Kevin and I are starting a combined blog. I will no longer be posting on this blog, but will begin posting on the new blog. So change your "favorites" list (Come on, you know I'm on there :) so you can find the new address, which is:
http://ruvin2007.blogspot.com
Can you believe that someone already had the address "ruvin"? What kind of people are these?
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy keeping up with us in this upcoming year. Do remember that just because you read about my life doesn't mean I have any idea what is going on in yours! So be sure to email sometimes and catch me up!
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
All Eyes on the Olympics
ZG Briefs sends out free weekly updates on China news, and they will be sending out two special Olympic news editions which I think will be quite interesting. I would encourage you to check it out. You can sign up by going to www.zgbriefs.com.
On August 8, 2008, at 8pm, the world's attention will be focused on Beijing, as the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies begin. Perhaps more than previous Olympics, China has closely linked it's self-image and perceived standing in the world to these Games. Beyond the sport, there will be many interesting stories being played out: the environment, the security, the reaction and effect of the Games on the lives of ordinary Beijingers. The ZGBriefs team will be producing two special editions for the Olympics, on August 14 and 21, with article summaries and links to articles and blogs that will help you understand the larger context of the Games.
I would also recommend that you keep an eye on the blog of a friend living in Beijing. She has lived in China for many years, so she always has lots of interesting (and funny) insights. Recently, many of these insights have been Olympic related, and I think you would enjoy them.
On August 8, 2008, at 8pm, the world's attention will be focused on Beijing, as the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies begin. Perhaps more than previous Olympics, China has closely linked it's self-image and perceived standing in the world to these Games. Beyond the sport, there will be many interesting stories being played out: the environment, the security, the reaction and effect of the Games on the lives of ordinary Beijingers. The ZGBriefs team will be producing two special editions for the Olympics, on August 14 and 21, with article summaries and links to articles and blogs that will help you understand the larger context of the Games.
I would also recommend that you keep an eye on the blog of a friend living in Beijing. She has lived in China for many years, so she always has lots of interesting (and funny) insights. Recently, many of these insights have been Olympic related, and I think you would enjoy them.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Jumping Around
I told Kevin last night, "we have just been in too many different worlds in too many different places with too many different people." I thought of The Magician's Nephew with the transition place with all the lakes leading to different worlds. I feel as though I have been jumping from one lake (and world) to the next, only the in between place is more like a busy airport than a sleepy-calm woods. I am starting to feel geographically displaced and mentally confused. Our lives look like this:
Pasadena->
Kevin's parents (7 days) ->
Wheaton (3 weeks) ->
Kevin's parents (1 day) ->
Ward Lake (5 days) ->
Kevin's parents (4 days) ->
Ruth's parents (4 days) ->
Hilton Head beach (7 days) ->
Ruth's parents (9 days) ->
China
In other words, we have gotten lots of practice with packing and repacking and unpacking and repacking seemingly every few days. Good thing I like my new suitcase.
Granted, all of these travels have been good so far. Our time at Wheaton went well (i.e. I stayed much more sane than last summer). The classes (Theology, History, and Research) were much better than I thought they might be, and we had an Australian professor with a nice accent who kept saying, "Take it easy." Of course, the best part was getting to hang out with friends, and it was a shame that classes got in the way of that so much. We were living right next door to Matt and Corrine, so we had a great time pretending like we were teammates again. I got to hang out with a lot of friends I hadn't seen since last summer. Sitting in class, I thought, "I have probably never been in a class before where I liked and was friends with so many people." It's a fun group, with everyone still pretty crazy from Asia. When not in classes or taking long naps (the major part of our days), we went to an excellent performance at a jazz club in Chicago, saw Iron Man, and ate yummy food with friends. I also got to eat ice cream, aqua-jog for the first time (lots of laughter involved), walk all over Wheaton while catching up with friend's lives and drama, and buy a hat, which was very handy for...
Camping.
When we got back to California we whisked off to Ward Lake, a favored spot in the High Sierras to go camping with Kevin's family and some friends from the church. The area was beautiful and secluded (accessible by 1 hour on a bumpy 1-lane mountain road). It a little peaceful lake right in the middle of the mountains. I had never been camping longer than overnight before, so I was a little hesitant about 5 days with no showers. This camping trip had a marvelous addition from my previous ones however: an air mattress. Makes all the difference. It was really nice to sit around and not have to do anything besides take an occasional walk around the lake, read another book, or take another nap. We lay out on the rocks at night looking at the stars and listening to the silence.
Somehow, after all that sleep and relaxing, by the time we got back here I was tired again. Perhaps it is just the thought of all the adjustment still ahead and the underlying stress of everything that has already changed. Adaptability is definitely a weak point for me. I keep feeling like I am forgetting something. Maybe it is something I need to do before we leave or something I need to pack or what my address is or which time zone I'm in. If you have any information that might be useful in helping me remember where I am and what I'm supposed to be doing, let me know.
Pasadena->
Kevin's parents (7 days) ->
Wheaton (3 weeks) ->
Kevin's parents (1 day) ->
Ward Lake (5 days) ->
Kevin's parents (4 days) ->
Ruth's parents (4 days) ->
Hilton Head beach (7 days) ->
Ruth's parents (9 days) ->
China
In other words, we have gotten lots of practice with packing and repacking and unpacking and repacking seemingly every few days. Good thing I like my new suitcase.
Granted, all of these travels have been good so far. Our time at Wheaton went well (i.e. I stayed much more sane than last summer). The classes (Theology, History, and Research) were much better than I thought they might be, and we had an Australian professor with a nice accent who kept saying, "Take it easy." Of course, the best part was getting to hang out with friends, and it was a shame that classes got in the way of that so much. We were living right next door to Matt and Corrine, so we had a great time pretending like we were teammates again. I got to hang out with a lot of friends I hadn't seen since last summer. Sitting in class, I thought, "I have probably never been in a class before where I liked and was friends with so many people." It's a fun group, with everyone still pretty crazy from Asia. When not in classes or taking long naps (the major part of our days), we went to an excellent performance at a jazz club in Chicago, saw Iron Man, and ate yummy food with friends. I also got to eat ice cream, aqua-jog for the first time (lots of laughter involved), walk all over Wheaton while catching up with friend's lives and drama, and buy a hat, which was very handy for...
Camping.
When we got back to California we whisked off to Ward Lake, a favored spot in the High Sierras to go camping with Kevin's family and some friends from the church. The area was beautiful and secluded (accessible by 1 hour on a bumpy 1-lane mountain road). It a little peaceful lake right in the middle of the mountains. I had never been camping longer than overnight before, so I was a little hesitant about 5 days with no showers. This camping trip had a marvelous addition from my previous ones however: an air mattress. Makes all the difference. It was really nice to sit around and not have to do anything besides take an occasional walk around the lake, read another book, or take another nap. We lay out on the rocks at night looking at the stars and listening to the silence.
Somehow, after all that sleep and relaxing, by the time we got back here I was tired again. Perhaps it is just the thought of all the adjustment still ahead and the underlying stress of everything that has already changed. Adaptability is definitely a weak point for me. I keep feeling like I am forgetting something. Maybe it is something I need to do before we leave or something I need to pack or what my address is or which time zone I'm in. If you have any information that might be useful in helping me remember where I am and what I'm supposed to be doing, let me know.
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