I'm Back...

Dear Family and Friends,
I can’t believe it has been so long since I have written. I went in for surgery on the afternoon of December 18th (the same day someone decided to use my Bank card they had, unbeknownst to me, stolen). As far as could be seen during the surgery everything went well. The feared damage to the cartilage in my ankle was minimal. As for the ligaments that were supposed to be there, they were practically nonexistent. The membrane surrounding the joint had ruptured, which explains why I was able to roll/sprain my ankle so often without ever experiencing any swelling or undue pain. Along with repairing the ligaments (using what little remained) the doctor sutured a tendon to both the taylor and fibula bones, thus were there was once a single attached ligament I now have a continuous band of ligament like material. After the surgery he even went as far as to say that the ligaments, or the items acting as such, should be “practically indestructible.” Fear not I do not intend on proving the doctor’s wrong on this one.

I spent four days on crutches before the doctor said I should start putting weight on my foot. THAT IS A FULL SEVEN AND A HALF WEEKS SOONER THAN THE SURGERY IN BRAZIL! Needless to say I was ecstatic to hear the good news. He did caution that I should use some form of support while walking to avoid any unnecessary falls or injuries; and thanks to a kind grandfather I now have my cane back and may be the only young man walking around campus with a stylish cane. (My faithful cane that I used while on my mission in Brazil has come back into service!)

I spent Christmas with two friends and their family in Ogden, UT. They were so kind. I was a part of their family for the few short days that I was with them. Christmas morning I was surprised to see presents being handed to me as people were taking their turns to unwrap gifts of their own. I am grateful for such amazing friends and all that they have done for me. Thank you all.

Well the semester has started, and started strong! I had intended on taking it easy this semester considering that I was going to be recovering from surgery but my plans failed once again. Before I knew it I was enrolled in, and supposed to audit 24 credit hours (12 credit hours is considered full time). After a little stress and mild disappointment at the prospect of not being capable of doing all that I had intended I started to whittle away at the weaker points of my schedule. After some polishing touches I am down to 18 credit hours of class (15 of which I am enrolled in and 3 auditing) and 3 for my TA job (I switched departments and am a teaching assistant for the general economics course at BYU). In those classes I am taking Linear Algebra, Mathematical proofs, The economics of growth (on the national scale), The sociology of change, Advanced Econometrics (this would be my ridiculously hard class), a prep course for my summer internship (more about that later), and a one credit class for the Honors Student Advisory Executive Board meetings.

Okay, so about this summer. I apologize to all of you that were hoping to see me for longer than a few days in the near future. I will be leaving for Thailand at the beginning of May and will be living there for a period of four months while conducting research with a professor friend of mine, Dr. Ralph Brown. I was also nominated (by whom I have yet to discover) to participate in an International Scholar Laureate program exploring the ethics, culture, and practice of Chinese Business. The program entails a two week trip to main land China with daily seminars with Chinese executives, financial managers, and the US consulate among others. After experiencing the western world both north, south and European I am venturing into the heart of the east!

While applying to the Thailand program I stumbled upon something I thought you all might find interesting. I participated in a collegiate business case competition in Portuguese in November and was surprised to see it as the main spotlight on the University’s International Studies site (click here to see it). A few friends and I who met in my Portuguese Business class last semester decided to enter the competition and it paid off quite well.

Well now I have written quite a lot and do hope that none of you have fallen asleep while reading. May you all know that despite my flagrant lack of communication I love and care for all of you. Now let us go forward and make the start of the new year something we are proud to call our own. God bless.

Love,
David