It’s officially summer in the land of eternal summer!

Dear all,

Happy Summer!  I’m officially half-way finished with my Masters Degree (I took my last final exam yesterday) and am ringing in the first day of summer with a blog entry:).  Summer has become a relative term.  Today, it’s about 80 degrees outside and it feels cold.  Perhaps this is because of the 100 plus degree week we had last week.  Despite my complaining, though, I am starting to get used to the heat.  When I walked out today and realized the actual temperature and how cold I felt, it was a bit disconcerting–80 degrees should never feel cold.  Wait til we get to India…

The past week has been a typical, good week.  Our English class potluck went wonderfully!  I was extremely nervous that no one was going to bring any dishes besides Yoshie and me, but as it turns out the concept of “potluck” bridges cultural gaps!  Everyone made a dish specific to their home country (I brought cupcakes that “tasted like America,” says Yoshie, to represent the good ole US of A) and the food was delicious!  Yoshie made a SPAM sushi that is very popular in San Francisco.  It’s the only SPAM I’ve ever tasted that I liked!  We had dishes from Mongolia, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia.  And, the best part, every lady was able to tell us how they made it–in ENGLISH!  I think they surprised themselves with how much English they knew.  What a wonderful class day!

The Western Niceties Seminar was a good time!  It was actually a Japanese Bible Study Coffee House that I went to with Yoshie and Hozumi where I also learned Western Niceties.  Despite being Western, I actually learned quite a bit because we discussed European customs.  After the presentation, I went to the presenter and told her how much I had learned.  She looked at me and denied it and said I should have known everything she said.  I then informed her that I am, indeed, an American and we don’t have the same customs.  “Well, that explains it.”  She said.  “You Americans and your air kisses.  It’s a whole different level.”  Whether that level is up or down, I’m not sure.  I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say that it is up!  After years of Cotillion, I should think that!

On Friday, I volunteered at the nursing home with church.  This particular facility is home to 13 ladies as old as 91 years of age!  The only problem was, none of them spoke English.  And, I don’t speak Cantonese or Mandarin.  After singing some church songs in Mandarin (I did my best to hum the tune) and listening to a testimony in Chinese (the staff was kind enough to translate for me), we had lunch with them.  The food was incredible–all traditional Chinese food including vinegar pork and eggs that are traditionally eaten by a mother after a child is born.  There are lots of links between food and health benefits here–more so than the calories consumed!  As I was leaving and shaking hands with each of the old ladies, they each tried to speak some English to me, as I used what broken Chinese I know to try to communicate with them.  One lady grabbed my hand with both of hers and kept repeating “happy happy happy.”  It was the sweetest thing.  Another of the ladies wished me a Happy Birthday (it wasn’t my birthday;).  Many of them said thank you and smiled at me.  It was yet another lesson that language doesn’t have to be a barrier.  I had a wonderful morning with those ladies even though we only exchanged ten mutually understood words.

Sorry for the short entry, but other than economics and technology finals with a few highlights thrown in, I have relatively little to report.  John and I are leaving for Bangalore, India tomorrow night!  I’m sooooo excited!!!!!:)  We’ll be sure to have lots of adventures to report from our trip.  Check back soon!!!!!

Miss you all,

CB