My Writings. My Thoughts.
Montana Summer & China Plans
// August 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // China, Chinese, Dancing, Travel, Uncategorized
Wow the summer is going by fast! I cannot believe that I took my big road trip to Montreal 2 months ago! I guess I’ve just been having such a good summer I never realized that it is almost over. Since returning from my road trip to Montreal, I have spent the majority of my time working near Livingston, Montana, as an off-road driving instructor driving and working on H1 Hummers. It is not the job I would have ever guessed I would be working after graduation, but it has been the most fun and well-paying job I have had. The job itself is already pretty great – I’m outside all day, I work with people, and I drive Hummers on the side of a mountain. 
But the best part by far is that I have been living in the northern Rockies all summer!On my days off I go hiking, camping, fishing, shooting – if it’s outdoors, you name it and I’ve probably done it this summer. Since I have never been out west, it’s been an invaluable opportunity to experience some of the best the western US has to offer.
Another great feature of my job in Montana is that every month I get a week off and my company flies me anywhere I want to go in the US, so I have been able to attend a couple dance events here and there as well. The first I attended was “Hot Mess” in Philadelphia on July 9-11, 2010. True to the name, Hot Mess was one of the hottest weekends of the summer in Philly and the focus of the event was all fast dancing, accentuating the messiness. Nonetheless, it was one of the most fun events I have attended in a long time and it was a good to finally work on my fast dancing, which has always been a week point for me. The second event I attended was “Southern Belle Swing Bash” in Atlanta on August 13-15, 2010. Another fantastic event by Michael and Jaya of Asheville, NC, SBSB was an event made specifically for follows. All of the workshops were for follows only, and as a result leads were invited to join for free as long as we volunteered to help with the workshops. I felt guilty for not having to pay for the event because it was so much fun for leads! Besides the wonderful company I enjoyed staying with all weekend and the countless dances, I also competed in the open Jack & Jill and actually made it to the finals (check out my videos page to see the finals warm up dance). While I did not place in the top 3, it was my first time in a finals competition for a lindy hop J&J and I learned a lot from it. Hopefully there will be more to come in the future!
Since the summer is coming closer to an end, I have already begun planning my next trip to China. I will be flying out on October 12 to Shanghai to attend the first ever international swing dancing event there called “Swing Out Shanghai.” When I lived there two years ago, the ideas for the event started to emerge, and now in the middle of the Shanghai World Expo the event will finally be held. One of the best parts about it is we will actually perform on stage at the World Expo, making history for the whole world to see. After a few weeks in Shanghai, I will move to Taipei in Taiwan to begin a long and concentrated study of Mandarin. All of my previous trips to China limited me to only 3 months of study at a time – just enough to get somewhere and then forget it. This time, with the help of a 3 month scholarship by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, I will spend 6 months studying, giving me the much needed time to hopefully make some large strides with the language. I will return home May 24, 2011. It will be a long adventure, but I am confident that the investment I will make in Taiwan will be well worth it later in life, if not for the language skills, then for the life experiences I will encounter.
Montreal Road Trip, 2010
// July 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Dancing, Travel
I’m back! Wow what an amazing trip! I returned from my Montreal road trip about a month ago and only just now have had the time to write about it. My last post was right at the beginning of my trip in DC after dancing at Jam Cellar. From there the plan changed quite a bit – here’s the rundown:
June 1-3: DC – Jam Cellar Tuesday night (June 1) and stayed with Soo Clark until June 3. Left for NYC in the afternoon June 3.
June 3: NYC – Arrived in NYC at around 12:15 am and went straight to Frim Fram. Danced for about 45 minutes then ended up staying with Big George in the city. Had to park on the street, so I took a 3 hour nap then got up at 6:30 am, got in my car, and started the drive to Montreal.
June 4 – 9: Montreal – [...] Continue Reading…
Update & Canada Road Trip
// June 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Dancing, Travel
Update.
A lot has happened since the last post. First, I graduated! I am now a Virginia Tech Alum with a degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics. I also have made several big decisions. I was accepted into Carnegie Mellon University to begin study for a PhD in Engineering and Public Policy. I decided to defer my acceptance for one year so I can return to China and continue studying mandarin. I took a job as an off-road driving instructor in Montana driving hummers, which will last until October and help fund my studies in China. I recently received a scholarship from the Taiwanese government to study there, so it’s looking like after the job in Montana I’ll be in Taiwan instead of mainland China from around Dec-May (I really want to learn traditional characters, so here’s my chance!).
Road Trip.
The way my job works is I fly out [...] Continue Reading…
Lindy Focus VIII
// January 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // Dancing
For the third time in a row, I have finished the year at the happiest place on Earth: Lindy Focus. LF is truly a magical place. I have never been somewhere where so many people from so many different places and backgrounds come together with a more united purpose: dance. Time at this camp takes a strange form (read a few pages from Einstein’s Dreams and you’ll know what I mean). There are times when the whole day happens in less than a minute, and other times when a half hour conversation lasts the whole week. The synergy of music, rhythm, harmony, movement, dance, friends, and very little sleep makes for an ineffable event that can only be experienced. I met many wonderful people this year who in just a few dances left memories that I will last a lifetime. All the way up to New Year’s Eve, it [...] Continue Reading…
The Korean War Memorial & why I love studying Chinese
// November 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Chinese, Korea
Once again the months go by without an update, but I had an experience a couple weeks ago that I just wanted to write about. I’m back at VT for my final year and got back into the groove of things much faster this time than last semester. Coming back from Asia this time wasn’t near as rough and I managed to settle down quickly.
Anyway, on October 29, I visited the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials in DC while I was attending the National Collegiate Honors Conference. It was particularly significant because about 2 months ago I was in Seoul and visited the Korean War Museum there. The contrast was pretty intense. First of all, the DC memorial is just that – a memorial. It is rather small, but done in such an elegant way that it makes you stop and think, and remember. I really liked it, and [...] Continue Reading…
