In a week, I’ll be back at school.  Summer always seems to go by so quickly.  So what have I been up to this summer?  Here are some of the highlights:

• Class at Penn

I confirmed what most people already know.  I’m a total nerd at heart.  I love learning, and I love taking classes.  I could be a professional student for the rest of my life and be happy, but I’d probably want to take a variety of classes rather than classes all in one subject.  This summer, I took a math class at Penn.  Math 114 (formerly 141) to be exact.  What is a math major doing taking a freshman entry-level math class at Penn?  Well, I never took it in college.  It’s the big gap in my math education.  As a result, I never learned sequences and series.  In the fall, I’ll be teaching the advanced 12^th grade math class for the first time.  And since sequences and series are part of the curriculum, I figured it was time to learn them.  I could have learned the topics by studying a book, but I figured the classroom experience was valuable too.  Not only do I love being in class, I now look at classes through the eyes of a teacher – getting new ideas, thinking about how I would present things, always trying to improve my craft.  Going to class was the highlight of my day for those few weeks.  It was so fun to be in a math class and have new material presented and know that it’s all within my grasp, even if I have to think about it a little.  With class starting so soon, it’s a bit stressful to think about all of the new material that I still need to think about for the fall (two new classes this year!), but it’s been an enjoyable process at the same time.

• Fourth of July

I spent my first real 4^th of July in Philly!  Despite my ten years in Philly, I’ve never participated in the Philly 4^th of July activities.  Most of the time I’m in Seattle.  One year, I went with Eun to Six Flags.  That really is the best day to go because there are no lines!  But this year, I got to see the fireworks on the Parkway.  A bunch of City Church people met up and we hung out on blankets during the concert waiting for the fireworks to begin.  It was well worth the wait.  The fireworks were amazing, the best I’ve ever seen!  My parents always said that I was a pyro growing up because I loved setting off fireworks the most.  We would look in the papers for free firework coupons then get the papers from all of our extended family and cash in on free fireworks.  One year, someone bought us one of those multi-packs of fireworks and that was super fun too.  But celebrating the 4^th of July is a multi-day event in Philly.  The next day, Scott and I went to an all-you-can-eat ice cream fest on Penn’s Landing.  We thought we wouldn’t make it in because the line was long and we had to make it back for a mission team meeting, but we made it in just in the nick of time for our self-imposed deadline.  And then we ate!  I ate ten cups of ice cream!  It was the best!

• Home

I was home in Seattle for about three-and-a-half weeks.  The time was full of comings and goings.  When I got home, both my dad and Megan were out of town – my dad in China and Megan in Ghana.  My dad came back about a week into my visit, and Megan came back the last week.  I’m glad I got to see both of them.  The Wong family is starting to spread far and wide – next up will be Bethany in Scotland!  I got to spend some time with some childhood friends, which I don’t often do.  Summertime in Seattle is usually all about family.  But this year, I visited Vivian in Olympia and my visit just happened to coincide with visits from Bethany and Nithya.  Everyone should visit Seattle in the summer.  It’s so pretty.  My cousins also came to visit, and I spent some time gallivanting around Seattle with them.  I feel like I got to know Seattle a bit better what with the visits and Randy and Jenn living in downtown Seattle.  Got to watch Katelyn rolling over – tummy to back and then back to tummy – and saw two great movies, Up and HP 6.  It’s a toss-up as to which of those events was the best to watch.

• Garden Exploration

This summer, Scott and I explored four gardens/arboretums!  Chanticleer, Morris Arboretum, Bartram’s Garden, and the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center.  I think Chanticleer is my favorite of the four.  It was nice to spend lots of time outdoors in pretty places.  Maybe one day, I’ll have my own garden too…

• Mission trip to Honduras

I just got back from a week-long mission trip to Honduras.  Got to see an amazing organization up close and personal.  I think it was exactly what a short-term mission trip should be – a support to a local organization run by national people who really know the area.  We spent most of our time at the Amor, Fe y Experanza school (AFE) teaching science classes, doing VBS, and running a medical clinic.  The kids who attend the school are all somehow related to the nearby dump that serves the entire capital city.  Either they or their parents currently or formerly worked and/or lived there.  I was so impressed by the holistic vision of the founder, Pastor Jeony.  He really understands whole life change – it’s first and foremost about people knowing Jesus, but it’s also about education and jobs and a place to live and community and training for pastors and fundraising.  I’m still processing through a lot of the trip, but in the meantime, you can read our team blog at servehonduras09.blogspot.com