Ups and Downs...

My initial arrival and settling into the city went great. I haven't had
any issues with jetlag and after the first night I had my first team
meeting, purchased a bicycle, went for a run though the city streets,
listened to a group sing songs to honor their ancestors and met and
settled in with my new roommates! Don't interpret that as meaning that
all has gone totally smoothly...

-Only a few minutes after coming through immigration at the airport
during my first 5 minutes in the country, all the lights in the airport
went out and stayed that way for a while.
-During my second night in my apartment the lights suddenly went out in
our apartment (apparently because we had almost run out of the amount
of electricity we paid for this month)
-On my first taxi ride by myself, the driver had to ask six or seven
different people on the street and before reaching the intended
destination.

But He is good. I have been here 5 days, only known what half of the
stuff is that I've been eating, and still haven't gotten sick. Its also
great that I somehow managed to avoid getting in any accidents on my
bike as the flow of traffic  here isn't quite as structured as I am
accustomed to. 

Each New Day

Receiving college mail as a 9th grader, your 4-year plan of classes at
college, post-graduation plans, thinking about where to take our next
vacation. Our world is full of preparing for what comes next. And
preparation is good. As Benjamin Franklin said: "By failing to prepare,
you are preparing to fail." But how far should we go in
preparing for one thing that we fail to see what the circumstances
around us look like or what we look like.

I've been reminded recently as I prepare for this next year and
thought about what I might be preparing for in the future, that I need
to take things one step at a time. Any recent college graduate like me
is going through a lot of different experiences right now. I am about
to have my socks blown off by being in the thick of the manufacturing
capital of the world!

I hope to see each new day as a gift to savor and enjoy, being
sensitive to how I am molded and directed through the happenings of
life in this Eastern metropolis. Do not worry about tomorrow, live each
new day with eager expectation and an open mind.