It feels strange to sit down and write a blog when I know that a good portion of my blog-reading audience is in the same room as me. Nonetheless, it is as adequate a debriefing mechanism for me as it is an updating channel for you! So here I sit and write…
The “good portion of my blog-reading audience” is my dear mom and sister. I flew to Indiana yesterday from Daytona and mom flew in from Kansas – we happily met in the airport and then drove down to Bloomington where we have been happily abiding in Laura’s apartment. J Things are different here…the weather is colder, the sky doesn’t change every 10 minutes, the trees are bare, groups of students walk around near the campus wearing their school spirity garb, the streets are hilly and windy, people attend cultural things like operas…Overall, it’s a very sweet blessing to step away from campus, be with family in a different environment – I feel myself being refueled.
The week before leaving Daytona, I had some pretty great cultural experiences. Shown in pictures with few words --->
One of my friends on the golf team is Greek Orthodox and her church hosted their annual Greek Festival! I went with Erin and we enjoyed the music, scenery, and food (below is a “diples” – we shared one of them).
The next evening was Diwali at our school! The Indian Student Association put together a performance in honor of this “festival of lights” which is intended to celebrate the victory of good over evil. As I sat there and heard this, all I could think of was “Jesus”. It was cool to watch our technical-leaning students display creativity and grace in their dance moves and singing.
My friend Yi and I hung out with a freshman who is a Pakistani-American Muslim and had really good discussion on everything from the Bible and why we believe it, Jesus being the “Son of God” to how the Qur’an was revealed and why she believes it. Our conversation was respectful and gracious and we decided we should meet up again. I’m praying for her to see Jesus as more than just a prophet.
Now up in Indiana, we joined the rest of Bloomington and did something cultural – went to the opera! It was titled La Bohème – if the performers hadn’t come out on the stage and bowed and smiled several times at the end, I would have been depressed – it had a rather sad ending.
To end on a more happy note, here are some clever-looking “thankful turkeys” hanging in Laura’s apartment J
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