Thursday, August 30, 2012

A Few Things from the Last Month

Oh my. Well we've been here in Grantham, PA for the last month+. A new place always has its challenges yet the Messiah crew has been very welcoming. We tend to compare everything to our Taylor experience. I know this is a bad habit but it's hard not to when you've spent a considerable amount of time elsewhere. So there's a constant compare & contrasting, pro & con-ing of everything from the college campus, student affairs department, nearness to the closest Target, number of concerts passing through, etc. So while we're still adjusting, we're content where we landed. A few things of note include...

Our cat! We got Eleanor a few nights ago. She's a Maine Coon kitten (12 weeks), loves to cuddle, likes to explore, hasn't made any messes outside her litter box, and is only a little afraid of the dish washer. She also enjoys sitting on the keyboard of my laptop. Perhaps she can have a guest post soon. We miss her terribly when we go out and feel like new parents with a newborn more often than not.
As I mentioned before, we're in a first year hall*. Close to 300 students. I have 8 enthusiastic and delightful RAs. They're a different crowd than my hipster filled IFC group from the last few years but this year's group of students have their own set of lovable characteristics. I look forward to deepening those relationships. I also look forward to more time with the rest of the hall. It's a slight adjustment knowing that I won't be getting close to all of them... but I do want to make meaningful relationships... I just need to figure out where and how to do that. Oh, and all the first year students have some massive game day on the first weekend. Footage of the day could probably be used for some sort of Vizio TV commercial, emphasizing the color quality of the HD screen.
Lastly, we live close to Harrisburg, PA, the state capital (and about a Marion distance away). During the few visits we've made, we've enjoyed it's quirkiness without being totally sold on it's incredibility. At first glance, it seems it may be a city being gentrified by some cool, young 30-somethings who are passionate about urban renewal. But then we've realized that the row of bars/restaurants, well-kept cathedrals, and a few neat spots like Midtown Scholar (pic below) have been residing simultaneously along side rundown buildings and pockets of poverty for quite some time now and there's no real upswing on the horizon. All that to say, we're excited to explore the city, perhaps attend a church downtown, and become more accustomed with the occasional city life. 
There it is. A few snapshots of our life at Messiah. Obviously there's plenty more. But that'll come in future blogs or, more likely, future conversations. 

*We use the term "first year" for it's inclusion of both transfer students and the gender inclusive terminology as compared to "freshmen."