YIKES!! It’s December!

All around the world people are preparing for Christmas and who knows what other kinds of holiday traditions. Decorations are going up and people are shopping for their friends and family. We’re so excited to see the looks on their faces when they open up the gifts, aren’t we? Yeah, for sure! But if you’re a student you’re also really stressed.

As soon as December comes around we’re scrambling to get essays done, study for exams, all the while not go insane. It’s a strange sensation really, to be excited for Christmas but to dread December. I wonder if Christmas will ever feel like it did when I was a child, and I didn’t have to worry about essays and exams.

As a child my greatest concern had nothing to do with school, but everything to do with what would have my name on it beneath the Christmas tree. I remember December being a time of snow ball fights and making angels in the snow. That and Christmas specials on TV at the neighbour’s house every night. But I guess that’s why they’re called memories right! Eventually this time of year will be different for us students. Will stress ever become a memory? Who knows?

Either way, I wish you all the best this December.

Under Milk Wood

This past Saturday marked the last performance of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood here at Redeemer. Let me just say- Holy skills, Batman! I’m sure those who were fortunate enough to have the chance to see the show will agree with me. Let me take a few minutes to give each actor the recognition they deserve for such a fantastic show.

Let’s start with the two narrators, Emily Heide and Jesse Burke. Constantly onstage, these two pretty much blew my mind- not only did they narrate throughout the play, they both took on other roles as well. Personally, I have no idea how they were able to memorize all those crazily poetic lines, but somehow they did. Somehow.

Greg Beenen played six or so characters, among them a cussing dairy farmer, a dead guy, and a fellow who just so happened to have two wives... I especially enjoyed how he played the meddling postman, who along with his wife steams open everyone’s letters and reads them before delivery.

Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard, played by Sally Beresford, was a formidable and hilarious character. Her staunch cleanliness and rule over her two deceased husbands had the crowd chuckling. Sally played a few more characters, one of them being the long-suffering Mrs. Cherry Owen. Her transitions from putting on the appearance of a happy wife, to showing the sadness she was really feeling was done excellently.

Emily Groot did a fantastic job as each of her roles, one notable role being that of Lily Smalls. The scene where she ridicules herself in the mirror was hilarious! She played some of the sweetest characters in the play, and had the audience smiling throughout.

Jordan Guetter had a few really great roles; Mr. Waldo, making too much time with the ladies, Lord Cut-Glass, with his clocks, and Jack Black, the severely upright Bible thumper, to name a few. His song at the end of the play was fantastic, and just so happened to be stuck in my head for quite some time afterwards.

Some strong singing skills were demonstrated by Nathan Hicks, in the role of Reverend Eli Jenkins. His transition from playing a Reverend to the drunkard, Cherry Owen, was quite something. One could say that his tankard drinking skills were nearly as good as his singing!

Paige Louter was amazing in her many roles, with memorable characters like the icy Mrs. Pugh, the long-suffering Mrs. Organ-Morgan, dead Rosie Probert, and the little girl, Gwennie. Her song also remains stuck in my head...

The role of Polly Garter was pulled off by Jessica Marshall, who did an incredible job. She was able to completely change the mood of the scenes she was in. Her wistful song and defeated look had everyone empathising with her.

Pieter Schalk was an excellent tour guide, tailor, and potential murderer, to name a few. His depiction of the long-suffering Mr. Pugh, who dreams of poisoning his wife, was a definite favourite with the audience.

Steven Siemens had the audience dying with laughter for most of the show, which made his portrayal of the blind Captain Cat all the more impressive. His blank, staring eyes, and even the way he would return to his chair were spot on.

Jonathan Silverthorn was superb in all his roles. I was especially impressed with how he played Nogood Boyo- you wouldn’t think a strapping young lad with a beard could play a convincing little boy, but he pulled it off wonderfully.

Lauryn Vetro did a wonderful job as, among other things, Mrs. Dai Bread Two, a seductive gypsy. It must have been an intimidating role-but she pulled it off well. Her fortune telling scene was especially good.

Jessica Watson was hilarious as the waddling Mrs. Dai Bread one, and had the audience cracking up every time she walked across the stage. Her portrayal as the lonely Bessie Bighead was fantastic, you really felt sorry for her.

The cast and crew did an amazing job. Ray Louter’s directing, Chris Cuthill’s set (along with the hard work put in by Tyler VanHolst and the painting crew), Sam Frisk’s lighting design, the music provided by Aaron Craig...everything pulled together for one impressive show.

Christmas in November

It’s the most wonderful time of the year because the Redeemer Christmas bug has officially bit my dorm. When my mom mentioned Christmas to me during the first month of school, I never gave it a second thought. Then November hit, and my dorm started talking about Christmas decorations. That’s when I realized – we didn’t have any! Fortunately, my mom was able to send a box of decorations, and my dorm mates could bring stuff from home. We also went out and bought some outdoor lights. One girl even brought a tree! Now, having decorations is great, but you’ve got to put them up. That’s where the community of the dorm comes in. The music is turned on and everyone works together to decorate. We laugh as we get tangled in lights and sprayed with fake snow; scream when the decorations fall down and sing along with the lyrics to the first Christmas songs.

When I was young, decorating for Christmas was the highlight of my year, and decorating for Christmas at Redeemer has made that time even more exciting and memorable. I remember how the outdoor Christmas lights always seemed to appear on our house roof. This year, I realized that someone actually has to put those lights up. Only problem is, no one in my dorm is tall enough to reach the eaves trough to put the lights on it. So I made the short trek to our “brother” dorm across the parking lot to ask for help. After half an hour, the lights were strung up. Then we plugged them in. And that’s when we realized that a section of the icicle lights wasn’t working. Have you ever heard the proverbial saying, “This is like looking for a needle in a hay stack”? Well, this time it was more like looking for a blown bulb in a section of Christmas lights. But eventually we found the missing bulb. We replaced it and went inside to enjoy the rest of the Christmas spirit. If Christmas is celebrated like this in November, I wonder what Christmas in December will look like. Guess I’ll find out in 3 days.

Couches

I'm going to make the assumption, dear reader, that having read the title of this post, you're understandably skeptical of the the quality of the forthcoming article. “Couches?” I can hear you saying, “I came to this blog to read about 'The Redeemer Student Experience' and this guy is going to tell me about couches?” If you're asking that, you're asking the right questions. And the answer, my friend, is yes, I am going to tell you about couches.

Humber College doesn't have any couches. I have fond, positive memories about my time at that institution, and nothing I say here should be considered negative towards Humber, but they don't have any couches. Actually, I don't know for certain that this is still true, but when I went there in 2006, there were no couches. They have a pub and an arcade, but as far as I can remember, no couches. McMaster University, as far as I know, doesn't have any couches. I don't know this for a fact, but I used to work as a contractor there with relative frequency, and never did I see a single couch on that campus. (This was back in the days when I was an arborist. In retrospect it's entirely possible that Mac does have couches and concealed them from me so as to avoid having them dirtied up by some filthy tree worker.)

Redeemer has tons of couches. There's couches in the front commons, couches in the commuter lounge, outside the lecture halls, in the cafeteria, in the rec centre, in the lobby of the athletic centre, and the library. I'm probably forgetting a few. Suffice to say, Redeemer has a lot of couches.

I didn't really think about why there were couches when I first came here. They tend to be in otherwise empty areas, which I figured was probably why they were there: to fill space in otherwise empty sections of the school. I was probably wrong. As the weeks wore on, and I started going to class and studying and all that stuff you're supposed to do when you're a student, it kind of clicked. I found myself going to class early to hang out with my friends on the couches outside. Between classes I'd go to the commuter lounge and sit on the couch to study. I never actually end up studying, somebody always ends up joining me and we talk until it's time to go to class. If nobody I know comes, I usually end up meeting somebody new who's also sitting around pretending to try and study. That's one of the great things about Redeemer; it's small enough that nobody looks at you funny if you just sit down next to them and say hi. Redeemer's couches sometimes feature impromptu prayer meetings. Sometimes there's huge life advice discussions. Sometimes, usually in the minutes before a test, there's studying. With the possible exception of the Launch Olympics, I've probably met more people that I've ended up becoming friends with while sitting on Redeemer's couches than during any other situation in the school. Those couches provide a relaxed sense of socialization and community that's hard to duplicate.

So, to answer the previous question, yes, this is a post about couches. Yes, I'm comfortable with that. It's not that there's midterms this week and I've been busy studying, or that I simply just couldn't think of anything to write about. Those might be valid excuses if I felt like I needed to excuse spending 500 words talking about sitting on a couch, but I don't. I wanted to write about the couches because the interaction that happens on them is an important part of what makes the Redeemer experience different from other institutions. So, really, this post isn't about sitting on couches. It's about a rich, warm, welcoming community, one that materializes in places far from the dimly lit, sticky-floored pub of Humber College.

Dorm Life

Living in a dorm with 7-8 other students can be slightly frightening. Thousands of questions fly through your head: Will you get along with your dorm mates and roommate?Can anyone in the dorm cook? What if I live with party animals!? These are perfectly reasonable questions, in fact, I asked myself these questions a million times, and I want to address these anxieties and make you excited to experience dorm life at Redeemer.

First, let's discuss the topic of dorm mates and roommates. Redeemer's Student Life department carefully reads through your dorm application forms in order to figure out who will make a good dorm. Some of the things you'll find in common with your dorm mates are hobbies, majors and minors, future career goals, etc. For example, everyone in my dorm is involved with music one way or another, and most of us want to become teachers. Also, if you know someone who is going to attend Redeemer, you can ask to be in that person's dorm or be their roommate. My cousin and I decided to be roommates once we found out that we were both coming to RUC.

Second, I want to say that the dorm setup at Redeemer is truly amazing. Redeemer is the only university that I know of that has town-house style dorm with 8 girls/guys living together. Because of this setup, you begin to feel like a family. You also get to cook your own meals. Now for some people that may not be a good thing. But usually there is at least one or two people in the dorm, aside from the RAs, who know how to cook. How do you choose who's cooking? Your RAs will choose cooking partners based on class schedules. (I cook with two other girls on Monday nights.) Dinner is a great time to chat with your dorm mates and catch up on each other's days. Sometimes, you even get to have dinner with another dorm during a Dorm Dinner.

Lastly, I want to talk about the social life of a dorm. Once you get to know people on campus you tend to have a lot of visitors, which is a good thing. Friends give you a break from all the studying and writing you've been doing. However, you need to be aware of the temptation to hang out with friends instead of writing that History essay that's due in two days. Also, bring ear plugs. My roomie and I tend to go to bed 2 hours before everyone else, which means there's always talking and laughing going on downstairs. Fortunately, the sound is muffled pretty good, but for those of you who are light sleepers, I advise bringing ear plugs. Also, your dorm mates will be pretty understanding if you ask them to tone it down a bit.

Yep, Redeemer dorm life is pretty awesome. It's one of the things that really made me want to go to Redeemer. Once again I say come and visit Redeemer but make sure you stay over night in a dorm or take a dorm tour. Trust me. You won't regret it.

French Worship

This week’s chapel was in the form of the French Taizé style of worship. It is a very monastic and reverent form of singing. I personally enjoyed it; it really speaks to your soul, and also allows you to speak to God from your soul. The idea behind it is that we need to be still and know. Every now and then we need to slow down; at least I know that I have to. At times there can be a lot going on here at Redeemer, dedications to too many things can lead to an exhaustion physically, but more mentally. I know that I need to have a time where I can just be quiet and sit with God. I found this with the Taizé style of worship. Right in the middle of the service there was a time of silence. During this period of silence I sat as still as I possibly could, closed my eyes, and attempted to rid myself of all the distractions in my head. It was almost like I was meditating, my mind was stilled, my thoughts trained on God. It was a new experience for me, this Taizé worship. The music was great, the focus not on instruments, but on the voice. The words were repetitive, but not in a bad way. They got stuck in my head, and I couldn’t help but think about them. Being on the chapel team, I get a different angle on things, on the choice of music and how it connects to the message. The way this Taize style so closely connects to the idea of the worship is uncanny. The music relays the feeling that I really can’t express in words. I guess that’s how it can be with worship in any setting, but what can I do? This experience has broadened my view of worship, realizing that there are many, many different ways that people worship God. None of us can say that one is better than the other, because I’m pretty sure God doesn’t pick out his top five songs of the year. Anyways I’m running out of words, until next time, I’m Greg Hoekstra, stay handsome Redeemer.

Hardcore

First year students, prospective students- This one is for you!

So, as you probably know, Redeemer has a little thing known as “core courses.” Queue the dramatic music, gnashing of teeth, and various other forms of protest. Ah, core courses. How we love them, how we dread them.

As an arts student, my greatest fear was the darkly looming Science courses on the horizon. Visions of high school labs and incorrect labelling of the periodic table filled my mind... Wait, did I read that right? I have to take TWO Science courses? TWO?! All I wanted to do was take my English and Theatre courses.

However, upon actually getting into my classes, I was pleasantly surprised. This core thing wasn’t half bad! All my courses were far more interesting than I had thought they would be, and I found myself applying things I had learned in one course to another. The greatest part? One of my Science cores turned out to be awesome. (I say one because I foolishly put off taking Biology, and will now be taking it in my third year. Bad idea. Take Biology as soon as you can! Don’t follow my bad example!) Computer Science-101, who would have guessed you would become one of my favourite courses? A hilarious Prof, useful knowledge, fun assignments... this Science thing ain’t so dreadful after all.

Now of course, this dread of core courses goes both ways. I know there are tons of students who loathe the idea of having to sit through a Music class, dance in a Theatre class, and think poems are the most terrible thing to ever have been created. Never fear, fellow students. While dancing in front of your peers may seem awful and completely inapplicable to your future, I promise you won’t regret it. (A fun story- I once fell over in the middle of a Theatre dance circle. Apparently everyone else thought it was some fancy new dance move I had developed. Excellent.)

Yes, core seems like a bummer. But if you go into it with an open mind, you never know what you’ll find. (Nice rhyming skills, eh? You’ll learn that in your English classes!) It makes sense to only want to take courses in your field, but in the end the broad spectrum of learning will only benefit you.

The Unwritten Rules of Redeemer

You've probably think that you've heard all the reasons why you should come to Redeemer. Reasons like good student-faculty ratios, amazing dorm life, exciting off-campus studies. Now these are perfectly good reasons why people should choose Redeemer, but I think there's more to Redeemer than what you're told during a question-and-answer period.

What I'm talking about is the Redeemer atmosphere. When I first visited Redeemer, I remember feeling that there was something different, but I didn't exactly know what it was. Now, I know that this feeling has to do with student-to-student relationships. I see 1^st and 4^th year students mingling in the classrooms; guys and girls hanging out in the cafe; people excitedly chatting in the halls. I like to call this “The Buzz”. The buzz of the thriving Redeemer community.

And just like in every community there are understood rules. (Don't worry. These are all positive rules.) The first rule is “No Stealing”. For example during chapel, students leave their backpacks in the hall outside the auditorium. And after chapel their backpacks are still there with everything still inside. Another example is umbrellas. Umbrellas are a staple survival tool at Redeemer, but no one wants to carry a wet umbrella around the school, so people leave their umbrellas in the entrance way. And at the end of the day, those umbrellas are waiting for them.

The second rule has to do with “Dorm Dinners”. A dorm dinner means your dorm invites (or gets invited to) another dorm for dinner. The hosting dorm will cook the meal and the guest dorm will supply dessert and wash dishes. The tradition of a Dorm Diner is to play “The Name Game”. This game includes going around the circle and telling everyone your name, where you're from, your major and minor, and answering a random question. Some of the random questions I've had to answer are “What Disney character would you marry?” and “If you could be a road sign, what you be?” Dorm dinners are a great way to get to meet your fellow students and are just an all-around fun time.

The third rule is “Praying Before Each Class”. Professors begin each class with a prayer. I love the fact that God is integrated into every class, even classes like French and math. Another amazing thing about Redeemer has to do with the faith of the students. It is not uncommon to walk down the halls and hear someone talking about God, church doctrine, or worship. I love it that students at Redeemer are sincere in their walk with God.

There are so many other things I could say about why Redeemer is an amazing university, but the best way to experience Redeemer is to visit. I encourage any prospective students to come to a Campus Visit Day or book a private tour. I promise that once you experience the Redeemer buzz, you'll keep coming back for more.

Academia in a Different Light

I began university coming straight out of a public high school. It was like coming to Canada from Mexico, the cultures are just so different. I'd come from an environment where the mention of God subjected you to ridicule from anyone and everyone. You became the easy target for atheist bullies. I became somewhat of a chicken so I avoided theological discussions at all costs.
It was no wonder I was in such shock when I arrived at Redeemer. Never before had I heard a teacher pray before a class started, nor had them randomly refer to a Bible verse in the middle of a class discussion. It just wasn't done! But now every class or lecture you went to, it was the norm and I loved it!
In the hallways during high school you could not go anywhere without people uttering fowl language. After a while you become desensitized to it and don't even notice it happen anymore. It shook me to the core to come to Redeemer and happen to eavesdrop on people praying together in the hall. Not to mention the time a friend came to me in the hall, pulled me to the side and asked if I could pray for her. I didn't think she meant right them and there! I said ok, thinking that was it but she waited. I almost panicked, what will people think? Nonetheless I didn't want to disappoint my friend and not do it, so I bowed my head and said a prayer for her. We both went on our way to continue the day, but that moment stayed with me. I realized that this too was a norm in this community.
In high school I had very few friends, we just had nothing in common. Another shock. At Redeemer you have something in common with nearly everyone, if not a Dutch background, its your faith and love for Jesus Christ. You can meet anyone for the first time and feel like you've known each other for decades just because of that connection. It's because of this connection that I was now less afraid to actually go out of my way to talk to someone. Also, people in high school were just mean, not so here. People care and aren't afraid to show it. You are never turned away from someone's lunch table like in high school. Instead people invite you to join them. It's incredible what happens when Christ is the foundation of academia.

Now that I'm in my second year at Redeemer, I have become accustomed to praying in classes and hallways, and having a worship service once a week with the school. I have become so accustomed to religious discussions that when I am in the public I sometimes forget that the people I encounter may not share my faith or understand it. I catch myself witnessing without intending to do so, it's awesome! I am so glad that coming to Redeemer has made me more bold in sharing my faith with others.

A Power-Failure Bringing Students Together

As a commuter student, it’s easy to feel a little left out from time to time. It’s certainly not the fault of anybody within the institution, in fact Redeemer University College, in my view, takes exceptional steps to include commuters in activities. Hennie Schoon, through the University’s student life department, sets up commuter socials with free coffee on Wednesdays. Each commuter gets set up with a ‘buddy dorm.’, one specific residence on campus that we can go to anytime, where the introductions are all already made. It’s comforting to know that anytime I’m on campus and I feel like being utterly destroyed at any video game imaginable, I have a buddy dorm that I can go to where somebody will make that happen. In fact, if it’s any indication of how much Redeemer cares about its commuting students, I’m actually writing this in the Commuter Lounge. How many universities have a commuter lounge?

Still, though, there’s something about living on campus that can’t be duplicated. With the majority of students living on campus, there’s a tight knit community here that, while it’s been very accepting of me and my fellow commuters, I’m hesitant to believe I can ever truly be a part of. Dorm dinners, Bible studies, late night coffeehouses, games tournaments, on campus worship services and prayer meetings are all features of on-campus life. While I’m obviously not prohibited in any way from going to these things, they often take place at a time or place that are difficult for me to get to, or difficult for me to go to and then get home and be in bed by a reasonable hour. That, coupled with the fact that I’m just not around as much as an on-campus student would be, keeps me a little out of the loop. It’s not something that’s a problem, or something that’s anybody’s fault, it’s just a fact of life. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sometimes jealous of my on-campus friends.

Yesterday, however, my enchantment with on-campus living reached its highest point. I had left campus earlier that day and was returning for a meeting with my theatre group at around 7pm. I rolled into the parking lot to see literally hundreds of students in pajamas carrying bedding and pillows into the academic building. Upon investigation, I discovered that an underground power line near Luther Court had been severed by construction equipment and that many of the dorms were without power and that students were being evacuated to the main building for the night.

Most of the people I talked to were mildly unimpressed with the power failure. Before the cause of the outage was known, one group of students jokingly planned a holy war against the campus squirrel population, who were initially suspected of causing yet another power outage. Despite all the chaos, however, most students were excited to be involved in what they characterized as ‘a giant university slumber party.’ While staff scrambled to get pizza and gym mats and direct people to their assigned sleeping areas, students laughed and joked, enjoying each both others’ company and the hilarity of the situation. I don’t think I met one person who wasn’t at least moderately happy to be there, who didn’t appreciate the situation for the community building opportunity that it was.

Crews ended up restoring the power later in the evening, and nobody slept in the school, but the experience of being there with most of the student body last night showed me something: whether they know it or not, the kids on this campus really do love each other.

Maybe I’ll apply to live in residence next year.

LAUNCH Olympics at Redeemer

It's hard to believe that two months ago I stepped onto Redeemer soil as a first-year university student. All I could think about was: How would I meet people? Who would be my friends? What would my profs be like? Will I get along with my dorm mates? As I opened the door to my dorm for the first time, I was greeted by a cheery smile and a warm, “Hello” from my RA, and all my worries disappeared.

That first week of university was all about adjusting; adjusting to my new-found freedom, friends, and home. To make our adjustment a little easier, Student Life planned LAUNCH which was a competition for the Cooper Cup (and of course bragging rights). Three dorms, including mine, made up the brown team. Throughout the week various activities were planned such as a Find- your-LAUNCH-leader scavenger hunt, a canned food drive, decade and swing dances, and orientation meetings. For each event, your team got a certain amount of points for every teammate who attended.

At the end of the week, we had the Olympics. It was one of the most exciting days of my university life. Everyone on my team dressed up in brown and covered themselves with warpaint. Other teams carried ginormous mascots like a stuffed gorilla. Then all the teams marched to where the Olympics would be held, all the while screaming and cheering for their team. The Olympic events consisted of the classic ankle balloon pop game; flour toss – where your team sits in a line and passes flour over your heads from the front to the back; the frozen t-shirt game; and a new and improved version of capture the flag. What followed next was what I'd been looking forward too all summer – the mud pit.

Let me explain the mud pit - pure awesomeness. Our team felt a special connection with the mud pit because we were brown and so is mud. When it came to be our turn to play tug-of-war in the pit, we decided to have compassion on the other team and let them drag us through the mud. Afterwards, there was a huge mud fight. As I looked around all I could see were walking piles of mud. Before we were allowed back into the dorm, we had to hose off. Despite our best efforts to eliminate all traces of mud, our clothes and shoes were worthless. I wonder if the garbage men noticed the sudden increase in garbage that week...

In conclusion, I'd like to say this to all present and future first-years: no matter how nervous you are about university remember that you're not the only one. Take a deep breath. Be yourself. And don't forget a pair of old sneakers for the mud pit!

Invisible Children

On September 29, during Redeemer’s weekly chapel session, students and staff listened to a presentation by members of Invisible Children, a humanitarian group focused on ending the long running civil war in Uganda. Students learned that the war between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army had been going on for 23 years, leaving millions of people across four countries displaced and afraid. Further compounding the problem is the LRA’s practice of abducting children and training them as soldiers. It is estimated that since 1986, the group has forced an estimated 10,000 children to take up arms, often killing parents and schoolteachers during the abduction process.

Invisible Children was formed in 2003 in response to this long running war, aimed at raising awareness in the west of the war and its effects and at lobbying first world governments to take action against the LRA. In addition, they employ a Ugandan ground staff in that country that works to rebuild infrastructure damaged by war and improve Uganda’s education system with books, teachers, mentors, improved school facilities, and scholarships for Uganda’s future leaders.

Along with traveling to promote their cause and
asking for donations at various events, Invisible Children raises money through book drives conducted in partnership with Better World Books, a non-profit company that collects and sells books to raise money for various literacy based organizations including Invisible Children.

First year Redeemer student Nicole Shaver has organized a book drive here on campus. Better World Books has provided large green boxes, placed outside of the library, next to the book store, and by William’s, for students and faculty to drop books into. The boxes, shipping, and other book drive expenses are covered by Better World Books, so contributors can rest assured that all of the proceeds from the sale of their donated books will go directly to Invisible Children.

The drive has been initially successful thus far. Donations have been coming in slowly and are expected to pick up as the semester winds down. Students are being encouraged to bring in unwanted books for donation. Textbooks are best, but any book in decent condition will make a direct and measurable difference in the lives of children in Uganda.

Arts in October

October already! The much anticipated and loved time of midterms and papers being heaped upon us is finally here. Never fear though, there are still plenty of fun and exciting things going on in the wonderful world of art here at Redeemer. Art gallery openings, music performances, plays, poetry readings and more are happening throughout the year.

Speaking of those poetry readings, if you haven’t come out to one yet- plan on it! This year we have already had two excellent poets in, Lorri Neilsen Glenn and Jeramy Dodds, as well as an appearance from Sam Martin, who read from his new book, This Ramshackle Tabernacle. There’s just something about hearing a writer read their own works, as well as having the opportunity to ask them questions afterwards. It’s a great experience. The next poet in is Ken Babstock, who will be reading on November 25^th. Mark it down in your calendar, be there or be square!

Another upcoming event to look forward to- The first art gallery opening of the year is right around the bend. “Clothed Like These: Images of Divine Affection” will be open from October 30 to November 26, so you will have plenty of time to check it out. For more art, check out the hallways around the art room. Student work is often on display, and is always worth spending some time on.

November 23 to 27 will be when the first play of the year is running. Dylan Thomas’ Under Milkwood, a play in which “an all-seeing narrator invites the audience to listen to the dreams and innermost thoughts of the inhabitants of an imaginary small Welsh village,” (to quote our handy-dandy Redeemer website) promises to be an out of the ordinary experience. You won’t want to miss it. The actors are all playing multiple roles, which should prove to be pretty darn interesting.

As far as the music scene goes, the faculty artist concert is happening on the 5^th of November, and there are numerous student performances going on throughout the year- keep an eye on the Time Out to find out when and where they’re going down. In addition to the more curricular events, there’s also a ton of bands at Redeemer that are worth checking out. The Good Hunters, City of Snow, Dwelt in Silence...just to name a few. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming concerts to support our talented musicians!

Ah, the arts are alive and well here at jolly olde Redeemer! If you want to pencil in a few of these dates, learn a little more about them, or see what else is going on, check out the Arts & Culture Schedule for some more info. Anywhoo, that’s all for now. Until next time, over and out.

Poetry Reading - Jeremy Dodds

I grabbed myself a cup of tea and joined a crowd of mostly English professors and students, as well as guests from the community. This is one thing that I love about Redeemer University; you have the opportunity to hear all sorts of poets come read.

Jeremy Dodds is probably the youngest poet I have heard at Redeemer, at 35 with one collection of poems (Crabwise to the Hounds[2008]), he has already won the 2006 Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award, the 2007 CBC Literary Award in Poetry, and the Trillium Book award for Poetry. I think that’s awesome! However this isn’t all there is to Jeremy Dodds, after all, he grew up in Orono Ontario, he studied in Iceland, knows their language, and he’s and archaeologist.

Dodds’ first poem of the night, Canada, reminded me of all those stereotypes that people make about Canada, with the beaver and everything. My favourite line in this poem that was inspired by Ginsberg’s America, was “Canada, I feel like another weather.” That actually made me chuckle. Sometimes it seems like Canada itself can’t decide what weather to be some days.

There were a couple of other great lines that came out during his reading that brought a chuckle from the crowd. One being “I’m worried about people who was their cars at night” Who does that anyway? Now the line that really made me laugh was from his poem Epileptic Acupuncture, “The Lake’s so clear you can see yourself to the door.” Seriously, people who know me, know the kind of jokes and lines I’d come up with. That one comes pretty close but obviously Dodds thought of it first.

After some time of reading, Dodds answered some questions from the crowd. I think there is an unspoken rule that the first thing you have to ask a poet is what inspired them. For Dodds his inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. “I steal mostly” he told us with a chuckle “Then I rewrite it to make it my own.” I guess that makes sense.

Someone from the crowd then asked Dadds about his writing process, I was a little thrown off at the passion he showed for editing his work. I never know there was so much that had to go into it. I don’t think I would have ever thought of recording myself reading a poem and then listening to it to see if there were flaws in the rhythm and the flow. It inspired me. I think I may actually try it.

If you are interested in reading more about Jeremy Dodds, there will be a more indepth interview between myself and Jeremy Dodds in Redeemer’s next edition of the Crown.

Weekends

Weekends – what every university student lives for. Weekends can be two things: first, they are a time to study for midterms; second, they are a chance to relax and enjoy life. This weekend was a time for adventure.

A few weeks ago, Redeemer hosted a Club Showcase where you could go and check out all the different ways to get involved at Redeemer and in Hamilton. I signed up to volunteer with City Kidz, a Christian organization that works with children from downtown Hamilton. Hamilton is one of the poorest cities in Canada. City Kidz's goal is to change Hamilton from “The City of Poor” to “The City of Hope” by reaching the children of this area.

Now for the adventure part. In order to get to City Kidz I had to take the city bus. I have never been on a city bus before except when my grade 10 class went to Toronto on a trip, but then I had my teacher to tell me where to go. This time I was going alone. So, I mustered up all my courage, took a deep breath and asked one of my guy friends if he'd come with me. He agreed.

On Saturday morning, with my Google Map directions in hand, my friend and I left the campus. Google Maps had told me to walk 30 minutes to reach the first stop in order to catch our bus at 10:55am. We arrived at 10:30am. So we sat down on the curb and patiently waited for bus 34 to come pick us up.

Unbeknownst to us, some sewage trucks were working in the background, and the stench of sewage was creeping our way. It came in three waves – the third being the most deadly. After we were finally able to breathe fresh oxygen, I realized our bus didn't come until 11:15am. We waited for 45 minutes in the putrid smell of sewage. My friend was not impressed. Finally, we saw our bus, but then two Redeemer students got off that bus who said that they were waiting for bus 34 – just like us. Turns out we didn't actually have to walk to the bus stop – we could've gotten a ride with the bus that comes right from the campus. By now my friend was quite annoyed with me.

Fortunately, once we got on bus 34 everything went smoothly. At the end of the day, as we were walking back to Redeemer, we were flagged down by a Redeemer recruitment member. Thankfully, my friend is on the recruitment team so we were able to hitch a ride, sparing us the walk back to campus. There are two morals to this story; 1) Make sure you read your Google Map directions carefully and research all bus routes, 2) Don't let bus adventures scare you from becoming involved in the Hamilton community.

Interview with 2010/2011 Student Senate President

Redeemer Blogger, Katelyn B. holds a phone interview with Joel Van Steenbergen, Honour Biology Major and Chemistry Minor, and President of Student Senate for the 2010/2011 school year. (Last year Katelyn was a First Year Senator and looks forward to serving under Joel this year as the VP of Finance. With both persons being Senators, this interview got a bit interesting at times. Read on to hear what all the hype’s about!)

Katelyn: Last year you were the Senate Clubs Coordinator. What did you learn from last year that will help you this year as President?
Joel: I’ve learned the value of coordinated community. In that everybody needs to know what’s going on in order for things to work smoothly, like what each persons' responsibilities entails. Once people have that they can not only do their position, they can grow in it and expand it.

K: What made you decide to run for President?
J: I had the capability to do the position and somebody needed to do it. I had a vision for how Student Senate could run and I went with that vision. I felt the need and responded to that need.

K: That’s a really good quote!
J: Thanks, I’m looking up quotes online as I’m talking to you.

K: Seriously?
J: No. *pause* Oh here’s one: “To be or not to be...”

K: Haha. Ok, you said that you had a vision for Senate...
J: Yeah, the vision I have isto ensure that Student Senate runs like clockwork. To have an organized government that shows students its function, what its purpose is, and hopefully makes students really aware of what goes behind the doors of the Student Senate office. I want students to know that their Senate is available, that we’re interested in them, not just in doing our jobs. I also plan on expanding horizons for myself: getting to know people that I didn’t know before. I want every person that attends Redeemer to know that Senate is for them. We want Student Senate be truly for the students – and that’s all the students, not just the ones we see on a daily basis. *pause... hiccups* haha. I’ve had the hiccups all day long because I ate my apple wrong.

K: This is 29th year of Redeemer is seeing a lot of firsts: new president Dr. Krygsman, new dean of students Karen Cornies, and your first time as president of Student Senate. What do you see your role is in integrating our new Redeemerite-admin into the Redeemer community?
J: Yup, that’s three changes right there. One’s normal; it’s natural to have a new Senate president every year, but a new president and dean will be a bit of a challenge. I need to get them familiar with the Senate government so that they can be the guide of all the student body. When this happens we can all work together as a team. I have already met the new president and I’m excited for this year because I know that together with the new dean we will all be able to work efficiently together to best serve the students.

K: Rock, Paper, or Scissors?
J: Rock, ‘cause who doesn’t wanna rock?

K: Stick or Carrot?
J: Stick ... or carrot? [pause] You mean like a stick; like a piece of a tree, or a carrot; like an orange vegetable. [pause] I’ll go for the carrot.

K: *laughs* Clearly you’re not a poli-sci student.
J: Oh... Like would you rather lead a donkey with a stick or a carrot. Oh my goodness; you’re terrible!

K: And one last question: What room in Redeemer would you most like to be locked in overnight if it were possible?
J: Umm... it would probably be a room with a bed in it. And the only room that I know of with a bed it is the Kinesiology lab as it’s used for experiments, but I could probably sleep on it.
K: Any last words?
J: I am looking forward to this upcoming year. I think it’s gonna be a blast, with its challenges, but I’m looking forward to those too. I’m looking forward to my Senators – even if they ask questions about sticks and carrots... But yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Just praying that we’ll have a really good year!

My Life in Boxes

For the last four years of my life it feels like I have always been on the move. From home to university and back every academic term, from university to my summer job at camp, and from home to Paris. Now I am on the move from residence to apartment in Paris and once again meticulously cramming my clothes and books into boxes. This move, though, is a rather happy one. My mom and my sister are visiting Paris for a week and so Iugging my suitcases across the city on the metro wasn’t such a dreary experience.

For me, this is the big finale here in Paris. I just finished moving out of my student residence and saying the bittersweet goodbyes to all the good friends I made along the way, including my two very funny Algerian roommates. They made me a nice French meal as their going-away present and I left them some good old Canadian maple syrup. After I made it to the new studio apartment I went to go pick up my mom and my sister from the airport. They we’re really excited to be in Paris for the first time and their excitement for Paris is definitely rubbing off on me. I feel a bit like I’m discovering the city again for the first time even though I’ve lived here already for about five months.

So far we have surprisingly seen a lot. On their first night here we visited the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides, and the Seine at night. On their second day we took in the famous Notre-Dame cathedral, the classic université Sorbonne, the quiet Saint-Séverin, and the rustic bohemian bookshop Shakespeare & Company. It’s been a bonus to all of us to have each other here since my family treats me to food and I point out all of the best deals for them and steer them away from the tourist traps. Tomorrow we are going to visit my church and then take the afternoon on a boat tour of the Seine. Here’s to a week being nothing but a tourist after a full semester of having my nose in the books.

Passing Exams and Saying Goodbyes

Exam week has arrived in Paris! It’s hard to believe our courses have already come to an end here, even those dreadfully long 2hr grammar courses have started to grow on me. Leaving is always a nostalgic thing: happy to welcome change but nobody really likes goodbyes. Luckily my professor gave out a list to the class of everyone’s name and email if they wished to share it, so keeping in contact with the friend’s I’ve made in class shouldn’t be too hard...thank you Facebook! This week, after my last final is passed on Tuesday, I am looking forward to welcoming my mom and my sister who are coming up to visit for six days. They are pretty excited to say the least. As their well-travelled tour guide of Paris, I’ve got a whole itinerary planned for them and I’ve even put in a “No Speaking English Day” for something different and to help them improve their French.

Yesterday, after an afternoon of wandering down the Champs-Élysées in the sun, we had our farewell day at the church. Since it was so sunny and mild out we had a little church picnic following the service in the park facing les Invalides. It was really nice and apparently very French. I am learning that as soon as the biting cold wind leaves the city Parisians are out of their apartments lounging on the grass and kicking around soccer balls late into the night. After sharing food together with everyone we gave a little speech in French thanking everyone in the church for being so welcoming and helpful to us Canadians. As the sun went down and the great dome church lit up, we all went home singing happily (the few songs we all knew in common). We’ll I better head off, since the girls are leaving very soon to go back (June 2) we’ve decided to do some last minute “sorties” in the city. This morning it’s Sainte-Chapelle and a walking history tour of Paris. Until next time!

United in Christ: Taizé’s Message of Trust, Love, and Reconciliation

When I first arrived at Taizé I thought to myself, “Oh, this is it?” I walked up the dusty path into the community and found hoards of young people strewn out across the welcome area. I walked past the great Taizé bells and into the picnic tent with my newfound American friend, who happened to know the community like the back of his hand. As we past a group of teens laughing and spraying each other with the dish-washing hoses, we found a nice spot to sit and grabbed some extra food that was left over from lunch. One thing I got from being there already on the first day was how welcoming and accepting this community was to new pilgrims. I got a real sense of that as I went through the reception process with a young person from Germany named Jenni. Although she had only been in Taizé for a day, she happily showed where I would work, sleep, and participate in Bible studies. She seemed as though she knew so much and she had practiced at her job for weeks. But I knew that Jenni simply put her heart into this small job, because she loved people and she was responding to the trust she was given by the Brothers.

It’s just amazing to me how the Brothers have set up this community: it is completely trust-driven and run by the pilgrims who come to stay each week regardless of their age or background. I was given the task of cooking the dinner meal for about 1000 young people and leaders. Although I had very little experience or knowledge in the kitchen, I was given this job with a high degree of trust and confidence that I could do it well. Before I could say to the welcome team “well, you know I’ve never worked in a kitchen and what if I mess up?” they signed me up for the job. There was no room for doubting oneself here, just trust that God will equip pilgrim to step up to the task given. This principle of trust in young people is echoed throughout the community and in my opinion it is one of the reasons why young people continue to come back to this inconspicuous hill year after year. In a world where teenagers and college agers are suspect from the start, Taizé models a faith in young people that runs deep. The community’s former prior, Brother Roger once said, “I am willing to go to the ends of the Earth to shout my trust in young people.”

This sense of responsibility gives the pilgrims affirmation and confidence; to know that they are trusted, regardless of their previous mistakes or employment botches. For me, the work also gave a notion of contribution. I knew that if I didn’t do my job well that the community would not be able to eat each night, and so I saw how my job fit into the whole. During morning meals, when I wasn’t working, I got to sit and eat with everyone and share stories. One pilgrim I met along the way was Laura, an undergrad student from Berlin who had taken two weeks off from classes to re-think her life in the thick of it all. It was really interesting to me that she wasn’t at all worried about getting those notes or catching up for the exam, she simply knew she needed time to think, listen, and seek God...and so she took the risk. Many other young people come to Taizé for the same reason; it is a haven of peace and quiet that stands almost antithetical to the buzzing noise of the modern world. Dominique, another friend, was a Swiss youth leader at a Catholic church who brought with him two young teens to experience a week of uniqueness at Taizé. For Dominique, although he comes back every year with a handful of new youth, Taizé is a spring of rejuvenation and fresh air for him where he can listen attentively and without distraction to the truth God has to speak into his life.

Overall what I think stood out the most for me during my time at Taizé was the simple reality that I could peacefully and without a gulp in my throat have good, real fellowship and conversation with Christians from other traditions. At Taizé, the question of denomination usually comes secondary (if indeed it comes at all) to the reality of being followers of Christ. No marginalizations or separations were made based one’s Christian tradition and all the pilgrims worshipped together with the Brothers three times a day. We sang together in praise of the Lord and we prayed together for the peace and reconciliation of the world. It was a deep and very fulfilling experience for me and I gained a new hope for the future of the Church, one where the message of Christ’s uniting power comes first and division is left behind.

Redeemer Students Speak Up! Video #3

Redeemer Students Speak Up! Video #2

Redeemer Students Speak Up! Video #1

A First Visit to the Community of Taizé

I found myself back in my familiar class this morning after what had felt like a month off; unfortunately it was only two weeks. After my time with friends in Paris I hopped on a train (this time at the right station!) and headed south to the hilly region of Burgundy. There I joined some 800 or so young people and a brotherhood of monks for a week of prayer, worship, simplicity, and community life. Sounds unusual...maybe even a bit dull, right? I had the same first impressions when I first heard about this place. Tucked away in silence on a secluded hill in France, the community of Taizé is unassuming, and yet over the past 60 years it has become a magnet for young European Christians, many of whom make unbelievably long pilgrimages just to make it there every year. Since I feel so strongly about the uniqueness of this place and the experience I had there this past week, I have decided to write you two blogs on Taizé.

After train and bus travel through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen, I was dropped off on a dusty path outside of the Taizé grounds. The community itself is situated on a steep hill, overlooking pastures and tree-lined valleys below, so the initial view is incredible and stretches on for miles. Adjacent to the grounds of Taizé is the tiny medieval village of Taizé; from where the commune got its name. The village which has maybe five or six homes and an ancient church that dates back to the 10th century. The area has been marked by the arrival of the Taizé community’s founder: Brother Roger Shutz. In 1940, during the German occupation of France, Brother Roger purchased the land for the community and began to minister to the poor. Although he had very little, he would house Jewish refugees and feed them from a little plot of land he farmed. Soon, he was targeted for his work by the Gestapo and was forced to flee to Switzerland until things blew over. When the war had ended Roger moved back to the community in France and soon thereafter other Christian brothers began to join him and a fraternity of brothers was formed. Today, there are more than 120 Brothers of Taizé, many of them coming from different countries and Christian traditions.

Like the diversity represented by the brothers, the visiting pilgrims are among the most diverse groups of people in the world. When I was there, I met young people literally from all over the world. Off the top of my head, I can recall meeting Germans, Brits, French, Austrians, Spanish, Russians, Americans, Italians, and one other Canadian. The first person I met walking into Taizé was an American: Scott, a 27 year old medical school student from Texas who had been coming to Taizé every year since his teenage years. Scott told me that he had a deep love for the community of Taizé, but he couldn’t quite pin down what it was exactly that kept drawing him back. After a week there I would say that this is a common feeling among the pilgrims... there’s something very unique about this place called Taizé. Next blog I’ll update you on how the week unfolded for me and about Taizé’s message of reconciliation.

Reflections for 2009/2010 Continued

I have struggled with what to write about in this final blog of the school year (if this is in fact, my last). I want to inspire, to share, and to communicate with you the many aspects of Redeemer that have made my past two years here an incredible experience, and have changed who I am and how differently I perceive the world now as compared to before I entered this place.

When I first came to Redeemer in September of 2008, I will admit that Redeemer was not #1 on my Schools to Attend list. However, since God has placed me here, I could not be more thankful. I have become a different person since stepping on Redeemer campus. I hope that what I am saying does not sound flashy, or made up, or fantasy-like, because that is definitely the case. Redeemer has thrown many challenges into my life, as well as into the lives of my friends and neighbours. There are challenges beyond every corner, as between classes, friends, activities and worship sessions, there is always something pushing you to do something better, to trust God more, to become a better person, and so on. It isn’t all fun and roses! But the outcome – it’s totally worth it.

I often take advantage of this. I forget that I am attending a school that is so rare, so different from all of the other public universities in Ontario and Canada. I forget that I have the chance to be a Christian in my classes and in the hallways. I forget that other places aren’t like this. And I forget that I’m privileged to be able to be here, to be given the chance to learn in an environment and school where students and faculty know my name and care about my well-being. And that’s something I shouldn’t forget. I am blessed. We are blessed.

If you feel that God is leading you to come to Redeemer next year, take it from someone who has tried to run the opposite way more than once – listen to Him. Redeemer has so much to offer you and will challenge you on multiple levels. Not only will you receive an education that is extraordinary (and I’m not just saying that – I love my courses), you will meet people and experience things that will change your life course and who you are as a person forever. Continue to pray about where God is leading you and what He has planned for you for next year. May you be blessed in your decision-making!

I’m hoping that I’ll see you around campus in September!

An Unplanned Extra Week in Paris

Well, I do feel a bit lucky right now. As university students across Canada are as you are all busily preparing for exams or cramming in those last minute all-nighters, we have been blessed over here in France to have two weeks of vacation! I have learned that France’s educational system is particularly different from Canada’s in just that respect: time off. In France there are many more lengthy breaks for students, making it seem as though less time is spent in class. But in fact, the academic load of the semester is much heavier and the days are longer for university and lycée (high school) students. One of my roommates for example attends a lycée and he is in class from 9am to 4 or 5pm all week and he even has classes on Saturday. International students in my program at the Sorbonne are a bit more fortunate in terms of our time off, allowing for more time to explore.

This week, although starting off oddly, has been a very good week and God has surprised me with a lot. On Sunday morning, I woke up before the sun at 5:30am and headed out to the empty streets of Paris with a heavy pack strapped on my back. I hopped into a taxi and asked to be dropped off at the train station at the north end of the city. As I walked into the station I realized I was actually early for the time of my departure, so I parked myself down and munched on some breakfast for half an hour. As it neared the time when my train was supposed to leave, I started to get a little worried; I couldn’t find any indication of my train headed to Taizé! I rushed to the information desk and asked what was going on with my train. The lady at the desk uttered these words and my heart sank: “Désolé monsieur mais vous êtes à la mauvaise gare, il faut que vous alliez à Gare de Lyon pas Gare du Nord. ” Basically, I had missed the small print of the ticket and was waiting at the wrong train station! That was not the most encouraging of moments for me. Luckily I have two weeks off and was able to re-plan my trip for the next week (since Taizé’s only welcome day is Sunday).

So, admittedly, this week started off quite embarrassingly and unplanned, yet I have thoroughly enjoyed the extra leisure time in the city. So far, I have used it mostly to hang out with some of the good French friends that I have made in Paris (as well as one very funny Scot and an awesome Indonesian). I have also caught up on some reading, sent out some postcards back home, and visited some of those less known sites on my Paris bucket list (which is not small I assure you!). It’s been great so far and in retrospect I am actually glad it has happened this way. At least now I know for the next train I catch out of Paris to make it to the right train station! More updates will come next week, when I do end up making it to Taizé. But I’ve got to head out; tonight I’m hosting a dinner party in my residence! Ciao

2009/2010 Reflections

Another year is coming to an end here at Redeemer University College. You can always tell, because the library is packed full with students studying for final exams, final preparations are being made for food plan money-spending and devotions during exams, and campus life is on fire, with the last Hot Spot, Coffee House and Church-in-the-Box taking place. It’s a good feeling – having accomplished one more year of school, and having matured to great lengths over the past year (at least for some students).

I thought I would take some time to reflect on what has happened this year at Redeemer. It’s amazing when you really think about it, because the year flies by so fast, and you forget the majority of the great things that happened. My dorm and I reflected on our dorm-life experience this past week by drawing pictures and writing words that came to mind of fun things that we had done over the year, memories that we had, and friends we had made. It was a great opportunity to remember all of the things people said that were absolutely hilarious, the memories behind the quotes on our quote board, and the memories we shared from the Olympics, from school activities and from our girls nights in and outside of the dorm.

I look back on this year and am reminded of Redeemer’s generosity. My friend Catriona and I began a club at Redeemer this year, thinking that it would be great if we could raise a couple hundred dollars to send to Invisible Children, an organization seeking to end the war between the LRA and Acholi people of Uganda. We had no idea that Redeemer would latch on to this cause, and contribute so much! We only ran two events this year, a book drive and a clothing drive and both were far more successful than we had ever thought possible. We are looking forward to next year, to coming up with new ideas and new ways of using Redeemer’s strengths to help others.

I also remember the aspects of Redeemer that are specific to this campus, like Church-in-a-Box, Wednesday chapels, the relationships between faculty and students, the students themselves, etc. I may sound biased, but I firmly believe that Redeemer is a place that every student should have the opportunity to experience. Not only do we reflect on what has happened this year, but we can take what we have learned and look forward to starting up again in September.

The Last Day of Classes

Once upon a time (well not really “a” time because it was today) there was a young first year student. And what is this first year student doing on a beautiful sunny day like today? Well, we find her in bed. Opps, she has once slept in and her first class will be starting in 30 minutes. She had a late night last night; she was at Hot Spot last night, singing and worshiping God. And here she is, asleep in bed with the sun shining on her face as she dreams about summer.

But don’t worry. She won’t be in bed for long, because although she slept through her alarm, her roommate’s alarm will go off soon. *chirp, chirp* There it is, the bird call from her cell phone and our main character groggily crawls out of bed and into the shower. It’s the beginning of another day at Redeemer... but not just any day. Today is the Last Day of Classes for this school year. Her last day of being a first year. With that excitement to boost her energy level, she quickly eats a bowl of LIFE cereal and grabs her backpack – she’s off for her last class of the year.

A few minutes later we find our girl in line at William for her morning French Vanilla Latte. She talks with Gerta who’s making her drink about her exams and the beautiful weather, and wishes her nice day. Now she’s walking to class, a bit late, but there’s still time to talk to a couple of friends along the way.

10:00 and it’s time for microeconomics, her last class of the year (which I believe I have mentioned a couple of times, but hey, she’s pretty excited about this... she gets to hand in a paper that she’s been working on since the beginning of the semester. It’s a group project about the limitations of Fair trade and how all of that relates to economics. Pretty exciting stuff!) She sits down beside one of her best friends, opens her lap top and talks excitedly about how great it is to be almost done classes and exams, with summer just around the corner:

“It feels Sooo short compared to high school.”

“I know” she agrees.

“I handed in our project and this is my last class.”

“Yup, me too. All that’s left is exams...”

“and then summer!” they both said in unison and laughed.

Their prof finished off his last lecture on the last chapter in the text book (she couldn’t believe how many text books she actually read this year... looking back it was a whole lot for just four months, but at the time it didn’t seem like that much to read.) And then he gave a few pointers for the exam. The clock struck 10:50 and Freedom!

Well, kinda freedom. Freedom from classes sure, but now it is time for our first year to realize all of the studying she has to do to prepare for her first exam on Tuesday night. Time to start reading over those REL 101 notes and checking out the slides her prof posted on the internet site Moodle.

But the rest of this day won’t be just about studying. Seriously, it’s a nice day. And it’s the Last Day of Classes! And her dorm still hasn’t gotten back to her neighbouring dorm for a prank they did in February (not that she keep grudges ... they just haven’t forgotten). Yes there are still a lot of things that I have to do yet before my first year is over, just to make being a first year unforgettable.

Vacation Has Begun

Vacation has begun! After working hard in grammar, history and phonetics courses for quite some time, I am happy to be welcomed by some time off. It’s really an exciting time to be in Paris: the sun is shining brightly, the students have all been let out for two weeks, and the streets are now buzzing with tourists. In our last grammar class our professor encouraged us to start the celebrations early, “sans doute il faut commencer la fête!” So, we were invited to bring desserts and drinks on Friday and hang out for the last half of the class. I can’t think of a better way to start a weekend.

Later on that day I hung out with friends from the young adults group at church and we went up the Tour Montparnasse in the south of Paris. Standing some 210m about the streets of Paris, the Tour Montparnasse is the tallest building in France and one of the tallest in Europe. Going up the elevator was quite an experience in itself—59 floors took maybe 2minutes in total! It was incredibly fast and the view we got when got to the top was just amazing...it would have been well worth a wait if there was one. Since its construction in 1972 the tower has also played host to a number of odd happenings, including a dangerous feat by an urban climber in 1995. French adventurist Alain "Spiderman" Robert scaled the building’s exterior glass and steel wall using only his bare hands and feet and with no safety devices. He managed to make it to the top, even though he reputedly almost fell halfway up. Here’s his website if you want to see his website to witness some amazing pictures of him in action: www.alainrobert.com.

Next week I will be spending a week away from the city and its skyscrapers. I have decided to spend some time in quiet reflection and prayer at a place called Taizé. It is an ecumenical monastic community founded just after World War II by a Protestant Swiss pastor named Brother Roger. Today, there are dozens of brothers who have made the community their home and each year thousands of young people flock to Taizé for a journey of prayer, worship, fellowship, and reconciliation. If you are a young Christian in Europe you have most likely heard of Taizé and you have most like gone or are going to the place. In the spring and summer there are hundreds of tents that line the fields and the church is filled with young seekers. I am really excited to make this pilgrimage and to see what God has in store for me, I have great expectations for what He may show me!