For many of you who do not know, ever since I lived in Vancouver, I have grown to love the nature around me. In my last place, my landlord — a pastor and his family — had a compost bin in his back garden. We would fill the bin with all sorts of rubbish (vegetable clippings, tea leaves, egg shells — I even threw in some pork bones which I later found you are not supposed to do) and, after a few months, it would all turn into this very rich soil (bones included). Aside from the fringe benefits of having stuff to plant with, it was also a means to minimise the amount of waste thrown out for the garbage trucks. Afterall, things that could be composted are usually tightly wrapped in plastic bags and added to landfills – a place where worms, slugs and other friendly critters could not help in the decomposition process. Read the rest of this entry »
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Over the past three decades, I have lived for extended periods of time in three different countries. Each, however, have been English speaking. The first being my beloved U. S. of A. — my homeland and my place of birth. The second being Canada, where I found my beloved Betty. And now, I find myself in the third, England, where I have lost my beloved sanity in pursuit of a PhD. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Canada, Dissertation, United Kingdom, USA
I have never missed a Thanksgiving celebration. I have always remembered the holiday as one celebrated with family — often my family with my mom’s side of the family getting together for a Burmese-American Thanksgiving fusion dinner. Even when I was in college in San Diego, I remember sometimes going with the youth group I worked with on Thanksgiving day to serve food at the local shelters — but by the afternoon, I was driving up two hours to be at Thanksgiving dinner.
But then, when I moved to Canada in 2006, things changed. Not only was the last Thursday of November a full day of classes, Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated a month and a half earlier. A few friends and I decided to still celebrate American Thanksgiving — in Canada.
The next year, of course, we did the same. This year, I have moved again — this time with my bride and to England. Though the number of Americans here are far fewer, we still celebrated God’s goodness!
What I think is very special for me is the fact that Thanksgiving is a time of family. And, as I have lived away from home for many years, I appreciate the fact that God has given me surrogate families wherever I have gone. I am truly thankful for God’s blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tags: Canada, Relationships, United Kingdom, USA
November 4, 2008 was a historic date.
For me, as an American living in the UK, I am pleased with the democratic process that has chosen Barack Hussein Obama to be the next president of the United States, the first black president. I heard on CNN a report that many Iraqis believed Barack would never be voted in since all elections were rigged — I guess they were proven wrong. But more than a race, the voice of America has chosen a replacement of a former administration, demanding a change to the previous regime. Whether or not the change will be substantial enough, only time will tell. But, the people demanded and the people were satisfied.
For me, as a Californian living in the UK, I am pleased with the democratic process that has voted for Proposition 8. Preliminary counts say the result is “Yes”, though millions of absentee ballots still need to be counted — mine included. However, Los Angeles County has already suspended the issue of same-sex marriage licenses. This is due to a California State Constitutional provision that says a proposed amendment “shall be submitted to the electors and if approved by a majority of votes thereon takes effect the day after the election.”* Again, seemingly, the democratic voice has spoken.
But is this the democracy we want?
Tags: Canada, Christianity, Ethics, United Kingdom, USA
Hi everyone!
We are finally here in the UK, finally here in Birmingham. It’s been a long journey, leaving Vancouver on September 1st and embarking on an 18-day journey here to Birmingham. God has been very good to Alex and myself. He has blessed us with so many wonderful memories that we will treasure forever with the friends and family with whom we met up with along the way. Of course, we remember and treasure the dear friends and family we left in Vancouver too!
So how does it feel to finally be here in Birmingham? I can only speak for myself, Alex will have to share his thoughts in his blog entry. I have already been asked many a times why I would return to such a country as England, always so wet and so dark in the winter and so gloomy here. I have been quite surprised actually by all the negative comments I hear about this island. Perhaps many people are fed up, for whatever reason. The only thing I want to say is that grass is not always greener on the other side.
Tags: Canada, Relationships, United Kingdom
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