Only at Seminary

So I successfully made it through my first week of classes at seminary and I have compiled a list of things that only occur when you are at seminary.

1. The first party of the year is called "A Reformation Celebration: A Night of Forbidden Indulgences."

2. The Pope and Martin Luther have an epic wrestling match that ends in a hug during the aforementioned party.

3. There are people named Matthew Marcus Luke Johnstone a.k.a Gospel.

4. The simplest of conversations can be turned into an intense theological discussion of orthodoxy and penal substitutionary atonement.

5. People use words like orthodoxy and penal substitutionary atonement in everyday discourse.

6. It is common to hear Greek or Hebrew being spoken as you walk down the halls of your dorm.

7. At meals it is common to hear discussions on the theological implications of any and every TV show or movie or book.

8. Tupac Shakur is used to defend theological assertions.

9. People are thrilled about the low price of John Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion."

10. Calvin's "Institutes" are read for fun.

11. When you say you are taking the class on Schleiermacher, most everyone knows exactly what you are talking about and can give you their views on the relative merits of his theology in comparison to Barth's.

12. Even while drunk, people discuss their views on predestination.

That is all I can think of at the moment, but I am sure there are plenty of other defining characteristics of seminary.

All I can say is that we are all nerds. It brings me great joy to know that I am not alone in it. In college, I was constantly picked on for my theological nerdiness (it was all in good fun and I enjoyed it. I am definitely proud of it.). It is wonderful to be in a place where everyone gets excited about the same things I do. Seminarians are definitely a very unique group.

Let the games begin!

Tomorrow is my first day of seminary classes. To be completely honest, I am more than a little nervous. Whitworth has prepared me well, but there is some lingering fear that I do not have quite what it takes. I am sure that all of the anxiety will be wiped away after my first class. Well, considering that Greek is my first class, that anxiety may still be present until after my second class. :)

My experience here at Princeton has been quite pleasant so far. I have connected with a wonderful group of people who I think will become my support group during my time here and hopefully for years to come. The only unfortunate bit is that a few of them are from the south and I am beginning to acquire a southern accent. I am not entirely serious about that being unfortunate, but I am proud of the pure vowels we use on the west coast. I like being able to say that I do not have an accent and actually be correct in the assessment. But alas, that may all change by the end of my three years here at PTS. However, other than the accent acquisition, I am having a lovely time here. The campus is beautiful and everyone is very friendly. Orientation was a little boring, but we all suffered together and we all reached a level of bonding that cannot be broken. At this point I think I can say that it is going to be a wonderful three years!

Road Trip Update #2

Tomorrow is the day. The road trip officially comes to an end and I move into my PTS dorm room in the morning. The trip has been a lot of fun. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, with a few exceptions. There seemed to be never ending construction throughout the nation, especially as we made it closer to the eastern seaboard. On top of that, we had to stop every few miles (at least that is how it felt) to pay tolls ranging from $.50 to $20. Also, we drove through a terrible lightening storm on our way through the east part of Colorado into Kansas. There was zero visibility and it felt like being inside a visualizer for iTunes. It was sort of neat at one point when the lightening flashes were in sync with the beat of the song on the radio.

Overall, however, the trip has been pretty epic. Six baseball games and 14 states in 10 days-it doesn't get a lot better than that. I have seen many different sides of country, experienced a variety of baseball fan cultures, and eaten at Subway possibly too often.

But it all ends tomorrow. It was fun while it lasted, but as they say: all good things must come to an end. Now it is time for all the adventures that Princeton is sure to hold.

Road Trip Update #1

I am currently in a little known place called Lima, OH. Yes, it is a strange place to stop on a trip to Princeton, NJ. However, this small town in western Ohio is the birthplace and childhood home of my mother. I am excited to get to see a part of my mom's past. I think it will maybe help me to understand her a little more. We already get along really well, but it is also a unique experience to see where someone grew up. The stories they tell have new meaning and understanding attached to them as you can now picture the settings. All in all, tomorrow should be a fun day exploring my mom's childhood home.

The trip so far has been a lot of fun. I have been able to see many friends and family members along the way. It has been a blessing to catch up with those loved ones as well as to meet new people. One of my good friends in Spokane just gave birth to a beautiful little girl. I had the opportunity to meet little Adabelle, which was such a joy. I also had the chance to see my best friend's new home in Salt Lake City. I adore her and her husband. They are such a wonderful newlywed couple! In Denver, I spent a day and a half with my uncle who recently returned from a year in Iraq, which was such a blessing. I spent a lot of time playing with my two adorable cousins, Jack and Seth. It really is hard to run around when you are a mile high. Those two kiddos ran me down, but I loved every second of it. Kansas City brought some time to hang out with my older brother. We just left Chicago, where I got to hang out with my forever roommate and meet her new boyfriend. It was pretty fantastic. There were also a couple of people with whom I was able to catch up briefly. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone.

Watching baseball hasn't been too shabby either! :P All three home teams have won, which was a little surprising considering the Royals were playing the Tigers, who are considerably better than them. I have loved experiencing the different crowds and seeing the different stadiums. Being an M's fan all of my life, it has been a lot of fun experiencing the cultures that surround each team. Rockies fans love to clap and sing. Royals fans are diehard and loyal, but they are small in numbers. Cubbies fans are full of hope and willing to skip everything in order to make a day game on a Friday afternoon. So far, I would have to say Cubs fans are the best in the nation. Seattle fans are a close second, but I don't think we could fill a stadium on a work day, unless it was for a playoff game or something like that. What a great sport baseball is!

Anyway, my computer is about to die and it is almost 3 am EST, so I should probably hit the hay. I'll try to update soon, but there are no garauntees.

This is Sarah, signing out!