Wall of Pictures!

So here's the little board of pictures that I finally got around to putting up. Some little known facts about it I will now share with you...

1. I used eight thumbtacks (out of a possible nine).

2. Erin's picture got its own thumbtack.

3. Mary's and Kate's pictures got marred with ink...

4. I am in this picture more than anyone else! (thanks James)

5. I miss all these people.

6. Aubri's and Ginny's pictures are conspicuously absent.

7. If Luke had a senior picture, I would put that up.

8. Not everyone on this board went to Churchill. That includes my parents...

... I guess not all of those were little-known.

An Update!

Hey all, sorry I've been so lazy about updating. I've been more than a little busy lately (this isn't any old lazy day in Korea, where I had no homework and a lot of free time). One night I had an energy drink to keep awake to do homework.

Penn has been real fun so far. Making friends is the shizzle, especially when they are from so many different places. On Saturdays a few of us gather to watch college football; one of my roommates is a USC fan, one of my other friends is a Rutgers fan, another is a Michigan fan, and so forth. A much better way to spend Saturdays than watching Penn football. (Penn just lost their first game at home to Lafayette 8-7. They were up 7-3, then purposely gave up a safety late in the game, only to have Lafayette score a game-winning field goal. Pathetic.) And one of my roommates spends half his life playing Zelda on N64. But that's a whole 'nother story.

Ultimate has been kind of a challenge so far. Practices haven't been too great, simply because 1) it's really hot, 2) the fields are crappy, 3) I'm out of shape, and 4) the team is not solid on fundamentals, so scrimmages are messy. This past weekend we played at Club Sectionals in New Jersey, and split into Penn White (my team) and Penn Purple (these are our team colors... rather South-Eugene-esque if you ask me. But the school's actual colors are red, white, and blue. Weird, huh?). We lost our first three games by a combined score of 39-4. It was some of the most frustrating Ultimate I have ever played... We won our next game, but proceeded to lose both our games on Sunday.

But not all hope is lost! One of our team captains plays for Pike, a local club team (and a pretty decent one at that). And there's another freshman on the team who played for (and co-coached) the University School of Nashville, which is a pretty good team in the East. He's definitely a better player than me, so there's a foundation here. The best case scenario is that he and I are captains for senior year (and we win Nationals).

Playing in the tournament, however, really screwed up my homework situation... I have a lot of homework, including a four-page research project proposal by Wednesday. I have to research a dilemma in international development, and I have decided to pick the problem of water pollution in Korea, China, and Thailand. (In case you've noticed, I'm really into that environment stuff...) I have to turn in a combined 24 pages of writing by the end of the semester. Oddly enough, I'm really looking forward to it.

Otherwise, math is seriously kicking my ass, almost to the point that I want to stop taking it after this semester and consider a different major (perhaps a different career!). But biology is pretty swell so far, and I'm really looking forward to taking chemistry next year. So we'll see.

Oh yeah, good luck to everyone going to OSU!

So far.

Penn has been pretty alright so far. Orientation and moving in have been really hectic, since a lot of the stuff I needed couldn't be brought by plane (furniture, basically). I've been weaving in and out of campus with my family, buying stuff, getting me back for orientation events, etc. Not to mention that is being done in the middle of a very big city.

I said goodbye to my family today, which was tougher than I thought it was going to be. As I write, they are probably on the plane from San Francisco to Eugene, or perhaps have arrived already. I definitely couldn't have gotten all of moving in without them...

I was too busy today to even watch any football on TV. After some orientation stuff in the morning, moving more stuff in, and saying goodbye to my family in the afternoon, it was already 4. At that point I cleaned up my room and got ready to go to a party Penn was hosting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is the location of the famous steps in "Rocky" (or so I've heard). I hung out with my roommate Luke, who is from New Mexico, and his friend, but proceeded to make few acquaintances thereafter. (Sometimes I wish one of my friends from Eugene had come to Penn with me, so that I wouldn't have to force myself into groups that seem to have already formed, among people from the same high school.) Later on I hung out with two girls from Oregon who I had met in Portland several weeks ago.

The other day my family traveled to New Jersey to meet one of my dad's friends from a long time ago, who lives in Cherry Hill. It was only a thirty-minute drive from Penn's campus, and it was really cool to see the scenery and different environs of the east coast (crossing the Delaware into New Jersey was especially awesome). The license plates might be from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and such, it's quite interesting. I've seen many a thing in this city with either 'Ben' or 'Franklin' associated with it. We got to the house of my dad's friend (who is a pastor) and stayed and talked for a while. I got to talk with the pastor's son, who is a year older than me and attends NYU. Basically, I now have a refuge on the east coast, if I ever get a craving for Korean food, or if I get bored over Thanksgiving. It makes me feel a LOT more comfortable, actually...

Philadelphia is, for the most part, a beautiful city. At least center city is, in terms of 'wow' factor. The skyscrapers are amazing, and the museum and city hall are beautiful as well. Brick buildings dominate the cityscape. The campus is pretty as well, although it can get pretty busy with traffic. Being in a big city brings both its pros and cons, I suppose.

Penn is very much a party school. It's study hard, party equally as hard. I haven't gone to any parties yet, and am not very enthused about going to one, but I might try one before the semester is over. Being in Eugene IHS definitely contributed to my discomfort in this regard, because IHSers don't really party hard, do they? If I do go to a party, I will definitely refrain from heavy drinking.

My roommates seem okay. Luke is the one I hang out with the most. The others are Stephen, from St. Louis, and Ben, from DC. Stephen is a Jewish engineer-to-be, and he is really busy. I don't know if I'll be hanging out with him much, he doesn't really seem to be one of those guys that you can just chill with. Ben is a 6'4" tech-savvy kid, who once told me that he thought he was pretty good at Ultimate. But I can tell by the way he throws around the phrase 'throw a Frisbee' (not using the word 'disc') that he is definitely not going to be that good.

Tomorrow is Sunday, but I won't be going to church. I haven't really made an effort to look for one yet, since I'm still trying to adjust to this new change of surroundings. And the thought of looking for one is daunting. I haven't met any Christian friends yet, and I have to decide whether I'm planning to attend a church on campus, or if I'm commuting to a church elsewhere in the city. And I have to start getting ready for Ultimate again! I guess I'm still getting settled in.

And now I'm settling into bed.

My new address

Box 103
3909 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Coming to Philadelphia

So I woke up at 4 this morning, on three hours of sleep. I got the rest of my stuff together, and our family apparently got out of the house too late (4:40), for a flight at 6! I got a window seat, and the setting was amazing for takeoff-a distant glimmer of sunlight on one horizon, a full moon on the other. And the only thing that could drown out the din from the plane engine was the sorrow overflowing within me...

Just kidding! I mean, yeah, I was sad and all, but I'm not gonna give you guys another emo post. Come on!

Yeah anyways, our flight to Denver was fine, and I remembered the hideous sight that was the Denver airport from the air. Seeing as we had extra time, I took a decent chunk out of the 300 pages I had left of summer reading (shudder).

We then boarded the plane for Philadelphia, which was surprisingly short (just over three hours). I tried to sleep, but to no avail. First, it was exceedingly cold in the plane, and this baby behind me would not shut up! Arrggh, it drove me nuts. The only thing of interest on the ride was that I saw clouds that reminded me of popcorn (plain, not buttered or kettle). Hmm, perhaps I flew over North Park, you never know...

Anyways, we just got back to our hotel after walking around campus for a while. I've gotten only 8.5 hours over the last two days, so I'm gonna go to bed. Peace.

Going away.

Today is the 11th anniversary of the day when my family came to America. Back then I was just a little, unassuming boy who had almost no knowledge of English or of America. We were only supposed to stay for two years, but I guess there was a slight change of plans...

How is it that I have already spent eleven years in Eugene? I can still remember how confused I was upon learning that I was living August 26, 1996 for a second time after unboarding the plane. The past eleven years have been a blur, and now it seems absolutely absurd, unfathomable, to think that I will not be calling this place my home.

Right now I feel like I can empathize with my nearly hollow closet and drawers. Toughest is the fact that this last year of high school has been absolutely amazing, and I have made so many friends, many for whom I have such a deep respect and appreciation. Seeing Collin, David, Kaylee, and Andrew off has actually not been as difficult as I had thought, but now the realization of their absence, and of how much they had meant to me, has really sunk in. To be almost 4000 miles from people one has called friends for years, perhaps from elementary school, is a grief one cannot quite put into words, save perhaps the phrase 'Woe is me'.

As I have been packing, I have run across artifacts that brought up memories both old and new. I've come across a Switchfoot concert stub, a penguin-pencil, a Darth Vader Mr. Potatohead, a happy birthday paper crown, recyclable pants, a copy of a matchmaker quiz, and numerous Ultimate jerseys. All of these have brought me such happy memories from over the years.

The only thing that is keeping me sane and composed is the the fact that some of my friends are still here. I have spent the majority of the last three days with James, Aubri, and Greg, whose presence has kept me from straying into a deep metaphorical forest of isolation and sadness. Even today I parted with James for the last time until winter break. I am dreading the evening when I myself must bid farewell to the likes of Greg, Aubri, Ginny, Reed, and whomever, much like those who have departed before me. I can only apologize to those who I will leave behind, and hope that they will not be left with as much sorrow as I will be upon boarding my flight.

-

No, I'm not colorblind
I know the world is black and white
Try to keep an open mind
But I just can't sleep on this tonight

Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But honestly, won't someone stop this train?

Don't know how else to say it
Don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own

Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But honestly, won't someone stop this train?

So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun

Had a talk with my old man
Said "help me understand"
He said "turn sixty-eight
You renegotiate"

"Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
And don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we'll never stop this train"

Once in awhile, when it's good
It'll feel like it should
And they're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
Till you cry when you're driving away in the dark
Singing

Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
Cause now I see I will never stop this train

- "Stop this Train", John Mayer

I guess I'm not one to be saying this, but it would be nice if we could all have stayed in Eugene, or local, at least. On the other hand, going to college on the East Coast, with new surroundings and completely new friends, holds a strange intrigue for me that I cannot wait to experience.

It is true that I will be all the way across the country, in a different school, sub-culture, and even time zone (from most of you, at least). I will be just about 2500 miles from the place I have called home for the past eleven years. But it is also true that I am only half a day's travel away! It only takes slightly more time to come back than those in Spokane or Walla Walla. So I am really not as far as you might think. And winter break will be here sooner than we know it. If eleven years in Eugene have passed by so quickly, then four months should be nothing.

As hard as it has been, and still will be, to say goodbye, to see you all again in December will be a joy unlike any other.

So, until then.

Packing

Some clothes in my room, along with a few other stuff.