So I'm finally home for winter break and it's absolutely WONDERFUL being stress-free (exam-free). It is so great to see my family again. I actually haven't see any of my friends yet, since I just got back the day before Christmas Eve, but I will soon! I also need to renew my license, since I'm 21 now (have been since end of October)...DMV=blech. But hey, I'm 21. Now I can get into all bars in North America. Yay?

My sister and I have been cooking Thanksgiving (when I get to come home from Canada) and Christmas dinners over the past few years. On the menu tonight was:

Honey-glazed ham
Sausage and bread stuffing
Vegetarian mushroom stuffing
Sour cream and chives mashed potatoes
Green bean casserole
3 (!) types of pie: apple crumble, coconut custard (yum!), and pecan
and of course, a few bottles of wine

I obviously didn't eat the first two items since they weren't vegetarian, but I made this beautiful stuffing adapted from a non-vegetarian recipe my sister got off of allrecipes.com. It basically has mushrooms, onions, celery, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, veggie broth, butter, dried cranberries, and of course, cubes of bread. Smelled soooo good! Wish I could post a picture but my camera died...hence the lack of posts lately (actually, I'm just lazy and like to blame it on my camera).

My sister got me a book called The Food Revolution, which I've been dying to read, so I'm going to start that now!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful time spending time with your loved-ones. Cherish these moments with great laughter, good wine, and of course...great food!

Much love and laughter,
Susan

Yeah, so I lied. I didn't officially move, because I guess I just couldn't stay away from Xanga. It's sorta nice to use something that I've used since middle school haha. Anyway, today's my last night at home before I head back to school tomorrow morning for the rest of the semester. I'm not sure if I'll be able to go home for Thanksgiving, so I might have to wait it out for Christmas. Also, not sure if I'll be going home for spring break--might also be staying for summer break. I feel that the older I get, the more homesick I get. Strange, huh? When I was younger, I would rarely get homesick. I was enjoying freshman year of college so much that I didn't even want to go home, and I didn't miss my family until Thanksgiving rolled around and all the Americans were heading home to be with their families. Even then, I was just a little sad. Oh well. Aside from the stressful exams, school's not so bad. I get to meet wonderful people and experience a lot that many college students don't get to. I also am blessed with an incredible group of friends both at school and back at home--not to mention my amazing parents who always, ALWAYS give me good advice and calm my nerves.

This summer was incredible. Okay, maybe the second half was uneventful (a.k.a. "unemployed")--thanks, Economy! But it gave me the chance to spend a lot of time with my parents and friends. The first half of my summer was so awesome I wish I could live it all over again. In fact, I think it may have been the best summer of my life (SO FAR). Going back to Taiwan with my family was so wonderful. It felt like we stepped back in time when we used to go on family vacations again. It was so nice to be able to spend time in my parents' home towns as well and experience the places and foods they experienced when they were younger. Going back to Taiwan this time was definitely a profound experience because I could appreciate so many things that I wasn't able to when I was younger. For instance, I never realized how friendly Taiwanese people were. I mean, seriously. Taiwanese people will talk to you and then next thing you know, you're having tea in their living room. I felt like I returned to my roots during this trip.

After going to Taiwan, I spent some time in Washington, D.C. for a 2-week program. This program was designed for young adults interested in grassroots advocacy/lobbying. I learned so damn much during this program...about Taiwan's history, Taiwanese politics, U.S.-Taiwan relations, how lobbying works, how congress works, what it's like on the Hill, etc. Oh yeah, I was standing outside of a healthcare press conference when Senator Kerry walked right past me. Yes, I got less sleep than I would have preferred, but I can't complain; I met so many inspiring people who were all in D.C. for the same cause--for Taiwan's cause. I can't even explain how encouraging it was to meet people MY AGE who believe in Taiwanese independence, in democracy, and in human rights. There is hope after all. I also think it's important to mention that this experience pushed me to start CARING again. There was a time when I used to know about politics, struggles around the world, the erosion of human rights and democracy (in Taiwan, U.S., and abroad), and I would ACT on it. However, somewhere along the way, "life got in the way". Yeah, bullshit. I learned that I had to stop using that lame excuse and get back on track. I am REALLY looking forward to going back to school to spread some awareness and become active with the human rights organizations on campus--for starters.

I had the opportunity to return to D.C. with my girl friends from home for 4th of July weekend. I had a blast! It was great to spend time with them. I always have fun with these girls.

In July, my one friend who moved to Florida flew back to see us. We had so many fun nights cooking dinner at her house, watching movies, playing board games, listening to music, and just talking. I'll miss those nights.

At the end of July, I went on a weekend meditation retreat with some of my friends, my sister, and her boyfriend. I loved this retreat. Everyone was really nice, the food was delicious...but what I loved most was how much I learned about Buddhism from the monks. I don't think I have ever felt THAT relaxed--not in many years at least. It also allowed me to be separated from the "real world", away from the internet, computers, cell phones, TV, politics, media, etc...It allowed me to think a lot about myself, my values, my thoughts....and to be a more compassionate, less angry person. Negative emotions and negative thoughts are sometimes not even worth your energy. I do think that they can result in positive outcomes sometimes, but half of the time they only lead to destruction (or just words/actions you'll regret later on).

I think this was a kick-ass summer, culturally, politically, and spiritually.

Cheers to the most wonderful summer ever, summer 2009--AND cheers to the start of fall semester 2009!