Today we started at Seal Beach and ran up into Los Angeles to meet with a school for our first ceremony. We arrived at the Star Prep Academy at 9:30 and it was tucked in unusually between a furniture shop and some other buildings, you wouldn't think there was a school there, but we were delighted by what we found.

There was a group of people assembled for a professional development expo at the school and we gave them an introduction to our run. We were offered refreshments and food.

Next we were introduced to the children and they were really great kids. They had many questions for us and we really had a chance to share some interesting stories with them and they with us. Zahir was the name of their teacher.

Yo, How ya doin', my name's Palash and I'm from New Yoke.

Following this they gave us a tour of the school. This school was very special because they take in special animals that need shelter for various reasons.

They had tropical birds, reptiles, fish, and wildcats. There was a Lynx and an African Serval which were very nice to see.

The tour guides' name was Christian and he was excellent. He told us that this was a great school because it allows the kids to express themselves in their unique way and honors and supports them with their efforts.

Nice tortoise.

Then without any time to spare we headed to UCLA to meet with a group of people from the Dashew Center.

The Dashew Center was started in 1967 by Stanley Dashew and is constantly expanding since then.

The people who work here are responsible for helping international students from 131 countries with coming into the U.S. and into the college. They also have events in order to foster community. Everybody who works here sincerely cares for the students and they were really nice and good people.

Torch-Bearer awards were given to Niranjala Tillakaratne her husband Lokubanda, and her daughter Mihiri for their contributions to the community and their work in Sri Lanka. They are bringing educational programs, computers, eyeglasses (provided by a mobile eyeglasses clinic), and systems for getting fresh water into the communities in Sri Lanka that really need it. Their website is empoweravillage.org.

Also Stanley Dashew received an award for his outstanding dedication to the international community in UCLA for the last 30 years. He is also an inventor and invented the magnetic strip on credit cards as well as the walker that he is using in the photo.

We really got a taste of the L.A. heat standing outside under the super intense sun. It was nice to meet these people as well as Jimmy White an employee, and Bob who was the director at the center.

Bob

Stanley Dashew with the walker-exerciser he invented.

Mr. and Mrs. Tillakratne

After the ceremony we were treated to a meal at the college campus and it was nice to have this experience here eating with the students and the staff that were in attendance of our event.

Thank you to the organizers and supporters in L.A. for this great event, Bigalita, Yohan, and Ljuba.

Finally after these events our team was due to run 35 miles so we drove to Santa Monica beach and started our run. It was such a wonderful feeling running here with the ocean at our side. We saw many surfers, kite surfers and surf boarders. Fresh ocean spray fueled us as we ran along the beautiful coast.

We wish to offer our deepest gratitude to Patrick from Jasmine Thai Restaurant in Ventura for so kindly providing us we some delightful noodle and rice dishes for dinner!

Thank you so much to the Comfort Inn, the Clock Tower Inn, the Vagabond Inn and  the Crown Plaza for putting comfortable beds under our weary bodies!

– Erik Amrhien

Distance: 78 miles

Team Members:
Adhiratha Keefe (USA), Atulya Berube (USA), Banshidhar Mederios (USA), Devashishu Torpy (England), Erik Amrhien (USA), Palash Bosgang (USA), Salil Wilson (Australia), Shyamala Stott (Scotland), Teekhnata Metzler (USA)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!