One More Note about Wisconsin...

By the way, I ended my report a little abruptly and I don't think I took the time to sufficiently express how grateful I am to Mom and Dad, especially lately. They took me on such an amazing trip and were such good sports while I carted them all over the state of Wisconsin at all hours of the morning and night, and were so great while I introduced them to dozens of people, many of whose speaking they couldn't even understand. It was really important to me that Mom and Dad see and experience part of the great things I did for the last two years, and was really thankful we could make it happen. They were a huge hit with the people there, and were really awesome in situations that could be sometimes awkward. Mom was shy to meet some of the new people, but she is always gracious and friendly and winning. Dad is just brilliant too, and he has something to talk about with everyone. (Oh, and FYI, I have put a lot of pictures up on here, but there are even more on facebook if people are interested. I didn't want to overload the blog with pictures, but I definitely don't mind overloading facebook with them.) I'm pretty sure I have the beyyyst parents in da wurld.

You're the best! Thanks again for everything, and I miss you already. Call anytime.

Summer of 100 (+) Movies

Or, as Matt said, "Summer of Doing Nothing Else but Watching Movies". Ha. Not entirely true.

So yes, I realized my "Recent Movies Watched" list was getting a little out of hand, so I decided to put an archive listing of the summer's films and respective ratings in a blogpost and refresh the list. Even I was surprised at the number of movies I've seen since I came home 5 1/2 months ago, but you know, if you're gone for two years, you have a little leeway to catch up. (Actual count is approximately 106, FYI, not counting the full seasons of TV shows also watched.)

Random statistics:

Top Five:

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Enchanted
• Hairspray
• Shaolin Soccer
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

There are several which came close to making this list (such as Flushed Away, The Prestige, Ironman, to name a few), so they will receive Honorable Mention.

Bottom Five:

• Spider-Man 3
• Return with Honor
• The Singles 2nd Ward
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
• Happy Feet
  

The Golden Compass and The Da Vinci Code earn Dishonorable Mention for the bottom list.

Estimated hours spent watching movies: Too many to feel right about posting.

Poll results to the question, "Have I seen too many movies this summer?" were as follows (based on five votes):

• YES! Good heav, do you do ANYTHING else??? - 1 vote (20%)
• No, that seems like a perfectly healthy amount of movie watching. - 3 votes (60%)
• It's all right, I guess, after all, you are catching up from two years of no movies whatsoever. - 1 vote (20%)
• I am absolutely ambivalent either way. - 0 votes (0%).

Number of "page downs" it took to scroll through the list: 4.

So anyway, nothing new listed below, just a condensed version of the list that's been listed on the right since the end of March. This ought to clear up that sidebar quite nicely. Movies go in order from most recent to least recent seen, starting 24 March 2008, ending 25 August 2008.

Kung Fu Panda **** / Charlotte's Web **** / The Last Mimzy ** / A Lot Like Love *** / Bridge to Terabithia **** / Failure to Launch ** / Apocalypto *** 1/2 / Pan's Labyrinth *** 1/2 / Happy Feet ** / Song of the South *** 1/2 / Freedom Writers *** / Rocky Balboa *** 1/2 / Casino Royale *** / August Rush **** / Déjà Vu *** 1/2 / Scoop ** 1/2 / 3:10 to Yuma *** / Poseidon *** / Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog **** / The Dark Knight ** 1/2 / American Dreamz ** 1/2 / Mamma Mia! **** / United 93 **** / The Other Boleyn Girl **** / The Guardian ** 1/2 / The Ultimate Gift ** 1/2 / Wall-E *** 1/2 / The Spiderwick Chronicles *** / Millions **** / Click **** / She's the Man *** 1/2 / Catch and Release ** / Evan Almighty **** / The Diving Bell and the Butterfly *** 1/2 / The Golden Compass ** / The Da Vinci Code ** / Persuasion (BBC) *** 1/2 / The Illusionist *** / Music and Lyrics *** 1/2 / The Nanny Diaries *** 1/2 / The Fox and the Hound 2 *** / Flushed Away **** / High School Musical 2 ** / The Invisible ** 1/2 / Disturbia *** / The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep *** 1/2 / Cinderella III: A Twist in Time *** 1/2 / LOST (Season 4) ***** / Brother Bear 2 ** 1/2 / No Reservations *** / Iron Man **** / Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull *** / P.S. I Love You *** / The Devil Wears Prada *** / Magic in the Water ** / Loch Ness *** / Lars and the Real Girl *** 1/2 / Becoming Jane *** 1/2 / The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ***** / Nancy Drew *** / The Nativity Story **** / One Night with the King *** / I Am Legend *** / 27 Dresses *** 1/2 / Chaplin *** / Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ** / Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ** 1/2 / Mission: Impossible III **** / Ocean's Thirteen **** / Stranger Than Fiction **** / The Prestige **** 1/2 / World Trade Center ** 1/2 / All the King's Men *** / Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street *** 1/2 / Thumbarathon ***** / Nanny McPhee **** / 1408 (Director's Cut) ** 1/2 / Stardust ** 1/2 / Across the Universe *** / Miss Potter **** / Premonition *** 1/2 / Lady in the Water **** / The Holiday *** 1/2 / X-Men 3: The Last Stand **** 1/2 / Dan In Real Life **** / The Singles 2nd Ward * 1/2 / Return With Honor ** / My Boy Jack *** / The Pursuit of Happyness **** / Dreamgirls **** / Transformers *** 1/2 / Night at the Museum **** / Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed **** / Meet the Robinsons **** / Juno **** / Ratatouille ***** / 12 Monkeys *** / Fun with Dick and Jane *** 1/2 / Spider-Man 3 ** 1/2 / The Invasion **** / The Color Purple ** 1/2 / The Office (Season 3) ***** / LOST (Season 3) ***** / Shaolin Soccer ***** / Superman Returns **** / The Simpsons Movie **** / The Office (last half of Season 2) ***** / Hairspray ***** / LOST (last half of Season 2) ***** / Enchanted ***** / Nacho Libre *** / Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix *****

Wisconsin Report Day 5: Time to Come Back Down to Earth

Day 5:

A lot of Hmong people asked me why we didn’t just make plans to stay with them. I guess that would have been less expensive, but I felt bad, as if I were already imposing on them. So on our last day we checked out of the Red Roof Inn and headed out for our last visit to Milwaukee. I was sorry to receive a message from Milwaukee member Ka that she, her husband Jimmy and her three adorable daughters were still in Appleton (where Jimmy had been playing in the football tournament and where Ka’s parents live), so they wouldn’t be able to make our Monday morning appointment. This is probably the one thing I regret about the entire trip, not being able to see Mala and Nali (I actually ran into Jimmy, Ka and their newest baby, Hayden, whose chubby baby picture you can see me kissing on Day 3 at the Oshkosh, tournament, but OMG, those two older girls…), and I’m afraid the next time I see them they won’t remember me! Though Ka says they talk about me and Johns quite often and with much fondness. The feeling is mutual, girls, believe me. We drove around, taking in a few sights and getting a good feeling of the beautiful, dirty city (although I’m afraid to say I don’t remember it nearly as well as I once did!), looking at the skyline from the North Avenue park, passing by Marquette University, seeing the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque art museum and checking out the lake, even passing by Dep’s Hall of Fades on 27th Street. We stopped by a couple of houses and places to find people not home (“Here’s your taste of missionary work,” I told Mom and Dad) and places closed (due to Labor Day—no Safe House or Sprecher root beer… tsk).


We stopped by Molly Moua’s house to say hello to her and her two daughters Emily and Brittany, both now much taller and getting ready to be in middle school together, and then made for one last visit to the Barretts and then the 1 ½ hour drive back to Chicago.


We didn’t have time to stop by the temple or do any sight-seeing there, but we were ready to get on the airplane and get home to recoup as much as possible before going to school the next day (EEP! Moving! Books! Classes! *dies*).


After a minor crisis involving security not letting me past due to my temporary license (even though it had been allowed at three checkpoints prior) and a detailed security check, we were boarded, and now here I sit. The adorable toddler boy in the row ahead of me spent several minutes expressing just how unhappy he was to be traveling, but his dad is now walking around the back of the cabin while the little one falls asleep. I’m sitting in on the aisle in between groups of people who don’t speak English and Mom and Dad are sitting behind me. My eyes are tired, but my heart is happy. It wasn’t too, too weird to go to Wisconsin as a non-missionary, and it was the perfect time. Any sooner and it would have seemed like I never left, and any later and I might have been forgotten already. It was just amazing to see the fruits of the work I did there, and even though I know that the work isn’t mine, it was nice to know that I might have made a difference in the lives of some of these children of God. Everyone said just the nicest things about me to Mom and Dad, but I tried not to hear. That’s not why I was doing it. Some of these people I want to be friends with forever. And now my laptop battery is about to die.

Sib ntsib dua.

Wisconsin Report Day 4: The Beautiful and Dirty City

Day 4:

Sunday morning Seethong made breakfast of scrambled eggs and french toast and I made ready for church, then went to pick up Mom and Dad. It had been a sort of struggle to decide if I was going to go to church in the Appleton Hmong branch or the Milwaukee city branch, but when it was made evident that Suying and Pang Kou were going to be confirmed, Seethong was going to be sustained and four elders were going to be in town, my answer was clear. It was great to see the small but solid branch, this time with a couple of babies that had been bumps in their mommies when I was last here. I was looking forward to just sitting back and relaxing while the elders took the weight of the responsibility I had felt for six months (especially since I knew they would make a big deal and gush about me visiting, since they always do when the elders return to visit), but they didn’t let me rest long. Seethong asked me to sing with him while his brother played guitar and one of the elders played violin to I Am A Child of God, and I was also put on the spot to translate the excellent talk of Sister Johnson from the Appleton 2nd ward. It was a pleasure, and I found that while I stumbled a couple of times, my Hmong was not too terribly rusty. We stayed for Sunday School but felt like we should take off after that. We said hello to a couple of Miskas families in the hall, including the exuberant Stephensons, who I loved so much when I was here, and who are also expecting.


Then after sampling the much-anticipated deep-fried cheese curds, butter burgers and frozen custard that Culver’s provides, made our way the 1 ¾ hour drive to Milwaukee!\


I had some serious indigestion on the way out of Appleton, and while Dad insists such a cause is unlikely, I maintain that a lot of it was psychological because I was so sad to leave. It’s a weird feeling, to be there as a “civilian” as it were, but not unpleasantly weird. It was just exciting to be able to see everyone again and look forward to when we would see each other again. We checked into our final motel and headed right back out, stopping by the old apartment (still with the barred windows and faded portrait of Jesus) and the beautiful European-looking church building in the city, and then stopping by various points of interest (the yard-art house on Cherry Street, the undeniable ghetto, the many day care centers and afro-hair salons, the Miller Park baseball stadium, etc.) until we finally made it to Yeng and Mao Lee’s house.


For those who don’t know them, these are basically the Seethong and Mai Chou of Milwaukee. Yeng was baptized as a kid, but Mao and her two kids from a previous marriage, Cindy and TJ, started taking the lessons officially when they moved out of Yeng’s parents’ house, having been to church many times already, and set a baptism date days later. I was also blessed to participate in their baptisms and confirmations the first time I was in Milwaukee, and even more blessed to attend the temple when Yeng and Mao were endowed a year later in Chicago.


Mao is serving on the Relief Society Presidency and they recently had their first baby together, Victoria, who is much bigger and absolutely, breathtakingly adorable. (See for yourself!:)



We had some barbecue, but didn’t stay long as to wear out our welcome. It was interesting to me that I felt so completely at home and comfortable lounging around their yard and house, lying in the hammock, watching TV with the kids (Cindy with her PhotoShop projects and TJ with his currently not-in-use bluetooth headset). We stopped at the “Mormon Cul-de-sac”, where live several young families going through dental or medical school, to see the Jolleys, fellow Disney and Harry Potter enthusiasts who always were so great to the elders, and who also recently had a baby (good heavens, Wisconsin is welcoming a new Baby Boomer generation!), who they named Harry (Harrison), and who they insist was not named after the Boy Who Lived.


We stopped, though it was late, at the legendary Ua “Tiffanie” Vue’s house for one of her famous haircuts, and I must confess it’s probably one of the best haircuts of my life (though Mom gets offended when I say so, and her haircuts are also awesome). It was hard to let go of my long hair, but like Ua said, "It's okay, it's only hair."


Ua’s life hasn’t been easy lately, as her husband left her some two years ago for dubious and devil-inspired reasons, but she’s holding strong, and she and her family can now go back to church and move on with their spiritual lives.


Everywhere I went I kept thinking of Johns and how jealous he would be, but I’m sure what goes around comes around, and I’ll be sufficiently jealous when he visits here, and with a wife, so as to avoid the constant questioning about dating I faced! It was late, and we had less than 24 hours left in Wisconsin, so we decided to get some rest and make the most of them the next day…

Wisconsin Report Day 3: Thousands of Hmong

Day 3:

After such a long and crazy day of so much driving, I promised Mom and Dad that the next day would be much less hectic. Saturday morning we woke up leisurely and readied ourselves for one of the main events of the trip—the Labor Day Hmong Tournament in Oshkosh. (Throughout the year, especially the summer, in various locations around the country, Hmong people look for any excuse to get together with friends and family, including such tournaments, which feature games of soccer, football, volleyball and traditional Hmong games, and which usually also include a show of traditional song and dance and bazaar-type lines of booths and shops, at which the elders will generally rent a spot to offer free Jesus DVDs and get referrals.)

We stopped on the way at our old apartment on Coolidge Avenue, and then at Cheng’s house, a man I met my first time in Wausau, and knew my second time as well, whose work schedule finally allowed him to worship on Sunday and fulfill his wish to be baptized just after I left Wausau the second time, but who had moved with his family to Menasha (near Appleton). We were excited to talk for a few minutes.


Then Mom, Dad and I drove twenty minutes to Oshkosh and walked a nice long way into the community park where the tournament was being held. Not even one minute after walking in we ran into two of my former companions, Elder Findley and Elder Boam.


We quickly found the elders’ table and it was so convenient—all of the Hmong elders in the entire mission were there, having just finished their semi-annual Hmong elders’ conference, and seeing as how most of the Hmong people in their areas would be at the tournament anyway. I was able to reunite briefly with old companions (Jolley, Boam, Findley, Hiatt, Miller) and see others I had met only briefly or had never served with (Bonilla-Barrera, Chapman, Coffey, Heath and Jones) and also ran into a lot of familiar faces from all of my past areas. I showed Mom and Dad around the dozens of booths which sold clothes, toys, Hmong souvenirs, medicine and herbs and food.


We bought a sausage and sticky rice, and I even had them try the papaya salad, some of the spiciest Hmong food in existence, and the woman who made it even made it extra spicy. All or nothing, right? HA. Mom and Dad tried it, but only a little.


We bought a few egg rolls for the elders, I gave them the poster boards I had made of the three lessons in Hmong (I realized I have no real use for them at home, but they could use them for many things if they were left in the mission), which were promptly displayed on the table.


Seethong and Mai Chou bought me a very amusing shirt with an anime Hmong guy and a caption that reads (in Hmong): “I don’t want to be alone.”


Incidentally, it is amazing how nearly every single person we ran into asked if I were married yet… Not dating anyone, but married! It was great. I’m like… give me a few months! Even more amusing is how at least four people asked about the same girl (who Sister Barrett insisted I look up), even though I haven’t even officially contacted her yet! We came back and crashed at the hotel for a few minutes (it’s amazing what a face rinse, a potty and a ten-minute nap can do) and headed again to the Yangs for pho, a traditional Hmong soup-type dish with noodles and beef broth, meatballs and some green veggie seasonings and spices. Mom loved it so much she decided she wanted to eat it every day for lunch and dinner from now on, and Dad noted that he really likes the spicy stuff (that’s my parents!).


But even before dinner, Mai Chou and Nhia decided they wanted to dress up Mom in traditional Hmong clothes, and Dad’s turn followed shortly. I fell over when they came out of the bedroom in their khaub ncaws Hmoob and we took picture after picture with camera after camera.




I just kept wondering if I could get any happier, when suddenly Seethong said they had another surprise to tell us. I had this weird feeling… like I could guess… and I was right! Mai Chou is expecting! I always knew they were taking their time, making sure they were ready when kids came, but this is so perfect. She’s due in March, so it could even be born in the covenant, after they are sealed. I was unbelievably thrilled and secretly hope they’ll name the baby Kuab Ci. Unless it’s a girl. Actually, even if it’s a girl! Ha ha.


That night I consented to stay at their place, and I dropped off Mom and Dad at the hotel and came back, driving, for the first time, all by myself down the streets of Appleton. Of course it didn’t last long, in effect, since I called Elder Findley to tell him the news about the upcoming newest Yang. WOW. We didn’t stay up quite so late this time talking, but still visited for quite a while. I showed them family pictures, Seethong played his guitar and sang the song he wrote for Mai Chou while they were still dating, and Mai Chou painted her nails. They pulled out a mattress and some sheets for me and I crashed hard on the living room floor.

Wisconsin Report Day 2: North to South

Day 2:

Friday morning started quite early. We had to be out the door around 7:30, which means that we weren’t even in the hotel for eight hours! I had planned for us to visit Sheboygan in the morning and head up to Wausau in the afternoon, but due to the schedule of some of the members in Wausau, those visits were switched. We drove the approximately 160 miles up to Wausau, the furthest north I ever served (and where I was for 7 ½ months collectively). It was beautiful as ever, rivers and trees all over, but none of the brilliant fall colors had yet appeared—give them two weeks. Appropriately, the first Hmong family I took Mom and Dad to meet was the first I met. Tong Lee (who gaveme my Hmong name) and his wife Nou and children Vang and Gao were very sweet and happy to meet us, and even prepared Mom and Dad’s first traditional Hmong meal (very usual fare, but excellent as it ever is at the Lees’—sticky rice, boiled vegetables, spring rolls, three kinds of meat with veggies, pink guava juice, and Mom and Dad’s very first Hmong egg rolls!). They’ve been members for a few years, and Tong and Nou were endowed in the St. Paul temple when Jared Johns and I were in Wausau together. I will never forget the look on their faces and the light in their eyes when they expressed their astonishment at the experience in the Celestial Room. Tong is also currently serving in the Wausau ward Elders’ Quorum presidency.


After that I drove Mom and Dad to an apartment complex wherein live several Hmong people, and showed them the makeshift Hmong farm in the back, maintained by the residents.


Later we stopped by Gilbert Yang’s house (his wife Lilly was working), and spent a few minutes with him and his four kids who were baptized just after I left Wausau the second time and have been going strong ever since.


There were several other people I wanted to visit, but due to limited time we stopped by one Miskas (American) family, the Mikelsens. The parents weren’t home, but I said hello to many of their eight kids (it took a couple of them a minute to recognize me) and they were really excited to see us all.


I had a feeling we should stop by and see Dang Vang, an awesome member, which turned out to be a good idea, since he was getting ready to pack up and move to Oklahoma the next day...


And then, after stopping by our old apartment, I took Mom and Dad to Rib Mountain State Park (and believe me, they use the term “mountain” quite liberally) and we drove up to the top and had a good look at the view from the 96-stair step tower from one of the highest points in Wisconsin, at a staggering 1,940 feet.


We stopped to try the legendary 1 lb. soft-serve cone at the local Briq’s (Mom and Dad shared but I had my own “zebra”, OMG, probably the best ice cream ever) , and after filling up with gas and stopping for a few minutes at the beloved-by-(most-)elders East Bay retail store, headed down toward Sheboygan via Green Bay.


I never served in Green Bay, so I didn’t really know anyone there, but we stopped there briefly, meeting up with dear Elder Petersen at the Lambeau Field parking lot (I know, I know, Easty Bay AND Lambeau Field in one day?? Who am I anyway?!?). Elder Petersen, an English-speaking elder around whom I served for three months in Milwaukee, and thus had grown to love very dearly, was satisfyingly surprised to hear I was in town, and as he and his companion Elder Hansen both go home next week, they were curious about the transition and the feeling of coming down that escalator and seeing your beaming family waiting for you.

I would also have liked to see Elder Hawkes, who trained Elder Banez and with whom I lived for several months in Appleton, but he was in a neighboring town biking with his companion, so I told him it was enough to know we were this close to each other, ha. We raced the sun for the 60ish miles to Sheboygan in order to see the beach on Lake Michigan before sunset and see a few people before driving another hour or so to our plans in Appleton. Stopping to check out the old apartment, we then went to the lake, which was looking stunning and calm, and we were just walking out to the lighthouse when I saw who looked like two sister missionaries (the nametages are pretty unmistakable). Upon closer inspection I saw it was Sister Yoshimoto and her companion (who I had never met), Sister Bryner! Apparently there was a YSA activity for the Winnebago singles branch on the beach and the sisters were in attendance. After saying hello we continued walking until I saw someone who could only have been a swimsuit-clad, very tan indeed Tom Strawn, a member from Sheboygan with whom I had made dear friends during my 4 ½ months there. We had a tearful reunion while Mom and Dad had a stroll down toward the lighthouse to get a look at the seemingly endless lake. Later down the beach I ran into a slew of familiar faces including Elder Brinton, Elder Merrill and his boy Elder Schaffer (who I hadn’t met, but with whom my boy has been serving in a zebra for the last six weeks), Elder Findies, Sister Hafen and Sister Johnson, and Vong Xiong, a Hmong member from Sheboygan who had served a mission in Fresno (and who had been companions with one of my MTC teachers) and who was a good friend and big help to the Hmong elders there. It was such a bizarre coincidence that we would just happen to run into so many familiar faces at once (and thus negate a need to stop a couple of places).


Another hour or two in Sheboygan would have been nice, but we had a reunion in Appleton to attend to. We drove just over an hour into Appleton and straight to the home of Seethong (pronounced See Tong) and Mai Chou Yang.

(For those who are unfamiliar with the Yangs of Appleton, allow me to attempt to describe how amazing they are briefly… Think of the most golden couple you have ever met as a missionary or even heard of. Then multiply how awesome they were by infinity. These are people who were truly searching, people who dismiss anti material delivered by relatives of other faiths almost immediately because of the strong Spirit they feel. This was a newly-wed couple, elegant, educated, sophisticated, adorable, searching for a church to bring their family closer together. Seethong’s father and younger brother had both passed away due to unrelated incidents three years prior to our first meeting, so they were grieving and mourning the loss of family whose absence they couldn’t explain or understand. This is a couple who took their paperbound Book of Mormon and True to the Faith with them on vacation to California and called from their hotel room in the evening with questions about what they had been reading. They read the pamphlets and wrote notes in the margins, looking up the related scripture references. They delivered Christmas presents to us before they left the state for their honeymoon. They picked US up and drove us to church when we were without a car. They took keeping commitments and asking questions to a whole new level, and approached US with a desire to be baptized. I doubt if they will ever know how much they meant to the missionaries and the branch, not to mention the Lord’s evident joy at their joining the kingdom. I had the rare pleasure of participating in not only the finding and teaching, but also the baptizing and confirming of Seethong , his wife, and his mother Nhia. When they were baptized and confirmed, there was something really noticeable in the air… something tangible and electric… Something exciting about to happen. It really is difficult to understand how wonderful they are until you meet them, which is why, after 9:30 pm though it was, I was determined for Mom and Dad to meet them immediately.)


I had been excited to see Wausau and even Sheboygan, but I was sooooo pumped to take that drive into the familiar streets of Appleton. Mom, Dad and I joined Seethong, Mai Chou and Nhia, as well as Seethong’s college-student brother and sister Suying and Pang Kou for more excellent Hmong food and a nice long visit. We were joined a few moments later by dear Elder Findley (my second boy, for whom my last six weeks were basically the MTC) and his companion Elder Chapman (my first boy’s trainee, ergo my “grandson”—one big family reunion). The Yangs were immediately taken with Mom and Dad, and vice versa, and we were all excited that for the first time I didn’t have to rush home at 9:25 in order to be home by missionary curfew! (Although Elder Findley stayed a little late, but he's usually quite obedient, and as he said, this was a magical moment.) Seethong broke the news to me that his youngest brother and sister had been baptized the week before and were being confirmed the following Sunday. I just stood there… eyes wide and hands over my open mouth… WHA?!?!? I just started laughing and crying, I was so excited. How everyone (including the elders) had managed to keep this secret from me is beyond me, but I was so happy to see the light in all of those eyes. Mom and Dad, great sports that they were, were tired out by all the traveling of the day, so went to check into the hotel while I stayed and chatted with Seethong and Mai Chou until 2:30 am. It was nice to talk as friends (although we WERE friends when I was a missionary, it’s just different—you can talk a little deeper and more personally when the nametag and suit are off and the flip-flops and t-shirt are on) and see how strong they’re staying. Mai Chou was recently called as Young Women’s President for the branch and Seethong was about to be sustained as Elder’s Quorum President! I mean… five months after baptism… And they are totally ready. They wanted me to stay the night but I thought I better head to where Mom and Dad were at the La Quinta on College Avenue, where I joined Mom and Dad in getting some much-needed rest.

Stay tuned!

Wisconsin Report Day 1: Welcome to Wisconsin

Okay, time to start my trip report! I'm going to post once for each day separately so it will be organized into bite-sized pieces, rather than one unmanageable lump. (WARNING: I didn't even bother trying to abbreviate my report of this trip. I know it's going to be long, but it's important to me to document it in this way, mainly just because I had such a great time. There are those who will be interested in a detailed description, so I'll provide it, even though words can hardly describe the experience we had this weekend! Skim if you like, but I'll provide photos along the way to illustrate. Anyway, warning over. Read on!)

Day 1:

Is anyone here aware that Happy Days was set in Wisconsin? Did anyone also know that Happy Days was made into a musical? Did anyone ALSO also know that there is an opening number in said musical is called "Welcome to Wisconsin"? Well, it was, and it is and there is. Well, I thought it was exciting anyway.



After some final preparations on Thursday morning, we headed up to the airport! We only thought of a few minor things we had forgotten (seems like there’s always something), and were there in plenty of time, only to learn that our flight was delayed an hour, pending some mechanical repairs on our plane in its previous airport. Also, FYI, stupidly, a lot of airlines now charge even to check one bag, and to check two is almost twice as much. Lame. We saved by carrying on two of our three bags, but still. The pilot was able to shave off fifteen minutes or so, so we weren’t terribly later than we had planned, when at last we landed in the midwest, stepping off the plane into a wall of humidity. We made our way quickly through the sprawling Chicago O’Hare terminal and quickly were picked up by the shuttle which took us to the car rental agency, and at last we were driving toward southern Wisconsin, Dad’s trusty GPS leading the way (when I didn’t know).



The plan was to stop briefly in Racine, in between Chicago and Milwaukee, to say hello to dear Elder Banez (an English-speaking elder with whom I lived for my last six months in Appleton), but he and his boy were sadly unavailable. As we kept driving north, at last the scenery and city names started to look familiar, and I was really excited to make our way into southern Milwaukee. We saw signs advertising Wisconsin Cheese (although to tell the truth I don’t think I’ve ever actually had “Wisconsin Cheese”) and beer and passed about a hundred people on Harleys—turns out there was a Harley Davidson anniversary convention in Milwaukee this weekend. We stopped just after 10 pm to say hello to President and Sister Barrett and their 17-year-old son Todd (fresh home from his high school football game), and had a nice, short, late visit with them. HA, they hardly recognized me with my beard and long hair! It was so nice to see them, and even to learn some things about them that I never knew (President grew up in Moab??), and try and make family connections between Granpda’s and President’s families. We then drove about an hour to the Sheboygan Falls Days Inn, but way too late to visit anyone there. The next day’s plans changed rapidly with the delay in our arrival flight, but things will be great. I was just looking forward to seeing some actual Hmong people in Wisconsin again. It was a weird feeling to be back, but in a way, no big deal. It looks the same as I left it. That night Dad bemoaned the fact that he forgot his mp3 player, which he had loaded up with books and music just for the trip. Sad.