back to school

Just over halfway through the first week of classes, I decided it was a good time to post an update. I drove 12.5 hours on Saturday and arrived to my dorm. A call to the dorm duty staff, three trips of carrying things (with help from three friends), and a few hours of unpacking/setting things up later, I was officially moved in to my room. It's a nice room. I haven't hung up any posters yet, but I have a bulletin board, some pictures, a dinosaur, and a newt that make my room feel comfortable.

The past few days seem to have flown by - much of my time has been spent on simply getting things in order... parking permit, internet, working car windows, groceries, school supplies, textbooks, etc. I have also been able to spend time with my friends, which has been really nice. I hope I can keep the balance I feel like I have right now - time with my CCF and my non-CCF friends seems about in the proportions that it should be right now. I'm going on the CCF retreat this weekend, and I think it should be fun. I don't have the usual anxiety that I have going into a retreat (even though two of my closest CCF friends won't be coming). So... that's good. I'm also hoping that a few of my friends from Southern (the other school that sent people to Puebla) will be able to come up for the retreat.

Classes, as expected, seem like they will be very hard. I am, though, genuinely interested in all of them. My least interesting class (an electrical engineering course) only meets twice a week, with a 1.5 hour lab and 1.5 hour recitation each week, as well. Organic Chemistry will be a challenge, but I'm determined to keep up with it - do the readings, homework, etc. as they come, rather than at the last minute. My MSE (Materials Science Engineering) professor is great. The class is known for being tedious and challenging (lots of memorization), but my professor is determined to make his sections the exception to this rule. His passion for the area of study is obvious, and he makes the lectures interesting. Also, a couple of my friends (including one of my closest friends here at school) are in this class. My last class, Biomechanics, will definitely be a challenging. The professor I have is "the hard one" for this course; however, she's also "the good one." She clearly knows her stuff and knows how to teach. The course will be work, but it will be very interesting. We spent 10 minutes or so of the first day of class learning why it is important for people to have kneecaps.

This semester, undoubtedly, will be busy. I also think it could be really great, though. I'm really looking forward to seeing how God uses this time, the people surrounding me, and my skills and passions. I'm excited.