halfway point

time really flies. i've been here for 6 months already -that's half a year! i don't even know what i did, besides working 6 days/week, shopping, and eating sushi. i really need to make better use of my time.

i just received 4 calling cards from my parents, and oh it's been SO good. i got to talk to efu twice this week already!:) she helped me put things into perspective...and at this point, things could go either way. even if i were to return home, things wouldn't be the way they were before, and i would still have to find a new community, etc.

so here i am, 6 months later, open to the possibility of staying here, and uncertain about returning home.

craaaaaaaaaaazy.

6 weeks and 4 days

that's how long i lasted before i got homesick-it's practically a record.

i don't know what it was..maybe spending time with my relatives on friday, maybe realizing that my best friends are at least a 4.5hr plane ride away. despite having an incredibly fun week and going out almost every night, it finally hit me, especially with the cards/packages in the mail and texts on my birthday.

don't get me wrong, i had fun on my birthday and my friends were incredibly sweet and spoiled me..it was just missing my family-friends i got to know over the last 4 years who became closer than my actual family. they taught me how to love like Christ, encouraged and supported me endlessly, and spurred me on in my walk with Him by being brutally honest with me.

they made it extremely difficult for me to leave and make new friends over here. even with all the communication technology that makes it easy to keep in touch, nothing can ever replace being with them in person.

God has blessed me with awesome (and very interesting) new friends here, so i'm slowly warming up to them and i try to focus on all the amazing things He's blessed me with here...

it's just that sometimes i can't help but wish they were here to experience BC with me too.

one random monday

as promised, Min took me out around Vancouver this past monday, along with her high school friend, Ting, and her friend, Mike, visiting from San Fran.

we went to Memphis Blues for lunch, and it was pretty good for what it was, but i'm not a huge fan of the southern-style food (re: bbq/deep fried).

then we went snowshoeing on Cypress-my first time on the mountain in the winter!:D

my snowshoes!

lumberjack dude:

climbing up a 90 degree hill

the view was amazing. those are the clouds and the ocean.

10 degrees celsius

that is today's high. yesterday it was 7 degrees, and it felt like spring was just around the corner, with sunshine and clear blue skies! in the middle of WINTER! i can hardly believe it myself. i'm so excited for spring and summer, cause it's going to be gorgeous here. and cherry blossoms in march!

but i haven't gone snowboarding here yet. i know it's crazy, but it requires time and $$, both of which i don't have much of.

my first dinner party

since my roommie went back to china for a few weeks, i decided to invite some friends over for dinner, as a way of thanking them for helping me integrate into churchlife here. they're the closest friends i have here.

it's been a weird experience having to make new friends everywhere-at the internship, work, and church, but it's turned out pretty well, in spite of my shyness.

so let me introduce you to the people who made BC feel like home for me..

Ji-Hae: older sister of Min-Hye, i first met her at our community group. she had just returned to Vancouver after 2 years of doing her master's @Columbia, so she was sort of 'new' and re-integrating, finding her way in BC again..sort of like me, so i didn't feel totally alone in making new friends.:P too bad she might be leaving again soon, to do her PhD somewhere in the states. such a smart girl. she also has a permanent smile on her face so it's very easy to talk to her. but she is not a fan of the camera...

Marie: we first met during a girls' dinner that lasted for 4 hours. and then she asked if i wanted to be a hair model for her friend's interview. she has a big family, i just remember she has 4 sisters. and a brother? her parents are atypical asian parents, which may account for her weirdness. she's invited me to her house twice, and there's always something going on:) she always has something to say/can't stop talking hahah but she's also very sai sum. she's

always ready to jump into something new/crazy.

Min-Hye: also met her at CG, she was one of the few girls there. she was very polite, and after getting to know her better, she talks about the most random things and thinks creatively. she loves cats, and wants to be a vet. i've met a lot of other people through her because she's super friendly and sociable. my first girlfriend in BC lol. i stuck to her like glue at first, so much so that people thought she was the one who brought me to New Joy, when it was actually someone else.

Wilson: the one who brought me to CG first and then New Joy. he was a random contact of Alex's, originally from TO, and we first met in the upper parking lot @Richmond Center to go to dinner before CG. it was surprisingly not awkward, but more like i was catching up with an old friend. he even paid for dinner, which was completely unexpected since we were still strangers, but he told me that other people did that for him when he first came here, so he wanted to do the same. he has wisdom beyond his years.

can't forget about the foood:

smoked salmon on romaine lettuce

stuffed potatoes (green onion + real bacon)

beef short ribs and bacon-wrapped scallops (in the middle-they weren't as pretty as the other dishes)

and meringue cookies for dessert

and as always, i had much help from chef steve in preparing this delicious meal, thanks!:P

pictures

i love them. for all that they can capture-whether it be planned or spontaneous-they immortalize a moment in time and take you back every time you look at them. you remember the time, the place, the atmosphere, the emotions surrounding that moment, and you can practically re-live that experience again.

after looking through a friend's recently updated pictures and video clips from last year, it really made my heart ache for all the things that were a part of my life in the last four years. not to say that i've lost friends-God gave me friendships that will last through eternity- but some were meant to exist only within that context.

i miss that life i had in waterloo. lccf, the spontaneity and freedom, the many firsts. through serving God and studying together, i learned how to share my life deeply with people other than my family.

however much i miss those times in university, i know that they cannot be replicated no matter how much i wish for it. the dynamics and connections have changed since, and though we can try, they can never return to their original state.

that's probably why i cherish photos so much-because pictures stay the same, regardless of time and changing circumstances. but i think i've come to accept the way things are now, which likely played a major part in dismantling my homesickness. even after being home for 2.5 weeks, i didn't get homesick (as i expected) when i returned to the west coast. for those who've known me since first year, that's a huge deal.

it's strange to watch those videos again..it's a taste of home, and yet it's not anymore-it just resides in the back of our minds now, but i'll always remember.

work = fun? o_O

i had to pick up a part time job here while doing my internship at the same time, since i don't get paid otherwise, so i've been working at a clothing store in the mall for the past 4 months where i made some new friends. that definitely made things a lot more .... interesting. from making nina try on the ugliest clothes in the store to me going on food runs during my 4.5hr shift...makes working fun. too bad stupid karen had to quit :(

good thing i just happened to have my camera with me tonight..this is some of the idiocy that occurs after the store closes:

i wasn't allowed to post on fb.