Down the Shore

Ben and I finally made our way out to the beach, or as our friends the Philadelphians say, "down the shore". We had never been so we wanted to explore as much as we could so we'd know where to go back. We basically drove directly east, hit Atlantic City and made our way south until Cape May. It was far less crowded and hectic than we had imagined or had been told it would be. Parking wasn't an issue, the beaches were fairly clean, and we were able to dodge beach taggers for the most part. For the Californians, beach tags are things you have to pay for to use the beach. High schoolers walk around the beach asking to see your tags and if you don't have them, you have to buy them. We did not stay on any beach long enough to require them but we were not fans of the idea. Fortunately, our favorite beach, Cape May, did not seem to require them. Here are some pictures from our day.

(you'll have to ignore the annoying smudge in some of the pics...not sure what was wrong with my camera that day)

Atlantic City

It had been so long since his toes had felt the ocean.

Covered in shells!

Down by the boardwalk.

Sea grasses

He loves his Rita's.

Made me miss Jenny! (she worked here for a summer project and used to make us monkey bread in college)

Enjoying some Ocean City frozen custard on the board walk.

Cape May light house

Definitely our favorite beach, will return.

Delicious end to a relaxing day (and Ben's first taste of crab). Yum.

Very impressed by the Jersey Shore although what can I say, we are partial to California. Can't wait to visit Santa Cruz this summer!!

3 Cultures, 1 Kid

At the end of May, Ben had the opportunity to speak at a college retreat for MKs (missionary kids) in central PA. It was his first experience as a retreat speaker and he did an awesome job! All of the kids at the retreat have parents who are missionaries for New Tribes Missions. Many of these kids grew up in the jungle in Papa New Guinea, Venezuela, West Africa, etc. Most of them went barefoot the whole weekend and when at one point it started pouring rain, rather than running inside for cover, many of them took it as an opportunity to create their own slip 'n' slide on the grass. It was fun getting to know them and hearing their stories about growing up in such a wildly different atmosphere than Ben or I come from.

I think Ben was a little nervous going into the weekend that he wouldn't be able to relate to this group very well since he grew up in Germany in a nice, clean house with plenty of food, English speakers, and political stability. But as the weekend progressed, Ben's 3rd "Cultureness" came out. Sometimes I forget that he falls into this category of "3rd Culture Kid" or TCK. It means you grew up in a different culture from where your parents are from and so you try to create this third culture that is a combination of the two. It's challenging for these kids to re-enter their parents' cultures....for example, when Ben moved back to America for college, he looked like an American, spoke like one, and for the most part, seemed like he knew what was going on. He even lived in America for the first seven years of his life and a few in between his Germany years. But there was this whole other world that existed for him that no one around him could access or understand.  For those of us that received him on this side of the pond, the differences didn't seem like that big of a deal. Sometimes he used funny words for things. He didn't understand references to Saved by the Bell or 90210. But for him the differences ran deeper. For most of us, our parents and siblings live on the same continent. Our peers understand the culture where we grew up. We have homes to return to on college breaks and vacations from work. For people who grew up like Ben, these things we take for granted are absent. And throughout the weekend, I saw Ben make connections with these young college students based on the deeper issues that connect TCK's. I was so proud of him and so thankful for the opportunity to spend a weekend with these remarkable individuals.

We were so thankful for the chance to get out of the city and experience a beautiful piece of PA. Thank you New Tribes for spoiling us with your hospitality and for giving us a glimpse into the amazing work of your mission!!

Some Millbrae Love

A few weeks ago we had a very special visitor: our friend Jonathan Tsang from Millbrae. We were so honored that he came out for a visit and had been looking forward to hanging out with him for a long time. It had been a while since we had had a new visitor to Philly so it was fun doing some of the touristy stuff again.

We love our friend.

Center City.

City Hall.

The Bell.

Where it all began.

Carpenter Hall-where the first Continental Congress met, so I guess you could say this is really where it all began.

William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, was baptized in this baptismal font. It was shipped over from England and now lives in Christ Church. More than 600 years old. Older than two U.S.'s put together.

Going through a tour of this place never gets old.

Where the Liberty Bell used to hang.

Jonathan is a huge baseball fan and the Phils were out of town so he and Ben went to a Camden Riversharks game. That's the Ben Franklin Bridge and Philly's skyline is in the distant left.

We had so much fun catching up and hanging out with you, Jonathan!! Thanks for taking the time to come visit us.

Next up, a summary of our weekend at the missionary kid retreat where Ben was the speaker!

A weekend at the Jersey Shore....of the PA variety

Question:

Jersey Shore refers to:

A. the stretch of land from New York to Delaware that divides the Atlantic to the east and New Jersey to the west

B. a popular television show

C. a small town in central PA

D. all of the above

Answer: there are a lot of fun facts that Ben and I have learned as a result of moving to the East Coast. One of those happens to be the answer to this question. D.

Tomorrow morning I'm hopping on a plane to join Ben in Jersey Shore, PA where he is speaking at an MK retreat. Can't wait! Pictures and stories to come.

Twin Cousins in NYC

Last weekend I gave Ben some study space and time and went up to NYC to visit my cousin!! I got to see her cute neighborhood in Queens, walk through some of her favorite neighborhoods, visit her very chic hotel where she works in the Lower East Side, meet some of her friends in Brooklyn, eat AMAZING Italian food and the best bagel of my life, meet even more of her friends in her old neighborhood, and spend a lovely, warm, lazy Sunday walking around the West Side. I am not sure if you are supposed to capitalize New York neighborhoods....and I am not even sure of half the neighborhoods we visited because she took me to so many. All I know is that it was so great to see her and see her life in New York. She moved out here almost five years ago without a job or a place to live, she just wanted to give New York a try. Within a week she found an apartment and interviews that led to a job. Since then she has made amazing friends, played a lot of soccer, landed a job she loves....I am so proud of her and think she is really brave! So thankful to live a 2-hour bus ride away so I could pop up for the weekend for a visit.

The amazing fruit and vegetable market down the street from her apartment

Washington Square Park

The new freedom tower where the WTC once stood

I miss you

Reminded me of home, kind of

This is the view from the top of the hotel where she works! That is the Empire State Building in the back.

Cute cousin!

My attempt at an artistic photo. At least we got a photo of the both of us!

One of the dining rooms at her hotel. The portraits are of people from the lower East Side.

Next we went to this outdoor food place in Brooklyn.

And got some homemade raspberry basil popsicles. Here the guy is making some snow cones out of that block of ice.

A glimpse of our dinner that night. Yes, that is fresh mozzarella. My mouth still waters thinking about it.

Central Park!

FAO Schwartz

Made me think of Ben

Rockefeller Center

St. Patrick's

Time Square

Delicious Melissa minis...s'more, peanut butter cup, mint chocolate cupcakes

This market reminded me of the Ferry Building

BRUNCH!

Lavender in railroad tracks at Highline Park

Cool idea for a picnic area

So long, NYC. I'm sure we'll be back soon. Thanks to my cuz for such a fun weekend!!

And P.S. Ben passed Greek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!