Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Pleasant Surprises

I think God has been blessing me so much through this experience of being in Boston. I find myself in the company of so many people with such diverse backgrounds, yet at the same time, I also find myself in the company of fellow believers. I was able to go to Park Street Church on Sunday night with two other staff members and two students, which was a great end to a long day. I hope to get back to that church on July 12, because Joni Eareckson Tada will be speaking as part of their bicentennial celebration. I had the opportunity to meet a student from Australia, who is the child of two missionaries and used to attend the Hillsong Church. Today I was reading Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller and discovered some fellow fans of Blue Like Jazz. At dinner, we had a brief discussion about courtship versus dating, because one of the ladies on staff is reading Choosing God's Best by Don Raunikar, a book that I started but haven't finished reading yet. I haven't thought about courtship in quite a while. I think I got tired of reading about courtship and dating, since I was not involved in either one. None of it seemed very relevant. Though I still don't find it relevant to my current situation, it would be interesting to revisit those books just to see what I think of it all now. Speaking of relationships, this morning's ice breaker turned very interesting. I led our staff in a round of 20 questions, where we each write one question and answer whichever question we pick out of a hat. My question was "Where was your first kiss?" and my answer was "I will let you know when it happens." That was met by a chorus of What?!s and Cesar's suggestion of making Spin the Bottle next week's ice breaker. What a fascinating start to the day!

So far in Boston I have visited Mike's Pastry and bought two cannolis (one chocolate-covered and the other, chocolate mousse); walked through Chinatown and watched a woman verbally accost the clerk while trying to find a Prada backpack (which I later found hanging on a rack) and her coffee (which her boyfriend drank); ate lunch on a dock by the Charles River; briefly visited the Holocaust Memorial; cashed a check at a fancy private bank; traveled to various area stores; and watched teenagers at the studio demonstrate why they were accepted to study this summer at one of America's most elite programs.

The kids have been here for less than a week, and I'm looking forward to so much more.

::UPDATE:: Also in Boston I sang "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes in a Karaoke Bar (actually just a bar with a karaoke night) and didn't get booed. The older guys in the front who usually booed said "This is a good song" when it started playing, and the whole place was singing along when it got to the "Hey-ey" part. I had a lot of fun without drinking even a sip from the bar. Oh yes, it's possible.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

High Hopes

There is something inherently open and trusting within Residence Life relationships. Though we have only been a group for two whole days, I can see how well our staff was chosen in terms of the dynamic we have already established. New staff members feel welcome to share their own residential experiences, returners share the wisdom that comes with specific Boston Ballet experiences, and we all have demonstrated a willingness to learn with and from one another. What is interesting, however, is that such willingness extends beyond the topic of our common summer mission into personal life experiences. Though a few people may dwell on the quieter side of the spectrum, I cannot say that our group has been exclusive in any way, which I find rather amazing. Sure, cliques may form. But as we learned in our training session with the consulting psychologist, cliques have a purpose and we should not try to separate them. If they did not have a purpose, they would have never formed in middle school. They give us a group to feel secure in because of the commonality. It is when cliques become malicious that they are dangerous.

But back to the inherent trust and openness... I am quite excited to see how the rest of the summer turns out. I have high hopes for our staff and what we will become because of the openness and acceptance I already see. Tonight was a particularly interesting (in a good way) night. After dinner, a group of us - five new staff members who are still new at navigating Boston's public transportation system - decided to find a Dollar Tree based on some hurried directions from a veteran RC (Residential Counselor). It was quite an experience involving missed stops, landmarks with changed names, guidance by the scent of fried chicken, and directions from friendly strangers. But we got there with great joy and excitement, bought a bunch of stuff to use for our residents, and perhaps a few things for ourselves (including a $4 Red Sox shirt from A.J. Wright, which I will wear when I go to the game at Fenway Park in July). I think our successful excursion, without any bickering or catty "I told you we should have gotten off at that stop", is a testament to the trust we have in each other and perhaps also in ourselves to make it through. When we returned, we decided we would stay at the dorm while the other RCs went to a karaoke bar. We thought we would watch a movie while preparing door decorations, but cell phone calls and missing DVD players canceled that plan. While I waited for the others to finish catching their loved ones up on our adventures, I turned on the tv and watched a special about teenage pregnancy. Reconvening in front of the tv, we ended up having a lengthy conversation about sex, society, and faith. While religion may normally be a topic that is avoided among unfamiliar company, it somehow became a very comfortable conversation. We knew that we were in a safe space to share our beliefs and opinions without judgment. And that, my friends, is a wonderful experience.

I wasn't quite sure at the beginning of this week what life would be like outside of the Messiah bubble. For once, discussions of diversity during training did not center around race. There is an obvious variety of religious and political views. Just being in the urban setting of Boston presents its own set of differences. But I was most interested in seeing how the dynamics of faith and spirituality change outside of the bubble. I was quite intentional about omitting Messiah College's classification as a Christian college from my introductions. In an environment where it cannot be assumed that everyone is a Christian, would my faith remain evident through the way I live my life? I have had friends at Messiah tell me that they can see Jesus in me, but sometimes I wonder exactly what they see. Is that just a Christian way of saying someone is really nice? Will my fellow RCs see a nice person, or something more?

Monday, June 22, 2009

Brief Update

I'm in Boston.
I am outside the Messiah bubble.
People are good.
We are eating ice cream in 14 minutes.
I can see and walk to Fenway Park from my dorm.
I had training all day, and will continue to have day-long training for the rest of this week.
During training I missed a phone call from CURE International wanting to set up a phone interview for a graphic design job.

More to come later, but now it's ice cream time.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Week 2 Favorite

Karla and Jonathan, Contemporary routine by Stacey Tookey (of SYTYCD Canada)


Last week, I think I was rooting for Karla because she is a fellow Filipino. This week, I voted for her and Jonathan because the piece shows that they are both incredible dancers. I think I may actually want her to win the whole thing. I haven't decided yet.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Week 1 Favorites

Phillip & Jeanine, Hip-hop routine by Tabitha & Napoleon


Melissa & Ade, Contemporary routine by Mandy Moore

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Two Things

There are two things that give me life, probably more than anything else. People and dance.

This weekend was such a life-giving experience, because I got to go to the beach with three of my friends who also just graduated from Messiah. It was the first time we had seen each other since graduation, and it was great to spend some time catching up and sharing our plans (or lack of plans) with each other. Though the sun didn't come out until the afternoon, there was plenty of adventure and laughter. Plus we were at the beach, and that didn't hurt. Soaking in the rays, daring to stand before the waves, mocking the abundant high school population in spite of our own juvenile games - it was a great day for the beach.

And DANCE! Tomorrow night begins my favorite part of the summer. So You Think You Can Dance! For the next few weeks, SYTYCD treats me to bits of choreographic genius and sheer artistic talent. I sit for two hours with a smile on my face, hugging a pillow with excitement, as couple after couple takes the stage. It's quite a joyful experience.
FOX - Wednesday 8pm (performance), Thursday 9pm (results)





Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Older

and wiser? I hope so.

22 years ago today, I needed a change of scenery. I decided that 9 months was long enough to hang out in the womb. It was time to do things a little bit more on my own for a change. You know, things like breathing with my lungs. So I made my way out of the womb, causing some pain along the way. Okay, a lot of pain, but meds probably helped. But the umbilical cord was cut, and I became a separate being.

22 years later, it's the same story. Though I'm not so sure that leaving the womb will be so easy this time. Can babies second-guess if they're ready to be born? Can they say, "You know, I think this is rather comfortable and would like to stay here for a bit longer. This whole nutrients-going-right-through-my-bellybutton thing is kinda cool"? But in either case, the baby has to be born. It's like what my high school English teacher told us before we graduated: womb to tomb. Cradle to the grave. You will die if you refuse to be born.

Now I am not saying that living at home for the past two weeks is killing me. But there will come a time, yet to be determined, for this baby to be born.

So in the words of Alex Waardenburg, "Let's make like a fetus and head out."