What Do I Know?

Hello World,

I write to you today at the conclusion of another wonderful week. Returning on Monday, I re-entered this familiar time-warp called college. Fall break feels like it was ages ago, and although I do miss it, I've enjoyed getting back into things here.

The week was relatively uneventful.. and I say 'relatively' because even an uneventful week around here is still filled with quite a plethora of events. There was lots of swimming and fun and work and fun and a few meetings and practices. Hmm.. maybe I'll just go through day-to-day activities. Monday was the day I finally got back to campus. I retold my story many times, and I'm already looking forward to the day I can tell my children about 'that time I was stranded in New York City alone.' haha.

Tuesday was terrific. I woke up early and hopped in a van headed to Lancaster County, PA. I sat in the passenger's seat and talked to my professor the whole time, which was pretty cool. He's the head of the Biblical and Religious Studies department, so I feel like I've got in with a Messiah big-shot now. Anyways, we visited an older man at his farm where his sons (all 6 of them) work the fields and he runs a window-well business. It was actually really cool to be talking to this people who, for us, have only been 'textbook objects' for a while. It was also really cool to see how, even though they don't use electricity, the Amish are incredibly technologically advanced. This man uses hydraulics and air-pressure to control a bunch of high-tech tools that make really high-quality products. We also visited a produce auction and a family that prepared lunch for us. The woman and her children then sang a few songs for us and answered some questions. She said something interesting after we all sang 'Amazing Grace' together about how we'd all be singing together like that in heaven -- people from all backgrounds united in praising God. That sort of surprised me because you'd think a group as 'radically conservative' as the Amish would never expect to find the post-modern, iPod-carrying evangelicals with them for eternity. But that just goes to show how humble and non-judgmental they actually are. Oh and the food was amazing.

Wednesday was wonderful. It's my busy class day, with four classes all spread out. And, seeing as it was my first full day of classes since the Tuesday a week earlier, I felt like there was a lot to catch up on. But catch up I did. I swam that afternoon, right after classes until six. Then I ate dinner, then I went back to the room to study for a make-up Communications quiz I had missed. Then I went to my friend's room and ate pie and pizza (in that order). Then went to a girls' rec-soccer game to cheer. It was fun. Then I went back to the room and basically went to bed by 10. Woohoo sleep!

Thursday was thrilling. 5:30 AM practice. Comm make-up test. Comm class right after. We're doing informative speeches in that class right now, and mine is this upcoming Thursday. I am going to inform my tragically ignorant class about what I assumed I know more about than any of them -- Canada. ha so I'm actually really looking forward to that speech. It'll be fun to write and fun to deliver. Umm.. so then I had lunch and then class again -- my Amish seminar. It was interesting. I handed in a (VERY rough) draft of a paper. Had a nice, relaxing afternoon swimming-free. Listened to a brand new Copeland CD. Copeland is a band and the CD is amazing. Dinner. Men's Ensemble practice. Back to room to do homework. Off to a meeting at 9 for Concert Committee, during which we discussed upcoming dates and what bands the school could get in for concerts. Then I went on a nice date with my lovely girlfriend ... over the phone, of course, but no less wonderful.

Friday was .. frightening..ly great! Homecoming weekend had begun. Classes were great. Afternoon was nice. I played guitar for a little bit and slept through the first bit of practice.. my bad. Homecoming dance was Friday night.. and although I didn't really want to go at first because a lot of my friends weren't going and I sort of wanted to go to bed early before my Saturday swim meet, I changed my mind last minute. And, boy, am I glad I did! Homecoming was a blast. There were still a lot of people there I knew, and thankfully not very many couples, so it was fun just all hanging out as a group. Probably the highlight was when Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend' came on, and the whole place sang every single word and went nuts, giving me a true sense of Canadian pride. Finally, around 11:30, I dragged my sore legs away from the dance and back to bed.

Saturday was stupendous. First Messiah College swim meet ever! It was just the Men's team, so it was really fun traveling as a group and getting to know the guys better. Truth be told, we didn't do very well, but it was just really exciting to be there at 'the start of something new' .. ahem. I swam some pretty tough races, but I made it through and felt better than I ever have at a swim meet. I broke 25 seconds for my 50m-freestyle, which is like 3 seconds better than anything last year. So even if we didn't win and I am still 4 seconds from a winning time, that was really exciting for me.

Right after we came back, I went to a jazz concert put on by Messiah's jazz band. It. Was. Phenomenal. Actually one of the best big-band jazz performances I have ever seen. There were a few soloists that were outstanding, but it was just the band as a whole and how tight they all were during really complicated songs that blew me away. Score 1 for my sense of Messiah pride. After that, I went to the Homecoming coffeehouse in the Union and just spent a long time chatting with people before heading off to bed.

This morning we went to CLA again, and I really liked it .. again. BUT I also really need to get work done. I've been at this for an hour, believe it or not.. with some distractions. Right now I'm also really excited because I just bought tickets for a Copeland concert in Philadelphia this Friday. My friend is getting his van for the weekend, so a bunch of us are driving down to Philly on Friday night to go to the concert. Whether that causes you to feel any sort of excitement or not, I am sooooooooooo excited. But more on that later.

Thanks again for reading. The detail might have been a little excessive, but I figured it would satisfy anybody with questions like 'so what do you actually do? So there you have it. I'm gonna try and get some pictures from Homecoming up. Oh and if there's anything else you want to know from this blog (details about various things) send me an email or leave a comment and I would be happy to oblige.

Love love love,
Josh