The First Two Weeks of Classes and Syllabus Shock

Once again I find myself writing a lot later than I would have wanted to, although the title of this post probably gives a good hint as to why. We have now finished our second week of studies at Southern and I think I can finally say I am getting over Syllabus Shock.

 

I was in denial until the end of my first week, but I was finally able to admit it and self-diagnosed myself with a mild case of Syllabus Shock. Apparently it's pretty common around here, although I kind of chuckled and raised an eyebrow at the concept the first time I heard about it. 

 

Apparently there's something in that first week of classes that "infects" you as you look at your reading lists, papers and tests that are on their way to you faster than you can get ready for them, not to mention adjusting to a new neighbourhood and way of doing (and writing...) things, together with family, church, work, and ministry responsibilities and maintaining a solid foundation for what you're doing by prioritizing your time with the Lord, without failing to maintain communication with friends and family back home and...

 

It was a little overwhelming.

 

It really doesn't have THAT much to do with the syllabus, but those syllabi seem to jump-start the whole "condition".

 

With that said, these two weeks have been great. We're pretty well adjusted to our schedules and routines, but nothing is as set and clean and straightforward as the nice 8-4 jobs we were used to. We've done quite a bit of exploring although there's always more to do. There's so much that has happened that it's hard for me to really know what to say here to try and summarize things, but I decided to answer a few questions we've been getting a lot and some that I'm making up myself because they're relevant to our first weeks here in Louisville.

 

What's the weather like down there?

Hot. Just... hot. Every day it's over 30ᴼC from the time we leave our house (7:45AM) to the time we get home, whether that's at 1:00PM, 4:00PM, or 6:00PM. The humidity almost always makes it feel like its over 40ᴼC so things often feel very sticky. I don't really mind it too much, but Courtney is really looking forward to the fall.

 

What do you miss the most about Canada?

Family and church hands down. But also my puppy Champ and some Nestea-powder, which we haven't found here. We also haven't found good popcorn salt... I kind of miss being able to read the French side of the cereal labels. A Tim Hortons around here would also be nice...

 

What do you like the most about Louisville?

Lots of things. We both love the country feel in the city. It's probably well known that Courtney is a small-town girl and I'm more of a city guy and that's why Louisville is so great. There's lots of old neighbourhoods and houses with big trees and big yards, away from lots of traffic, but the downtown is only a few minutes away. It really is a beautiful city with some really amazing people. 

 

What's your apartment like?

I'll work on a post and dedicate a whole post to that :).

 

When are you coming/going back to Canada?

Keeping Proverbs 19:21 in mind, we really don't know. We are hoping to drive up for Christmas but at this point we're not sure of a trip before that.

 

What classes are you taking?

- Intro to Church History (this one is probably the most interesting)

- Greek (Μου αρέσει εκμάθηση της ελληνικής γλώσσας)

- Theology of the New Testament (I get to see Schreiner twice a week)

- Theology and Practice of Personal Evangelism (this one is probably impacting my life the most)

- Family and Leadership Ministry (I'm very glad Courtney and I are taking this one together)

 

How about that sohthern accent?

What accent? No, sometimes it doesn't even feel like we're living in the south (probably because we are in the northern-most part of the south). You do hear it a little, but not enough to get me to drop my "eh's". (And for the record, "you guys" is still better than "y'all")

 

Feel free to post any questions or thoughts or if you're curious about any aspect of our lives right now! I'll be working on something about our apartment and neighbourhood soon!