I Hate Being Sick

Thanks for all the prayers, guys! I can breathe through my nose and I think I'm finally healthy again!

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Hey Guys,

I promise I'll post a more substantial blog next time, but I just want to ask for your prayers right now because I'm really sick. My entire flat is sick, literally 6 out of the 8 people living on my floor are sick and I've been nursing a cold for four days.

I have a sore throat, runny nose, headache, coughing, wheezing, clogged ears, the whole shebang. I started having a bloody nose literally 5 minutes ago because I've been blowing my nose so much. It's awful being sick so I would love it if you guys could pray for me! I might have to take advantage of this free NHS soon because I am absolutely miserable.

But God > NHS so please pray for me!

I apologize for the graphic nature of this photo.

Bloody Nose Beka

Loosen up, chump

I learned today that I need to be less serious. About things in general, i think. Here's the interesting part though, you want to know how this lesson was brought upon me?

I was hit by a BUS.

That's right. A flipping double decker Magic Bus. I was walking back to campus on Oxford Road - the main street connecting the University to the City Centre - when i heard a sudden loud, sustained honk and before i knew it, an unknown object slapped me on the back of my head. Turns out, the bus driver was going much faster than he realized and accidentally swiped me while attempting to stop. After I recovered, I looked up for a second and saw the bus driver. he was saying something to me, but the bus door was closed so obviously i couldn't understand a word. For a second, even, i thought he was yelling at me. The nerve! so in response i just raised my hand up in a "don't worry about it chump" kind of way and kept on walking.

I didn't really want to make a deal out of it because (1) it didn't really hurt and (2) i didn't want to be exposed of my international, naive nature. A few minutes, later, however, and the honking monster was back. This time in small, spurted honks. The man was stalking me, i swear! Anyway, i looked up, and got a little more annoyed. The driver was motioning me to come over and at this point i was really nervous because i thought he wanted to have a tiff with me. Anyway, i walked into the bus and to my surprise he asked me, "you alright mate?"

"yeah," i said
"listen, i'm sorry about that, i'll give you a free ride. Where are ya headin?"

It was just one or two blocks to where i needed go, so the ride wasn't terribly awkward. On the bus i heard various snickers and a "i woulda busted ma head!" among the crowd, but that's about it. In retrospect, however, it made me realize that i need to have more humor regarding my life and those around me. Not in a way that puts myself or others down, but one that is more receptive towards other people and the comedy that surrounds our life. Anyway, the point is i was changed. sort of. after being hit by a bus. now that doesn't happen every day, does it?

American in Manchester

Hello loves,

And so begins my first legit post on this blog... This is my second day in the city of Manchester. Where to begin.

I actually started typing this blog about 3-4 hours ago. A lot has happened, however, in that span of time and I feel the need to explain to you the drastic change that occurred. You see, 3-4 hours ago I was in my room holding my trembling hand frozen on my flat room door handle. 3-4 hours ago I was disappointed with my stay so far and unimpressed by what England had to offer. 3-4 hours ago I stopped this post after two sentences not because of how much I had to say but because of the disheartening feeling that I had too little...

So there I was, holding my door handle like a mannequin, frozen in apprehension and social anxiety. You see, in front of me, connected to that handle is the heavy steel door of my single dorm room. And beyond that door, three voices. The first I met yesterday morning. It belongs to a fellow who goes by the name Adam. A scrawny freshman from Wales who is obsessed with Heath Ledger's version of the Joker. He showed me pictures of a surprisingly convincing costume he did of the Joker for a Halloween party. Adam also makes great pasta.

The other two, however, remain faceless. And while it would seem normal to try and meet the other two (which I still very much plan on doing), I hope you guys can understand the justification for my anxiety in that they were actually talking about me on the other side of the door. And here's when I start overthinking things, because I began wondering what I needed to do to change their first impressions and also when to enter into the conversation. I know, it's really quite overdramatic.

Anyway, in the end, after 5 minutes of self-debating and mad prayer, I decided to trust God and open the door. The justification was that (1) I was overthinking things (2) one of my goals for studying abroad was to meet people, so I might as well start now and (3) I really didn't want to stay in my room all night. Fyi, by now the conversation had ended, and only Adam was there with his door open. After a quick convo, he invited me to a pub, and that's where my opinion of Manchester completely changed...

I have a feeling I'm going to love this place. The pub, to be honest, wasn't very exciting. I think we went too early, so there were just a few students working on their laptops and a few groups of older customers chatting away. It's there that I tried my first Lager. It was a Carling (their motto is "Britain's Number One Lager"). Surprisingly, it wasn't as strong as I thought it would be. The more I drank it, though, the more bitter it became. I think I drank about half of the pint before I couldn't go on. Hopefully I'll develop a taste for it throughout this semester. On the other hand, Adam told me about Strongbow Cider - essentially, an alcoholic beverage made from apples! i'm definitely trying it next time.

Anyway, the exciting part began when we left the pub in search of something more interesting. In the end we decided to take a bus down to the City Centre. We took a bus for about 15 minutes, got off, and walked around in a fantastically wonderful European city. Impressive modern architecture intermixed with beautiful architecture of old. Massive amounts of people wandering around its massive shopping center. We walked around for about 2 hours and touched on every niche of European life I thought existed. There were your local pubs where the locals stare you down if they don't like the look of you. Then there was Canal Street, where the C and S are cleverly crossed out if you're wondering what goes on there. I'll really have to take pictures next time I'm down there, because it came as an absolutely lovely (british lingo) surprise to me. While the university is a nice, quaint campus, the city centre is the European hub i was hoping for in the back of my mind. Manchester is the perfect balance, and I'm completely thankful to God that he's helping me adapt here.

im chinese!!

hello IV!

hope everyone is doing well! here is a reflection i wrote on being asian in South Africa. hope u find it interesting! miss u guys!!

Rows and rows of primary schoolchildren neatly dressed in blue sweaters and dark slacks or skirts lined up in the parking lot outside their school, waiting for their teachers to lead them back inside. Our vans were parked in this lot, and we walked right by the children on our way to the van. The children seemed friendly and curious, and several of us waved and called out greetings: “Molweni bhuti! Moloweni sisi!” I made eye-contact with several of the children, and they looked quite surprised when I spoke to them in Xhosa. They giggled and waved back and whispered amongst themselves. Several of the boys pointed at me and made martial-arts style moves and “kung-fu” sounds. One brave young boy, one of the main karate experts, sidled up to the van and shyly responded to my queries in broken Xhosa. By the time our van pulled away, my new friend and I were giving each other thumbs up and waving enthusiastically until we could no longer see each other.

The schoolchildren’s reaction to my race caught me off-guard, but it was not entirely unexpected. Asians aren’t very populous in this African country, and Xhosa-speaking children in primary school can’t be expected to have had a wide exposure to other cultures. The kids most likely grew up in black townships where there are even fewer Asians than in Capetown in general. The kung-fu moves and karate sounds that would have been offensive and racist in America were borne more out of ignorance than anything else. It would be safe to assume that the only exposure the kids have had to Asian people has been through the media, and the only representation of Asians in mainstream media is in martial arts movies. Most Americans can’t even name an internationally famed actor or actress not named Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or Jet Li. The kids, then, were simply repeating what they saw on TV, as kids often do.

To their credit, the children weren’t afraid to express their curiosity and engage with me in the short time we had together. The little boy who closed the gap between the ranks of school children and our vans was bridging a gap to a culture that probably seemed worlds away to him. Through our simple conversation in Xhosa, we forged a connection that was evident by the energetic waves and smiles that continued long after our van pulled away. Although I was still the stranger, the pale woman with straight, dark hair and laughable Xhosa, I was no longer just a kung-fu move or martial-arts fighter. Most of the karate boys continued to throw pretend-kicks and punches at the van, but my new friend gave me the thumbs-up and smiled and waved good-bye.

This experience was one of the first encounters I’ve had in South Africa where I was specifically singled out because of my race. While our SIT group of Americans usually attracts attention wherever we go, I alone was picked out of the group by the children. When I first saw the “karate moves” and sounds, there was a split-second of discomfort, a moment where my smile fell and my hand faltered mid-wave. I have rarely in my life been confronted so forcefully with a stereotype of who I am, of the fact that I am Chinese and different than everyone else around me. But while this confrontation was sudden and disturbing, I also realized that these kids did not mean to be hurtful and racist. They were mostly seven or eight years old. They have not been exposed to Asians and Asian cultures, and I was just very strange and new to them. I felt then, almost a responsibility to show them I was just another human being, that there was more to me than kung-fu kicks. I can’t say with any certainty that I made any effect on their conscious perceptions of Asians, but I do hope that my short conversation with the little karate expert gave him one personal experience, one human connection with a person who happens to be of Asian descent, that will contribute to the breakdown of Asian stereotypes in South Africa. For my part, I learned not to be too sensitive to potentially racist stereotypes and to understand it more as lack of knowledge and ignorance, ignorance that I feel compelled to help change.

Glasgow Update

Hi Everyone!

Here's my Glasgow update on what's been going on with me thus far.

Weather
It rains a LOT and it's pretty cold, around 57F. When it's not actually pouring, there's a consistently falling mist. I always carry my umbrella with me because I never know when it's going to start raining. There hasn't been one day it hasn't rained yet. I thought I had lost my umbrella yesterday and I was so worried but I found it at the restaurant I had eaten at the day before! My umbrella is my most prized possession right now.

Accommodations
I live in a student apartment that's right smack in the middle of campus. My roomie is Hannah Guerrier and she's so sweet =]. Our room is huge, like 300 square feet but it's really slanted... like the ground is slanted down so sometimes my drawers open automatically and sometimes my pens slide right off my desk... It's really weird because it's an "apartment" but it's like living in a dorm, because we share our kitchen with the rest of our floor, and we only have 2 toilets and 2 showers for like 7 rooms. Also, we're here early because we're international students so we have orientation but some other people have begun to move in to our floor... but they're all guys. It's a little strange, especially when I first came out of the bathroom and saw there was an English chap in the bathroom right next to me. His name is Alex, he's cool though. Our heating hasn't started working yet, this is the worst part. I sit at my desk wrapped in a comforter because it's so cold.

This is the SUPER STEEP hill from the main road up to my apartment. I hate making this trek because I'm the laziest bum ever.

Food
Glaswegians love to deep fry everything. If you can batter it, they can fry it. They serve fries, or "chips" with EVERY single dish. I haven't had much green on my plate, mostly brown and gold. They have a lot of curry restaurants (yum) and small fish and chips places. Everything is so expensive so I really need to start cooking. Luckily the dollar has strengthened a bit so I can afford to live here, hahaha.

Campus
The campus really reminds me of Duke. It's all done with gothic architecture so everything kind of looks the same. It's very pretty and VERY green though!

Look! Duke chapel!

This looks like Crowell quad to me.

This is me and my roomie, Hannah, under the arches!

Nightlife
Pubs abound in Glasgow and everyone here loves to drink, but it's not like how Americans do it. Glaswegians order like one pint (still really big) and sip it all night and chat and stuff. I went to a pub the other night to watch Andy Murray play Federer in the US Open finals (Murray's from Scotland) and it was pretty fun. This one guy there with his girlfriend was talking to us and he was hilarious and when we were leaving he grabbed me by the head and surprised me so much when he kissed my eye. I think he was a wee bit tipsy.

Academics
Classes don't start until September 22. I'm trying to plan my schedule where I only have class Tuesdays through Thursdays... it is semi-successful. We'll have to see. Hopefully my classes aren't too hard, but at least they're pass/fail on my Duke transcript except this one seminar. I'm planning on taking this mandatory Duke class, two politics classes and an English class. Some people here are taking bagpiping, hahaha, that's awesome.

Travel Plans
I've already booked tickets to Rome for Thanksgiving weekend to see some Duke friends. Me and the other Glasgow Dukies are also going to London next week, all expenses paid, for some orientation thing which should be fun. I think the IV people in Europe are thinking about going to Brussels to meet up together... more planning on this later, hahaha.

Anyhoo, I'll definitely update once classes are under way and I've settled in a bit more. I miss you all a lot!

Beka

bongiorno!

my roommate brings all the boys to the yard

that's right.

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hello everyone!

i've been reading about your awesome trips through your blogs, and i felt so left out! but i'm finally in venice and I'm already having a blast!

i found my way from the airport somehow- by boat of course- and i think it's safe to say i'm kind of a pro now. we live on our own island with all of our professors (they will regret that once I get going with essays) and all of our classes are about a 2 minute walk away! the island is basically out of a painting- incredibly beautiful. it used to be a benedictine monastery once upon a time, and it was converted into a madhouse until it became a university! some of the crazies are still walking around in disguise. i know it. 

there's also tons of "interesting" (to be politically correct when I really mean gross) modern art around the campus. at night they make noises. last night, i walked by a giant bean and it growled at me. there are also these red tulips that make a ticking sound- like a clock. one falls over every day. i can't wait until they all fall over. my interpretation: death.

moving on. my roommate is precious! her name is sachko and she lives in japan. obvi, i call her sach.

the program is international, so students here are from all over the world! not to sound like the campus culture initiative, but i think it will bring a unique perspective to the classroom. i <3>

classes start monday, but i wish they started ages ago. i've been dying to go to class and write papers.

i'm attaching some pictures we took yesterday to 1. make you jealous, and 2. convince you to visit me!

ciao! con amore di italia,

nat

New York, New York

Hey guys,

Just wanted everyone to know about/check out my NY reflection. It's on FB and you can find it here:

http://www.new.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=24004414189

Cheers!

Hey Everyone!

Hey everyone...sorry I haven't been keeping up, but it's been busy since China. I'm sitting in the BC (don't you miss the smell of McDonald's, which will soon be mixed with the smells of Panda Express...yummm...). China was really cool, but I feel your pain with traveling. I had a 16-hour flight from JFK to hong kong. It had really nice entertainment, but the only way to "recline" was to sort of slide your seat forward, which just jammed my knees into the next seat. Then like a 3-hour flight to Xi'an. We stayed there for a few days, not too much jet lag, and then took a 36-hour sleeper train ride (yep Amy, 6 people per compartment) and then a 24-hour train ride to get to our main city. And then, after three weeks, we did it all in reverse. Mix that with squatty potties, eating some dog, and seeing God work in some really cool ways, and China was certainly interesting.

It's been really good to read about how you've all been. Thanks for posting soooo much! Quick IV update: Large group has started off well in WHITE LECTURE HALL. We've had a little under 150, I think. The first lg Allison spoke some about our vision, which was really cool. This Friday, JD came and started our series on what prevents genuine relationships. Three people stood up making, making a profession of faith! Amy Chen also, during sharing, shared about her coming to Christ. So, praise God. Two of the the fsg's are huge--I think like 15-20 people each (I think it's Basset/Brown and maybe Pegram/Alspaugh)--but others have only had a few people. It's been cool to begin to meet some of the freshmen. Here are some pics:
First LG, Allison:
Grog leading worship:

Second LG, JD speaking (with heads bowed, eyes closed)
The three who stood and JD:
Y'all have fun. Miss you! :)

I'm in Scotland!!

Hi Guys!

I just arrived in Scotland about two hours ago, and it was such a long flight, whew. Right now it's 11:32 am in Glasgow but it's only 6:32 am back on the east coast and so basically I stayed up all night until 6:32 am... I was really really tired on the plane but now I'm like super psyched to be here!

I came on the plane with my friend, Hannah Guerrier, she's in Cru and Chi O so it's nice to have someone flying with me, hahaha, we could be confused together =D.

It was such a blessing to arrive here on time because this whole week I was so scared about Hurricane Hanna delaying my flight or meep-even canceling it! But my mom prayed super hard for me and we left right on time, we even got here like an hour earlier than expected.

Anyways, I'll definitely update soon, Glasgow seems like a pretty cool city... thank goodness they speak English!

Later Guys!!
Beka