Good People

On January 25, I attended a luncheon hosted by the UCLA Blood & Platelet Donor Center
Fernando and Jaime, the unit managers
My history as a donor there began on September 11, 2001, when I donated my first pint of blood. My whole life I had made excuses not to give blood, but after watching the live footage of the 2nd plane crashing into the WTC and being numb with shock and worry about friends in NYC, the voice of reason belonged to Ralph Garman of KROQ. He was the DJ on the air that morning and he urged us to go to our local blood banks and make donations to try to help the victims of the terror attacks. Fortunately, I arrived early enough that morning to beat the rush of good samaritans, and to my pleasant surprise, after the donation was over, one of the staffers asked me, "AMC or Mann?" as in which free movie ticket would I like to receive!
Ron is the master of my tricky right vein
Last Friday, I was pleasantly surprised again with a nice beach towel that says "I save lives." Everyone that attended the lunch got a beach towel because the grand prize drawing (a trip for two to Fiji) was being held during the lunch. I didn't qualify because I was too sick and/or busy to stop in during the qualifying period, but freebies are not my motivation for being a regular platelet donor at UCLA.

There were two mothers at the luncheon who thanked us for helping to save their children's lives. It was hard not to be overwhelmed with emotion while listening to their testimonies. One mother has become a regular donor and recruiter herself. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia when he was only 5, but now he is a 19-year-old college student! While my platelets may not have been given to those particular patients, for the first time I was able to hear what my platelets and whole blood have been used for and it cheered me tremendously (I was battling a work-stress funk).

Over the years, I have worked my way up to a 3 gallon donor pin, so I was floored when I noticed that the woman next to me at lunch had a 23 gallon pin (that's what I'm pointing at).
Lynn ROCKS -- 23 gallons!!!!!!
It was also nice to see Daniel again--we worked the Countrywide Men's Tennis tournament together in July and I had lost contact with him, but I recognized him and grabbed a seat at his table during lunch.

Reunion of tennis tournament clothing shop slaves
Thursday morning I stopped in to make my 27th overall donation. I was happy to pass the hemoglobin screening (14.3 vs. 12.5 minimum). I was not so happy about the scales (I weighed in at over a buck and a half), but I will be doing something about that when I get to Kobe (perhaps swimming or POLE DANCING class?! It's very popular in Japan right now!!!!!)

Most of all, I was happy to thank the staff in return by giving them a sampler of Doughboys desserts (red velvet cake, double chocolate cupcake, German chocolate cake, hummingbird cake, and double chocolate walnut cake...). Hopefully I will have time for one more donation which will bring me to 3.5 gallons, but there's a LOT of crap to do between now and next Wednesday night, when I fly to Atlanta en route to Tokyo!

Oprah likes it! She featured Doughboys' red velvet cake on her TV show.

Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey re: The Great Debaters

Dear Ms. Winfrey:

I have just returned from a screening of The Great Debaters. I look like a drowned rat because of the storm that is dumping rain on Southern California as I am writing this letter to you, but it was greatly worth braving the elements to go see.

I am a long time admirer of your many worthy projects and I salute you again for bringing such a powerful and moving film to the screen. I know other movies are generating award buzz, but to me, The Great Debaters is a true winner, golden statues or no (I hope yes, though).

I spent six years teaching English in Japanese junior high schools and I am of Thai and Chinese descent. In Asia, teachers are shown so much more respect from students, parents, and community members than in Western countries. In fact, in Thailand, there is a holiday to honor teachers and there are formal ceremonies held where students show respect to their instructors by offering them flowers and other small gifts.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could push for a Teacher Recognition Day? Or run a contest asking for students around America to write in to you about their teachers and fly the winning students and their teachers to Chicago to attend a taping of your show? I think Teach for America is a great program that could possibly be tied into the theme of the show as well. While I haven’t worked with them directly, I think it’s a great organization and I am considering working for them in the future.

In any case, I hope that when The Great Debaters is available on DVD, you will consider making them available to schools and educators who wish to make it part of their history or debate curriculum, and perhaps give it away to your audience, too.

In closing, I have so much admiration for you and your South African school project. It makes me all the prouder to know that a fellow Cornell alumna is/was a member of your staff.

Nuntica (Rose) Tanasugarn

PS I cried more during The Great Debaters than during Atonement…can you say “overhyped”? The Great Debaters needs more exposure!!!!!

"My Hero"

The black dog (aka Funky Town/depression) came barking last week, but there's nothing like a kick ass concert and some volunteer work to nip the "woe is me"whining and lethargy in the bud before they get out of hand.

Saturday, my sister Janet and I were at K-ROQ's L.A. Invasion. OMG! Totally worth the almost $100 ticket, despite getting seats that were in the hot sun (my sis and I sat on a freebie Scion towel in the shady pavement of the unused mobility impaired section until the sun went down--we would have gotten heat stroke for sure if we hadn't).

The party REALLY started when Perry Farrell's Satellite Party took the stage (I didn't really know too many songs by Paramore, Against! Me, or Hot Hot Heat)--it was basically a best of Jane's Addiction/Porno for Pyros gig. The best part was when Perry did his encore number, "Jane Says"--he started the number by apparently guzzling a lot of red wine out of a bottle before jumping into the audience and pouring some for the adoring fans! But upon closer observation (the angle of the bottle as he poured), he didn't swig as much as he led us to believe and instead let the fans drink most of the bottle. His wife Etty, an ex-ballerina turned backup singer and featured dancer for the band, demonstrated that she's still got flexibility and balance in her super skimpy outfit (she did a standing split in front of the drum kit)!!!!! Other artists that played were: Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, Velvet Revolver, (I SOOOOO wanted to steal Scott Weiland's uber cool peacoat--he really got into the "Invasion" theme with his military dictator look, complete with cap [and possibly boots--I couldn't see that well, and the giant screens don't usually offer a full body view]) Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins. I practically lost my voice screaming my adoration for Dave Grohl and the other Foos. Everlong is normally their encore song, but to open their set, Dave came out on the darkened stage and did most of the song solo, standing in a simple spotlight. Toward the end of the song, the rest of the band took the stage as all sorts of lights went on and rocked it HARD!!!!!!!

There's really nothing like seeing Foo Fighters in a stadium (Dodger Stadium with the Police, and on Saturday they conquered the crowd at Home Depot Center aka home of David Beckham's L.A. Galaxy). And like he did at Dodger Stadium, Dave wandered into the audience during Stacked Actors and climbed up on a speaker near the control booth to do his long guitar solo. Unlike the Dodger Stadium show, a really nice (and STRONG) security guard carried Dave on his shoulders to help him get through the crowd.

However, the song that stayed with me all the next day was "My Hero," as I dragged myself out of bed at 2:45 (after getting home past midnight, despite skipping out after only a couple of Smashing Pumpkins songs, by the time I got settled and got my stuff ready for the next morning, I only slept about 45 minutes!) to drive to Zuma Beach. I volunteered to help with the Nautica* Malibu Triathlon and had to be there by 4:30. I arrived at 3:45, but couldn't sleep in the car for fear of not waking up! *The name of this clothing manufacturer is annoyingly one of the many ways my legal name gets butchered...my Sports Illustrated labels are addressed to "Nautica Tanasugarn."

At 4:50 a.m. I was super grumpy because there seemed to be no volunteer organization. I was standing around forever, and doing things on my own in the registration booth (consolidating boxes of goody bags, etc.) until the volunteer teenagers in the tent drove me nuts with their attitudes. I was relieved when I was recruited to go to the transition area. There was this creepy old lady who insisted on being a body marker ("I don't want to work registration! Why do you think I got up this early? I want to touch those hard bodies!") Yeeeeeeeeeeesh!

While the body marking was a good way to meet some of the athletes (I met a fellow Cornell alumnus for the first time--his sweatshirt was a dead giveaway), I was later asked to play carpet Nazi and keep waiting relay team members from crowding the blue carpet that was laid down for the athletes to run on in the transition area. Unfortunately, all the love I showed to Dave & the Foos, Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland and Perry did a real number on my vocal cords and I was not happy about having to continually shoo people back, especially when some of them were being snippy about me trying to keep a safe gap for everyone. Grrrrrrr. Training was very mimimal, and as a former tour guide and information specialist, it was hard for me to admit, "I don't know" and direct the questioner to one of the organizers. If I ever attend another triathalon, it will be as a photog/spectator!!!!!!!!

In the scheme of things, though, being at the triathlon was inspiring and uplifting. I had no right to mope and think my life was sucky when I was body marking a woman who had two prosthetic legs...I only noticed them when I asked her age (I had to mark everyone's age on their right calves). She was very gracious and her positive energy and attitude didn't let me feel awkward about my gaffe. I quickly marked the "R" for "relay" on her right bicep instead.

I was happiest when my friend and triathlete Taka found me in my punchy, auto-pilot state sometime between 6:30 and 7:00. Perhaps he saw the text message I sent to wish him well & let him know where I was posted. At least I got to give him a good luck hug & was able to hoarsely shout encouragement a couple times. I think he was too focused on the upcoming 1/2 mile ocean swim to hear me the first time as he walked by to get ready to leap into the cold Pacific Ocean waters, but he definitely saw me as he was leaving to start the 18-mile bike ride.

Anyway, getting back to "My Hero," I retroactively sent a dedication request vibe to Dave & the Foos--it was definitely the right song to honor the 3,200 athletes including David Duchovny, Carl Lewis, and Taka, who together raised over $700,000 for children's cancer research at Children's Hospital L.A. Well done, HEROES!!!!!!

The 44,000 Yen Essay

Tsunami Relief Efforts for Southern Thailand (Published in CLAIR Forum Magazine-August 2006)

December 26, 2004 is a day I will never forget.

I wasn’t in Southeast Asia when the tragic Sumatra earthquake and subsequent tsunamis struck, but exactly a month before, I had been in Phuket, Thailand with my family. My wonderful and happy vacation memories were replaced with feelings of horror and helplessness as I watched the destruction on Japanese news broadcasts. On Internet websites, I saw countless posts from frantic relatives trying to contact missing loved ones.

It was so frustrating to see descriptions of foreign tsunami victims written in Thai on hospital websites. I had the right skills to help, but I was in the wrong place. With difficulty, I fought the urge to resign from my teaching position in Shimane. I wanted to be in Thailand where translators were desperately needed to assist the foreign tsunami victims and their families. However, I had responsibilities that I could not abandon. I knew I had to find different ways to help the recovery effort while staying in Japan.

After the New Year holidays, I contacted some friends about doing a fundraising activity for the disaster victims. The quickest and most effective method was to organize a donation campaign by Shimane JET participants. In less than a month, we collected ¥1,608,346 for Japan UNICEF’s special emergency relief fund. Over ¥130,000 of it came from my friends, coworkers and students in Hamada. I was overwhelmed by their generous response. However, I still felt there was more I could do, especially for the people of Thailand, my father’s homeland.

A Thailand-Shimane Connection: Coincidence or Fate?

Fate works in strange ways; my second cousin David Klinkusoom was a JET participant in Shimane from 2001-2003. While he was Kawamoto-cho’s ALT, David became acquainted with a wonderful family who treated him like a son. His Shimane dad, Katsutoshi Nakagawa, has a long association with people from Southeast Asia. The Nakagawa family has often hosted Southeast Asian people studying in Shimane.

In another twist of fate, the Nakagawas’ son, Shunsuke, a SCUBA diving instructor in Thailand, was in the waters off Phi Phi Island when the tsunami struck. He said it was like being in a washing machine, but his life was miraculously spared. Surviving such a terrifying experience motivated him to stay and help the people of Phi Phi, especially the orphaned children.

In the month following the tsunami, the Nakagawa family collected over ¥2,000,000 for Phi Phi Island. Thanks to my cousin’s connection with the Nakagawas, I became acquainted with Shunsuke and his father and both were glad to hear of my motivation to help the tsunami victims in Thailand.

Collecting Donations with Mr. Nakagawa at an International Food Fair - March 2005

Teaming Up with the Nakagawas

Following the disaster, Shunsuke remained on Phi Phi Island and assisted with the gruesome rescue and recovery efforts. He is still in Southern Thailand and does a lot of volunteer work, particularly with the school children and their families.

His major project was translating and publishing the Japanese version of The Children of Phi Phi Island, a book of illustrations and stories by the orphans. Proceeds from the books directly support the 44 children featured in the book and related projects.

I also became acquainted with Ms. Yardfon Pum Booranapim, the Thai coordinator of the book project. This excerpt from one of her newsletters explains how The Children of Phi Phi Island came about:

”We created ‘Children of Koh Phi Phi’ after meeting Ajarn Sukdee, the principal of Baan Koh Phi Phi secondary school, which of course was destroyed. Our aim is to provide a new school for the children so they can receive the education they deserve, and also to make possible for the parents to learn new skills, so they can receive the education they have never been granted access to. This will not only make it possible for them to get a new job, but also keep their mind busy and their thoughts away from their recent past.”

Shunsuke, Pum and I exchanged many e-mails, sharing ideas about how best to promote the book. I was especially excited to hear that Shunsuke would be making a visit home to Kawamoto during a short tour of Japan to sell the book. I finally met Shunsuke face-to-face in September 2005 at the Hamada Children’s Museum of Art. I introduced him to Ms. Noriko Takano, the curator, who gave us permission to sell the book in the Museum’s gift shop. Hamada’s aquarium AQUAS kindly agreed to sell the books as well.

During his busy month in Japan, Shunsuke attended several events in Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima, sharing his experience as a tsunami survivor and volunteer. Single-handedly, he sold over 900 copies of the book during his speaking tour. With the help of his parents who handle Internet orders, the first printing of over 2,500 books has sold out. The Nakagawa family’s incredible dedication to the book project continues to amaze and inspire me.

Connecting the Children of Shimane and Phi Phi Island

To commemorate the first anniversary of the tsunami, Pum wrote a follow-up book, The Heart of Phi Phi’s Children, to support eleven additional orphans not included in the original book. Shunsuke’s father is currently working on the Japanese translation of the new book.

I was honored to provide a quote for the new book, but when Pum found out that I was teaching English in Japan, she asked for some comments from my students as well. I was very touched by what some of them wrote.

“Dear Phi Phi Island Friends,

“We are 8th grade students in Japan.

“From the newspapers and TV, we heard that Phi Phi Island was devastated by the tsunami following the giant earthquake. When we heard this news, we were so shocked.

“We know that the sadness caused by losing countless loved ones and dear friends is something that will never go away.

“On top of that, many of you lost your homes and are having a hard time rebuilding and recovering. It must be a really difficult time for you.

“It's understandable that many of you may have lost all hope following the disaster, but please believe in your future. Don't give up hope.

“WE'RE CHEERING FOR YOU!!!!!

“Your friends at Hamada 2nd Junior High School”

I also made a visit to Hibarigaoka Elementary School in Hamada shortly before my trip to Thailand in January 2006. I told the children that I would be going to Phi Phi Island, and that if they wanted to write letters or draw pictures for the orphans, I would be happy to deliver them.

It was difficult to explain to the younger children exactly what happened in December 2004, and how terribly the tsunami victims had suffered, but they seemed excited about making contact with new friends outside of Japan. Despite the short notice, I had many charming drawings and letters to take with me to Thailand. Their drawings now decorate the souvenir factory established by Pum and Shunsuke to provide work and income for the surviving adults on Phi Phi.

The Heart of Shimane’s People

From reading Shunsuke’s blog, I learned that he was using some of the funds from the Japanese book sales to pay for the children’s school lunches, repair leaks in the school’s roof, and buy bicycles for the children to ride to school. I printed these pages of his blog out to circulate at the schools and Board of Education in Hamada and asked for additional donations to help pay for school lunches and uniforms.

In less than two weeks, I collected over ¥120,000. Additionally, the Hamada Children’s Museum of Art contacted me and donated an additional ¥20,000 from loose change they had collected during a doll exhibition they held last summer. Had I started my fundraising sooner, I know I could have collected more donations, but the generosity of the Shimane people never ceases to touch my heart.

It has been a year and a half since the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami destroyed so many people’s lives. The challenge of helping tsunami victims grows more difficult; people tend to forget disasters once they are no longer in the news. There are still many men, women, and children with severe injuries who need physical rehabilitation and psychological counseling.

With many hotels, restaurants and other businesses now back in operation, the tourists are starting to return and Phi Phi Island seems to be back to normal. However, for the local people, the emotional scars are still fresh. Those who have recovered from their injuries are either too afraid of another tsunami or too haunted by the loss of loved ones to return to the island. Some have only gotten enough courage to come back for the memorial service on December 26, 2005.

Now that I have been to Phi Phi Island and seen the situation with my own eyes, I know there is still so much that needs to be done. As much as it hurt me to hear the survivors’ tragic stories and see their suffering during my recent visit, I am comforted by one thought: I know that as long as I want to continue helping people on Phi Phi Island, I have good friends throughout Japan who will support me in my efforts.

Through my friendship with the Nakagawas and the people of Shimane, I vow to continue doing whatever I can to help.


For information on The Children of Phi Phi Island and The Heart of Phi Phi’s Children, please visit http://giftofphiphi.hp.infoseek.co.jp or http://www.childrenofphiphi.com

Sentimental Rewind

Written March 12, 2006

Well, the essay for the contest has been e-mailed to the powers that be. Time: 8:51 a.m., 9 minutes before the deadline. I wouldn't say that it was my finest effort, but I wrote from the heart, and it was the best I could do considering my recent battles with writer's block and procrastination.

Yesterday morning, I awoke to find a message from Shun, a guy with a million megawatt smile and a heart of 24K gold. He apologized for not contacting me for such a long time. I wrote back and told him that he didn't need to apologize for anything and promised that if I won first prize, I would donate the 100,000 yen (around US $850) to the kids in Phi Phi, the inspiration for my essay.

Of course, when Megu picked me up at noon, my essay was only 2/3 done and I had a full day of activities scheduled.

The day started off with lunch at Mos Burger. It was Mos' birthday, so they gave all customers a cute little potted plant kit as a thank you present. Their katsu curry rice burger was AWESOME. It hit the spot after I spent most of Saturday sleeping and barely eating (I crunched on a dry mini-chicken ramen around 5 PM as I was IMing Shigeki...healthy, huh?)

After that, we made a brief appearance at the Hamada Children's Museum to attend the International Animation festival. We watched three short films from Russia. The Russian version of Winnie the Pooh was interesting--Pooh looked more like a Boris to me, and I couldn't understand a word he or Piglet were saying, but the storyline remained the same...Pooh getting into a mess of trouble while trying to get honey from a giganormous tree. Before hitting the road, we sampled the Museum Cafe's halo halo, a dessert from the Philippines which was a mix of vanilla ice cream, black tapioca, crushed ice, and mixed fruit.

From there, we headed east to Ohda to visit Ryo at the Mitsubishi dealership. We weren't sure if he was working because we wanted to surprise him and didn't call ahead to check his schedule for the week. When we arrived at the dealership, he was out on a sales call, but one of the other staff phoned him for us. We were offered apple tea and nikuman or anman (steamed buns filled with pork or sweet bean paste) as we waited, but as we were still full from lunch and the halo halo, we just had the tea.

Not long after, Ryo returned to base and gave us each a mini die-cast version of the new Mitsubishi i, the same toy he had given me for my birthday about two weeks ago. Then Megu decided to test drive the limited edition Colt and the i. It's a cute little car, but at around US $15K, it was a bit too much for our budgets. Unfortunately, he was on duty until 8, so he couldn't join us for our next two destinations--the hot rock sauna and Kukai, a ramen shop.

The hot rock sauna was amazing! The fee was about US$10, but we were given what looked like hospital scrubs to wear, towels and a half-liter of water with which to keep ourselves hydrated. Changing into the scrubs and grabbing comic books to pass the time, we spread out the bath towels on top of heated cement blocks. We then spent the next hour or so following this rotation: 5 minutes lying belly down, 10 minutes belly up, 5 minutes in the resting room, and so on.

Unfortunately, with snow in the forecast, the 5 minutes in the resting room went from 5 to 3 to 0 because it was just too chilly compared to the sauna room. After the two cycles, I didn't think I was sweating that much, but the third cycle really kicked the sweat glands into high gear. I didn't think I would be able to survive the last 10 minutes on my back. I was glad for the shower in the locker room, but I hear it's better for the skin to let the sweat rest for a while on the surface ("nature's cream"). No, thanks!

By the time we left the sauna, it was about 7:30. Ryo had recommended a restaurant for us to eat at, but it seemed like they were having a private dinner party, so Megu took me to her favorite ramen shop in Ohda. Boy, was the roast pork GOOD, but I didn't have my camera, so I couldn't get a photo of it.

When we got back to Hamada at 9, we decided to stop in at Cruise for a cup of fresh-brewed coffee. I've developed a dislike of canned coffee, and the coffee at Cruise smells so good, as does their curry, but we were still stuffed. When I got home at a bit after 10, I realized I still had to complete my essay. I knew it was risky to go to bed and try to wake up early to finish it, but I was too tired to put together any coherent thoughts.

Surprisingly, when the alarm went off at 3 AM, I wasn't too groggy, and after turning on some peppy background music, I started the conclusion of my essay. It all come together around 6 AM, and while I normally like to ask friends to proofread for me, this time, I decided to trust my own editing and let it fly when I got to school this morning.

I even had time to snap some photos of the SNOW! WTF! It's March 12th! I guess I should be glad that I didn't take my winter coat and scarf to the cleaners yet.

Cake on My Face?

Three years of life in rural Japan has gradually affected my English. I'm losing my idioms...is "cake on my face" a way of saying you really embarrassed yourself? (Oh...I think it's having "egg on one's face" that is the appropriate phrase I'm thinking of.)

Well, in this case, I got cupcake frosting ALL OVER myself and the concrete pavement outside my lodgings in Ithaca when the giant box that held many, many delectable Sincredible cupcakes collapsed from the weight!

Despite the big and messy boo boo, it's been an incredible day for me, getting better acquainted with fellow Cornell alumna Sam Shaber, who came to Ithaca to give a benefit concert for the Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Fund. Donations to the fund are welcome...please click here for more information.

I spent the afternoon with Sam running various errands and helping her set up for the performance at Cornell's Anabel Taylor Hall. A great big thank you also goes out to Lisa Elliott, the Assistant Director of the Cornell University Public Service Center, for all her help in putting this event together, right down to making the drive to Starbucks with me to pick up the donated coffee and serving supplies!

Ding Kong, the inaugural winner of the Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Award,was present to receive his award certificate and $200, which he promised to put to use in a local nutritional literacy pilot project for children he tutors at the Paul Schreurs Memorial Program.

By the way, Sam is playing two dates in L.A. (May 2nd at the Knitting Factory and May 22 at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood). See Sam's website for more tour dates around North America.

The following is an interview with Ding which was posted at Sam's website. Congratulations, Ding! Sam, for all you do, YOU ROCK!!!!!

MARIBEL GARCIA COMMUNITY SPIRIT FUND AWARDS ITS FIRST PRIZE TO STUDENT DING KONG

The Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Fund has chosen its first award recipient!

Ding Kong is a Cornell student who's been working with low-income kids in Ithaca as a tutor and nutrition counselor. Ding will be awarded his certificate and $200 prize at the benefit concert for the Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Fund on Thursday, April 26th at 7pm. The event will feature nationally touring artist (and Cornell alum) Sam Shaber in performance, as well as an opening set by current student Candace Berne. There will also be a reading of Maribel Garcia's fiction.

Mr. Kong sat down with us yesterday to talk more about himself and the work he's been doing in the Ithaca community.

SAM SHABER/MGCSF: The Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Fund is excited to present you with our very first annual award. Can you describe the work you've been doing in the community of Ithaca?

DING KONG: I am very honored to receive this grant, on behalf of the Paul Schreurs Memorial Program! I assure you that we will use it wisely for the pilot project, which will focus on food label/nutrition literacy and empowerment through cooking lessons, culminating in a panel discussion and family dinner that the youth will plan and cook for their families.

I have been working with the Paul Schreurs Memorial Program since October. I am one of many tutors for the after-school program, which reaches out to middle-school students who benefit from supplemental tutoring and having an older student to connect with. I noticed that the snacks we serve are not the healthiest snacks we can give, while realizing that asking the program to buy healthier foods is both financially and logistically burdensome on the program coordinators, and may also be futile without an active nutrition education program.

SAM SHABER/MGCSF: Is there anything that particularly inspired or motivated you to get involved with this program?

DING KONG: I want to work in education when I graduate, and I think that as an aspiring educator it's important to always keep a connection with youth. I've been involved in campus organizations for a long time, working to address bigger and bigger issues on higher and higher scales, but I felt that I was critically missing the individual component of it, and felt a need to connect with issues that I cared about on a personal level.

SAM SHABER/MGCSF: Can you give us a little background information on yourself? Where did you grow up? What are some of your interests? Do you have a major at Cornell? Do you have any particular plans after you graduate?

DING KONG: I am a Junior in Natural Resources, focusing on Environmental Justice Education. On campus I am heavily involved in environmental/social justice organizations like the Sustainability Hub and the Environmental Justice Working Group. Off campus I am involved with the PSMP, creating a curriculum for environmental literacy, creating publications for the CRESP Center for Transformative Action, and working with an arts-based youth community center in Harlem, NY to design and build a living sculpture in their garden.

I've lived in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles for most of my life. As an immigrant to the United States, I feel obligated to work on issues facing underserved and underrepresented communities on issues of environmental, food, and education justice.

SAM SHABER/MGCSF: What's been the biggest challenge so far in the community work you're doing?

DING KONG: The biggest challenge in working with communities is dealing with being the outsider. In my work with PSMP, where I am a college student tutoring Ithaca students who know I am not from their community creates a barrier between us, in addition to the age gap and generation gap.

I find that this challenge translates to finding ways to relate to the students and creating that bond first, before actually being able to work with them on different projects. This isn't just a hump that we suddenly pass one day and never have to deal with again, but something dynamic and fluctuating that I think about every time I'm there.

SAM SHABER/MGCSF: What have been the rewards?

DING KONG: It's hard to see what the rewards of this work are, but that's not what we are doing this for. I find it hard to measure my progress or gauge my level of connection with the students and the community, but can only hope that the work that we do is contributing to something better, and I guess the reward, at least in that sense, is knowing that we are doing something positive.

The Project Moves to North America

Following a whirlwind visit to Japan two weeks ago, I was able to collect some of the funds raised from book sales. I also gathered about 100 unsold books to try my luck at selling them here in L.A.

Fortunately, Thai New Year is coming up and there are a few events I can try to sell the book at (Thai New Year celebration at Wat Thai Buddhist Temple in North Hollywood and a Cornell alumni dinner at a Thai restaurant in Hollywood).

Net funds received (in Japanese yen):

37,260 honorarium for article published in September 2006 CLAIR
Forum Magazine

13,750 from K in Fukuoka (mahalo!)
33,000 from J in Fukuoka (you rock!)
17,000 from C in Hyogo (glad we could meet & thanks for the donation!)
----------
101,010 received to date.

Outlays report to come later...

Team Heart of Phi Phi members--you rule!!!!!!! xoxo