact that she wants to get married this winter, in the middle of her interning year. Please rap for her and her fiance, that they will act in wisdom, and that I can be a good support for her as well.

Freshmen move in on Monday... and the craziness will begin!

Always,
lovingEA