News

It has been so long since I have blogged! I miss it, but I have been dreadfully busy. Perhaps after playing a bit of "catch-up" in this post I'll be better at posting more regularly. I don't want you to give up on me!

I am loving Wheaton! I really am so happy to be here! Today someone asked me what stands out to me about my experience at Wheaton so far as surprising or different than I had expected. It took me a while to think of anything but eventually I answered that it was how quickly Wheaton has come to feel like home - I feel as if I belong here. This is a wonderful thing!

I'm still making friends, meeting lots of people, and forgetting lots of names, but I feel as if I'm starting to get to know some people better. Meals at "Saga" (Wheaton is actually catered by Bon Apetite and has been for years, but saga sounds cooler) are a great way to get to know people and have some wonderful conversations. I love hearing snippets of conversations as I walk to a table. Most everyone here is a nerd - it's wonderful. You can overhear discussions of everything from Christian eschatology to opera.

One of the things I was especially excited about before I came was Wheaton's Artist Series. Next Saturday is beginning of the artist series with the Ladysmith Black Mambazo from South Africa. Hopefully I'll usher and get in free that way. I've already enjoyed one faculty recital and attended one concert at College Church.

Sundays are my favorite day - oh day of rest and gladness! I never embraced that or appreciated it in high school as I do now. A day free from studies and academic stress is a wonderful thing. I have been attending College Church and really loving it! It is huge - over two thousands people I think - but they have lots small groups and other ways to get involved so I don't feel lost. Last Sunday I had lunch with a kind and generous older couple who befriended me. It was so nice to get off campus, have a quiet, delicious meal, and talk with people who aren't college students! I really appreciated it. This Sunday after the 9:30 service I went to a service for college students that starts at 11:00. And in the evening I'll walk to a home a few blocks from my dorm for "after hours", a time of fellowship and teaching for college students from College Church. That's been a great way to meet other students - freshmen, upperclassmen, and grad students - who I might never get to know otherwise but who this way may become good friends. The Cassels, who host After Hours, are a great family, and we're practically related. Susie Cassel is the cousin of my cousin's husband! And they have a dog whom I walk, which gives me great pleasure!

I can hear water almost boiling for tea and that reminds me to tell a funny story. The afternoon I got to Wheaton, I unpacked somewhat with my parents and then put the kettle on to make us all a pot of tea. The weather was awful outside - rain and high-speed winds. (some late-comers got awfully wet) Anyway, before the kettle boiled we heard a siren and the RA came and told us that everyone had to go down to the basement because a tornado had been sighted in the area. So we were all cramped in the basement waiting for the all clear when the fire alarm went off. We had to stay put while the alarm continued because tornadoes trump fire, I guess. When the all clear sounded we all went outside where it was wet and drizzly until we were finally allowed back in. I came back to see a couple firemen and the RD outside my door because it was the steam from my kettle that set of the alarm! First day and already causing trouble. Apparently the fire alarms are super sensitive and it's best to boil water in the bathroom. The alarm went off the next Sunday morning at 1 AM, but that wasn't me. . . .

Here's a another bizarre fire alarm story. Last year at the ACSI music festival in PA the fire alarm went off and everyone had to hang outside where it was freezing for quite a while. It messed up the schedule a lot and annoyed a lot of people, especially since it was a false alarm. Last Saturday I met the boy from NJ (Timothy Christian School) who accidentally set it off! No joke! Someone brought up most embarrassing moments and he told that story. It's a small world.

Today and tomorrow I'm hosting a "connector" - a high school student coming to check out Wheaton. My roommate, Liz, and I are so excited! We love Wheaton so much we want to encourage other people to come here too!