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!

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!

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

Half-way Through Greek

I am officially half-way through Greek. This is amazing to me because it doesn't feel like three weeks have passed.

However, it's going well, and yesterday we learned how to use a software which we bought that allows you to really delve into the original language of the Bible as well as the many translations that have been made, in order to better understand it. I'm actually really excited about owning this software and I have realized that I and several of my fellow students are seminary nerds. We're okay with that though.

I have apparently decided that the whiskey bar next door is a good place to go at happy hour and a few of us ended up there twice this week. Mainly because we're working on verbs and verbs are hard. But we're also getting to know each other better, which is lovely. I had an instance of homesickness for the first time this week as I realized just how far away from Texas I am here. Being able to talk with new friends about it helped me accept that I'm creating a new family here and I will be okay. I do have to say, that for the most part, I prefer the weather here to the weather in Texas. We'll see if that changes come winter.

We had a group from Holden Village here this week with a program called Holden on the Road. We worshiped with them several times, and it was really lovely to learn a bit about Holden Village, and it made me want to go spend some time there one day. I also went to a compline service with the Episcopalians, which was also lovely, but ended up being my third worship service in one day on Monday. It was a long, but good day.

This was the Summer Samplarians' last week here, but I had dinner with a couple of them at the cookout in our apartment complex this Wednesday. They're good kids and I was pleased that I got to spend a bit of time with them this summer. I've seen the Summer Sampler program twice now, and I think it is a really great program for us to have here.

As we're getting closer to the end of Summer Greek, the seminary is beginning to get ready for the start of the regular year. I've received some information about orientation and I am learning form other students what my classes may be like. I'm looking forward to most of them and I'm looking forward to the experience of being here for the next few years. The one thing I'm not particularly looking forward to is the debt I am going to start accruing. I deposited my first loan check earlier this week, and it was an odd feeling to go into debt for the first time. I'm looking for work here, though, and working with Melissa, our financial aid director, makes me feel confident I will graduate with as little debt as possible.

I am spending my weekend working on my apartment as well as my Greek, so my apartment is still not fully unpacked or organized, but I am working on it a little at a time. Living, working, cooking, etc. in my apartment helps to make me feel at home here, and I think that working in my apartment helps me to feel settled.

Then next week I am off to learn more verbs, because Greek is practically the only thing I do right now.

Kathryn S.

Continued Settling In

Another busy week is over, and apparently I know everything I need to know about Greek nouns.

This week has been good, as my classmates and I have been getting into the swing of Greek. Class every morning, studying every afternoon, and occasional trips to the whiskey bar across the street to do something together that doesn't involve Greek at all. I'm still enjoying the class most of the time, and as I learn more, what I'm able to translate seems more exciting. I'm working on a ten verse passage from 1 John this weekend, and as I work on it I am surprised by how much I have managed to learn in the time I've been here.

Earlier this week I volunteered to be a lector for chapel, but I was later than my classmates, so I wasn't needed as a lector. Instead I was invited to lead morning chapel on Monday. I was nervous to do something like that in front of so many new people, including professors, but I really enjoyed leading it and I'm looking forward to being involved in many more chapel services while I'm here.

I also finally got the internet in my apartment after several misadventures. Last week they sent my internet to the wrong apartment, and this week they were two days late because they had to fix some outside wiring before they could begin my service. I was so excited when a technician finally showed up on Wednesday, and now I am writing from the comfort of my own apartment.

I also ended up spending a bit more time with the Summer Sampler kids this week, which turned out quite nicely. We do a cookout in the apartment courtyard on Wednesday night and I ended up sitting and chatting with a couple of them. Then on Thursday night several of us went to their Gospel Slam, which was actually quite good. Several of these kids are really excited about their futures, many in ministry, and it's easy to see how good this program is for them.

I'm still settling into my apartment, and still rather hindered by the difficulty I have standing or walking for long periods of time. It's getting a bit better every day though, and soon I'll start putting up artwork and pictures, which will really help to make it feel like home. In fact, yesterday I took a whole day break from Greek, mainly for working in my apartment. Today, however, I have to get back to it so that I can finish my translation and take two quizzes before Monday. Then we'll start on verbs.

I'm really feeling settled here in the town and in the seminary, and I'm so happy that I chose to come here for this stage of my life. I like the people and the area, and I think I'll really enjoy several of my classes once I start the full semester in a few weeks.

That's all that's going on in my life now,
Kathryn

Getting Settled and Learning Greek

My first week of Greek ended yesterday, and I have to say I've learned a lot already.

It turns out that I really rather enjoy Greek, I think mainly because I love learning and this is something entirely new to me, but also within my capabilities. Every day we have class from 9 to 12:30, with a break for chapel, then several of us take a half hour break for lunch and get together to work on our homework together, which usually ends up taking around three hours. So, almost my entire life is Greek right now.

Luckily, I rather like my classmates, and I am enjoying getting to know them between translations. Spending so much time working on Greek with these other people this week is forcing me to settle in, which is a good thing, I think. I'm already feeling more comfortable at the seminary and my apartment and I'm getting used to living here.

Things have been made slightly more difficult for me this week through a large act of clumsiness on my part. I have a storage unit in the basement, and I am keeping my moving boxes there (I know I'll need them again). So as I unpack boxes, I take them down three flights of stairs. Well on Sunday afternoon I was carrying a rather large box and I couldn't see my feet. This became a problem when I missed the very last step I needed to take and fell, rolling both of my ankles.

Luckily, a man who lives on the first floor heard me fall and my moans of pain and came to offer assistance. I managed to get myself back on my feet and hauled myself back upstairs where I stayed off them and iced them for the rest of the evening. The next morning I was rather pleased that I did not have to walk too far to get to class, as I still was in a lot of pain and my ankles were both considerably larger than they should be. I usually only roll one ankle if I do that, and it's been an adjustment dealing with pain in both of them.

I'm healing rather well, however, and every morning I wake up feeling a little better. In a week or two they should be entirely back to normal again. I might start practicing some ankle strengthening exercises though, when I can, because this kind of thing happens to me more often than I'd like.

One thing I'm really enjoying here is the fact that my faith is really part of my daily life at seminary. It's different to pray together before every class and to go to chapel every day, but I really love it. And another reason Greek is fascinating to me is the way it brings insight into the reading of the Bible. My class had a discussion about the translation of Ephesians 2:10 yesterday that hinged on one simple preposition, and could have very different meanings for our understanding of faith and good works. While in some ways, understanding the intricacies of the language the Bible was written in just bring up more things to disagree about, it also provides a deeper understanding of the writers who were helping to form our religion and understanding the intricacies gives me a lot of respect for translators as well as a better understanding of the mysteries of our faith. And it makes me excited for the learning ahead of me while I'm here.

I did do one thing this week that had nothing to do with Greek, at least. Last night, when I was taking a decided break from any Greek at all, I was invited to dinner and the Clippers game with the Summer Samplarians. The Seminary Sampler program is one they do here every summer which introduces high school students to the seminary and allows them to explore their own faith, and I met last year's group when I was visiting last summer. We went  out to dinner and then to the game and I had a lovely time getting to know the students, as well as several of the counselors who are students of the seminary. It was a nice break  and it was a great evening to spend outside, because the rain finally stopped and it was just beautiful weather.

This weekend I will still be working, although I'll have a fair bit of time for rest as well. I have to do a translation of I John 4:1-6 for a review of all the Greek I've already learned, and I have to finish making myself a budget so I know how much money I need to borrow to get myself through the Greek session. I'm about to make my first step into debt and paying for school myself, which is a little scary, but I've got some people here who can advise me well and I think I'll be able to do well with it.

Then I just have five more weeks of Greek and I am curious to see how they go. Dr. Bryant, our teacher, is very good trying to make sure everyone has a way of learning that will work for them as well as making it exciting to see what every translation has in store.

Wish me luck and send up prayers,

Kathryn

The Beginning of this Leg of the Journey

So, I have been in Columbus Ohio, my current stopping place, since Monday now. This week has been a good one as my parents and I got me settled and explored Columbus a bit. It may seem weird, coming from someone who grew up in the middle of the metroplex, but for some reason living just a stone's throw away from downtown of a major city feels very different to me. It's especially different from Stillwater, where I spent most of my past four years. I'm also having to get used to being in a different time zone. I've learned to just do a quick calculation if I'm texting or calling anyone back in Central time, which is still most of the people I text or call right now.

My apartment is still in a bit of a state, but it's quite livable already. I have a lovely bed and I saved my favorite chair from my Stillwater apartment, so my parents and I put that together already. I won't have the internet or the rest of my furniture until Tuesday afternoon, but I'm trying to spend the weekend unpacking my boxes. Not a fun activity, by any means, but I have a ton of DVDs I can watch without the internet, so I'm using those to keep me entertained.

I've also met most of my neighbors already, although I did not meet one of them here in Ohio. The current intern at Calvary Lutheran, Ethan, is one of my neighbors as well as three other nice guys. I'm sure I'll be meeting some more people on Monday as my first class starts - and they will likely be as lost and confused as I am!

It's always weird moving and starting something new, and I am in the age where that happens more often than not. New classes every semester, a move every year for me, relationships beginning and ending, and it looks like I'm still up for a few more years of it. There's a big part of me that really just wants to feel settled, rather than in constant transition. It would feel like a miracle to me if I moved somewhere and stayed for five years. However, I do my best to settle as much as I can in each new place and I'm getting better at it. I'm also beginning to form at least a few relationships which I intend on keeping despite distance, which makes me very grateful for the many forms of communication we have handy now.

My first step of settling here, other than hauling all my stuff up three flights of stairs (thanks for the help Mom and Dad!), is to spend a bit of time at the sandwich/coffee shop just next door to my apartment. They have great sandwiches and free wifi, which is rather handy at the moment. This place might see a lot more of me in the future. Today has involved a couple of naps, due to odd bed and waking times, but tomorrow I expect to have more energy and I'm going to go check out some yarn shops and maybe some yoga studios. Because these are two of my favorite hobbies, it will make me feel more at home if I have places around here. There's also a fabric shop just down the street, which I'll probably have to stop in to as well. There are a couple of presents I need to sew in July.

I'm sure once my classwork starts I'll have to make dedicated time for my hobbies, but they are worth it. Also, I have already begun studying Greek a bit, and I have a good handle on the alphabet and the first chapter's vocabulary, which I think is a good place to begin. And I have an offer of help from one of my neighbors who was a Greek major in college and likes to help to keep himself sharp.

So, despite the initial loneliness and small amount of fear that usually accompanies a move and a new start, I have high hopes for the next few weeks and the next few years. I'm already looking forward to being done with school as I start a new four-year program, but the end goals are all worth the temporary unsettledness. I'm sure these four years will pass quickly, and I'll try to keep up this blog while I can go through them, so I can share my experiences with whomever might be reading.

Wish me luck and send up prayers,
Kat

P.S. This is a blog I've started and stopped several times before, so posts before this one will be rather different in nature.