A new start

Well. Now that I've been officially living on campus for a week, it's probably a good time to write an update. I'm not really sure where to start - how do you catch up on writing about a whole week in a new state?

I hit my head on a towel dispenser in the bathroom today - I'll tell you that now to get it out of the way. I didn't bleed, but I've got a nasty bump. Yeah. Also, yesterday I was trying to escape the cafeteria after eating my first meal alone, and I was stuck at the doors for about 30 seconds wondering why they'd locked us in. Yep - you guessed it. Push, not pull. First time that's happened to me. Oh! And while I'm making confessions, I haven't been able to check my mailbox because you have to know how to work a combination lock to get in. And though I've got my combination number memorized, I've yet to successfully work the lock. So yes, I'm stating those humbling facts here and now at the beginning. I feel that that is a fitting way to start the long recounting of the college experience.

The campus itself is incredible. I love every building; they're all so unique and beautiful in their own ways. Everything is either brick or white stone of some sort - and there are trees and benches and lamp posts everywhere! It's such a stately-looking place, but it's quaint enough, too, to feel like a home. Today after a long day of classes, I grabbed a thermos of coffee and a few books and walked around campus to find a quiet place to sit. I wanted to be alone, but I didn't want to hide up in my room like a hermit - I've been doing that enough this week. (And I'm doing it right now... heh. Well, none of us is perfect, right?) I eventually found a sloping lawn on the outskirts of campus, next to my favorite building (the most aesthetically-beautiful, and as luck would have it, where most of my English classes will be). The lawn is full of trees and benches, and they're all far enough apart to give complete privacy to people who go there. So I sat on two benches (feet up!) and read Salinger and wrote Kate (we'll see if I can find an envelope and a stamp around here...) for a few hours. Every once in a while some students would walk past me, down the hill, or a train would go by and I'd count the cars. And there were two squirrels that I would watch with frequency. It was the most peaceful I've felt all week, and it made me so happy. I've found a sanctuary.

Some of you are probably stuck on the fact that I just referred to myself as a hiding hermit. Don't worry, I'm not being antisocial. Well, not really. I just haven't really found a good fit for myself yet, social-scene-wise. I've met a lot of people, but not that many that I've really clicked with. Sometimes that gets kind of discouraging (walking into the caf and not seeing anyone I know, for example, and thus sitting alone with a book), but I also am aware that it's only been a week. I don't really make friendships quickly - I know that about myself. I like relationships with substance. Things will look up soon, though, I hope... I'm definitely not a natural extrovert, but I'm trying. :) I actually have much better luck talking to people in my classes than during free-time. Classes, by the way, are pretty great so far. The first day of French terrified me, due to a "no English" rule that the professor enforces... but today's class was much better. The professor is pretty good at knowing when he needs to translate something into English; this translation usually comes after he's made direct eye-contact with me. ;) My Literature class is so much fun - it's completely made up of class discussion. We're reading the Odyssey, and all we have to do so far (aside from read it) is keep a list of questions or interesting observations as we read. Then we get to class, take out our papers, and bring up whatever we want to talk about. It's fabulous. My Bible class is, unfortunately, the most difficult to pay attention to. It's my last one of the day, it's in mid-afternoon, it's a lecture class, and the classroom is hot. My brain kind of checks out halfway through. But we have a lot of good reading material, so at least I've got that. My Intro to Theater class, however, might be my favorite. We've only had one class period, but I just have a really good feeling about that one. I don't really know how to describe what that feeling is, but I do know that the professor seems really cool, and that was the only class period where I felt completely present the whole time. Even after just two hours, I felt like I'd learned a lot about people and myself, especially. Theater has a way of doing that. It's awesome.

Speaking of theater, I officially declared it as my minor. I also officially declared a writing concentration. Shoot - should I have done "creative writing"? Agh. I meant to check that before I turned it in.

What else? I've started to drink my coffee black. I have a small 4-cup coffee pot and I make one every day, and usually finish it throughout the day. So I'm cutting back considerably from my normal amount, back at home. I think that's mostly because the microwave is 4 floors down, though - and when I'm studying and want a cup of coffee, I rarely feel like making the trek all the way down.

I'm tired. I think I'm going to try to get a lot of sleep tonight - tomorrow is Saturday, and I have absolutely no plans. Oh, AND, we're supposed to have "monsoon weather" tomorrow. Apparently there was a hurricane in Texas? I didn't know that... but that apparently means that we're getting weird weather here. Today was incredibly hot and muggy; the air felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. It's been pleasant the rest of the time, but today was just... bleh. Anyway, the reason I bring the weather up is that it's supposed to rain torrentially tomorrow, so I can't go to my sanctuary and spend the day reading on a bench. It may be a good opportunity to get to know the library, though. Or figure out how to get into my mailbox. Probably that.

I'll try to write more regularly, now that I'm starting to get a sense of my schedule. The point is that things are going well here - so don't be worried, people who tend to worry about me. I'll find my place soon enough. For now, I'm content enough to have awkward introductory conversations with the midwestern folk, read my books, and rely on the fact that God is looking out for me. I miss my family and friends like crazy, by the way - but I rely, too, on the fact that God is looking out for you. I love you guys. I hope things are well in California. You should write me, by the way! I promise I'll figure out my mailbox, if you do. :)

Goodnight.