February is the month of love! I got the inspiration to write a love-themed essay back in December, but didn’t have the time to write it until last week. It’s called The God of Love: Christ in the Song of Songs. I hope it can be a blessing to many people!

I am blessed to live in a place filled with kawaii (cute) items. When I was in the US, the place I lived in had very harsh winters, did not celebrate CNY, was filled with very heavy food that tended to be fattening yet not very palatable, and only had 1 “Asian” grocery store selling Milo tins that were about to expire 🙁  The hypermarkets there did not sell any rice cookers (had to go to the 1 tiny “Asian” grocery store to buy one), almost all the clothes were oversized, there were lots of shooting incidents every other week (sometimes a few times a week), lots of people who were inconsiderate and partied until the wee hours of the morning, and no one who recognized Sanrio characters such as My Melody or Little Twin Stars….

Although I truly enjoyed going to class, doing my research at the library and gaining knowledge, living there was like living in an arid desert, with the Blessed Virgin as my only hope for the future. Worse, there was very little opportunity for “natural” exercise, since most people drove, and the only walkable place was within the campus. In that kind of environment, I became obsessed with my scholastic achievements, since I had to make my misery “worth it” and did not want to leave the place empty-handed….

But now I’m surrounded by kawaii items galore, plenty of opportunities to exercise (I can walk everywhere here, thanks to this place’s excellent public transportation system), plenty of cafés and parks to go to for reflection, relaxation and inspiration, good food, and absolutely no need for car ownership! Many people also speak Mandarin and CNY is a huge celebration here. I am grateful for all these blessings, and wish to continue to flourish and take root here, and be a blessing to others and to society. 🙂

Take care everyone!