Culture Me Happy

I'mmmmmm back! Oh it feels so good to have my health back! This was the first week in over a month I've felt well enough to resume my regular activities and I have been SO HAPPY. God knows what He's talkin' about:

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so... righteousness could not be brought to pass...neither good nor bad...happiness nor misery." (2 Nephi 2:11)

I appreciate my health and body so much more after not being able to use it fully for so long. I feel so much more alive! Here's what went down...

Thursday - Saw an ad for a new play at GW and rushed to buy tickets. Stayed on campus after work and met up with Britt to go to Thai Place, a nearby restaurant I've been wanting to try. Cute little joint on Pennsylvania Avenue.

One of my favorite Thai dishes is Pineapple Fried Rice, and I wanted to see how theirs was...didn't disappoint!

Britt got Panang (peanut) Curry, which she let me try :) So yummy, and beautiful!

Caught up with Britt :)

"Almost, Maine" had a beautiful set in the Dorothy Betts Theatre

The play was a series of vignettes about all kinds of love. So funny, poignant, and profound. Oh I loooved it! I hadn't been to a play, let alone a good one, in a long time and I forgot how much I love learning through different media and feeling my mind being stretched in so many directions as I ponder and analyze its various messages and symbols. I could easily have seen it again.

Friday - after the stressful preparation for the Board of Trustees meeting, my boss took us out to lunch! She even let us pick the restaurant! Got to cross another one off my list - Little Viet Garden in Georgetown :)

Appetizers: Shrimp paste roll with grilled sugar cane (which was surprisingly flavorful!) with peanut sauce and crispy spring rolls with fish sauce

I introduced them to pho and all its fixings - it was a whole new world for them haha

So happy to have finally found a place with affordable and legitimate pho! It's all in the broth.

Went to The Salsa Room that night - first time in a month!

My feet were out of shape and I couldn't last more than 2 hours haha.

Got to dance with alot of good dancers tho!

Saturday - went to the much anticipated Stake International Pioneer Festival! I'm on my ward activities committee so I got to help with the soap carving table :) The kids were so cute, I can't wait to have some of my own.

I'd never heard of soap carving before, much less done it myself, but I had to try it if I was gonna help kids do it!

There were lots of other fun family activities, including ones that were popular during the 1800s, like stick pull

Lasso station, manned by missionaries haha

Live bluegrass band!

Sack races :)

Pie eating contest! Such a wasteful and unhealthy "sport" can only originate in America

My snowcone was really sour

Inside, there were long tables stacked with homemade ethnic food from around the world. My stomach is not big enough to take full advantage of such occasions!

The festival ended with an absolutely wonderful performance. They played a video that showed how the expansion of missionary work has brought such cultural richness into the Church. Every time it mentioned a certain culture, they would pause the video and live folk dancers from the stake would perform. I.e. Irish dancers

A New Zealand dancer

Chilean dancers

Nigerian dancers

Romanian dancers

Indian dancers - hip thrust?

Maypole dancers

Procession of missionaries waving flags of the countries where they served. It was so beautiful, it almost brought me to tears. I am a direct beneficiary and product of missionary work and persistent member fellowshipping :)

It made me even more happy than usual to be part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition to containing the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and all the ordinances/covenants required for salvation, it's a global, multicultural, and inclusive church. I am so grateful I found it!

That night - found out one of my old dance team friends was in town! DK came to visit and obviously we had to take a dance picture together, so we looked at some of our old pics for inspiration and found this little treasure. We were partners in a tango/paso doble medley in 2009.

3 years later...we still got it, no? :D

Sunday - It was great to go back to my ward after General and Stake Conference and catch up with old friends :)

In other news, I decided to pursue a Ph.D. in American Studies after all so I can teach college students about black music's influence on the American mainstream, beauty and body image, historical immigrant groups, and food in American culture. 2 years to finish my Master's in Higher Education Administration and then I'm following what my heart really yearns for :)