You'll Find Me on the Jersey Shore

Still crazy as ever... :)

What. Is. Up?

I know, I know, back so soon! I wanted to update y'all on my recent trip to New Jersey!
Since living in China and working at SFCV I've had the opportunity to meet and connect with so many awesome people: families, interns, guests, and co-workers. As time moves on, eventually so do people. It's one of the hard things to grasp about working for a non-profit in a foreign country, but it's always a good thing too. God is constantly bringing new people and moving others home and on to other amazing things. In my time at SFCV thus far, I've seen some good friends move home to the U.S and new ones come; it's pretty much the circle of volunteer life. Hard at times, but overall good.

Dinner with some China Dawgs!

A few friends and former SFCV co-workers of mine happen to live and (now) work on the East Coast in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, Maryland area. This last week I had the wonderful opportunity to drop-in and spend some much needed time with them. Joanna, my home girl, and her family were kind and generous enough to open their home to me for the week. Guys, it was an AWESOME week full of laughs, tears, friends (old and new), reminiscing on old times and creating new memories. I'm very blessed and grateful to have been able to visit.

Not only was it good to reconnect with my pals on a personal and emotional level, I was able to do some adventuring and see some sights I've never seen before. Many of you probably remember my "Lady Liberty" story from previous blog posts, but in case you forgot, I'll do a short recap for you:

Back when I first moved to China in 2014 I had a short layover at Newark airport in New Jersey. Prior to landing, I peaked out the window and saw the New York City skyline and the Statue of Liberty for the very first time. Due to having never seen these wonders before, I was engulfed with emotion and shed a few tears at their beauty. Ok, it may have been more than a few tears...the businessman sitting next to me, even inquired to see if I was "ok" because he saw me crying. Yes, I was totally fine, just emotional over Lady Liberty and the idea of all that she represents...and the reality that I was MOVING TO CHINA was finally sinking in!

To this day, I have yet to live it down. Honestly, I'm not ashamed of it. It was amazing and beautiful and it marked a special time in my life, a time that I'm very proud of (making the decision to move to China). ALLLLL that to say, last week I made my first official trip to see lady Liberty! Although, no I didn't cry this time, I was awed by her beauty and what a powerful symbol of freedom she is for all that live here in the U.S. and all that come from foreign lands.

Since Joanna lives rather close to the "City of Brotherly Love", I made it to Philly as well and did some sightseeing there with some other dear China friends, Aaron and Kelly. We got to walk around South St. and get a Cheese Steak (of course), see some of the historical district (Liberty Bell and Independence Hall) and even Philly's Magic Gardens which is a Mosaic art museum. I loved hanging with these guys - we had an awesome time seeing the city and catching up. And it was also another check off the "places to see in the USA" list. ;)

I feel like this pic speaks
for itself...stranded and soaked

If you know Joanna (and even if you don't), then you know she's pretty cool; Jo took me to some incredible places in and around her home town, but of all the places I saw, I honestly think my favorite was the good ole, Jersey Shore! hahaha Typical I know, but it was awesome! I will admit that I got pretty emotional (almost shed some tears) when I saw the waves crashing against the shore for the first time. The only way to describe it was, beautiful; It was simply beautiful! No, this was not my first time seeing the Atlantic Ocean, but it was the first time I had been on the shore in Ocean City. Nothing beats walking the ocean's end with one of your besties in a city you've never been to before. It was pretty fun despite my feet (shoes and socks included) getting soaked by some of the waves. Of course it happened to me and at the time it was extremely cold and uncomfortable, but it made for great laughs and a memory I'll never forget.

Not gonna lie, 6 days on the East Coast with some of my favorites, wasn't exactly enough...whiiiich meanns that I'll be back! Not sure when, but I definitely have more to explore and more memories to make. So to my friends and the shore...I'll see ya soon, Guys! ;)

P.S. It was an awesome trip...here are the pics to prove it!

THE SHORE!