Last thursday (18th of Jan) was my first meeting with the local members from the Soka Gakkai International USA. The meeting was an informal gathering for the local members to meet up and have a weekly get together. The meeting place is a book store along the I85 expressway. It is a quiet place with some eateries and rest point for drivers driving down I85. That is why the place is named oasis as it provides a refreshing stop for the drivers. In the same way, this little book shop served as an oasis for the local members to gather. It is owned by a local japanese member by the name of marc. He sells mostly japanese books and also some of the Soka Gakkai books too. There is also a mini cafe within the bookshop and we enjoyed a nice drink while watching a video screening of the speech given by the president of the Soka Gakkai. The night ended with a nice photo taking session and an exchange of small gifts that I brought from Japan for the local members.