The USS Missouri

This week I had a rather interesting service opportunity. The Honors Program here at BYU-H goes to Pearl Harbor every semester to help clean up the USS Missouri Memorial. To understand how cool this is you have to know some history so I'll give it to you just in case you don't already know. The USS Missouri is a battleship commissioned by the US Navy during World War II. It is where the Japanese signed the instruments of surrender to the Allied Forces on September 2, 1945.
The service project involved sweeping water off of the decks because it had been raining. When water pools on the decks it ruins the wood and steel and can be a hazard to people visiting the ship. I got to walk all over the battleship and explore some of the inner corridors on the upper decks. It was such a cool experience, and I'm super grateful I got to go. I practically went to the Navy enlistment office right then, but then I realized that the Navy has changed a lot since the USS Missouri was in use (it was last used in the Gulf War to bombard Iraqi outposts). I also have some health conditions that could potentially bar me from service... However, I will always remember the sacrifices that have been made to keep this country free and I will always be full of gratitude for those men and women who continue to serve in the United States military. They are heroes. 

The USS Missouri

And because I still have thousands of pictures of China to share here are a few more.

Parliament Building in Beijing. It holds 10,000 members of Parliament.

Ming Tombs

Inside of a turret on the Great Wall

In honor of the Olympics this month here is the granite wall containing the names of
every medalist from the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

A Terracotta Warrior just outside of the city of Xi'an

Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an

Baptisms and Old Photos: Hawaii

I'm sitting here watching a movie. I've seen in nearly a dozen times, but it's still so awesome. It's called Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration and you can watch it here. Whether you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not this movie is full of truth and I can promise that you will feel the Spirit of God. If you have any questions after watching feel free to comment below or check out this website here. 
On a related note, I also had the great opportunity to offer a prayer at the baptism of an awesome guy. His name is Joel, and he investigated and learned about the church for a year before he decided that it was true and that he wanted to be baptized. The Spirit was incredibly strong and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Saturday night. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who watches over and cares for us. Hard things happen. Life isn't easy, but we can always rely on the love of God. In a world that's always changing we can find stability in His unchanging grace and strength.
I was recently reading the blog of a friend of mine in Provo. Her name is Emily. She and I were both anatomy TA's at BYU. Her blog is pretty awesome. It's called Imagine Sunshine. I was definitely inspired to look at the world with a little more gratitude. Also, I was reminded how much I miss being a TA. I loved every second of teaching that I got to do. I had brilliant students, less than brilliant students, annoying students, and awesome students and I loved helping each and every one of them.
Anyway, as far as normal every day life goes not much has changed. I still go to class every day, work a few hours a week, and basically try not to get too swamped down with homework and such. I did have a nice break in the normal routine yesterday. A high school friend of mine, Amy, and her husband Sean were here on a business trip and I got to see them which was so nice.
Life is good, people. The snow may pile up, the sky might be grey, but life is good.


On a completely unrelated track I am going to post some more pictures of China just because I can.

Yuantouzhu

Yuantouzhu

This is a building in one of the gardens we visited. We visited several
and unfortunately I can't remember which one this is...

We took a cruise down the Grand Canal of China. Admittedly, when I heard
that we were taking a cruise I expected beautiful scenery and such.
It didn't fit my idea of beautiful, but it was so cool to see people
living on their barges. They would have clothes strung out on lines, kitchens, and some
even had gardens.

Oh, I forgot to mention something important! My uncle Spencer is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in honor of my aunt and grandma who both passed away after fighting lengthy battles with cancer. Here is the link to his fundraising sight. It's a good cause! The money he raises will go to building a cancer center in Africa.

Also, my friend, Wendi, just informed me that she bought her ticket to Hawaii. I'm so stoked for the epic adventures to come this August!

Introverts Unite Individually: Hawaii

Well, I promised weekly updates, but obviously that isn't happening. However, in recent discussions with my friend, Jenna, she told me that it's OK to blog about everyday boring stuff so that is what I'm going to do. Maybe it will turn out alright since living in Hawaii isn't something most people experience.

The campus of BYU-H is pretty close to where I live. I end up walking back and forth a few times a day since I have both morning and evening classes. Sometimes I like to walk in silence, but a lot of the time I listen to audio books. Within the first 3 weeks of being here I have listened to five books and I'm currently working on a sixth. The other books were good, but pretty standard; the Hobbit, The Fault in Our Stars, and such. The one I'm working on right now, though, is mind-blowing! It's called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I would try calling it QTPOIIWTCST, but that doesn't really help things. We'll just call it Quiet. It's about how America is based off of extrovert ideals, but we should really try to find a balance between extroversion and introversion. It gives a spectrum of introversion to extroversion and details how the two groups can work together to make their lives and this world a better place. I LOVE IT! I love it so much that I used all caps which is basically unheard of in my life because I'm a hardcore introvert. Every time Cain describes the attributes of introverts I get the biggest grin on my face, because she is describing me to a tee. I would highly recommend this book to both extroverts and introverts. It's a solid read backed with plenty of scientific studies and interesting stories.

Now that I'm through unofficially endorsing a fantastic book let's move on. Life in Laie is pretty great. It's almost always sunny, the temperature is balmy, and I love the small town life. Honolulu is close enough that I can get into a big city in about an hour which is nice. Life is good. My classes are going well and I'm starting to meet new people. I might even attend a party by the end of next month, but let's not get too crazy. For my friends, and even my random-readers-who-I-still-appreciate-even-if-I-don't-know-you, let me know if there's anything you want to know about, otherwise I'll just keep posting random and inconsequential things.

This is Moana Street. My house is the white one behind the palm tree on the left.

Oh, and I also promised a few posts ago to post more pictures from my trip to China so here ya go!

A cart in the Shanghai Arboretum. If you ever go to Shanghai, you have to go to the
arboretum. It's incredible!

This is part of the gang. We've got Hyrum, me, Elise, Will, Cameron, and Jefferson (that's
his English name. He was the student assigned to help our group with university
procedures and such.)

General Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum in Nanjing

Looking out over the area around Nanjing from the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum