Days 45 - 52: Short Recaps - Guy Fawkes Day, CU, Malaysian Food

Here are some study abroad recaps (long overdue...)!  Unfortunately, my memory can only go so far...so I'm going to have to update what I did on weekends rather than each individual day (that's more reasonable), unless I happened to have extraordinary happenings on a weekday!

I'll begin in the first week of November (which is where I left off from last study abroad related post).

To recap, I had broken my camera on the last weekend of October, when my friends from Penn had come to visit for Halloween in Cardiff.  I bought a new camera (which was such a necessity in my travels) sometime during the early first week of November.  Here I was testing it out on Day 45 (Thursday, November 4, 2010):

This is a picture of English Breakfast that I had at Cafe 10 at the Student Union with Alisha.

During the first weekend of November, we had plans to celebrate Guy Fawkes' Day while staying in the area, so on Friday, we had just stayed in Cardiff (a very rare weekend indeed)...

Thus, on Day 46 (Friday, November 5, 2010) Alisha and I allegedly (from what I can tell through pictures, at least) made dinner and ate Crepes for dessert (too typical).  Here's a picture of one of our 23974987293487 crepes that we made in the 3 month period:

Crepe with Nutella & Banana = Small Heaven

I miss how cheap Nutella was there!

Day 47 (Saturday, November 6, 2010):

I believe both Alisha and I had some sort of essay due the following week, so we were hard at work in that for the majority of the Saturday.  At night, we headed to Caerphilly Castle to see fireworks in honor of Guy Fawkes Day!

Fireworks at a castle! Almost too good to be true...

It was absolutely gorgeous!  Alisha, DeeDee and I went to Caerphilly via train (which was absolutely NUTS because there was a rugby match in Cardiff - apparently it is not advisable to travel on a Rugby day in Wales).  We had a blanket with us and some champagne to enjoy - it was almost like a mini 4th of July celebration.

I still find their celebration of Guy Fawkes Day a bit strange.  It's like, "oh hey, this guy tried to blow up Parliament but failed, so let's celebrate!"...although, I guess during the first anniversary of the event, they celebrated it, and then it just ended up sticking throughout the years.  It *still* reminded me a lot of our Independence Day (4th of July) celebrations, which is slightly ironic since we, as Americans, are celebrating our Declaration of Independence from the British...

(Anyway - going back to my adventures):

I felt terrible because Suwei and her boyfriend (who was visiting Cardiff that weekend) were supposed to join us, but they had just boarded the train to Caerphilly from Cardiff Central when the fireworks just ended :(  They ended up coming to join us when we were at a cafe enjoying hot drinks after the fireworks.

Dee Dee and I shared this "delux hot chocolate" drink which was heavenly:

Can you say 'omnomnom'?

Afterwards, we had to wait a very long time for the train.  It was....an interesting experience because there were a bunch of preteens/early teenagers who were waiting for the train at the same time.  They were clearly drunk and rowdy.  I remember missing America so much at this point, since we tend to have strictly enforced curfew laws with underaged teenagers.  At one point, they jumped onto the bench that Suwei and I were sitting at, causing us to have to move...it was just really ridiculous.  That is one thing I definitely don't miss about the UK.

On Day 48 (Sunday, November 7, 2010), I was definitely in Cardiff and must have gone to church for the first time in ages!  I went to CCCC, which was the church that I ended up sticking with for the rest of my time abroad (and during the limited Sundays that I was there).  I remember really enjoying the service there and feeling part of a community even though...I can count how many times I actually went there for Sunday service.  Nevertheless, I was happy that I was finally able to attend a Sunday sermon!

(Skipping a couple of days)...

Day 51 (Wednesday, November 10, 2010) was a typical day after classes because the Christian Union's weekly meeting was on that day.  While I was abroad, I went to CU meetings almost every Wednesday, where we typically did worship and heard a message.  After CU, a couple of the girls and I headed to the park in front of Cardiff City Hall because Winter Wonderland was opening that night!

Unfortunately, we came too late and missed the fireworks (which I heard wasn't that great anyway), but we did end up taking some pictures in front of the lit ferris wheel!

I remember that it was really exciting to see the ferris wheel and other stuff being lit up because we had seen the preparations for the opening of Winter Wonderland in the past few weeks!  Due to time constraints, I never ended up actually going into Winter Wonderland...but it was nice walking by it everyday :)  The Bute building (where all my classes were) was within 3 minute walking distance from the Winter Wonderland, so I got to see it all the time (even though I never actually went inside...)

Day 52 (Thursday, November 11, 2010):


After classes, I went to CCCC ESF meeting (Cardiff Chinese Christian Church, English Student Fellowship) that occurs every Thursday night as per usual.  This time though, Suwei and Connie were cooking a Malaysian dinner for me and Joanna (a BBC - British Born Chinese)!  It was SO YUMMY.

My first time having Malaysian food, and I must say, they set the standards pretty high :)

Blogging about this while I'm already back in the States makes me miss the girls so, so, so much.  It's really amazing how easily bonds are formed in such a short amount of time.  I'm so thankful that God placed each and every one of those amazing sisters in my life :)

The weekend that followed this meal was spent in Edinburgh, where I invoked on an adventure BY MYSELF to join Alisha and Alana who were already in Scotland (they had the entire week off as 'reading week'...I didn't :( ).  More on that to come very soon!

Yay for updates!

Thoughts thoughts thoughts

February 26, 2011

Gasp.

New post?

I think I'm returning this blog to what it was before I went abroad - a place for lots of venting and frustration in the midst of Penn's craziness.

I'm really sad that I never got around to updating the rest of my study abroad craziness... BUT!  I'm returning to LA this coming Friday for Spring Break and there is hope that I will (finally) get around to posting pictures and stories from abroad, although they'd most likely be in an abridged version.

I can't remember why I opened my blog (and this blogpost) right now, but excuse the confused jumble of thoughts that might come out from reading the rest of this post.

I think this semester has confirmed just how quickly our lives can change within a matter of days hours  minutes seconds.  We might be happy and content one second, only to be completely shattered the next by a phone call, an email, or someone walking in through the door.  The opposite is also true, of course (so as to not make this a super emo post).

Friendships have been broken, mended, and broken again.  Same mistakes have occurred, even after vowing not to repeat.  There have been lots of happiness and new developments on a variety of levels.  My return to Penn was definitely not a smooth ride thus far.

It's surprising how quickly we can adapt to change.  Recalling back to last year around this time, I realized that so much has changed - within myself, in my relationships with others, in my walk with God.  And once again, I'm realizing that what really matters is perspective.

There was a moment last week when I thought quite depressingly about how quickly things have changed, and how we virtually have no control over what's going to happen to us next - then I realized that I could really turn that around and instead be super excited over what God has in store for me in the next few weeks days hours minutes seconds.  I'll never know when He chooses to bring a complete random stranger in my life, only to have that person develop fully into someone I appreciate and love.

And He remains so everlasting, my constant, my rock, my redeemer.

Once again, I'm learning that I can only hold onto Him in this ever-changing world.

Friends are like wine

I had forgotten how wonderful you are and how time and time after you've proven yourself to be so important in my life.

You ALWAYS know the right thing to say at the exact moment.  We've grown to know each other so well that with one look, you know when something's up.

You know me inside out.  And we've bickered and even stopped talking once.

But now we've matured and so has our friendship.

I used to always wonder what I meant in your life - since I tend to be a very expressive person and you completely opposite of me, I always doubted whether you cared, whether there was something more than just convenience between us.

Time and time over, you are there when I need you the most.  And you totally have the ability to make me soft when I feel at my worst.

And above all, you remember.  You remember the struggles that I went through.  You remember the little details.  You, you, you.

I am so blessed to have you in my life.

Thinking back...

In the onset of Easter having been today (technically yesterday), I have been thinking lately a lot of how grateful I am for all that God has provided for me this semester.

Since I have such a short-term memory and I will forget so many things if I do not write it down, here I go, with a random list of things I am so blessed with.

• Being at Penn, as much as I used to hate it. It has granted me so many opportunities previously unheard of in my life.
  
• The "group" that has developed in my life that greatly represents the role Acadeca used to serve in high school.
• The very fact that I was able to walk into a church and celebrate Easter freely.
• Midnight walks with friends.
• Spontaneous moments in the middle of the night (smoothies, anyone? Pumpkins?)
• Texts in the middle of the day/night that make me laugh. like crazy.
• Late-night chats with various. :)
• ^Having someone that yells at me for having friends over late ("Gosh I feel like your dad or something") =)
  
• Sharing music. And lots of laughter.
• Being able to organize events like the Big/Little Tie-Dye. Such a blessing to have such an opportunity.
• Being able to write colorful e-mails to send to the APO listserv ;)
• Being able to double major in completely different fields.
• Having people around the clock to talk to, to study with.
• Coffee breaks <3 with lovelies.
• APO Fambam, because they changed literally everything this semester for me.
• Ridiculously long conversations on Facebook photos/statuses that keep me up late at night, procrastinating, but provide the smiles that are really needed sometimes.

And the list probably can go on forever. Life is really filled with the small things that make you smile :) And I really hope to strive to appreciate every single moment God provides in my life.

Thankful.

There are so many things to be thankful for, even when I'm at my worst.

I am realizing that more and more this semester - more like God is teaching me that more and more.

The past few days - the first few days since Spring Break - have been really odd for some reason. They have been characterized by various panic attacks as I obsessed over a paper and a midterm coming up on the same day; a friendly reminder that I was back at Penn, not at home where I had, for a week, pretended that responsibilities did not exist (on various levels, but academic being a huge part of it).

It's funny to think that it's only Wednesday (err, Thursday), and therefore it has been like, 3.5 days since I had come back - yet, I feel like I went through enough emotional Up's and Down's to last an entire semester.

But I think that things have changed a lot since last semester.

Namely, I found a group that resembles a lot of the high school friends I have back at home; friends I can laugh about stupid things with, stay up all night chatting with, and provide a support mechanism that is so needed in this kind of an environment.

Today, as I fluctuated between my modes, I found myself in friends' arms as much as I had on a typical day in high school.

There's nothing like the warmth that a good hug brings. And I am so, so thankful to have so many good huggers in my life.

Another point of reflection: I really, really need to learn to love people, even at their worst.