East Coast Trip Part 1: Family Time

We returned from an extended stay in the Delaware Valley on Sunday afternoon. I had actually arrived in Philadelphia on September 15th and spent a long weekend in Bryn Mawr for my alumnae association committee meetings. After the meetings were over, I spent the week working from my parents' home in Princeton.

Nathan and his parents arrived in Newark on Friday evening. We were extremely happy to see each other again. On Saturday afternoon, my parents hosted our Korean wedding reception. Many of my maternal relatives celebrated with us that day including cousins whom I had not seen in nearly 20 years. I knew them well when I was in middle school as they had gone to college around the area (at least four of them attended UPenn) and now several of them have their own families around Philadelphia and New York. It was extraordinary to see them again and to hear about the exciting things going on in their careers. Most of female cousins have done some very remarkable things and have distinguished themselves at an early age. I can only aspire to be like them. One particular cousin of mine recently earned an Industry Leadership Award by the American Lighting Association. Her parents personify "self-made" human beings and were obviously fantastic predecessors.

It was also wonderful to see friends of mine whom I had not seen in a few years (some were friends who were not able to attend our weddings in Las Vegas and in Seattle). Two of my close friends from college attended as did some of our friends from graduate school who recently moved to NJ. My neighbors whom I hadn't seen for nearly ten years also attended. My neighbor was once faculty at Bryn Mawr, and it is through her that I learned about the college (I am forever grateful for that). Their son and I attended elementary through high school together; he married about the same time as Nathan and I did. He is finishing his residency now in Boston while his wife and son live in New York.

After the festivities, we took a family vacation to New York and Philadelphia. For Buz's Father's Day gift, Nathan, my father, and I purchased tickets to "The Book of Mormon." Our tickets were separate from each other as it was and is still such a popular show. However, it was worth the hassle. The production was hilarious, and the acting was sensational. The musical numbers and dancing put a smile on everyone's face. When we left the theater, Buz had a grin from ear to ear. To cap off the wonderful day, I prepared a prime rib for Nathan's birthday dinner. To make it extra special, my father opened up a 25-year-old bottle of wine that I had purchased for him in 2001! He had forgotten that I had given it to him as a birthday gift. He admitted that it was good enough for only a special occasion. To him, our family reunion was just that.

After our NYC excursion, I brought Nathan's family to Bryn Mawr, Old City, and to the Art Museum. At Bryn Mawr, I was able to give both a historical and architectural tour of the campus. Its gothic buildings very much resemble the "Oxbridge" architecture. Yet it has a diversity of buildings as one of the dorms was a Louis Kahn creation. To me, it was always the ugliest building on campus. However, to an architecture student, it is a work of fine art. While I was traveling in Spain in 1999-2000, I met a young woman on the train between Barcelona and Paris. When I told her that I was a student from Bryn Mawr, she told me how much she loved Erdman (the building Kahn had designed). As they say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

When we arrived in Old City, Philadelphia, we took a tour of The Liberty Bell and of Independence Hall. We are continuously reminded of the youth of our country. During our tour of Independence Hall, Margaret and Buz recalled that it has been no more than five life-spans since the dawn of our nation. This is quite different from the UK, France, and Germany. We did not exactly have a Hapsburg or Ottoman Empire albeit we can recall that the demise in the early 20th century was rather catastrophic, and thus I am thankful that we do not. After our delightful walking tour, we sipped sangrias and munched on tapas at Jose Garces' restaurant, Amada.

The following day, we visited the Philadelphia Art museum and enjoyed a Rembrant exhibit. This was probably more of a treat for our mothers. I am not particularly interested in the Golden Age period as I find the work to be too dark for my taste. On the other hand, I enjoyed seeing the evolution of Biblical art. During the Renaissance, Jesus was portrayed as much more untouchable because he was too holy to have contact. Yet Rembrant enjoyed painting Jesus in a much more human and social state. It was as if he made him of the people instead of portraying him as only god-like.

During our final day together, we toured The Institute for Advanced Study and Princeton University together. The history of the Institute for Advanced Study is beautiful and extraordinarily profound to American academics. I also have very fond memories of it. My father used to take me sledding around there as a young girl. I spent the Summer of 1999 participating in an NSF program for Women in Mathematics. Typically IAS fellows are very talented post-docs. One of my former math professors took a sabbatical here; she's now a fellow at the Mellon Foundation and is one of the most respected African-American women in Mathematics. This exact walkway in front of Fuld Hall is where Einstein pondered writing FDR about what he knew regarding the German and the Japanese advancement with nuclear warfare. Apparently he agonized for months on that walkway, but obviously he wrote the letter because we know what happened in August 1945. It is ironic that he was such a pacifist. Then again, Nobel did come up with a "Peace Prize" despite inventing dynamite.

Our week together was much too short, but it was a much awaited and anticipated event for all of those involved. We waited many years to have our Korean wedding, and we finally have this photograph for posterity. Next up, Nathan will write about his 10 year college reunion at the United States Military Academy at West Point.