Princeton, Day 2

For some reason, I can only put pictures at the beginning of a post. So here they are! First, a cool sculpture, the first thing you see when you go in the museum. If you know me extremely well, you'll be glad to hear I did continue into the museum and was able to avoid walking directly under the dudes. There was a room full of statues, though, set too close together, which I skipped, but not before saying out loud, "ooooh, no." (If this is confusing to you, the explanation is that I have never liked things hanging from the ceiling. As a child, I would have whimpered my way under these guys with my eyes shut tight and someone holding my hand, if I went in at all. As for the room full of statues, that's a new thing, probably because I never saw one before. Museums in general are pretty dicey places for me because of these and other sensory dislikes, but I guess the art value outweighs the fear factor.) The captions apply to the pictures below them, not above. I would change this, but I can't cut and paste on this blog.

These little guys were all over the place today.

Here is a saint in someone's yard presiding over some of the same flowers.

I like the way this wall fits around this tree.

Just another day at Hogwart's. This is the university campus, not the seminary's.

Finally, how about that academic building? Most of the seminary's classes are in here. The interior doorways have pointy arches too.

This morning, I woke up before my alarm, maybe from excitement, and crossed the street to the admissions office to get a list of classes I could choose from to visit. I accidentally looked at the Thursday list instead of the Friday list, so instead of going to the beginning of a class on women and preaching, I went to the middle of a class on the three African novels of Chinua Achebe. It took me longer than I'd like to admit, to realize I'd goofed. In my defense, they had just finished lecture and were breaking up into groups, so it wasn't obvious that I had come in the middle. It turned out very well, though, because the discussion was lively and intelligent; everyone was clearly enjoying themselves and learning. And I knew one of the people in my discussion group! I had an inkling that it might be her, so I asked at the end what her name was. Turns out we did Youth Council retreats together in high school. But that's not all; our families go way back to when we lived in Raleigh before I was in first grade. "Had my parents died," she said, "I would have come to live with you!" That was the case on our side too.

We had dinner tonight; she was very helpful and said some thought-provoking things about seminary. One of them (I'm paraphrasing): if you plan to go into church ministry, why would you spend time at a very liberal seminary learning more liberal things when your career will probably put you in a moderate setting? Most churches are moderate, and it could be frustrating to have one's liberal ideals built up during seminary and then basically not be free to act them out or preach them the way one would like to. Not that a pastor isn't free to enact her theology, but I don't think anyone accomplishes anything by coming in like gangbusters with ideas no one will listen to, no matter what those ideas are. She said Princeton is pretty moderate as a whole, and the students run the gamut on most issues. I agree that this is probably a better environment for me, or for anyone, than a school that's mostly one way or another.

The main thing that bothers me, and that I'm looking at in each place, is housing. I basically will not live in a dorm. I'm past that for many reasons: 1) What would I do with my furniture? 2) Living in the dorm requires a meal plan, and cooking is very important to me. 3) No one likes to share a bathroom. But because I'm single, it's unclear what my chances are for getting an apartment through the seminary. At least one other school gives preference to married students for apartments. I see the logic in this, but that doesn't make it easier to accept. What I'm saying is, harumph. As for the cost, I just stick my fingers in my ears and say "La la la" when I start thinking about it. Unfortunately, that doesn't drown out one's own thoughts. So I blog.

Great things about Princeton: The students said it prepares people for various careers, which is great because I don't know where I'm headed afterward. Some seminaries are narrower. The town is beautiful and feels safe, and I would walk and bike a lot. (Except, the weather has not been representative. It was at least 70 degrees and sunny today! I truly don't know how I'd handle a real winter. So what I mean is I'd walk and bike a lot in April through September. The rest of the time, I'd dream about April through September.) There is a pool. Every class with more than 26 students is broken into small groups led by Ph.D. students or the professor. This is awesome and the way things should be. I could come for summer language school in July. They have chapel five days a week (all the seminaries have it, but they range from one day a week to five). Everyone left their bags and coats outside the chapel, which shows that they trust each other. (Davidson alert!) My initial reaction to arriving on campus was a deeply felt gut positive.

It's possible that I'll gush about everywhere I go. (Oh, I got word from Iliff in Denver. In.) We'll have to see. But at the moment, this place is pretty sweet. Austin is the other front-runner, but I don't even know if I'm accepted there. Uncharacteristically, I do not feel anxious about this decision. I almost wrote "do not feel anxious yet," but there's no reason to think that way. God is in control. It was his idea in the first place, so he'll make the rest clear.

Princeton, Day 1

This is the size serving they gave me at an ice cream place here in Princeton, with my hand for comparison and the sweet little spoon that's meant for samples but they use it for serving. You could get two flavors even in the small size, and they had a lot of Irish offerings, so I got chocolate Bailey's and an Irish beer flavor. Both were unique, complex, not too sweet, and just right. Best of all (sort of), as seen above, the small size was actually small! I love a restaurant that gives me a realistic, healthy portion that's satisfying but doesn't cause pain. Hence my photographic celebration.

This day was very tiring, fun, exciting, and at one moment a bit scary when I accidentally went in the E-Z Pass lane at a toll station and stopped to talk to the attendant and explain myself, not realizing there is no attendant at the E-Z Pass lane! And you're not supposed to stop or slow down! (I think the people have something on their car that is read by an apparatus.) So people honked at me, and I thought, well, they're not getting my money this time, I wonder what will happen. One of the times I went in the correct lane and had an attendant, she was mad that I gave her quarters. "Do I have a choice?" she asked, and not in a bright and friendly way. "No, sorry, I didn't know," I said. I had bills but didn't think one should ask for change at a toll booth. Clearly, toll rules are not part of my world at this time.

The GPS made me go straight into Washington, D.C., which I know is totally unnecessary. I more or less understand Mapquest and how to tell it to avoid certain things, but with GPS, I'm a blind follower of an eerily knowledgeable technology. In some ways, it's like God's guidance of us, how we're not supposed to ask for the whole plan, just follow the steps as they become clear. Except God knows to avoid D.C. traffic when possible. I was rather skeptical starting in NoVA, but when it told me to go on Pennsyvania Avenue, I knew I should just say goodbye to my pre-dinner arrival time. I was somewhere between "Oh, no, it didn't!" and "Maybe I'll pass the White House!" I did not pass the White House. The lesson is that I will study maps and Mapquest printouts before each leg of this trip and use the GPS only for portions. Thank you, Wilcox family, for the GPS! It is very fun to use and helpful.

I finished a pretty good mystery book on CD, although it was number ten in a series I've only read the first of, so the beginning was rough. The series is by Laurie R. King, and most of the books have something to do with bees in the title. The first is The Beekeeper's Apprentice. They are about Sherlock Holmes and his young lady apprentice! I'm pretty rabid about Sherlock. I recommend the books even if you don't normally go for mysteries. I then started on I Am America (and So Can You!), which is probably a lot better on audio (Colbert is reading) than regular. Come to think of it, he got a Grammy for it, right? Well deserved.

This book on CD thing, it is a revelation to me. I've finished two books in, like, 72 hours! In addition to the ones I'm reading reading! I wonder how long until I feel like I'm cheating on NPR.

When I got to Princeton, I felt a bit suspicious because I was driving through some pretty sparse areas, even when it said the school was less than a mile away. I wondered if Mercer Road and Mercer Street were different. But then the houses suddenly got bigger and closer together, and there it was! I drove around a green where people were throwing things to each other, and the buildings are all so precisely what a school's buildings should be--old stone, brick, fine craftsmanship. My head was spinning with books and academia and age, quite like a Davidson vibe. I checked into the guest rooms and then went to dinner at a bar in Palmer Square.

Let me tell you about Palmer Square. They have a store that is just for olive oil. They have a store that is just for stationery and paper. The public library is there. Nearby, there's a Talbots--regular and petites. There are a lot of restaurants that all look really good. But the most important thing about Palmer Square is...are you ready?...I stopped counting ice cream places. There are that many.

A wrong turn sent me walking down through/past the university's campus (Princeton University? Ever heard of it? I actually almost did forget that the seminary isn't the big thing in town), which looks a little like Hogwart's, like a dragon might poke his head around the corner. I can't wait to see the town in full daylight--it looked great when I arrived, but I didn't have time to explore or get pics before night fell, although those pictures probably would be good too.

So, I really like Princeton so far. I'm still curious as to how my tour, class visit, etc. will go. Oh, and I found out today that I got into three other seminaries. Those phone calls were an especially nice way to pass time on the road. Heh heh heh. This is one of those days (and chapters, really) you wish you could flash-freeze. Even though the future change is part of why it's so exciting.