It’s December now, the end of the year again! Though it is not as cold as the east coast which is having snow storm now, temperature in Berkeley in much lower than before…probably due to the climate change, which means we really have to do something to improve the environment starting from ourselves.
I have completed the first semester and am able to finish all my final papers by the end of the semester. I am having my Christmas holiday and term break now till the end of January. I meet various friends these days to chat and relax and share our lives. On the Chinese Winter Festival (Dec 22), I cooked a dish in which I learnt from my mom especially for the Winter Festival: shrimp and onions in tomato sauce, and it came out quite good. I stayed in a Chinese family (who is a retired protestant priest couple originally from HK and has been here for many years) with several schoolmates (also from HK) during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We went to mass together on Christmas day morning, and spent most of the time eating and chatting. It was a great time to share friendship and fellowship.
After one semester's study, I really feel gratitude to have chance of studying full-time in the US again. The environment here is open for free discussion and intellectual exploration. Though workload is heavy as there are many presentations, short papers and long papers in the past semester, I enjoy my study life very much. When I wrote my final papers (one on Virtue Ethics for the moral theology class, another one on the "Enhancing the Capabilities of the Rural Women in China" for the Theories of Justice class), I felt I have learnt more not only about the topic but also about myself. It's a valuable process though I slept late for many nights.
In fact, I feel my life is more balanced now, having more time to eat, to walk, to sleep and to pray, in a regular way. My spiritual director also helps me a lot to aware the presence of God in my daily life. I join the school activities from time to time, usually public lecture or liturgy. I went to two Christmas concerts and a ballet recently with some friends. It’s good to relax and have fun with friends here. I also know some friends in the dorm and in classes. Some of them are very nice and I value the friendship with these friends very much.
As the new year is coming, it's time to remember to live life with more gratitude, hope and love!
I have completed the first semester and am able to finish all my final papers by the end of the semester. I am having my Christmas holiday and term break now till the end of January. I meet various friends these days to chat and relax and share our lives. On the Chinese Winter Festival (Dec 22), I cooked a dish in which I learnt from my mom especially for the Winter Festival: shrimp and onions in tomato sauce, and it came out quite good. I stayed in a Chinese family (who is a retired protestant priest couple originally from HK and has been here for many years) with several schoolmates (also from HK) during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We went to mass together on Christmas day morning, and spent most of the time eating and chatting. It was a great time to share friendship and fellowship.
After one semester's study, I really feel gratitude to have chance of studying full-time in the US again. The environment here is open for free discussion and intellectual exploration. Though workload is heavy as there are many presentations, short papers and long papers in the past semester, I enjoy my study life very much. When I wrote my final papers (one on Virtue Ethics for the moral theology class, another one on the "Enhancing the Capabilities of the Rural Women in China" for the Theories of Justice class), I felt I have learnt more not only about the topic but also about myself. It's a valuable process though I slept late for many nights.
In fact, I feel my life is more balanced now, having more time to eat, to walk, to sleep and to pray, in a regular way. My spiritual director also helps me a lot to aware the presence of God in my daily life. I join the school activities from time to time, usually public lecture or liturgy. I went to two Christmas concerts and a ballet recently with some friends. It’s good to relax and have fun with friends here. I also know some friends in the dorm and in classes. Some of them are very nice and I value the friendship with these friends very much.
As the new year is coming, it's time to remember to live life with more gratitude, hope and love!
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