RainbowwwWWwWwWW

I love learning about different cultures and I love being amongst people who are different from one another and can still get along. When I find myself in these places, I experience so much joy and I think, this is how it should be. To be completely honest, it's difficult for me to look forward to Jesus returning. However, I do look forward to what is described in Revelation 7:9-17.

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice,"Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." - Revelation 7:9-12

I enjoy riding the subway in NYC and taking mental notes on who is riding the train with me. Being in a group of people so diverse reminds me how much closer we are to racial reconciliation. Even though I may not know the people in my subway car or the people in my class, I get excited when I see that faces around me that are clearly of a different race. On the other hand, I get very unexcited, bored, or upset even, when I find myself in a group of people of the same ethnic background.

Since first impressions are mostly limited to appearances, when I see an ethnically diverse group, I immediately see different people. In a not so ethnically diverse group, I only see the same person multiple times. Excuse me for sounding racist. When in an ethnically monotonous group, it takes a longer time for me to be comfortable and to appreciate who I am with, until that is, I get to know the individuals as different people. Until I spend more time with individuals, I will only know them by first impressions, or their appearances.

For the past three years, I found it so difficult to attend ACF (Asian Christian Fellowship) events. Once in a while, I would attempt, but my energy drained quickly and I would lose interest. This is one of the reasons why I think I am still a part of InterVarsity. When I walked into an event or meeting, I immediately see the differences between the people in the room and I see the beauty in it and I'm drawn to it. This past year, God gave me opportunities to spend time with, and even serve with, individuals from ACF. Through these opportunities, I learned to appreciate them as individuals.

I like these abrupt endings.

F#!& Censorship

I ultimately chose to create another blog specifically for my trip to India because I didn't want my parents to wander onto this one. I was worried some of my old entries would offend them, or even hurt them. It was also a difficult decision to include them in my updates. I don't think I'm ashamed of my faith. I don't want them to make assumptions about some of me based on what I write on a blog. I think they have a lot of questions for me, but they do not ask. I'm tired of censoring my life for them. I want my parents to ask me questions and if/when they do, I pray that God will be the one speaking through me because I will fail miserably without Him. I ended up including my parents in my updates, and though they were few, certain topics that I've touched on had been sensitive topics that have caused tension between my parents (esp. padre) and me. 

Throughout my trip, I had thought about how to describe my experience to my parents. I didn't get very far with thinking through what I wanted to say. I decided that I wouldn't say anything more than answer any questions my parents had. I return home to few questions and these were questions I was asked over and over again by many.

"Did you eat a lot of curry?" "Was it poor over there?" - I confess. Immediately, I felt really defensive and thought these were ignorant questions. But I guess these would qualify as legitimate questions for those who've only been exposed by such stereotypes and it's not the failure of the individual, but more failure of the American education system.

I do not know if I should have, in Jessy's words, "sat down my family" and tell them about my experience. I guess I can still do that. At the moment, I see no need to, my parents no longer seem interested, they're just happy I'm home. I just don't want them to think that I had "gotten it out of my system" and that I will always be in NY. This is me, again, trying to evaluate how my actions could affect my parent's view on Christianity, which is not necessarily bad, but it's something I could see being a hindrance to my own faith.

I've strayed away a bit from the original purpose of this post, which was more to serve as a cautionary notice for my parents, and I guess those who might be able to relate to them. These words and the words I've written in the past are/were my honest thoughts and feelings on life and they may/may not have changed. I do not like people making assumptions about me and I think I'm an approachable person, so why take these words out of context and ask my myself? (this last paragraph sounds really lame)

Mussoorie

Mussoorie lies at the foothills of the Himalayas, but still at an altitude of about 2000 meters. The view from Oaklands is amazing, even on a cloudy day. On a clear day, you can see the snow capped mountains of the Himalayas. My pictures do not come close to capture the grandness of the view seen from Mussoorie.

At Oaklands (name of office), we had many power outages and the interwebs was not very reliable either. Thus, we had much time to spare. This challenged me to make better use of the time God gave me. Often I resorted to reading, but many times I could not think of anything better to do than to walk around outside and stand in awe of the beautiful creations found in Mussoorie. Whether you believe in God or not, you cannot deny the beauty found in those mountains. This leads me to question, why man is attracted to such things to begin with?

My thoughts...
When I experience these amazing creations, I feel like I am also experiencing the vastness and amazingess of the Creator. I don't think God forces us to be attracted to such beautiful things, but it is part of our nature to beto be. It causes me to want to be closer to my Creator, The Creator.

"Hell Spawns! Tree Rats!"

When serious work is not being done, we scheme against the "red monkeys," though some may call this serious work. I'm still not sure how serious my project leader, Matthew, was about some of his feelings towards these creatures. Though based on some stories I've heard, I could almost understand the animosity.

I introduce to you, the infamous, notorious Red Monkey. Red Monkey has a reputation for being aggressive and finding a way to getting what he wants. Red Monkey fears no man, man fears Red Monkey. If man leaves the door unlocked, Red Monkey will find his way to the food and bring it back to the others. Man may defend his home with a slingshot, "Monkey" bombs, or paintball guns. If Man chooses to shoot/scare Red Monkey with any of the listed items, he risks being charged at by Red Monkey, thus Man must be prepared to shoot/scare once or twice more immediately after the first time.

Orrrrr.... Man may choose to unleash the secret weapon, that is, The Hudson. The Hudson - always prepared to defend his family and friends against whatever harm may come of Red Monkey. He carries with him a not-so-sharp double-edged wooden sword, which he holds safely in the belt Nana sent him behind his back. When The Hudson spots Red Monkey, he will uphold his duties irregardless of whatever consequences he may face.  Therefore, The Hudson must be under adult supervision when Red Monkey is within sight.

Though these methods may frighten Red Monkey away, Red Monkey is not to be underestimated. He will be back for more. Only next time, he will be back a little big angrier and perhaps with more of his kind. Man must be prepared for such occurrences.
*The struggle between Man and Red Monkey are based on true events, but details may have been embellished for dramatic effect.