Ryu2.mind

Four members of the Stanford class of 1999: myself, King, Pui, and Will, after some fine Indochinese dinner last week at Cochinchina.

We were all part of His community in college: Pui was in IV, the other three of us were in FiCS. Regardless of group affiliation though, pretty much all the Asian-American Brothers and Sisters knew each other, and in many ways, we all journeyed together as one Body, growing closer in our four (or more) years to each other and to the One above.

And now, part of that Body finds itself in Shanghai. That night, during dinner and later, dessert, the four of us had a blessed time sharing and catching up, a time that I truly hadn't experienced in a long while.

Pui is here for a year, studying Mandarin at Fudan. Will is here for a week, formerly with Bain in HK and now travelling throughout Asia before starting b-school at Wharton.

And then there's King. We met in a boring freshman physics section and hit it off from then on. After spending several years as a mechanical engineer at GM (the car company) in Detroit, he arrived here in Shanghai last week to continue work for them. Like myself, he's planning to stay indefinitely (ie, "long term") -- and being similarly like-minded in the reasons for coming to China, professionally and personally.

Thus far in Shanghai, I've met all manner of interesting folk, and have started to forge some relationships that I know I'll cherish for a long while... and yet, there's something special about having an already close friend and brother out here in the same city, walking the same path with the same goals in mind, going through the same new experiences and transitions, and in a position to experience the same struggles and triumphs.

Out of the many things we talked about, the need for support, accountability, and fellowship for all of us became all the more clear. Indeed, community has been on my mind a lot lately... and I've been thinking a lot about the need, as well as its nature and purpose, talking to several others (and Him) as well and meeting with affirmation in the process.

Could all this be a revival? The beginning, the core, the nucleus of of something new?

More to come... =)

Yes indeed, even across the Pacific, there's no escaping the long arms of the Stanford Fund! =P Interestingly, it bore no postmark, but it did seem to be mailed from France, of all places, judging from the right corner (although on the reverse, it bore the usual Stanford Alumni Association return address).

I wonder if I'll still get fundraising calls from my alma mater out here. It's the one source of telemarketing that I'm somewhat sympathetic to... because most, if not all of the calls are placed by students (campus organizations/clubs volunteer to call or write alumni to fundraise, and get a cut of the revenue). I was in their shoes not so long ago myself doing the same thing after all, and sometimes, if I'm not too busy, I'll strike up a conversation about what's changed or not changed in dorm life, professors, etc.

From the foothills to the Bay... and now Shanghai too. Hail, Stanford, hail... =)