Almost to the Finish Line!

It seems so appropriate that the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics coincided with our last day of grad classes! Six intense weeks have drawn to a close. Just a couple more days of our Foundations of Theology class and a final, and we're homeward bound! What an experience it has been. 

This morning I was finally able to take some pictures around campus, so now I can give you a mini virtual tour! Here's South Dining Hall (often compared to the Hogwarts Dining Hall from Harry Potter):

 

Here are a few more shots of campus, including the Golden Dome and the Cathedral Basilica:

Stay tuned... More to come soon!

Chicago!

Thought I'd share a few pictures from last weekend's adventure in Chicago with Marinda. It was a great time. It was SO fun having her here! Jenna and I picked her up from Midway airport Thursday night (and spent the drive studying for our first Old Testament exam). I was in class all day Friday, so Marinda was able to explore campus a little. On Friday evening, we went out to dinner here in South Bend at a restaurant called Papa Vino's, which was delicious. Then on Saturday morning we took the commuter train from South Bend to Chicago. The two-and-a-half hour ride was perfect for getting some school work done. Below are some highlights from our exploration of the city. It was a quick trip, but SO fun.

Welcome to Chicago's Theater District!

Mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church

The space-age fountain beverage machine at Cosi's restaurant

Authentic deep-dish Chicago pizza at Giordano's

 

Chicago dog!

Portillo's - Home of the Chicago dog!

Along the Magnificent Mile with my BFF!

Taking in an improv show at I.O. theater

SUN-Day

Hello all! I'm definitely playing catch-up, as usual. I'll post a little bit about last weekend, and then I'll fill you in on this weekend's adventures in Chicago with Marinda soon!

We wrapped up our first module last Friday (July 6). It's hard to believe that we are now over halfway done! Last weekend we were able to catch our breath a little bit before the next round of classes started. On Saturday evening, Julie, Jenna and I went to a local Irish Pub for dinner. We were told they are the most authentic Irish Pub you can go to short of crossing the Atlantic, and we were not disappointed! Our fish and chips arrived wrapped in newspaper:

(We were so excited to dig in that we didn't even think about taking a picture until it was nearly devoured. Sorry!)

The best part of the evening was the live Irish music. The band was incredible! I haven't actually watched this video I took yet, but hopefully it works, and hopefully you can get a sense of what the atmosphere was like.

On Sunday, the three of us decided to go to the beach. We were going to try for a longer trip to one of the beaches along Lake Michigan, but in the end, we chose to save that for another time. Instead, we went to St. Joseph's Beach here on campus. It started out kind of cloudy, and I made the EPIC mistake of not wearing proper sunscreen. This was a major whoops that culminated in not one but two trips to Walmart to buy a vast assortment of sunburn relief supplies. So once I'm back in Kansas, please see me for all your after-sun skincare needs prior to buying them yourself.

We're off and running again! So far, so good! But busy! I'll be back with more from this weekend's adventure soon. Have a terrific week!

Happy 5th of July!

I hope you all enjoyed the 4th of July holiday! I celebrated by... writing a paper! Classes were canceled yesterday for the holiday, but most of the students in my class planned to work on our final papers. So our professor offered to throw us a "paper-writing party." She opened up the building, brought biblical resources for us to use, and provided food and drinks. It was a fun time. Maybe not overly productive, but fun!

It's hard to believe that our first module is almost over. Just a couple more days of New Testament class! The time has been going quickly, but the days have been very full. 

A couple more pictures of you to illustrate the past few days... Here's a gorgeous view of "the Dome" and the basilica from across the lake. There are a couple of lakes on campus, and I like to go running around them in the mornings. This picture doesn't exactly do it justice:

  
Last weekend, I discovered the best Chinese restaurant in Mishawaka: Taste of Asia. They have the best (and cheapest and most generously portioned) Szechwan Vegetables with rice I have ever had. I savored it while watching an episode of the Big Bang Theory, and it was the best study break ever.

Finally, I can't even believe I'm saying this, but I kind of love the Walmart here. First of all, cereal is CHEAP. And they have this interesting new Post variety (shown below). That GIANT box of cereal cost $3 and it's delicious. I hope it's a trend that will reach Kansas soon. Second, they sell Biscoff spread. My friend Julie introduced us all to this treat, which she refers to as "Joy in a Jar." Kansas friends and family, please be on the look-out for this product. If you ever see it (preferably the crunchy variety) in the peanut butter aisle at a local store, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! (Otherwise, I might need to buy it in bulk before heading back.)

 

Let's Run to Michigan... Literally.

I can add one more to my list of visited states: Michigan! Yesterday morning, my friends Julie and Nicole and I embarked on a 9-mile round-trip journey to the Michigan state line. It was a blast! We got a little lost on the way back, so it might be more like 9.5 or 10 miles... But we found campus eventually, and returned victorious!

Week 2 went by VERY quickly. I have a feeling that time is going to pass at this increasing rate for the rest of the summer, and before I know it, I'll find myself back in Manhattan! But for now, I'm trying to enjoy the (wild) ride. I am SO impressed by the professors here. They have brilliant minds and beautiful souls. They are so gifted at not only explaining the faith, but also just sharing it with us. I have definitely been learning a lot, and I'm kind of sad that my New Testament class is already coming to a close. (Well, it still requires 2 exams, a final paper, and the completion of a journal this week, so I'm not done yet!)

Hope you all have a great start to the week!  :)