Summer Richmond Recap

Well, several of you have asked me how the summer is going, how Richmond is, and what life at Seminary is like. i'll try to answer as much of that as i can to summarize the last 6 weeks, going on 7.

LIFE IN RICHMOND: Let me start by describing my new life here outside of class, as that is more interesting to most of you. i am living in a 3 story dormitory. The first floor is offices and a sort of "Student Union" lounge area with a big screen and pool table and ping pong and food tables and the mailboxes for all of campus. Yes, i know, i couldn't get away from the Student Union at UNC, and now i live in one. While the outer doors to this building are locked (fortunate, as we are located between the 2 worst neighborhoods in Richmond), no one shuts or locks their mailboxes, and few people here shut or lock their doors unless they go away for the weekend. Those of you who were kind enough to come in, turn off my TV, my light, and shut my door for years in college, know that this suits my open door lifestyle nicely. i sometimes close it when i go to class, but it surprises anyone when they find it closed.

The dorm has room for about 25 or so, mostly set up in two-room suite style. i have my own sink, but share a shower and john with my suitemate Tom. Tom (aka: Hazakane- the old man) is a second-career student in his late 30's from Conn. He's a great musician and great guy to pal around with. He's also the most hard working anal-retentive student in the class, along with Noell (aka: Nono), my other best friend and self-dubbed big sis. They're both a good influence... in the classroom.

Noell, 26, is from East Texas, and therefore automatically a kindred spirit and besides being a coffee junky, Starbucks employee and caffeine pusher, is a conversation junkie who eats up all of my late hours :-D

Also in our study/get into trouble group is Charles (aka [in descending order of use]: Eesh Gadol- Big Man, Chuck, Chuckie), the 6'4" is also mid 20's, from Ohio, and most recently was teaching special Ed in New Mexico. He's one of the nicest, most easy going folks i've ever met, and totally reminds me in looks and personality of Jeff Goldbloom.

Jessi (she hates nicknames and terms of endearment, forget Cool Kid, Saint, or anything else, even though she is) is mid 20's and from SC, where she went to PC. She's here for ministry and Social Work. She's just a big kid with a heart of gold and borrows my movies more than anyone for background study noise.
Alex (Animal- think muppets) and Pete (Tiny- think ironic) also live on the hall in a suite where Berry French currently lives, but is prolly leaving. Alex is a kiddy shrink of sorts in his late 20's and a little too into Star Wars, but this we can't really fault him for. Pete played baseball for Montreat College with Aaron, my shift leader at the YMCA this summer (small world).

We have a great kitchen (smile x 10000) on our hall with several fridges, stoves, etc, where we all spend time cooking and studying for hours upon hours each day after class each morning. We prolly study off and on (more on than off) from after lunch/nap time until at least 1am most nights. We party a little and crash weekends. Every Friday night is a cookout. (Also ironic is the fact that i don't drink, but my mini-fridge is generally stocked with all the beer from my hallmates and occasionally, my OJ)

WEEKENDS:
Mostly we rest, watch tons of movies, and study some more.
We managed a weekend down to Raleigh at one point very very briefly to see Tom's folks and ride around in his father's restored antique Model-T and 1915 Buick. WOW
We (Me, Noell, Jessi, Tom) also drove up on our long weekend to Conn to help Tom with yardwork to sell his fabulous house and to drive back his other car to sell. We took in a Broadway Show (Sweeney Todd) and saw my cousin Katrina in NYC. On the way back, we scouted out Princeton some and saw Jessica Anderson (Patchett).

The Class:
i have now taken classes in Latin, German, French, and Spanish, a little of Italian, and picked up enough Thai to get by, count, etc. Hebrew... is... HARD!!! imagine yourself on a journey beyond sight and sound... you have now entered... the Hebrew zone... duh duh duh (cue creepy bongo drums and the guy in black and white).

Recipe for Baby Hebrew:
Take a 2 semester course of BIBLICAL Hebrew that might be taught in college/gradschool (entirely new eastern alphabet and grammar system)
Read right to left
Intensify by stressing cultural and historical significance
Stir in theology
Bring to a boil with a test every day
Season with a professor who has taught it for 16 years and lived in the land of milk and honey
Squeeze entire contents of these 2 semesters into a pan roughly 7 weeks long and too wide to cross
Let cool for about 2 weeks so that one may forget it all, and then add Old Testament class

Yum.

Ok, so now you're caught up. If you read this far, you must really have a boring job, or you're procrastinating, or you love me. We could do a pie chart of those possibilities, but i think it would be humble pie and very depressing. God Bless you all. More to come...