I get to write whatever I want???!!!

The thing that I want to write about most right the exciting opportunity I have to go to china this coming year. I am thinking about it all the time, and am stoked to go! So I am applying for a program called the Flagship program. It is a government funded program and only 7 schools in the US are involved in it. Since I was a 14, I wanted to become an aerospace engineer. I love airplanes! I love mechanics, and learning about how things work. I would get with my friend and we would take things apart, later attempting to put them back together, just to see how they worked. So that was the plan for a long time, all the way up to my mission. During my mission I had a thought fixed in my head that because I spoke Chinese, I needed to major in business. Coming to BYU, I just had an uncomfortable feeling that about doing business as a major, but I had made the decision. All guys know that it’s difficult to change once you have made a confident decision. Then I learned about this program. I learned that they would send me to a legit school in China where they would teach me my major in Chinese for six months, then I would be sent somewhere else in china, of my choosing, to do an internship, creating networking opportunities and on the job experience. The greatest thing about all of this, is that the government is paying for all of it!!! I told them that I am in!!

After the program, and after graduating from BYU I will pursue getting my MBA. With that, a major in Mechanical Engineering, and at least a minor in Chinese, I should be ready to do some good!

I am also excited to be able to experience the culture of China. Although I speak Chinese, I have never been there. I feel that this is going to be a great opportunity, one that will define the rest of my life.

Leaving Home

I think that leaving home for the first time is often one of the funniest and potentially one of the most insightful topics that can be brought up in a conversation. Often you hear about stories of staying up to 5 in the morning every day, gaining the freshman 15, or even experiences of dealing with crazy people that you never had to deal with before. My first time moving out was actually when I left on my mission. Going into the Missionary Training Center didn’t really feel like I left yet, so I will talk about when I REALLY left, which was January 26^th, 2012. The night before we left the MTC was an exciting time, like going on your first date….well at least the feeling was the same. I did not know what Australia would be like, and it didn’t help that I wasn’t sure if my language abilities were up to par, or if I was going in over my head. It was in the middle of the winter in Utah, and the next day we set off for the airport to fly to LA, then hopped on our 14 hour flight to Brisbane. Getting off the plane that day was like walking into a sauna in the middle of winter in a suit and tie. Have you ever been in a sauna in a suit and tie? I wouldn’t recommend it. That day was a nightmare! The airport lost one of my bags I LA, I got yelled at by the first Chinese person that I contacted (yes, she was old), I couldn’t sleep because our next door neighbors were blasting their Indian music, and on top of that it was probably 90 degrees that night. I had one of those, “What the heck am I doing here?!” moments. Everything smelled tropical and slightly moldy, and I knew at once that this was going to be a rough adjustment physically. I wanted to die! Anyway, life went on, my body slowly adjusted, and Brisbane became my home, and a place that I love. That experiences sticks in my memory like gum sticking to the bottom of your shoe, and it is one that I will always be dear to me!

100 words about me.

I am a Chinese speaking, musical theater singing, toaster strudel loving guy from Utah. Life is good! I look forward to weekends, great food, being with friends, and love everything about Autumn. I secretly look for Asian people. Openly look for new friends to make. My head hurts when people use big words, and want to run away from hypocrites and whiners. I enjoy people who are genuine and honest with themselves, no matter how eccentric they are. Music fixes everything. Feeling of accomplishment my life’s motivation, but if you don’t succeed, just think of what Charlie Brown would do.