Saying "Yes!"

Summer and all that it encompasses I am finally willing to admit has begun to slowly recede. The days are getting shorter and the warmth that pulls us all outside is slowly pushing us closer and closer to our stoops, thresholds and eventually indoors. Fall is definitely beginning.

I love the fall, for all its color. The trees here are just beginning to change which has me very excited because everyone keeps telling me about how beautiful Fall is on the East Coast. I find myself wishing it would happen already. It seems that at different points in our lives there are different things which we notice more prominently then others, for me in the last year it has been seasons. Usually the seasons were something that I tended to notice after the fact, thinking " Oh Fall is here" after all the leaves had fallen from the tree. But I feel like I can remember the change of every season of this last year and this Fall is no different. I find myself paying particular attention watching for the first leaves to change so I won't miss all the beautiful oranges and yellows that come in the Fall.

Below I posted pictures from going apple picking with the girls from my floor. Despite wanting to initially say "No, Thank you" to the offer to go, and spend the Saturday reading (they make u read a lot at seminary) heeding the good advice of a friend, when asked if I wanted to go rather then saying "No, Thank you" and staying in my room studying I said "Yes!". It was a lot of fun! I got to know the girls from my floor better, laughed a bunch and had some great cider doughnuts!

We will see where saying "Yes!", takes me next time. (Maybe Karaoke... just kidding!, though the Presby's here seem to be really into it!)

Saying "Yes!"

Systematizing the Mystery

I am always worried when going back to school after a lengthy break. Not so much because I am afraid I have forgotten everything that I have learned but more so that I won't remember how to do it. How to listen intently during lectures, or engage the material, or write the papers. Then there also is the worry that I may not like it anymore. I mean I, like almost anyone, have a love/ hate relationship with school at times (as is already the case with learning Hebrew) but overall I enjoy it and at the best times I even love it I suppose that is what keeps me coming back. Today though, as I was walking to class equipped with my coffee in one hand and my notebook in the other I was worried that I was going to get to my seat and not be able to shake the feeling that I would rather be somewhere else. I kept thinking back to June and how relieved I felt with being done with school, college in particular. I remember thinking "finally no more papers!". But this morning here I was again sitting in my seat staring at the professorial, student, covenant know as a syllabus, with its lists of reading and essay assignments and suddenly the weight that had been lifted in June was back again.

In came the Professor, who promptly began giving his introductory lecture. He spoke about himself and his theology, and then about the purpose of the course. He explained that the course was about "finding ways to academically study the mystery, while still honoring the nature of it as a mystery". He talked about varied theologies and pushing cultural, and denominational boundaries, while paying due credence to history. In the professors brief lecture I suddenly became very aware of why I was here as I found my mind preoccupied with questions about the many things he had said. Rather than feeling daunted by the onslaught of the semester I found myself excited and intrigued to try and systematize the mystery. We will see how it goes...

Amanda

Things I have learned

Here are five things I have learned so far about New Jersey/Princeton.

1. You can't make left turns without making a right first. ( They call them Jug handles)

2. In Princeton they don't do casual dress.

3. There congressman used to be a rocket scientist.

4. You have to plug the parking meter after 1:00 pm on Sundays.

5. They have a 7% sales tax, even on food.

The Beginning

And so it begins....

I have made it all the way across the country, through orientation and so now seminary begins. It has been a whirlwind of travel, arriving and orientation events. It has been exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. My first day here I got the opportunity to wander around the town of Princeton and see some of the shops and neighborhood and a piece of the Princeton campus I have included photos.

A note about this blog: After blogging while in Spain I caught the blogger bug and thought that a fun way to keep in touch with people when I made my next big move to seminary would be through a blog. This blog is my way of sharing my experiences and adventures with you all, it is about beginnings and endings (as the title implies, been at seminary less then a week and I can already make cool Greek references :) ).

Hope you enjoy,

Amanda