*Sigh of Relief*

*Whew* the first week is officially over (class wise that is). I didn't have any classes until after lunch so I read the two chapters of the Iliad I was assigned for Literature. It's really violent. Think about The Patriot. I also reviewed biology.

Today I used my digital vioce recorder for the first time in an academic setting. I recorded my history lecture. History and literature are the two classes that I really need to record because the teacher brings insights that aren't necessarily in the book. Biology on the other hand is pretty straight forward in terms of material that must be learned.

This evening two of my roommates and I set up my laptop with some computer speakers and watched part of The Sting. It's a really good, suspensful movie! It's complicated enough to keep you interested, but if you pay attention, you won't get too lost. ;)

Oh yea! We finally got our I.D. cards! I just have to go to the registrar sometime soon to get my picture taken for the I.D.

Well, I'm really tired. I'm so happy Mass is at 9 a.m. instead of 7:50 a.m! :)

The second day

Today I went to morning Mass at 7:50, and was surprised to find that it was in Latin. Luckily, the readings, the homily, and the opening prayer, and the closing prayer were in English. Thank goodness! The only major problem I had was that I had a class at 8:50 (Elementary Latin, go figure!) and the Mass was a bit longer that the usual half-hour. At least I couldn't be late to class because my teacher was concelebrating the Mass!

After that I had Literary Traditions I. The Professor seems nice, and other students recommend him. I just don't like literature; I don't have that "muse" as the Greeks called it. Any way, the first book we're reading is it Iliad. I think it would be a good Monty Python skit(a clean version of course)...

Lab was from 1-4. It was an introductory Lab, so it was very easy. Unfortunately, I still have to write a lab report. :( Fortunately, I have really light class loads on Thursdays and Fridays, so I'll have time to write the report.

This evening there was a Eucharistic procession with the Rosary walk. Afterwards, the priest brought the Blessed Sacrament to each floor of each dorm. It was pretty cool!

Well, I think I'll try and get to bed at a reasonable hour! Good Night!

The First Day

Today was the first day of classes! It began with a quick continental breakfast and a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the campus. There were news cameras all around, so watch for me on the news! ;)

Then I had Elementary Latin. The teacher is a Polish priest. He has an accent, but I don't have any reall trouble understanding him. He really loves what he teaches. Thus far I like Latin. :[)

Opening Mass was at noon (the Masses here really help to lift my mind to God), followed by a quick sack lunch, after which I was on my way to Western Civilization I. Nothing really interesting there except I found out that the teachers had collectively decided to change one of the text books. So I had to return the one I had, and must buy a different one.

Then came Biology 211...*scary music plays*...I was overwhelmed by all the projects that were necessary. Lab reports, an oral presentation, and a self-designed lab! Of course they're not due all at once. The last two aren't due until December and November respectively. I also discovered that I had the wrong books for this class also (or quoque as I learned in Latin) so I had to return those and pre-order the correct ones.

Well, I'm going to read about the lab I have tomorrow! I also have a literature class. (Yuck!) at least I'm being taught by the renowned Joseph Pearce.

T'was the Night Before Classes...

And all through the school...Don't worry, I can't write it all. That and one of my roommates just discovered that her cell phone gets service inside the dorm. (This is unusual since all the buildings are hurricane proof i.e. they're steel and concrete!) She let out a shriek of joy!

Anyway, tomorrow is the first day of classes. Breakfast starts at 7:30, and the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the university is at 8:00. Then I have a Latin class, then the opening Mass at noon. Followed almost immediately by Western Civilization I, and Molecular Biology.

I'm very nervous! All the university "officials", if you will, keep talking about how important it is to go to class and study. Like I didn't know that already! I mean, why else would you go to college! I just have to remember that I'll be just fine. I have the drive, and the support of all of you! And my roommates are all good students as well so I will have positive peer pressure.

I just have to remember the most important things: daily Mass, and prayer. I love being here at an authentically Catholic school! I mean, I can just turn to my friends and say, "Let's pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet," and they'll be like "Alright!" We're all on the same page; we share an important value. PRAISE GOD!

A Ramble

There really isn't much to say about the party on Wednesday. Five of my seven roommates and their families all came over for a pot luck. We talked and laughed, and interogated and shared. The parents all chatted, and some of the siblings swam in the pool. All in all it went better than anyone could have hoped. (Except for God Who made it all happen!)

Not all of my roomates are pictured on this blog. One didn't fly down till Thursday and this picture was taken of Wednesday. My last roomate was a complete surprise! None of us knew anything about her! But she's great, just like the rest. :)

I actually went to Target with her and other freshmen today. I only needed one thing, but since she also flew she needed some really important stuff. So we ran around Target brainstorming items worthy of purchase!

If you are seriously interested in the details of orientation, you will have to check out www.avemaria.edu and click on students, then orientation schedule (I'm pretty sure that's where you'll find it.) But it's impossibly for me to sum up an experience like this on a blog. In a book, maybe...but I won't have time to write a book any time soon. :)

This afternoon, I discovered that several of my roommates love Irish music too! I'm hoping we'll be able to play music together (i.e. session) some time tomorrow!
Tonight we had some praise and worship, and heard a funny, but inspiring talk by Chris Padgett.

Well, I'm planning on going on the Rosary walk at 11 p.m. (it's only this late because of all the orientation events). Tommorrow I plan to attend 10 o'clock Mass (Yea! Sleep!) I hope it's not in Latin...I'm pretty sure it's not.

Busy

It's been a while! There will be more detailed posts coming soon. But just so you know what's been happening: the pre-orientation roommate (and their families) party went great. Everyone was so happy we hosted it at a house instead of a restaurant. All of my roommates are wonderful!

Orientation has been going on since Thursday! Moving in, programs, games, discussions, and I only got internet access today! Hopefully I'll have some time later on to elaborate! WOW!

An unexpected party

Guess what? Today, as we were strolling an outdoor shopping mall, mom received a voice mail from some friends saying that they were in Naples too! Their oldest son was looking at AMU and they had brought the whole family along on a Florida vacation. Some phone conversations later, we were all getting together at our house for pizza! It was a great surprise! Anna especially enjoyed having some friends closer to her age to play in the pool.

Tomorrow is the big gathering of the roommates, and I still have to buy some last minute things at Target. It's almost time for school!

Supplies 2

Sorry! When I changed the template color the purple font could not be read. So here it is again, only clearer. (I like this template better because there's a lot of blue and the star in the corner reminds me of a sand dollar!)

Today we went shopping for school supplies at Office Depot. Crazy! Paper, notebooks, binders, post-it-notes, pens (which is harder than it looks when you're in a store that has a whole section devoted to pens!), a desk calendar, a day planner, stapler, pencil sharpener, etc. I won't take pencils for granted anymore. :)

Supplies

Today we went shopping for school supplies at Office Depot. Crazy! Paper, notebooks, binders, post-it-notes, pens (which is harder than it looks when you're in a store that has a whole section devoted to pens!), a desk calendar, a day planner, stapler, pencil sharpener, etc. I won't take pencils for granted anymore. :)

In Naples

Here we are in Naples! The house we're staying in is great! It's really big; it has two master bed rooms. I got one! :) It also has a pool out back.

Today, after Mass, we drove to Ave Maria town. It was soooo cool! Of course, there's a lot left to do and a lot of room to grow, but I'm so glad I can be a part of it all. It's kind of like being a pioneer. We also checked out some of the new houses. They are really close together, but I'm pretty sure that's a Florida thing. Andrew was ready to move in right then and there! We all had a good time.

Except Anna. She wanted to get back to the house and swim. So after looking at about 7 houses, Mom and Dad dropped us off at the house and went grocery shopping. Emma taught me how to stroke (free style, and breast stroke) properly. ;)

I'll close now; my leg fell asleep and it's killing me!

Color...

Yes, I realize the blog color is green and my school colors are blue and white. Give me a break; I learned how to do this in under 15 minutes at about 11 p.m. ;)

The night before...

O.K. technically it is the morning of departure for Naples, Fl as it is 12:05 A.M. However, I will still consider this the night before since the sun has not yet risen.

We will leave some time between noon and 1 p.m. tomorrow (literally today). I'm essentially packed. I just have a few last minute things to gather up; specifically pillows, toothbrush, and retainer (*blah*). Other than that I'm ready. I plan to re-read Leisure: The Basis of Culture on the way down, so that I'll have it fresh in my memory for the discussion/ice breaker that will be held either Friday or Saturday. I'm both excited and nervous about this discussion, but thus far the thought of university is nothing but an unusual mixture of excitement and nervousness!

I'm glad my last night at home was so fun! It was Ms. Linda's Birthday and she and Mr. Jeff came over for dinner, cake, and a movie. :) We also had our pick of five kinds of ice cream! Needless to say, I had the chocolate fudge!

I have no clue when I will "blog" again. Hopefully soon enough to share the craziness of my first week or so. Misery and joy both love company! But if I don't hello and good-bye at the same time! Also, check out http://www.avemaria.edu/ and http://www.avemaria.com/ for info about the university and surrounding town respectively.

Good night!