Thursday, September 1, 2011

Orientation

I apologize for the delay in my postings but this has been quite a week.  We are now at the end of orientation and I can honestly say that I won't remember everything that we have covered over the week.  When we arrived on campus last Saturday we were met by a few of the second year students who showed us to our rooms.  The dorm that I will be living in for the next year is a long building with meeting spaces and common areas on the first floor and residences on the next three floors.  Each floor is separated in half with women on one side and men on the other.  Fortunately we each get our own room, so none of that roommate crap that you run into when you are a freshman undergrad, but we do have a communal bathroom and shower area.  this of course means that we have to cart our shower stuff to and from each time and that you may have to run down the hall to use the bathroom.  One of the other schools I was looking at had single rooms with private baths in each, but here I am and I must make do with the situation.

My room, or as I like to call it my "cell" is conveniently located right across the hall from the bathroom so for me it is a non-issue.  I use the term cell not in the context of a prison, with bars and such, but more in the context of a monastic cell.  My room is probably 10' wide and about 20' in length.  It is the smallest of the rooms offered here and I am not surprised that I was assigned to this because as an incoming student we get last dibs on rooms, though this was assigned to me.  It is furnished with a bed, a desk, and a few bookshelves.  The closet has drawers built into it and is of decent size.  All in all it works.  I didn't bring a lot of things so I am not pressed for space, whereas some of my other fellow new students seemed to have brought all of their possessions with them and are struggling to find space.  Of course the crown jewel of my room is definitely my new flatscreen TV and my PS3.  there was no way I was going across the country with a crappy TV and no way to watch movies and play video games.

After spending three hours unpacking and setting up my room, I ran into a returning student, Jason, who is living on my floor.  It was great to spend time with someone new, because after eight days on the road with Jeff and Jess I needed some time away.  Don't get me wrong they were fun to hang out with but I think we all needed a break from each other.  Jason and I sat around and he regaled me with stories about his first year and sort of the ins and outs of the school.  We talked about which professors were great and which ones to avoid.  It was helpful to find out some of the nuances of the school from someone with experience rather then messing up and learning from experience.  I really appreciated his input and he sort of dubbed me as his" mentee," because we all have student mentors that are assigned to us before we arrive.

We had Sunday off, which was good for me because that was the first time on my trip where I actually got to sleep in.  For most of the day I sat around watching TV shows that I have on DVD and just relaxing.  I really wanted to see some of the football games that were on TV because I didn't have much of a chance to stay in the loop with all of the preseason games since I was on the road, so I wandered down to a bar not far from the campus.  The bar is called Triple Rock and they are known throughout the area for their beer and the fact that they brew most of their beer on site.  When I got there the football game was not on, much to my dismay, but they were showing this LA Angels game.  I was thinking to myself, why are we watching this, but then I realized "oh yeah I'm in California."  I hung out there for a bit, talking with people from the area and everyone was asking about where I was from and why I was wearing a Red Sox hat.  After a few hours I decided that it was time to head back and call it a night since orientation was starting the next morning.



We participated in various organized activities that helped us get to know the campus and where things were at the other seminaries on "Holy Hill," as it is dubbed by the locals of Berkeley, and got some bearing as to where we were located.  We played some of those silly icebreaker games that are supposed to help us get to know one another.  Our first day of orientation ended with Evening Prayer and we were free until the next morning.

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to learn about the library and the various services it provides.  Since my school, CDSP, is part of a larger consortium of seminaries called the Graduate Theological Union, we have one of the best theological libraries in the country.  They believe it is in the top five and I am inclined to believe them.  In the GTU consortium there are eight other seminaries from many different branches of mainstream Christianity.  For example there is an American Baptist, a Lutheran, an Episcopal, a Dominican, a Franciscan, a Jesuit, and two multi-religious seminaries all situated on this one hill and all within walking distance of each other.  This is an amazing setup because it allows all of the students to take classes at each of the seminaries and it also means that the library houses texts from each of the schools, making it a very valuable resource.  Directly across the street from us is the Cal campus and we also have access to their library, classes, and athletic facility.  So by coming to CDSP I really have nine different seminaries and one major university at my disposal...not too bad.

By Wednesday I was ready for orientation to end.  It wasn't like they had scheduled us with back to back sessions with no free time, because they didn't but it was becoming clear to me and my fellow classmates that we were done with this and ready to begin classes.  I was able to meet with my adviser, who happens to be the former dean and president of CDSP who resigned two years ago so that he could focus on teaching.  After our conversation and mapping out my course of study I registered for my courses and I have a full slate for this first semester.  I will be taking Intro to the Old Testament, Anglicanism, Church History Part I, Greek and the Fundamentals of Worship.  The Anglican course is required for this semester for each incoming student.  Each semester over the three year program they require one specific course so the whole class ends up taking the course together.  We are also required to take a biblical language for our degree so I picked Greek over Hebrew.  While I am interested in Hebrew I think I will be better off taking the Greek.  This will also allow me to read the books of the New Testament in their original language and allow me to read the works of the early church fathers who were forced to define and shape Christianity as we know it today.  I have been fascinated with the early church father or Patristics, as they are called in the formal sense, and I hope to study more about them and read their works as I progress through the program.  Wednesday ended with a cookout for all of the incoming students from all of the seminaries.  I knew I was in California because they not only had the typical fare for us "meateaters" but they had veggie burgers and dogs and even a vegan option for those who love animals and refuse to eat them.  Look I love animals too, but I also like to eat them.  If you can put both pig and cow on the same bun then that is even better, but people will become very offended if every option is not available.  Hippies.

Today we had two sessions that were both long but also necessary.  Our morning session was about "self care" and how it is an integral part of not only our seminary experience but also in our ministry.  The danger in any "helping profession" is burnout and how do we recharge ourselves so that way we can give of ourselves to others.  The school has seen many students come here and become so involved in their work and activities that they become rundown and eventually leave the school.  I believe that I am self-aware enough to recognize when I need a break and I hope that I act upon it and not dismiss it.  The second session was about the chapel and everything that we will be doing for the many services held each day.  As an MDiv student we are expected to help out and serve during the services throughout our time here.  While we are not required to attend chapel every day I believe that it is important to establish a rhythm that will help to support my spiritual side and form solid spiritual practices that will serve me later in my vocation. 

I am glad that we are now done with orientation, we do have tomorrow and the rest of the weekend off, because I am not sure how much more I could take.  I am excited for classes to begin and to get into a regular schedule of worship, class, and studying.  This won't be easy, which is good because were it to be easy then I am afraid I would just coast through this program and not be challenged, but I think I am in the best place where I will succeed.  In tomorrow's post I will look a little more closely at the dynamics of our group and I hope to be more faithful to posting as often as I can.


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