Well, somehow November turned into December, and there are about 10 days left before I head home for Christmas, and... wow! Time has really flown by.
Life is pretty stressful right now with the semester ending - all those papers I put off till now, all those other papers I just now got to write, and a couple finals to study (i.e. catch up on the reading!) for... It's a lot. But somehow - at least so far - it's not been that bad. I really feel that God is helping me learn to tackle work ONE STEP AT A TIME. Stück für Stück! And that is very encouraging. I'm also experiencing the cool realization of how much I've actually learned. When you don't have quizzes or tests every week, it's easy to lose track of what you've learned and spend a semester thinking you've just read some stuff and shown up for class but haven't actually gotten anything out of it. The trick is just to pack all that acquired knowledge into my essays, or into my *BRAIN* for finals!
Since it's the end of the year, I'm thinking back to the new year's resolutions I made a year ago. Some of them have actually come true! Like, laugh if you want, but I finally quit biting my finger nails! I was hesitant to bother asking God for little stuff too, but my pastor encouraged to entrust Him with anything and everything, and He pulled through! For those who don't know, I've been trying to quit biting my nails basically my whole life. I've quit now for longer than I've ever quit before - about 6 months! I also asked God to help me learn to manage my time better, and while I've by no means mastered this, I definitely see improvement!
I probably should get back to work now. :) Happy Holidays everyone!!!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
How the heck did it get to be November?!? and Culture Shock-ish-ness: Part Two
Whoa, so time is going by fast, and occasionally I fear that it's leaving me behind... Doesn't it realize I'm really not very athletic and can't run that fast? Or more importantly, that I can't run fast for long?
So despite life feeling like a marathon at times, I'm good. Life is good. A little weird, a little confusing, and sometimes a bit complicated, but good.
I have an insane amount of stuff to report on, but I'm gonna try to stick to the highlights. Let's start with New Orleans! That was one of the funnest trips I've ever been on. There were 8 of us who went, and it was such a fun, awesome group of people, and you get really tight when you spend 5 days straight with 8 people. There were so many laughs and good times and amazing conversations... wow. Not to mention experiencing post-Katrina New Orleans. It was extremely interesting to see how the city is rebuilding itself. It's tough to hear that a lot of people don't really want to move back - many people who never had the means to leave New Orleans before have now landed elsewhere and seen that they could live better there - but those that do have so much courage. Talking to the homeowners was amazing because despite all that they've been through, they still stand strong, and they're rebuilding their homes and picking themselves up again. One of the homeowners showed us pictures before and after the hurricane, and I tried to imagine that happening to my house, but I can't. And these people have realized that all the material possessions in this world don't really amount to much - you can have them taken away completely and still be happy. A lot of people are just so thankful to still have their loved ones safe and sound that everything else doesn't matter so much.
So that was New Orleans! The weekend after that, Mom came to visit me, which was of course super fun. We didn't really do a whole whole lot, just hung out together and had some nice meals. :) And we saw a cool new movie called Across the Universe. It's a movie about the 60's, and it's actually a musical of sorts, but all the music is by the Beatles. Verrrrry interesting, I definitely recommend it.
Other than those two fun weekends, there hasn't been a whole lot to report on that's out of the ordinary - school, more school... I do have a choir concert coming up, and I'm excited about that. The music is really coming together and some of it is just really amazing. Actually it's all pretty amazing, but I especially like certain pieces.
I guess most of what's been going on is in my head. The "reverse culture shock" has turned into something completely different and unlike what I expected; in fact it no longer has much to do with the Germany-America comparison. It's like being somewhere else for a year somehow became a catalyst for all sorts of "reactions" - new thoughts and feelings that kinda showed up out of the blue. Basically - I am becoming extremely sensitive to the social injustices of this world. I gotta admit, right now it's kind of frustrating, because I'm becoming more and more aware of the problems, but solutions seem so far out of reach. But I really feel convicted to do something about it.
I guess it's always seemed a little strange to me to live on an Ivy League campus surrounded by very low-income families and more homeless people than I'd ever met in my life prior to coming to Penn. It challenges me more and more each day to constantly ask myself what the ultimate goal of my studies is. What good is an Ivy League education if I can't feed someone who's starving nextdoor? What good are my aspirations if they do not help others to be able to have aspirations at all?
God is really penetrating every aspect of my life with this. I can't shop without a conscience any more - I have to think about who made that shirt and the conditions under which they did it. I can't have a cup of coffee without wondering if the farmer who grew it was paid fairly for it. And I can't walk past Wawa anymore without looking to see if someone is sitting outside in need of a meal.
I honestly have no explanation for it other than God Himself. Trust me, I would never come up with this. I like coffee! And although I'm a lame shopper, I like clothes too! And talking to homeless people can be awkward. But now that my eyes have been opened to injustices, I can't walk past them, buy them, wear them... Something isn't right. And I really feel like I cannot profess to be a Christian and ignore Jesus' teaching on social justice.
I got a couple cool books from Amazon that I'm excited to read and hopefully get some ideas from. One is called Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider. The other is called God's Politics by Jim Wallis. That one was mentioned in another book I've now read for the second time that has been a major catalyst for all of these thoughts: The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claibourne. In it, he challenges a lot of the assumptions Christians in America make everyday that are not necessarily biblical, things like the idea that being a Christian means voting Republican, and that tithes and offerings are meant for the church, not for the church to give away to the poor. I highly recommend the book - even to those who may not call themselves Christians. For one thing, it makes a suggestion for what Christianity is really supposed to look like; for another, it gives us a vision for a better world.
So obviously this isn't the usual type of blog I write, so I hope it didn't throw anyone for too much of a loop. I guess I just felt I had to share what's been on my mind, since it's been on my mind a lot. I do not write this to judge others; for one, I myself am as guilty of perpetuating many injustices in this world as anyone else, plus I also didn't come up with this stuff on my own - God put it on my heart, and if He wants to, He will put it on the hearts of others too. I don't know what will ultimately come out of all this, but I can't help but think it will not be small or short-term.
And that's my update on life! Till next time...
So despite life feeling like a marathon at times, I'm good. Life is good. A little weird, a little confusing, and sometimes a bit complicated, but good.
I have an insane amount of stuff to report on, but I'm gonna try to stick to the highlights. Let's start with New Orleans! That was one of the funnest trips I've ever been on. There were 8 of us who went, and it was such a fun, awesome group of people, and you get really tight when you spend 5 days straight with 8 people. There were so many laughs and good times and amazing conversations... wow. Not to mention experiencing post-Katrina New Orleans. It was extremely interesting to see how the city is rebuilding itself. It's tough to hear that a lot of people don't really want to move back - many people who never had the means to leave New Orleans before have now landed elsewhere and seen that they could live better there - but those that do have so much courage. Talking to the homeowners was amazing because despite all that they've been through, they still stand strong, and they're rebuilding their homes and picking themselves up again. One of the homeowners showed us pictures before and after the hurricane, and I tried to imagine that happening to my house, but I can't. And these people have realized that all the material possessions in this world don't really amount to much - you can have them taken away completely and still be happy. A lot of people are just so thankful to still have their loved ones safe and sound that everything else doesn't matter so much.
So that was New Orleans! The weekend after that, Mom came to visit me, which was of course super fun. We didn't really do a whole whole lot, just hung out together and had some nice meals. :) And we saw a cool new movie called Across the Universe. It's a movie about the 60's, and it's actually a musical of sorts, but all the music is by the Beatles. Verrrrry interesting, I definitely recommend it.
Other than those two fun weekends, there hasn't been a whole lot to report on that's out of the ordinary - school, more school... I do have a choir concert coming up, and I'm excited about that. The music is really coming together and some of it is just really amazing. Actually it's all pretty amazing, but I especially like certain pieces.
I guess most of what's been going on is in my head. The "reverse culture shock" has turned into something completely different and unlike what I expected; in fact it no longer has much to do with the Germany-America comparison. It's like being somewhere else for a year somehow became a catalyst for all sorts of "reactions" - new thoughts and feelings that kinda showed up out of the blue. Basically - I am becoming extremely sensitive to the social injustices of this world. I gotta admit, right now it's kind of frustrating, because I'm becoming more and more aware of the problems, but solutions seem so far out of reach. But I really feel convicted to do something about it.
I guess it's always seemed a little strange to me to live on an Ivy League campus surrounded by very low-income families and more homeless people than I'd ever met in my life prior to coming to Penn. It challenges me more and more each day to constantly ask myself what the ultimate goal of my studies is. What good is an Ivy League education if I can't feed someone who's starving nextdoor? What good are my aspirations if they do not help others to be able to have aspirations at all?
God is really penetrating every aspect of my life with this. I can't shop without a conscience any more - I have to think about who made that shirt and the conditions under which they did it. I can't have a cup of coffee without wondering if the farmer who grew it was paid fairly for it. And I can't walk past Wawa anymore without looking to see if someone is sitting outside in need of a meal.
I honestly have no explanation for it other than God Himself. Trust me, I would never come up with this. I like coffee! And although I'm a lame shopper, I like clothes too! And talking to homeless people can be awkward. But now that my eyes have been opened to injustices, I can't walk past them, buy them, wear them... Something isn't right. And I really feel like I cannot profess to be a Christian and ignore Jesus' teaching on social justice.
I got a couple cool books from Amazon that I'm excited to read and hopefully get some ideas from. One is called Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider. The other is called God's Politics by Jim Wallis. That one was mentioned in another book I've now read for the second time that has been a major catalyst for all of these thoughts: The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claibourne. In it, he challenges a lot of the assumptions Christians in America make everyday that are not necessarily biblical, things like the idea that being a Christian means voting Republican, and that tithes and offerings are meant for the church, not for the church to give away to the poor. I highly recommend the book - even to those who may not call themselves Christians. For one thing, it makes a suggestion for what Christianity is really supposed to look like; for another, it gives us a vision for a better world.
So obviously this isn't the usual type of blog I write, so I hope it didn't throw anyone for too much of a loop. I guess I just felt I had to share what's been on my mind, since it's been on my mind a lot. I do not write this to judge others; for one, I myself am as guilty of perpetuating many injustices in this world as anyone else, plus I also didn't come up with this stuff on my own - God put it on my heart, and if He wants to, He will put it on the hearts of others too. I don't know what will ultimately come out of all this, but I can't help but think it will not be small or short-term.
And that's my update on life! Till next time...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Windy City and my weekend-traveling marathon
Howdy folks!
I admit, I have been a lame-O blogger lately, but here's an attempt at catching up.
Last weekend (as in Sept. 28-Oct. 1) I went to Chicago and it was pretty awesome. Here's the play-by-play:
Friday afternoon: Arrived in Chi-town and was greeted at the airport by my super cool bro. He took me to his place via subway, chatting the whole way there about his classes, particularly his "sight-screaming" (sight-singing) class which he had a test in that day, and just being his usual funny and entertaining self. He took me to his absolutely absurd dorm - guys, this is like luxury housing, I'm not even kidding, I think his kitchen and living area is the size of my entire dorm - and we chilled for a bit. Then we went out for Chicago-style stuffed pizza and Edwardo's, which was close by, and after a bit of deliberation we paid for it with Mom and Dad's credit card, since we figured if they were there, they would pay for it... (great reasoning, yes?) After that he showed me around downtown a bit - we saw his favorite jazz record store, which is incredible and clearly heaven-on-earth for jazz fans, visited a couple random bookstores, and walked up and down Michigan Avenue a bit on the Magnificent Mile. Didn't do any shopping, just walked around and saw the big water tower. After that we came home to, of course, watch a movie, since my brother now owns like a thousand movies. We watched The Terminal with Tom Hanks, which was really really good, and also watched Copying Beethoven but I fell asleep during that one.
Saturday - Woke up early-ish to meet up with Timo - my pastor from Berlin - to hang out with him for the day. Timo and Manu came to the States for their undergraduate degrees and studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, so the church in Berlin has lots of partner churches in the Chicago area (and also in Minnesota, where they did an internship), and thus he came to the U.S. for about 10 days to visit those churches and reconnect with some people. And I was lucky to be one of those people! We went down to Navy Pier, hoping to find a place to eat breakfast, but we were out of luck on that, so we just ate some chocolate in the car on the way out to the 'burbs to visit friends of his from Moody who had invited us for lunch. After hanging out there for awhile, we decided we wanted to visit Willow Creek Community Church - a rather famous mega-church also in the 'burbs - to hear Bill Hybels - a pastor and pretty well-known Christian author - preach. We had a couple hours to kill though, so on the way we stopped at Kohl's because Timo accidentally left his dress shoes in Berlin and didn't really want to preach in his tennis shoes. Then we headed to the church and got there early enough to look around a bit and chat with a friendly lady in the "welcome center". Visiting Willow Creek was a very interesting experience. I honestly don't know if I could ever go to a place like that - it's soooooooooooooooo big and sooooooooooooooooo nice - but it's also really cool how much influence the church has had and how many people they've been able to reach. Also, when you have that many people in your church, you can build up tons of ministries and have jillions of pastors. I think there's probably a pastor for every age-group - kids, junior high, senior high, college, young singles, married couples, seniors... Yeah. The service was interesting; some things we liked about it, some things we weren't crazy about. The sermon was pretty good though, and I thought Bill Hybels was a great speaker. We were pretty hungry after that, so we went to eat at the famous Ed Debevic's, a 50's-style diner where the servers are comically rude. It sounds weird, but it's really quite entertaining. We enjoyed ourselves. And then it was time to head home and hit the hay. Back at Jim's place I kinda just chilled before passing out on his couch.
Sunday - Up early again for church with Timo. First we visited the church he went to while he studied at Moody, then we jetted out to another church nearby where he had been asked to preach. He interviewed me in his sermon too, which was cool. Afterwards we were invited to lunch and met some cool people. Then he drove me back into the city, with a stop at the museum campus to enjoy the beautiful view of the city and the lake. From Jim's place I then dashed off to the U. of Chicago campus to visit my friend Elizabeth who was in Berlin with me, and I hung out with her for a few hours and had dinner with her and her boyfriend. Then I went back to Jim's to hang with him a bit more, and again passed out pretty early. My flight was first thing Monday morning.
All in all, it was an awesome weekend, but it went by way too fast! It was really great and very encouraging to see and spend time with Timo - I got the full update on everything happening at the church in Berlin, which is really exciting, and had time to just talk and hang out with a great mentor. The biggest disappointment of the weekend was not getting to hang out with my brother as much as I would've liked, but I'm hoping I'll get to do that again soon; he's gonna be in Chicago for 4 more years at least.
Other than the big trip, life has been good but crazy. School is so much work, and some of it is more exciting than the rest... I had my Fulbright interview today and that went well - keep your fingers crossed for me! This past weekend was the Campus Crusade retreat, which was good, and then this coming weekend I am going to New Orleans with Crusade people. I am excited but also a bit nervous about that.
That's pretty much it... Heh that was a lot, actually. Love to all!
I admit, I have been a lame-O blogger lately, but here's an attempt at catching up.
Last weekend (as in Sept. 28-Oct. 1) I went to Chicago and it was pretty awesome. Here's the play-by-play:
Friday afternoon: Arrived in Chi-town and was greeted at the airport by my super cool bro. He took me to his place via subway, chatting the whole way there about his classes, particularly his "sight-screaming" (sight-singing) class which he had a test in that day, and just being his usual funny and entertaining self. He took me to his absolutely absurd dorm - guys, this is like luxury housing, I'm not even kidding, I think his kitchen and living area is the size of my entire dorm - and we chilled for a bit. Then we went out for Chicago-style stuffed pizza and Edwardo's, which was close by, and after a bit of deliberation we paid for it with Mom and Dad's credit card, since we figured if they were there, they would pay for it... (great reasoning, yes?) After that he showed me around downtown a bit - we saw his favorite jazz record store, which is incredible and clearly heaven-on-earth for jazz fans, visited a couple random bookstores, and walked up and down Michigan Avenue a bit on the Magnificent Mile. Didn't do any shopping, just walked around and saw the big water tower. After that we came home to, of course, watch a movie, since my brother now owns like a thousand movies. We watched The Terminal with Tom Hanks, which was really really good, and also watched Copying Beethoven but I fell asleep during that one.
Saturday - Woke up early-ish to meet up with Timo - my pastor from Berlin - to hang out with him for the day. Timo and Manu came to the States for their undergraduate degrees and studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, so the church in Berlin has lots of partner churches in the Chicago area (and also in Minnesota, where they did an internship), and thus he came to the U.S. for about 10 days to visit those churches and reconnect with some people. And I was lucky to be one of those people! We went down to Navy Pier, hoping to find a place to eat breakfast, but we were out of luck on that, so we just ate some chocolate in the car on the way out to the 'burbs to visit friends of his from Moody who had invited us for lunch. After hanging out there for awhile, we decided we wanted to visit Willow Creek Community Church - a rather famous mega-church also in the 'burbs - to hear Bill Hybels - a pastor and pretty well-known Christian author - preach. We had a couple hours to kill though, so on the way we stopped at Kohl's because Timo accidentally left his dress shoes in Berlin and didn't really want to preach in his tennis shoes. Then we headed to the church and got there early enough to look around a bit and chat with a friendly lady in the "welcome center". Visiting Willow Creek was a very interesting experience. I honestly don't know if I could ever go to a place like that - it's soooooooooooooooo big and sooooooooooooooooo nice - but it's also really cool how much influence the church has had and how many people they've been able to reach. Also, when you have that many people in your church, you can build up tons of ministries and have jillions of pastors. I think there's probably a pastor for every age-group - kids, junior high, senior high, college, young singles, married couples, seniors... Yeah. The service was interesting; some things we liked about it, some things we weren't crazy about. The sermon was pretty good though, and I thought Bill Hybels was a great speaker. We were pretty hungry after that, so we went to eat at the famous Ed Debevic's, a 50's-style diner where the servers are comically rude. It sounds weird, but it's really quite entertaining. We enjoyed ourselves. And then it was time to head home and hit the hay. Back at Jim's place I kinda just chilled before passing out on his couch.
Sunday - Up early again for church with Timo. First we visited the church he went to while he studied at Moody, then we jetted out to another church nearby where he had been asked to preach. He interviewed me in his sermon too, which was cool. Afterwards we were invited to lunch and met some cool people. Then he drove me back into the city, with a stop at the museum campus to enjoy the beautiful view of the city and the lake. From Jim's place I then dashed off to the U. of Chicago campus to visit my friend Elizabeth who was in Berlin with me, and I hung out with her for a few hours and had dinner with her and her boyfriend. Then I went back to Jim's to hang with him a bit more, and again passed out pretty early. My flight was first thing Monday morning.
All in all, it was an awesome weekend, but it went by way too fast! It was really great and very encouraging to see and spend time with Timo - I got the full update on everything happening at the church in Berlin, which is really exciting, and had time to just talk and hang out with a great mentor. The biggest disappointment of the weekend was not getting to hang out with my brother as much as I would've liked, but I'm hoping I'll get to do that again soon; he's gonna be in Chicago for 4 more years at least.
Other than the big trip, life has been good but crazy. School is so much work, and some of it is more exciting than the rest... I had my Fulbright interview today and that went well - keep your fingers crossed for me! This past weekend was the Campus Crusade retreat, which was good, and then this coming weekend I am going to New Orleans with Crusade people. I am excited but also a bit nervous about that.
That's pretty much it... Heh that was a lot, actually. Love to all!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Culture Shock-ish-ness: Part One
So I haven't been a good blogger lately. Main reason? Penn is HARD! I never really realized before how much multi-tasking American university life - especially Penn university life - requires of young'uns. I don't feel like such a young'un anymore. This stuff is crazy exhausting!
To give a better idea of where I'm coming home: A typical week for me in Germany looked something like this: I had class 3 days a week, usually only 1.5 hours of it each day (3 MAX!!), put in a few hours at my internship Mondays and Fridays, and spent the rest of my time doing readings for class, doing church stuff, or riding the subway. Or eating or sleeping. Of course, life got stressful then too. But let's compare mere quantity of activities. In Germany, there were 4 classes (less than 10 hours of classroom time), Bible study, church on Sunday, and either choir or voice lessons. Here? 5 classes (granted, by choice, but it's twice the amount of classroom time and at least 4 times the homework), Bible study, planning for said Bible study with the other group co-leaders, Campus Crusade, choir, church on Sunday, internship on Saturday, and more social gatherings - which, granted, are not required, but I don't want people to think I'm completely asocial - than I keep track of. And then there are things like Fulbright applications and hunting down random unhelpful people who have to approve the courses I took in Berlin so they will actually appear on my transcript and other annoying bureaucratic things... It feels like I'm running a marathon. And for the record, I can't run!
I always knew that Penn was full of super intense over-achievers, but man...
The good news: everything I'm doing (except the bureaucratic stuff and some of the homework) is fun. The bad news: everything I'm doing (except ditto) is fun. Which means I don't want to drop anything! I could easily drop a course and have no problems getting all the credits I need. But I don't want to drop any of my courses! And I'm actually doing less stuff than I did sophomore year, but I guess back then I was still a "spring chicken" and somehow was able to handle it...
To give a better idea of where I'm coming home: A typical week for me in Germany looked something like this: I had class 3 days a week, usually only 1.5 hours of it each day (3 MAX!!), put in a few hours at my internship Mondays and Fridays, and spent the rest of my time doing readings for class, doing church stuff, or riding the subway. Or eating or sleeping. Of course, life got stressful then too. But let's compare mere quantity of activities. In Germany, there were 4 classes (less than 10 hours of classroom time), Bible study, church on Sunday, and either choir or voice lessons. Here? 5 classes (granted, by choice, but it's twice the amount of classroom time and at least 4 times the homework), Bible study, planning for said Bible study with the other group co-leaders, Campus Crusade, choir, church on Sunday, internship on Saturday, and more social gatherings - which, granted, are not required, but I don't want people to think I'm completely asocial - than I keep track of. And then there are things like Fulbright applications and hunting down random unhelpful people who have to approve the courses I took in Berlin so they will actually appear on my transcript and other annoying bureaucratic things... It feels like I'm running a marathon. And for the record, I can't run!
I always knew that Penn was full of super intense over-achievers, but man...
The good news: everything I'm doing (except the bureaucratic stuff and some of the homework) is fun. The bad news: everything I'm doing (except ditto) is fun. Which means I don't want to drop anything! I could easily drop a course and have no problems getting all the credits I need. But I don't want to drop any of my courses! And I'm actually doing less stuff than I did sophomore year, but I guess back then I was still a "spring chicken" and somehow was able to handle it...
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Back at Penn: Weird, but cool
So I'm back now, and finally starting to actually feel like I'm back. It took a few days, and took finally seeing people I knew and not just running around with Mom and Dad trying to get settled and get everything I needed.
So Thursday I moved in. It went pretty smoothly. Friday morning I had coffee with Karolin, my German teacher from sophomore year at Penn who now teaches at Cambridge that I visited in her hometown of Lübeck during my year in Berlin. (That was a complicated explanation!) That was really fun. Karolin is cool and we got to speak German and talk about all the things about America that seem weird to us.
Then I met up with my parents and we ran around getting stuff for my room. I took them to Ikea for the first time, which was fun but took awhile! After a long day of shopping and a nice dinner, I spent the night in the hotel with them so we could sleep in the next day before heading off to Maryland for my grandparents' big 60th wedding anniversary party.
That was quite fun. Saturday was pretty chill; we just hung out a bit, had dinner at their "dining hall" and then presented them with the incredible quilt that my cousin Emily made (though we all had a small part in it! - we each made a square). They loved it. We let Grandma and Grandpa get to bed early, but the rest of us (minus Ann and Jim) hung out at the guest house where everyone else was staying. It was quite fun, especially the part where Emily and I realized that we both sneeze like crazy when we pluck our eyebrows. We suspect that it could be hereditary, but we haven't figured out who we inherited it from. Probably the best line of the night though was my dad's: "I get the hiccups when I clip my toenails!" That's what happens when too many Lordemans hang out in the same room for too long...
Sunday was the big day. In the early afternoon was a reception which they had invited all their friends too, and that was fun. Then there was a brief break in the action before a fancy dinner at their favorite restaurant, Normany Farms. After dinner was more chatting at the guest house, though this time many of us were much more tired, so less hilarity ensued.
Monday morning my aunt Jane graciously drove me to the D.C. metro stop nearby so I could take a train from D.C. back to Philly. I arrived a little before noon and had time to chill before the Campus Crusade meeting at 1.
Between that and a cookout tonight, I've been reunited with tons of friends and met lots of the sophomores (whom I of course hadn't met yet because I was gone last year when they were freshmen). There are some cool new people! Good times. In addition to that, me and Shannon have been goofing off together like we always do, so Penn is starting to feel more comfortable and normal and fun. When I first got here, it was mega weird; it was like having been in a time warp or something. You don't often go somewhere for a few years, then leave it for a year, and then go back. Usually when you leave, it's either for a much shorter time (like the summer) or for good. But I'm adjusting now.
Classes start tomorrow. I hope they will be good. I also have to meet with lots of advisors to figure out how to get my credits from Berlin transfered and to apply for Fulbright and to line up an internship and yada yada yada...
That's what's new!
So Thursday I moved in. It went pretty smoothly. Friday morning I had coffee with Karolin, my German teacher from sophomore year at Penn who now teaches at Cambridge that I visited in her hometown of Lübeck during my year in Berlin. (That was a complicated explanation!) That was really fun. Karolin is cool and we got to speak German and talk about all the things about America that seem weird to us.
Then I met up with my parents and we ran around getting stuff for my room. I took them to Ikea for the first time, which was fun but took awhile! After a long day of shopping and a nice dinner, I spent the night in the hotel with them so we could sleep in the next day before heading off to Maryland for my grandparents' big 60th wedding anniversary party.
That was quite fun. Saturday was pretty chill; we just hung out a bit, had dinner at their "dining hall" and then presented them with the incredible quilt that my cousin Emily made (though we all had a small part in it! - we each made a square). They loved it. We let Grandma and Grandpa get to bed early, but the rest of us (minus Ann and Jim) hung out at the guest house where everyone else was staying. It was quite fun, especially the part where Emily and I realized that we both sneeze like crazy when we pluck our eyebrows. We suspect that it could be hereditary, but we haven't figured out who we inherited it from. Probably the best line of the night though was my dad's: "I get the hiccups when I clip my toenails!" That's what happens when too many Lordemans hang out in the same room for too long...
Sunday was the big day. In the early afternoon was a reception which they had invited all their friends too, and that was fun. Then there was a brief break in the action before a fancy dinner at their favorite restaurant, Normany Farms. After dinner was more chatting at the guest house, though this time many of us were much more tired, so less hilarity ensued.
Monday morning my aunt Jane graciously drove me to the D.C. metro stop nearby so I could take a train from D.C. back to Philly. I arrived a little before noon and had time to chill before the Campus Crusade meeting at 1.
Between that and a cookout tonight, I've been reunited with tons of friends and met lots of the sophomores (whom I of course hadn't met yet because I was gone last year when they were freshmen). There are some cool new people! Good times. In addition to that, me and Shannon have been goofing off together like we always do, so Penn is starting to feel more comfortable and normal and fun. When I first got here, it was mega weird; it was like having been in a time warp or something. You don't often go somewhere for a few years, then leave it for a year, and then go back. Usually when you leave, it's either for a much shorter time (like the summer) or for good. But I'm adjusting now.
Classes start tomorrow. I hope they will be good. I also have to meet with lots of advisors to figure out how to get my credits from Berlin transfered and to apply for Fulbright and to line up an internship and yada yada yada...
That's what's new!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A cruel aspect of the life of a college student who goes to school too far away to drive there
BOOKS. These college people entice you to come to their institution to learn all these great things, and what do you accumulate? Books! Lots and lots of books. Books you want to keep. But what the heck are you supposed to do with them? There is only so much room on my shelves at home, and only so much weight I can carry in a checked suitcase. Some days I would give anything to get to live in ONE place for more than one year. But there are most likely many years of being a nomad yet to come. Sigh...
In other news: I had fun shadowing "Frau" Sherman at the high school. She has some really good German students! Her classes are really fun. That was encouraging to see.
I spent the afternoon and evening yesterday (as in Sunday) with Amy Thomas. It's so cool how we can go months without seeing each other and then when we see each other again, nothing's changed between us. We still ramble all night long and never run out of things to talk about. I'm excited to see where God takes her next year.
Now all that's leftis packing, packing and more packing. Thursday morning we're off to Philly... I'm ready. I'm starting to feel Brentwood-ed out. I love the people but I can't stay in this place too long.
In other news: I had fun shadowing "Frau" Sherman at the high school. She has some really good German students! Her classes are really fun. That was encouraging to see.
I spent the afternoon and evening yesterday (as in Sunday) with Amy Thomas. It's so cool how we can go months without seeing each other and then when we see each other again, nothing's changed between us. We still ramble all night long and never run out of things to talk about. I'm excited to see where God takes her next year.
Now all that's leftis packing, packing and more packing. Thursday morning we're off to Philly... I'm ready. I'm starting to feel Brentwood-ed out. I love the people but I can't stay in this place too long.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Random coolness
So I got this email the other day from a guy at Penn - I think he is/was a graduate/PhD student - saying that he founded a new chamber choir in Philadelphia and wanted to invite me to be in it. He said he remembered hearing me at a Baroque ensemble concert two years ago and wanted to invite me to join the choir last year but was told I was in Germany. He said they're having auditions this weekend, but he'd waive that for me since he's already heard me sing. So... I'm in. Cool, eh? And I was struggling to decide what sort of ensemble to join back at Penn this year... looks like the decision was made for me! I like when things work out that way.
In other news, I have been shadowing the German teacher at Brentwood High last week and this week, and it's pretty fun. I've been learning some cool stuff, and it's helpful to go back and put myself in the shoes of kids just starting to learn German. I might have an internship at Penn this year assistant teaching at a small German school just outside of Philly, so I figured it'd be good (and just plain interesting) to do a little observing first.
And of course the biggest news is that my brother is now off to college! He left yesterday, and move-in was today. I can't believe it, my little baby brother... all grown up... heh well sorta... :)
In other news, I have been shadowing the German teacher at Brentwood High last week and this week, and it's pretty fun. I've been learning some cool stuff, and it's helpful to go back and put myself in the shoes of kids just starting to learn German. I might have an internship at Penn this year assistant teaching at a small German school just outside of Philly, so I figured it'd be good (and just plain interesting) to do a little observing first.
And of course the biggest news is that my brother is now off to college! He left yesterday, and move-in was today. I can't believe it, my little baby brother... all grown up... heh well sorta... :)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Welcome to my new blog!
Hello blog-readers! Now that I'm back from Berlin, I decided to make a new blog. I will continue to write random updates, stories, thoughts, etc. just like before, only they won't just be about Berlin all the time. :)
In a few weeks I will be heading back to the University of Pennsylvania to start my senior year and finish up my BA so I can go back to Germany. :) I'm excited about it though. It will be fun to be back on campus, living with my favorite roomie Shannon, making late-night Wawa runs and doing other fun Penn things. (For those who don't know, Wawa is a sort of convenience store/deli chain throughout Pennsylvania, Jersey, Delaware, etc. and it rocks my world.)
Until then, I have a few more weeks in hot, humid but lovely Brentwood, Tennessee. Somewhere in there I also have to unpack and repack, which I am not looking forward to...
Add this blog address to your favorites in place of my Berlin one: www.stinalo.blogspot.com.
Love to all,
Christina
In a few weeks I will be heading back to the University of Pennsylvania to start my senior year and finish up my BA so I can go back to Germany. :) I'm excited about it though. It will be fun to be back on campus, living with my favorite roomie Shannon, making late-night Wawa runs and doing other fun Penn things. (For those who don't know, Wawa is a sort of convenience store/deli chain throughout Pennsylvania, Jersey, Delaware, etc. and it rocks my world.)
Until then, I have a few more weeks in hot, humid but lovely Brentwood, Tennessee. Somewhere in there I also have to unpack and repack, which I am not looking forward to...
Add this blog address to your favorites in place of my Berlin one: www.stinalo.blogspot.com.
Love to all,
Christina
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
