So I'm writing this blog a little earlier than normal, because the reward for my first week of classes is a visit from Silas! Because of that I intend on being a bit busy this weekend.
I've officially finished my first week of classes here at Trinity, and it has been a bit of a roller-coaster. My Mondays are long, as I try to get here for morning prayer at 7:30, then I work, have class, and then choir, which ends at 8:15. My classes that day are Race Ethnicity and Religion and Person in Ministry. I think Race Ethnicity and Religion is going to be a fascinating class as we discuss what race and racism looks like in our world today and how religious institutions should respond to it. I still haven't decided as much about Person in Ministry. I think it will be a useful class in beginning to teach me basic skills I'll need as a pastor, and the reading should be interesting, but so far we've mainly only gone over the syllabus, so we haven't delved much into the actual subject.
On Tuesdays I have my two favorite classes - New Testament 1 and Church History 1. Both of my teachers are fantastic and I thoroughly enjoy the subjects. Our books for those classes are really interesting too, so I won't mind getting the reading done. The New Testament course will only cover the Gospels and Acts, and I'll learn the rest of the New Testament in the spring of my Middler year (quite a ways from now, it seems). Church History 1 covers the beginnings of the church to just before the Reformation, and while I know a fair bit about the first couple of centuries from a religion class I took at OSU, I'm looking forward to learning more about the rest of the intervening time.
My one other class this session is Faith Seeking Understanding, and I think it will be an interesting course that will have me better understand both my own faith and other views on faith. Then during Session 2 I will take teaching adults, because I think I could learn a lot from that class.
I'm now working regularly at the library (I'm writing this from the circulation desk computer) which is great because I have some time to work on my reading or homework, but I also love being around the books and roaming through the stacks. And it's a good place to meet people, because I see everyone who comes in while I'm working, and unlike my undergrad the library is a place nearly everybody goes and most people do not try to avoid.
Along with my school and work things, I have been working on bringing all the other aspects in my life into balance this week. That is not always easy, and I've had some emotional highs and lows, but I'm beginning to find time for what's important and not give too much time or energy to any one thing. I'm still finding time to hang out with friends, and also trying to find time to be active, which is one of the more difficult things. This afternoon I'm mixing the two - my friend Erica and I are going to do some yoga together, because we both love it. Then there are also plenty of opportunities to gather with the community, including the Common Meal at Bexley Hall on Thursday nights and a bonfire in the seminary courtyard on Friday nights.
All told, I am keeping plenty busy and I haven't even quite finished adding everything to my schedule. I am going to start doing some spiritual direction here. This is a good place for it because it's quite cheap and this is a good time in my life to do spiritual direction. I'm trying to find one more job to add just a few hours onto my work schedule and then I think I'll be busy enough. I also officially took out my year loan this week, and it ended up being less than I expected, which was nice. That was due in part to a Munderloh scholarship I just found out I received. I'm hoping to have even more scholarships next year, leading to fewer loans. The less debt I accumulate the better.
Now for the rest of the morning, I am going to start on my readings and assignments. I've made up my calendar for the semester, and the workload doesn't look too bad, but better to be ahead of things than behind.
Kathryn
Friday, August 30, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Orientation Week
I've officially been orientated, and now I'm ready to begin my first week of the regular semester of classes here at seminary.
I had a slow start to the week, because orientation didn't begin until Wednesday. I spent my Monday and Tuesday working on cleaning and organizing my apartment. I am almost entirely unpacked now and I'm beginning to put up artwork. All I have left to do is organize my closet and I will be officially unpacked. About two months after I moved here. My dad was working in Cleveland this weekend, and he drove down Tuesday night just to take me out to dinner. We had a nice evening, but I did not envy him the drive.
Orientation was a busy and exhausting experience. On Wednesday, after a tour which was not much of a surprise, we were split up into groups to go out to different mission areas in the community. My group ended up at Saint John's Episcopal church in Franklinton, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. The pastor there, LeAnn, took us out into the community to show us more about it and what the church does there. They work with a community garden and an elementary school, and they have a street worship service every week to reach those who wouldn't be comfortable going into a church building for whatever reason. LeAnn also simply knows many of the people in the neighborhood and is friendly and welcoming to all of them. It was a really eye-opening experience.
The next day of orientation, we met in small groups to discuss what we'd done on Wednesday, and we had lunch with the Junior portion of our I-Groups. I think my I-Group will be interesting, and it'll be nice to meet the rest of them later this week. After orientation on Thursday, several of us from the Greek class went out for drinks and dinner and we had a great evening. Unfortunately by the time I got home, I was so exhausted I couldn't make myself do anything but lie on the couch.
Friday was one more busy day, as we received all the information we need to actually function as students at the Seminary, which meant near information overload. I learned about my contextual education, both working at a church here regularly, as well as my Clinical Pastoral Education, which I'll do this summer, working as a chaplain in a hospital. They both sound really interesting, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from them. By the end of the day of taking in all that information, I just watched a movie with a friend and then crashed at home. Silas and I had a date that night, which was a good way to wind down. I've gotten him interested in Doctor Who, which is fun for me as I get to watch it all again.
This weekend was a lovely, and even restful time. I went out with my friend Erica and taught her to knit. It's nice that there are more people who knit up here, mainly because it actually gets cold in the winter. I also got started on an exciting new project, that I can't say anything more about until next weekend. On Sunday I visited my first potential ministry in context site, which was very nice, and after a bit of shopping and working in my apartment, I went out to dinner with a couple of friends. That's why this blog is late - I had a busier Sunday than I expected.
Today I start working at the library, and I start my classes. I will also put in the paperwork for my big loan for the year, which is a little scary. I think it will be a good day, though.
Wish me luck!
I had a slow start to the week, because orientation didn't begin until Wednesday. I spent my Monday and Tuesday working on cleaning and organizing my apartment. I am almost entirely unpacked now and I'm beginning to put up artwork. All I have left to do is organize my closet and I will be officially unpacked. About two months after I moved here. My dad was working in Cleveland this weekend, and he drove down Tuesday night just to take me out to dinner. We had a nice evening, but I did not envy him the drive.
Orientation was a busy and exhausting experience. On Wednesday, after a tour which was not much of a surprise, we were split up into groups to go out to different mission areas in the community. My group ended up at Saint John's Episcopal church in Franklinton, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. The pastor there, LeAnn, took us out into the community to show us more about it and what the church does there. They work with a community garden and an elementary school, and they have a street worship service every week to reach those who wouldn't be comfortable going into a church building for whatever reason. LeAnn also simply knows many of the people in the neighborhood and is friendly and welcoming to all of them. It was a really eye-opening experience.
The next day of orientation, we met in small groups to discuss what we'd done on Wednesday, and we had lunch with the Junior portion of our I-Groups. I think my I-Group will be interesting, and it'll be nice to meet the rest of them later this week. After orientation on Thursday, several of us from the Greek class went out for drinks and dinner and we had a great evening. Unfortunately by the time I got home, I was so exhausted I couldn't make myself do anything but lie on the couch.
Friday was one more busy day, as we received all the information we need to actually function as students at the Seminary, which meant near information overload. I learned about my contextual education, both working at a church here regularly, as well as my Clinical Pastoral Education, which I'll do this summer, working as a chaplain in a hospital. They both sound really interesting, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from them. By the end of the day of taking in all that information, I just watched a movie with a friend and then crashed at home. Silas and I had a date that night, which was a good way to wind down. I've gotten him interested in Doctor Who, which is fun for me as I get to watch it all again.
This weekend was a lovely, and even restful time. I went out with my friend Erica and taught her to knit. It's nice that there are more people who knit up here, mainly because it actually gets cold in the winter. I also got started on an exciting new project, that I can't say anything more about until next weekend. On Sunday I visited my first potential ministry in context site, which was very nice, and after a bit of shopping and working in my apartment, I went out to dinner with a couple of friends. That's why this blog is late - I had a busier Sunday than I expected.
Today I start working at the library, and I start my classes. I will also put in the paperwork for my big loan for the year, which is a little scary. I think it will be a good day, though.
Wish me luck!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Ending and Beginning
This has been a productive week. I've successfully finished Greek as well as my open water scuba diving license.
The last week of Greek was interesting as we were all mainly working on our final projects. I spent a lot of time in the library, which made me remember how much I love looking up things in libraries. I explored all the reference books looking up the just two Greek words, and I had a great time doing so. It was also nice to get to know Hamma library, especially since I'll be spending a lot of time there both studying and working.
My project went really well. It really did help me come to terms with the Mary and Martha story which I've often struggled with, and it made me excited about other exegesis projects I'll have throughout my time here at seminary. It was also interesting to see everyone else's projects and see the different ways they would approach the same problem. We had several interesting discussions the last few days of class, and then ice cream at the end to celebrate.
Then this weekend I spent two full mornings at a nearby quarry completing my diving certification. This was the first time I was diving outside a pool, and it was really interesting. Visibility is not good in quarries, so as we would swim around the area we would come up on various interesting things rather suddenly. I saw a school bus, a Cesna plane, an ambulance, and several boats down there. Also tons of bluegill and one catfish. Along with simply practicing diving we had to do a few skills that we learn throughout the training which will come in handy if anything goes wrong whilst diving. I was pleased to realize that I'd improved on these, and other than taking a wrong heading on a compass everything went fine the first time around.
The rest of my long weekend (my orientation doesn't start until Wednesday) I'll be unpacking and organizing my apartment. I worked on my vanity area (which is the top of my dresser) all afternoon, and I even got some art up. I'll continue the next few days and hopefully I'll have my apartment looking reasonable.
I've enjoyed the last six weeks of Greek, but I'm definitely looking forward to the next two weeks when I get to start my regular schedule and get to take more than one class. Hopefully it will be an interesting semester. Another reason to look forward to the next two weeks is that Silas will be visiting over the next weekend! I'm looking forward to showing him around Columbus, and we have a lot of things planned already (my blog might show up at an odd time then).
Now I'm off to walk the adorable corgi I am dog sitting over the weekend.
I'll write again soon!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Busy Week
This has been such a busy week that I keep forgetting that today is Sunday and I have to go to class tomorrow.
In Greek we learned about participles this week. Since I didn't know what a participle was in English before we started, it was quite a bit to learn. But it went well enough, and we just have one more week before we've successfully completed the class.
This week I also began another job and spent quite a bit of time on my first. I have been trained for working at the library and I'll start working there regularly at the beginning of the semester. I love libraries, so I think I'll enjoy the job. Plus I have incredibly free Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, so I'll have plenty of time to work. I spent a lot of this weekend working on my job as part of the hospitality team for a retreat. They came in on Friday night and left this afternoon after lunch. I was there to help cook and serve three meals, as well as getting their rooms ready earlier. It was hard work and I am sore all over, but I still found it really rewarding. I love cooking, so cooking for people and being able to share that with them is lovely. Doing all the dishes by hand is less so, but necessary.
I am continuing to feel more at home here and more part of the Trinity community. I've also had the rather new problem of having to pay attention to my own social limits and making sure I take introverting time. Especially since I was busy much of this weekend, I've had to take extra evening times to sit alone and recharge. It's not a terrible problem to have, but I'm glad I know myself enough to be aware of those needs.
I'm really looking forward to the regular semester beginning, since I'll be taking several classes and more people will be here, including the whole of my class. I also might have slightly more free time, at least for the first week or so, than I do right now with near-constant Greek.
I'm also managing to keep up with Silas through judicious use of Skype dates. It's tough, but things like Skype are wonderful for staying close with people. It's interesting to see how I'm creating an extended family here while maintaining my close ties back home as well.
Finally, I finished cataloging all my yarn, and I have plenty to keep me busy for awhile. I'm still settling in, but as I work on organizing my hobbies and keeping them well stored and available I'm feeling more at home in my apartment. Cooking is good too, although I do have to work nearly constantly to keep my kitchen clean. Tonight my slow-cooker will be working all night turning a bunch of produce I've chopped up into a rather healthy potato soup. My apartment should smell delicious when I wake up.
Tomorrow I move on to verbs that are describing non-real action, so we'll see how that goes. I'm also finishing up my project on Jesus' rebuke of Martha, which is turning out quite interestingly. I'll present it on Thursday, and I think it, as well as all my classmates' presentations of their own verses, will be a very interesting end to the week and Greek class.
Well that's all for now, I'm off to turn my slow-cooker on!
In Greek we learned about participles this week. Since I didn't know what a participle was in English before we started, it was quite a bit to learn. But it went well enough, and we just have one more week before we've successfully completed the class.
This week I also began another job and spent quite a bit of time on my first. I have been trained for working at the library and I'll start working there regularly at the beginning of the semester. I love libraries, so I think I'll enjoy the job. Plus I have incredibly free Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, so I'll have plenty of time to work. I spent a lot of this weekend working on my job as part of the hospitality team for a retreat. They came in on Friday night and left this afternoon after lunch. I was there to help cook and serve three meals, as well as getting their rooms ready earlier. It was hard work and I am sore all over, but I still found it really rewarding. I love cooking, so cooking for people and being able to share that with them is lovely. Doing all the dishes by hand is less so, but necessary.
I am continuing to feel more at home here and more part of the Trinity community. I've also had the rather new problem of having to pay attention to my own social limits and making sure I take introverting time. Especially since I was busy much of this weekend, I've had to take extra evening times to sit alone and recharge. It's not a terrible problem to have, but I'm glad I know myself enough to be aware of those needs.
I'm really looking forward to the regular semester beginning, since I'll be taking several classes and more people will be here, including the whole of my class. I also might have slightly more free time, at least for the first week or so, than I do right now with near-constant Greek.
I'm also managing to keep up with Silas through judicious use of Skype dates. It's tough, but things like Skype are wonderful for staying close with people. It's interesting to see how I'm creating an extended family here while maintaining my close ties back home as well.
Finally, I finished cataloging all my yarn, and I have plenty to keep me busy for awhile. I'm still settling in, but as I work on organizing my hobbies and keeping them well stored and available I'm feeling more at home in my apartment. Cooking is good too, although I do have to work nearly constantly to keep my kitchen clean. Tonight my slow-cooker will be working all night turning a bunch of produce I've chopped up into a rather healthy potato soup. My apartment should smell delicious when I wake up.
Tomorrow I move on to verbs that are describing non-real action, so we'll see how that goes. I'm also finishing up my project on Jesus' rebuke of Martha, which is turning out quite interestingly. I'll present it on Thursday, and I think it, as well as all my classmates' presentations of their own verses, will be a very interesting end to the week and Greek class.
Well that's all for now, I'm off to turn my slow-cooker on!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
I Got a Job!
I can't believe I've been living in Ohio for a month now.
Time is going by fast, mainly still because of Greek. We only have two weeks left and I've begun my final, which is an in-depth analysis of Luke 10:41-42, Jesus' rebuke of Martha. I chose these verses to study mainly because they are the culmination of a story I always struggle with, due to my strong identification with Martha. We'll see if I turn up any new understanding in the next two weeks.
I also started my first job this week. We have several retreats come to Trinity throughout the year and I am on the hospitality team for a retreat this next weekend. This includes cleaning, but also cooking for the retreat and making the visitors feel welcome while they are here. It's really similar to my old job at the Canterbury Center in Stillwater, and I love hospitality, so I think I'll enjoy this job. And making some money I didn't expect to make this month doesn't hurt either.
I did a couple more things to feel settled in this weekend. On Friday I went to a dive shop to get fitted for a wetsuit and gear for my open water training scuba dive in a couple of weeks. I'm excited to be finishing up my certification finally. After the slight discomfort of getting myself into a wetsuit, I was able to spend about an hour in the pool at the dive shop working on a few of my skills and remembering how much I really do enjoy being able to breathe underwater. I'm really looking forward to finally getting to practice in an open body of water rather than a pool.
On Saturday I took a trip to the Book Loft in the German Village, which is a house absolutely crammed full of books, many of which are on sale. I ended up leaving with a mystery and a knitting book about organizing and using yarn stash. I got inspired and now my couch is covered with yarn as I sort and catalog all my yarn. Having it in a organized, well stored place rather than just floating around in walmart sacks will make me feel more moved in and help me to use what I have rather than just buying more. My knitting skills will come in handy this winter, I think.
I'm continuing to meet new people here and get to know better the people I've already met. The sense of community I got when I visited here last year was spot on, and I find that I would have to try hard to not spend time with these people. My quiet weekends are nice for my introverted self as they give me a chance to re-charge from spending a week almost constantly with people. The only downside to my social life combined with my schoolwork is that my apartment may not be completely unpacked and settled into until fall break when I have more time off.
In a final bit of exciting news, today was the first time I was able to walk down the stairs in a normal manner rather than stepping on each step with both feet. A major milestone in the healing of my ankles! I've been avoiding yoga to keep from hurting them worse, and I can't wait until I can start again - I think it will be an especially helpful practice in the midst of my busy seminary life. That and my back and hips get sore with all the sitting hunched over Greek translations.
Tomorrow I'm leading morning prayer, learning about participles, and getting paid to clean an apartment that isn't mine. Should be a good day.
Kathryn
Time is going by fast, mainly still because of Greek. We only have two weeks left and I've begun my final, which is an in-depth analysis of Luke 10:41-42, Jesus' rebuke of Martha. I chose these verses to study mainly because they are the culmination of a story I always struggle with, due to my strong identification with Martha. We'll see if I turn up any new understanding in the next two weeks.
I also started my first job this week. We have several retreats come to Trinity throughout the year and I am on the hospitality team for a retreat this next weekend. This includes cleaning, but also cooking for the retreat and making the visitors feel welcome while they are here. It's really similar to my old job at the Canterbury Center in Stillwater, and I love hospitality, so I think I'll enjoy this job. And making some money I didn't expect to make this month doesn't hurt either.
I did a couple more things to feel settled in this weekend. On Friday I went to a dive shop to get fitted for a wetsuit and gear for my open water training scuba dive in a couple of weeks. I'm excited to be finishing up my certification finally. After the slight discomfort of getting myself into a wetsuit, I was able to spend about an hour in the pool at the dive shop working on a few of my skills and remembering how much I really do enjoy being able to breathe underwater. I'm really looking forward to finally getting to practice in an open body of water rather than a pool.
On Saturday I took a trip to the Book Loft in the German Village, which is a house absolutely crammed full of books, many of which are on sale. I ended up leaving with a mystery and a knitting book about organizing and using yarn stash. I got inspired and now my couch is covered with yarn as I sort and catalog all my yarn. Having it in a organized, well stored place rather than just floating around in walmart sacks will make me feel more moved in and help me to use what I have rather than just buying more. My knitting skills will come in handy this winter, I think.
I'm continuing to meet new people here and get to know better the people I've already met. The sense of community I got when I visited here last year was spot on, and I find that I would have to try hard to not spend time with these people. My quiet weekends are nice for my introverted self as they give me a chance to re-charge from spending a week almost constantly with people. The only downside to my social life combined with my schoolwork is that my apartment may not be completely unpacked and settled into until fall break when I have more time off.
In a final bit of exciting news, today was the first time I was able to walk down the stairs in a normal manner rather than stepping on each step with both feet. A major milestone in the healing of my ankles! I've been avoiding yoga to keep from hurting them worse, and I can't wait until I can start again - I think it will be an especially helpful practice in the midst of my busy seminary life. That and my back and hips get sore with all the sitting hunched over Greek translations.
Tomorrow I'm leading morning prayer, learning about participles, and getting paid to clean an apartment that isn't mine. Should be a good day.
Kathryn
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