Thursday, February 28, 2008

Too long!

Okay, it's been a while. Here's a quick update:
1. I checked out of real life for about a month. I was so incredibly busy as my winter quarter was winding down. In the last 2 weeks of the quarter I had 4 exams, 2 quizzes, 3 papers (one was a 15 page Greek exegetical paper). I didn't really sleep at all maybe 3-5 hours a night, and the week before wasn't that great either with another Hebrew quiz and a couple of more assignments due. By the grace of God I got through those last weeks. I finished on Wednesday Feb. 20 at 12pm. I have no idea how things are going to turn out. I don't think my input (the hours spent studying and preparing) will equal my output (text and paper performance), which is pretty disappointing. Although, I just found out my Hebrew grades. I've never worked so hard for a class; I'd study for 30 hours for a weekly quiz and get a C! I finally saw some improvement from receiving F's on my first couple quizzes to getting an A on the final exam. The professor gave a B+/A- as a final grade for the class, but I have no idea what that really means.
2. The seminary gave us a 4 day weekend to try to recover and prepare ourselves for another quarter. It wasn't long enough! I spent most of it almost comatose in front of the TV watching Alias on DVD and movies from Blockbuster (I signed up for the 2 week free trial!). It was great. I did manage the clean the apartment, but that was about it. It was great, and what I really needed.
3. Monday classes started, and I think that I like them better than last quarter. (Which is good because I didn't like most of them). I'm taking a New Testament Gospels; Old Testament Narrative; Personal Evangelism, Discipleship, and Cross-cultural ministry; and a systematic theology class Holy Spirit, Church, and Kingdom. I think that I'll have less homework than last quarter (but that doesn't take much), but I think I'll have too much work to be able to get a part-time waitressing job. But we'll see...
4. I've discovered a gem of a deal! I purchased a $5 bus ticket for 10 rides. I can ride one bus from Calvin campus downtown, and it only takes about 25-30 minutes one way. It's so nice to get away from campus, and downtown Grand Rapids it's not too bad. I save so much because I don't have to pay for gas or parking in the day. It's not much longer to take the bus than drive and try to find a parking spot. I hope to begin to explore the downtown shops and coffeeshops more in the coming months.
5. On Friday's I play indoor tennis with 7 Korean pastors and seminary students. It's a ton of fun, except I usually don't understand what they are saying. I've definitely seen improvement in my game from when I started (although I was pretty rustly when I started). I still struggle with my forehand, but my serve is something to be reckoned with. Anyways, I'll stop rambling now, and I promise to be better at keeping up with the blog.