Not a lot of time left up here!

I'm making a list of little things I will miss and not miss about living up here, as well as big things in both category.

I'll publish it in April, after graduation. Writing it is making me both happy and sad.

Reading Week again

We had gorgeous weather until today, when it went back to the usual clouds with intermittent rain. That's perfectly all right, since it is after all how it's "supposed" to be this time of year.

Went home for the first three days of Reading Week, to spend time with friends and family. Also, my parents are heading out of the country for a translation consultant conference, so it was good to be able to see them off.

Tomorrow, Mackenzie and I are planning to meet up with friends and go to Vancouver, to partake in the various free activities available for Olympics tourists. It should be a lot of fun! I only hope it isn't pouring all or most of the time, because even if that is the normal weather, it's not quite as fun to walk around the city while getting drenched. And it's also harder to see the beauty of the city in those conditions, as well! Even if the weather isn't all that cooperative, though, we have at least already been to Vancouver once, on one of the lovely springish days this past weekend. This trip had a different theme, though. Some pictures can be seen starting there, if you're interested.

School is beginning to get quite intense, with various papers and projects coming due in the next couple of weeks. Thus, it would also be good if we could do some actual reading this Reading Week, too! (I've already done a fair amount, in fact - or it might become a problem.)

This final semester still seems to be passing so quickly... only two more months!

What's up with this weather?

As I write this blog entry, much of the eastern half of the US is being covered in an insanely huge amount of snow, much more than anyone is really used to dealing with. At the same time, here in the Vancouver area where people are preparing for the start of the Winter Olympics, the sun is shining, and daytime highs reach into the upper 40s to mid 50s (around 9 to 11 degrees Celsius, I think). I saw one tree nearby that is already in bloom, and there are enough birds that seem to believe it's already spring, too. Craziness! The Olympics people have said they're prepared to use snow-making machines for the events that require it, if necessary.

Meanwhile, classes are going well. I am close to on-schedule for all of my reading, which is nice, and I have so far avoided staying up past 12:30ish am to finish any assignments due the next day. I hesitate to say it, but it may be faintly possible that in my final semester of school, I have learned a little bit about not procrastinating. Maybe. (I don't want to jinx it.) The courses have continued to be quite enjoyable, too, although having three days of 8:30 class start time in a row hasn't gotten any easier.

TAing is still quite fun. Grading reading reports isn't quite as exciting the third time around, but it's still not boring. :) Also, I enjoy helping people figure out how to chart texts, as best I can. There will be quite a wide variety of languages represented for the texts they've all chosen for their final project/paper - Gullah, Spanish, French, several African languages, possibly Hebrew, etc. - so that will be fun and fascinating!

Now I suppose I should probably get back to work, on this bright sunny "winter" day.

Already at the second week!

Tomorrow is the first day of week 2 already! I still don't really feel quite back into the routine of school. I mean, I am re-used to Canada, to CanIL and ACTS people, to Ft. Langley people... but the amount of reading & other work I have to do hasn't quite sunk in yet. Maybe that's a good thing - as long as I still do it!

So, my other courses:

-Redemption Accomplished and Consummated (what a mouthful!): only had one meeting of it so far, but if I can just stay awake, I know it will be cool to learn more theology from this prof. I also know that when I put it like that, it sounds like it must be boring or something, but it isn't! It's just that is apparently physically impossible for me to stay totally awake for an 8:30 course. I catch myself drifting off at least a few times per hour. *sigh* It does help that chapel happens in the middle of the course, so at least a long break is guaranteed. But I really do want to stay awake - in this course, and the other two that start at 8:30.

-Greek Exegesis II: actually, I think this course might be really awesome! It will be a lot of work, but it sounds like a semester-long, in-depth Bible study of the book of Galatians. I love in-depth Bible studies, and to do one that also involves reading the original Greek just seems like it might make it better. But again, plenty of work involved.

TAing continues to be fun. The real work hasn't started yet, since people haven't turned in their first assignments yet, but it seems like a very good group.

The sermon at our church in Ft. Langley was very enjoyable today - an especially good illumination of the parable of the new wineskins. Not only do I think it's been a long time since I've heard it explained and applied so well, but I realized it really is quite a foreign metaphor for the current Western church. A good reminder that the Bible was originally written for people that did have some important things in common with us, but were very different!

And we're back!

A short version of my thoughts at the end of the first day of this, my final semester of grad school:

-Old Testament Theology should be pretty cool, if I can stay on top of the intense reading schedule. I am interested to look at the OT for itself, and not as mostly setting the stage for the NT, which is how it seems many Protestants look at it.

-Principles of Literacy should also be pretty cool. The first class was very introductory, so I don't have a lot of thoughts on it yet.

-TAing for Discourse Analysis should be pretty much the best thing ever! Even though the first day was (as I expected) mostly preparing the syllabi and handouts, and passing them out during class, it was still a lot of fun... and I do so love that course.

The end is near, once again!

The end of the semester, that is. But this time, it's more significant.

Mackenzie and I are going home for Christmas break on either the 11th or the 12th - either of which are so very close! Despite the fact that I have a lot to do still especially in my online course, I can't help but not feel too anxious, because break is so very close! I'm really looking forward to it. And also, I have been granted an extension for that online course, which definitely helps with the not-stressing thing.

Also, the first tuition payment for next semester is due tomorrow. Thanks to loans and financial aid, that will not be a problem, but the main thing is, this is the last time I will be paying tuition. Very possibly forever!

It is a weird, weird thing to contemplate the fact that this time next year, I will not be in school. In fact, I will not have been in school for quite some time. Life without school will be quite a change.

Sometimes you learn things from the strangest of places

Last night after dinner, the Americans in the house who are part of our dinner club were treated to a Canadian specialty that we'd never had before: Laura Secord chocolates. They're apparently quite famous in Canada, but can't be found (or at least not commonly) in the US. Though the chocolate I had was delicious - some kind of tasty raspberry liqueur-type thing - it seems somewhat obvious why you don't get them in the States.

See, Laura Secord was a Canadian hero during the War of 1812. (As my sister and I were reflecting last night, we hardly learned anything about that war in our history classes! Maybe because it wasn't all glorious for the US.) She's particularly remembered for a Paul Revere-like journey to warn the British about a planned American attack. Her actions, as you can read in the above link, led directly to a decisive defeat of the Americans by the British forces at the Battle of Beaver Dams. (Incidentally, is there a more Canadian-sounding name than that? Heh.) This, in turn, helped lead to the end of the war itself.

It just seemed very odd to be eating chocolates from a company named after a famous Canadian who was anti-American. Now, I still don't know much about the War of 1812 - though I think I'll read up a bit on it now - but even so, it was an interesting experience. A reminder that though we are quite similar, Canada and the US are in fact separate countries with quite distinct histories.

ETA: Interestingly, Wikipedia makes no mention of Laura Secord or that battle in its entire article on the War of 1812.