The End of the Semester

It is officially my last week of the semester.

I came back to Ohio last week to finish up  my semester with just a week and a half left of school. It's been a relatively easy semester, especially compared to my classmates who are middlers or seniors, and I have appreciated the chance to get used to the seminary with a semester that is not awful. I'm already looking forward to my next semester, except for the fact that I have classes literally all day Tuesday - 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.!

On Monday last week, we had a yoga teacher come in and teach a restorative yoga class in our smaller chapel. It was absolutely wonderful, except for the fact that I had to go to class afterward. I am trying to add more yoga into my life, because as a graduate student I spend the vast amount of my time sitting, and I am nearly desperate for activity and some time to get out of my head. Yoga offers both of those, and I don't have to wear shoes to do it!

The rest of the week went perfectly smoothly, and it is interesting to be wrapping up each class. I am so excited that next semester my only evening class will be Spanish, which is not a traditional class. I have such a hard time engaging in evening classes, especially during winter when the sun is already set, and I am looking forward to that change next semester.

This weekend was full of snow and time with friends. At common meal on Thursday, those of us who were sitting around the table got into a lively conversation about the merits of various Doctor Who companions. The fact that this is the kind of conversation I can engage in here makes me very happy, this place is full of the best kinds of nerds, me included. Saturday, I went out to watch the OSU v. MSU game with a few people from the seminary. It was great fun, partially because I didn't really care about the game. I rooted for MSU with my table, of one actual MSU fan, and two people who cared even less than I did. We had a good time being one of the odd groups out in the bar, which was of course full of buckeyes.

It snowed quite a bit this weekend, which I have found probably much more exciting than most others here. It's beautiful, and has given me great reasons to wear my cloak. It's getting a lot more use up here than it did in Texas or Oklahoma. I went to work and a faculty meeting on Friday and had a great time watching the snow come down from the windows, and then I stayed inside most of the day Saturday. I have spent a large part of my weekend working on Christmas gifts, which have to remain secret for now, but maybe I'll post a picture later.

Sunday I also went to my official Ministry in Context site for the first time, which was really great. I like the church and I really like the pastor, so I think it'll be a good place to spend the next year and a half. It's a shame I got assigned so close to the end of the semester and I'm leaving town, but I'll get properly settled there as the MIC student in January.

Now as I finish my last two days of the semester, I am getting ready to go home and spend a lovely Christmas there. I can hardly wait to spend a bit longer at home and have a proper rest between semesters. My blog might be a bit more sporadic, but I'll try to check in. I hope everyone is staying warm!