31 March 2008

Around the World in 10 days


Jonathan successfully circumnavigated the globe: having logged 25,351.65 air miles since March 22.  

Jonathan's crazy trajectories: 
Los Angeles - Taipei, Taiwan - Hong Kong - Munich, Germany - São Paulo, Brazil - Lima, Peru - Los Angeles!  (Sunny & J were together until Hong Kong... Sunny to Japan)

Photos from the Munich leg:  HERE.
More photos from Taiwan: HERE.
More Photos from Hong Kong: HERE.

Now back in L.A., starting the third quarter at UCLA!

Brazil



Jonathan went to Brazil as Sunny went to Japan.
Jonathan went to Brazil to attend the wedding of Juliana Tabata & Wagner Souza in São Paulo.  Juliana was baptized in 2004 during J's mission down there... She since served a mission in the south of Brazil, and got married in the São Paulo temple this weekend and Jonathan was honored to attend, serving as witness, etc.  

For pictures from Jonathan's Brazil trip, click HERE.  
For even more photos from the Brazil trip: HERE.

Despite the brevity of the stay in beloved Brazil, it was a great trip, and Jonathan got to see many of his close friends there.  

25 March 2008

ASIA again . . . Taipei & Hong Kong



We departed Los Angeles for Taipei on Malaysia Airlines... direct flight to Taipei.  Anyway, we got to Taiwan early Sunday morning and stayed til Monday late morning.  Church in Taipei was nice and we got lots of good food there too. 

Monday, we left Taipei for Hong Kong... one of our favorite cities on Earth!  Great food, shopping, nightlife, beautiful skyline, etc.  Love it!!!  


In fact, we are still in Hong Kong right now as I type this.... LIVE from our hotel room! :)


17 March 2008

Jonathan's final exams....


UCLA Final Exams week . . . . Jonathan is busy and stressed! Friday can't come soon enough: VACATION!

16 March 2008

Jonathan's parents love St. Patrick's Day!

Friend Jerry is famous!


Our friend was featured in CES material. He is the second from the left. Go Jerry!

Palm Sunday Picnic at Lake Balboa in L.A.


This afternoon we ventured to the north of Los Angeles City.  We visited Lake Balboa and enjoyed the perfect day for a picnic.  The Lake is kind of famous for its nice cherry trees, which are in full blossom right now. Of course, it is not nearly as exciting as going to Kyoto's cherry blossoms--or even DC's, for that matter-- but it was a very nice Sunday activity.  Next Sunday, Sunny and I will be in Taipei, Taiwan, and we won't be able to enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon together until the middle of next month, so we had a great time today.

It was only a 30 minute drive from our place in the South Bay, and it was well worth the drive.  Lots of ducks, children, dogs, soccer, boats, etc. Beautiful area to visit.

See more of our photos at this link.

We are so grateful for good friends and family!  Please come visit us.. we love visitors.  

(we're going to Utah for jonathan's cousin's wedding on April 8th.)


15 March 2008

What we're missing this coming week in Spain:

When I was first in Spain back in 2000, I fell in love with Spain's beautiful Holy Week and Easter traditions. One of most exciting is the traditional procession. Here are some video clips of random Holy Week processions:








14 March 2008

Sunny in eastern Canada

Sunny departed LAX this morning for Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She will be back tomorrow evening... It is really cold there right now - in the 30s Fahrenheit!

13 March 2008

Sunny: 15 hours traveling, 6 hours working: less than 24 hour trip to Georgia!!

In the Charlotte airport (North Carolina) Sunny took this of these very charming rocking chairs available for passengers to relax as they await flights, etc.  Very interesting concept.... only in the South!  Sunny went to Georgia and it seemed only a few hours later that I picked her up again at LAX.... quick!

12 March 2008

Consuls at UCLA


Jonathan has been involved in a program called "Consular Connection" at UCLA... this picture is of the most recent event at the end of February.  Here pictured with Consuls General from Turkey, Bangladesh, and Germany.  (I did crop this shot...)

Also, I recently wrote the Wikpedia article about the Los Angeles Consular Corps.

11 March 2008

More Panoramic views of São Paulo, Brazil

Whenever we discuss São Paulo around Sunny's dad (he lived there for a few years), he complains about the traffic (well it is worse than Los Angeles), the food (why???), and calls SP a great "concrete jungle".  

Jonathan's São Paulo obsession

São Paulo is such an amazing and endless city (much like L.A.) .... is and always will be Jonathan's obsession.  Today he got 4 phone calls from people there, and he is getting more and more eager to get down there in 2 weeks! It will a wonderful trip!  Possible baptism, a wedding, lots of friends, good Brazilian food, a meeting or two... lots of alegría.

Unfortunately, Sunny will be unable to accompany Jonathan to the Brazilian megacity.... well, there's always next time!

Downtown Disney with family


We met some of Sunny's siblings, her parents, etc. in Anaheim to eat dinner and enjoy Downtown Disney.  I was pleasantly surprised with the great live music, cool shopping, good eats, etc. Fun place to spend the evening. 
For more photos, click HERE.


GO DISNEYLAND! 

Jonathan loves his UCLA

Sunny going to Georgia


Sunny must make a business trip tonight to Georgia.  Her responsibilities take her to Savannah, Georgia tonight, but she'll be back tomorrow night!  Jonathan must stay home and study, etc.

Sunny going to Toronto, Canada

Sunny is leaving Jonathan in California to attend the funeral of cousin Ming Shin who passed away this past weekend.  Sunny will be in Canada Friday-Saturday.  Unfortunately, Jonathan cannot attend because his passport is stuck in the Brazilian consulate.

09 March 2008

Remembering cousin Ming Shin, 1978-2008

Sunny's cousin, Ming Shing, passed away this weekend after struggling with TB and cancer.

Sunny and Jonathan are planning to attend his funeral in Toronto, Canada this coming Saturday.

In the picture above, Jonathan is standing right behind Ming (wearing a necktie).  We enjoyed a pretty close association with Ming during the summer of 2007 that we spent in China and Hong Kong.  Ming exemplified kindness, thoughtfulness, and he was always willing to help anyone in need.  I always admired his genuine concern for other people.  We will miss him very much.  Our prayers are with his parents.

Spain's Electoral disappointment: PSOE wins

Jonathan is bummed that the Spanish Socialists won the national election: 4 more years of Pres. Zapatero.  For the latest election results, click here.

Disneyland: Downtown Disney

This Saturday while Jonathan worked hard on school work, Sunny went to the beach for a massage.... then  in the evening we went to Downtown Disney for dinner at the House of Blues, and then went shopping!  Very fun evening spent with relatives who live in the region.

03 March 2008

Relatives visiting, school, gastronomy, etc.


This weekend we attended a performance of the BYU Young Ambassadors, who are on tour in California right now.  They performed at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, a gorgeous venue for the arts!!  Downtown Long Beach is a lovely place; it's always a treat to visit there.
Also, Jonathan's aunts Bonnie and Linda came to visit their Aunt Rachel in Burbank, so we all got together on Sunday evening for dinner and a nice big family visit.
This evening, we took the missionaries out to eat Korean food at a restaurant on Sepulveda - super authentic, and delicious.  We love Korean BBQ - cooking it yourself, etc.  The elders enjoyed Korean food for the first time!
Jonathan is way busy with school and other projects, and Sunny is preparing for a bunch of travels.
For more pictures of recent days/weeks: click HERE.

Jonathan & Sunny - Since 2005