"So in this thought be comforted
It's in His Hands
This too shall pass"

"We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God's creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt."

I'm trying something new that I've never thought I'd be able to do before. It's a bit exciting, but a bit scary at the same time. Hopefully it'll become something I never regret.

Today marks one month since I have been here in Lund, Sweden. It's remarkable how quickly time has just slipped by. I suppose a lot has happened to me within these four weeks (i.e. getting stung by a bee on my lip, having the airline lose my luggage, battling with a bout of the stomach flu) but a lot also hasn't happened. I haven't hooked up with a hot Swedish guy, I haven't gone partying every night, I haven't eaten meatballs everyday, and I haven't done something else unmentionable. Living by myself and particularly this past week cooped up in bed, I've had a lot of time to reflect and think, something that I've come to embrace and welcome, rather than avoid. And what of these introspective thoughts, conclusions, and self-revelations? "Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly." No more extraneous expectations, no more waiting for something that may never come. It's time to move on and to stop dwelling in the past. Someone beautiful recently told me something I deeply took to heart: to not brood over things that inevitably pale in comparison to the greater things, gifts, and blessings in my life. Yes, indeed.


It's almost time for the fall season to begin, and I absolutely love that I can literally see the change from summer to fall. It's incredible. Why I was never able to before, I don't know, but I'm thankful for being able to enjoy its beauty now. =]

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:33-34.

"멀리 떨어져 있어 도와 줄 수도 없고 다만 네가 어디에 있던 너를 보호해 주시고 함께 하시는 하나님의 좋으신 손길을 바라고 기도하고 있다.

곧 회복하도록 하나님이 도와주실 것을 믿으며 하나님께 의지하고 힘을 잃지 않도록 해라.

잔디를 사랑하는 엄마,아빠로 부터"

=]


a duck egg white: omg
a duck egg white: ur blog
a duck egg white: makes u sound like an imbecilic little child
a duck egg white: HAHAH

=[

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." -John 14:27.

Stockholm is one of the most beautiful places I have visited in the world. I literally have hundreds of pictures just from this weekend, but as of the moment, I am still not feeling too well so I can't. I will never forget: that initial view of the Riddarfjärden from the Stadshuset (City Hall) through the open terrace; stumbling onto the weekend Farmer's Market on Hötorget (Hay Market) in all its colorful and vibrant glory; the boat tour around Djurgården; and of course, Skansen.

I have never been so sick before in my life. It sucks that there's no one here that I can cry to or have take care of me. Instead, people here hypothesize the reason why I became sick in the first place, and joke about my sickness. Sigh. Please keep me in your prayers.

Kpxgrlx012: whatre you doin this weekend
bCxaNgeL143: i'm goin gto versailles tomorrow and then to champagne on sunday
bCxaNgeL143: i'm having a picnic at the garden of versailles
Kpxgrlx012: im going to stockholm
bCxaNgeL143: stockholm sounds cool...what is it?

Freaking Sewon Oum.


Poor Sweden, always the struggling undergod. =[

This is a picture of my favorite milk. I like this milk because the animals are smiley and I get happy every time I see them. Milk here in Sweden is incredibly fresh, meaning that it expires three to four days from the date it was purchased. Hence there is this enormous pressure to drink my milk every day so that I don't end up wasting it like the first two cartons that I bought. But this has become a feasible task because I realize now I can grow to be as tall as the Swedes here, and I can eat bowls of cereal to my heart's content. And it also helps that the animals encourage me with their waves and smiles as I guzzle away.

Perfection in an average day.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." -Romans 12:12.

I want to say thanks to everyone who's taken time to email me to say hi, to catch up, or to let me know that I'm still in your prayers. I know that what I have is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am so thankful for having this chance to live life to its utmost fullest, but it still helps to have encouraging words from friends and family. It makes the days just a little brighter, makes adjusting just a little easier, and reminds me again of just how much He must love me. Tack sa mycket. =]


For a period during senior year, I hated the written word. One reason why was because I was tired of people manipulating its power to only further their own selfish interests, and I was sad to lose considerable respect for it. But it makes me happy to have my faith slowly be restored as I continue to delve deeper and deeper in my little pile of literature that I've brought from home.

"Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict."

Sigh.

I went to Tivoli yesterday which is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Tivoli is the world�s first ever amusement park, built in 1843 and which is rumored to be the inspiration for Disneyland. My favorite moments was riding The Flying Trunk, which depicted scenes from the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor�s New Suit, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Little Match-Seller, The Nightingale), and staying until the park closed to watch the fireworks show behind the Tivoli Concert Hall. True it was no Disneyland, but I could see how Walt Disney was definitely influenced by Tivoli and its attractions. But I loved Tivoli for its simple and quaint beauty and for retaining its original history for all these years instead of losing itself to capitalism and consumerism.

There is one and only one thing in Lund that does not cost anything: free washing machines with free laundry detergent and fabric softener, and free dryers with free dryer sheets. This is very, very important.

I was initially reluctant to meet my corridor mates because the air in the hall smelled dank and stale. But I have met most of them now, and they are all nice and friendly. I think the smell is due to the fact that 10 boys live on my floor while there are only 2.5 girls. These are the nice things they have done for me so far: let me borrow bedsheets, give me toilet paper, give me a TV, teach me to sing in Swedish about a busdriver, give me a TV cable for the TV, set up internet illegally for me, and teach me to use the microwave.

It has been raining sporadically since I've arrived here. I think I have experienced every single type of rain thus far: light sprinkling rain, drizzly rain, scattered and sudden showers, rain while the sun is still shining, rain while everything is gray and overcast, chilly rain, warm rain, thunder storms with heavy showers, and etc. It has been fun. But my favorite days are the days after a heavy rainfall when the sun is shining and the blue sky is crisp and clear and filled with the puffiest and fattest white clouds.

People here are TALL. I always thought myself a considerable height until I was humbled by the blond, long-legged Scandinavians. I wasn't even tall enough to buy a regular bike but was instead degraded to a mountain bike with a wheel circumference of only 24 inches. I get sad everytime I see my dinky little bike parked next to all the loftier and impressive big people bikes.

Lund is beautiful. Every day I continue to wake up unable to believe that places like this can still exist in the world.





But Lund has bees instead of flies. I never minded the bumblebee until I was recently stung by one on my lower lip. Now I utterly despise them and I can't wait until it gets colder so that every single one of them dies and I don't have to cower in fear whenever one of them flies near me.

The Swedish people have many traditions. One is to eat ice cream or frozen yogurt in waffle cones whenever it's a sunny day. The rationale behind this is that such days are precious and thus are very deserving of a celebration. I have most readily acclimatized myself to this cultural convention, and having tried Swedish ice cream, frozen yogurt, and popsicles, I find them all very worthy of acclamation and praise. One of my most favorite popsicles is the Itsakadoozie from 7-11. The discovery of its Swedish counterpart, the Pirulo, in a dodgy Arab shop one day for only 12 kronors, was definitely one of the happier moments I've had so far in Sweden.

And look at this:
Corny cereal bars taste like banana Laffy Taffy. Digestive crackers, however, are not only delicious, but they also help to regulate one's bowel movements.


P.S. I have internet now so email me home addresses so I can write. And don't forget to say hi. =]

I'm starting to feel my first pangs of homesickness. If you've had the slightest inkling of what I've been through, you'd understand why.


People in Sweden encourage me to walk home alone at night. I find this ironic since for the past 4.5 years, I was told to do the exact opposite. The nights here are simply beautiful though. I wish I knew more constellations.

I was at BR when the worker-man saw my shirt and exclaimed, "Cal?! You go, girl, you go and represent the Cal State System."


Bob, my tomato plant, is thriving and doing well. The tomatoes are not as plump as Bob from Veggies Tales is, but in my opinion, are still just as red and shiny. Naming a plant is not such a bad thing after all.