winter quarter

so. phew. i have quite a lot of work to do, but tonite, i think i'm just going to do some thinking and processing. there's always tomorrow to write the paper due the day after tomorrow, right? right.

first off, I GOT A 97 ON MY POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT PAPER!!!! if you can't tell, i'm ECSTATIC!!! i really thought my best hope was a 90. i threw together the material at the last minute and, as you may recall, sprinted to the office to get it in by 5pm. i spent waaay too much time researching and reading about greg mortenson and the central asia institute (the heros of the book three cups of tea) and way too little time reflecting on the development literature that i was using to evaluate CAI. yet somehow, it worked! there was a whole other section i had planned to write that i just didn't have time to do. but i tried my hardest and spent an hour formatting it properly. no joke! the professor was serious about what he wanted! i was anxious to find out my grade, and i went 3 times today to try to pick up my paper and finally got it. i was speechless. hard to believe, i know, but SPEECHLESS.

ok, so living situation: courtney had told me in dec that she's moving across the freeway with some girls in march. actually, the girls all already live there, but she won't move until march, when our lease is up. i'm excited for her, but a slight bit anxious about my own plans. i had wanted to move out of chang because it's so expensive, but.... yeah. so a friend i work with is getting married about the same time, and i happened to sit next to her current roommate when watching the unmentionable game last thursday nite. so she said i could move in with her! they have a 3-bedroom here in chang, so i'd have my own room, get to stay near my friends, and still be close to campus. then tonite, a classmate who's also in my cohort mentioned that one of her roommates is moving out, so i could move in with them, too. it's not in chang (which = cheaper), but it's across the freeway, next to where courtney will be living, actually. it's a really pretty street full of fun fuller people, but a longer walk to campus, and not as convenient or close to work or the store, either. so either way, i'd live with one person i like and one person i don't know, i'd have my own bedroom, and i've got somewhere to go!!!

ok, classes.

1. globalization and the poor. this class is taught by bryant myers, who taught poverty and development last quarter, and is also my cohort leader. yeah, we're tight. ;-) here's the official class description:

"This course explores globalization as a deeply rooted historical change process that has significant impact for good and ill on the poor. The course will deal briefly with the history of globalization, its supporters and its skeptics. The course will address multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank and the WTO, in terms of the impact of their policies on the poor. Special attention will be given to globalization and the non-formal economy where most of the poor live. More than half the course will focus on macro development issues and strategies for poverty eradication including topics like the Millennium Development Goals and making markets work for the poor."

sounds good, huh? globalization is one of those words that means so many different things to different people, so i've learned that i need to define it when i use it. the class will be more work intensive than poverty and development, but it should be good. for the record, this class meets once a week, thursday mornings, 8-11am.

2. global evangelical movement. this is the class that is the reason i will not be coming out to play anytime soon. the work load is RIDICULOUS, but the professor is fair and funny. well, he's a hard grader, but he's said if we don't like our grade on the first two papers, we can redo them within a week for a higher grade. oh, and one of those was due today, and the other is due the day after tomorrow. talk about diving right in! the class is essentially a history class, tho, so even tho i don't like history, i'm glad it's not theology where it gets all philosophical and crap. ;-) i think in the end i'll love this class. and i think i've already learned more in this class than i did all of last quarter in church and mission. for serious. ok, here's the course description for this one:

"The evangelical movement has been the main engine of the modern missionary movement and has contributed directly to the globalization of the Christian faith. This course will examine the historical and theological roots of contemporary evangelicalism as well as the socio-economic and political factors, which have shaped its expressions and impact in a variety of contexts. Special attention will also be paid to characteristic features of evangelicalism worldwide, including its inner tensions, internal debates, and traditional proclivity for anti-intellectualism. Its prospects in the twenty-first century (notably in its Pentecostal/Charismatic forms) will also be assessed."

this class is taught by jehu hanciles. i've already talked to him outside of class twice, cried in his office once, and i've got another appointment to see him tomorrow. and the class meets twice a week, mon and wed, 11am-1pm.


3. spirituality and mission.
this class is taught by jude tiersma-watson and paul jensen on monday nights, 630-930pm. this is just about as non-academic as a class can get and still be for credit. we're looking at different varieties of spiritual disciplines and practicing them ourselves with the realization that all life comes from Christ. in mission, we are constantly giving of ourselves, so this is more about how to feed ourselves so we don't dry up. which is actually a good lesson as i work through the stresses of global evangelical movement! it's no accident that these 2 classes are offered in the same quarter!! here's the official course description:

"This course will help students develop an approach to their spiritual life that integrates their spirituality with their life in mission. We will examine Richard Foster’s approach to the six traditions of faith, seeing how God has worked through all these streams in history. The interplay between context, culture, theology, and spirituality will be explored within the contemporary collapse of space and time. Various practices will be introduced in class, including the Jesus Prayer, Lectio Divina and the Examen."

this class will be time consuming, but hopefully more life-giving than draining. but it will certainly take stretching and discipline i have yet to exhibit!

so yeah, this quarter is going to be tough. i'm not sure how i'm going to get through it, but i'm sure i will, somehow. and i think in the end, it will be much more fruitful and rewarding than my classes last quarter.

so with that said, i'm going to redding this weekend! redding is in north central CA, about 8-10 hours away. there's a church up there that ruth's pastor from norway is interning at for 5 months, so we're going to see him (and apparently several of ruth's other friends who are up there) and check out the church, bethel church. there's a lot of cool Holy Spirit stuff going on, and this will be my first foray back into that kind of ministry in a long time. pray for grace!! but i'm sure good things will come of it. i'll let you know what happens. there's a group of a dozen or so of us headed up, so if nothing else, it will be great road-trip fun!

the following weekend, i'm going to the san diego zoo! a group of us from my church, oasis, are going down for the day to see the awesome animals. matt, our "outdoors pastor", comes up with some outdoors-y activity for us each quarter, and this is one of the events on the agenda for winter. (remember, we went to joshua tree last fall? we also did the hike to the bridge to nowhere, and we tried a full moon evening hike, but ended up just going up the 2 to get a view of LA at night.) also this quarter, a ski trip is in the works (not sure if i'll do that one) and hopefully, a camping trip to anza-borrego desert state park. the desert is in full bloom in early march, so hopefully we can go then. next quarter, a camping trip to yosemite is in the works. woohoo!

which brings me to this past weekend... i went with hanne, matt c and jakeoung to the scandinavian film festival! i had to work that night, so i went to the afternoon showing of white night wedding at the writers guild theater in beverly hills. the film is the icelandic academy award entrant for best foreign film. we'll see if it gets nominated! i really enjoyed it (i laughed a lot more than anyone else in the theater), and we had a good time of discussion afterwards. i drove home along sunset blvd at sunset with a full moon - fabulous!!!

sunday, i decided to make the most of the GORGEOUS weather and my access to courtney's car (she was gone for the weekend). i have wanted to go up mt wilson for a while, so i finally just decided to go, despite the work piling up around me. ruth went with me as we drove the 210 west to the 2 north up the back side of the mountain. if only the mt wilson toll road were open, it would have been much much shorter!! but alas, it's just a hiking trail now. there's an observatory at the top, as well as a bunch of TV antennas and ... snow!! yup, in the shade, there's still quite a bit of snow up there! and the views east and north (which are normally obscured from pasadena by mt wilson itself) were also superb! not to mention sunset over LA! we could see the ocean for miles and miles, as well as catalina island. the view was MUCH clearer than this, but it gives an idea. the two parallel lines of brighter lights at the bottom of the frame are pasadena. also similar is this. we could also see these islands!!! ok, i'm so excited! i knew it was a clear evening, but i didn't realize HOW clear!

oh man, good times.
well, folks, thanks for reading this far! let me know how you guys are doing!