First day in the books!
Well, it FINALLY happened...85 days after leaving the US, I had my FIRST DAY OF (THEOLOGY) SCHOOL!!!!
With the start of the Academic Year comes the inception of the REGULAR NAC Schedule! We will finally have a "normal" routine and not be living week to week (sometime day to day) by a slightly different schedule. With the School Year schedule, Morning Prayer/Mass is at 6:15 AM. For someone who has trouble falling to sleep at night, such as myself, it is going to be very difficult to get into a routine of waking up at 5:30 am. After Mass we, naturally, have breakfast. Then it's ready-set-go and en route for the ~30 min walk to school for classes.
The European University system has differences that those who studied at American Schools aren't accustomed to, and may find strange (though it could just be me!). For starters, there was a BELL to start classes. I felt like I was in high school again with that long, annoying bell! Secondly--the class period, though split into two "periods" is really 90 minutes with a 15 minute break halfway. Today I had two classes spread over 4 "periods" (8:30-12:15) Next--we, the students, stayed in the same classroom, and it was the professor who changed rooms...the other difference that I've prejudged as a negative for my learning style is that we have ONE exam at the end of the semester that determines our grade. Oh, and it's a spoken exam. (Typically these can be done in English, I've heard)
My two classes today were supposed to be "Synoptic Gospels and Acts of the Apostles" and "Church History: Ancient and Medieval". I'm sure the italics indicated that this was not the case. Our professor for "Revelation and Transmission" (W/F) came in and let us know that for today only he switched with the Church History professor, who had something come up outside of Rome...(OH OH!! Another difference!! In American that typically means a cancelled class, not a switched class for the same time a different day!)
Despite my earnest effort to pay attention, my mind started concentrating more on the Italian words I didn't know, rather than trying to focus on the context of what the professor was saying and figuring it out from there. It also didn't help that I was very tired. A little math lesson: Lack of attention + little bit of boredom + sleep deprivation = NAP time. Just as I started dozing off our professor said (in Italian) "Your bishop sending you to Rome changed your life!"...To which 1) I woke up and 2) Most of us agreed with and laughed. Then he said something like "You could have remained in MASSACHUSETTS...but" and I was taken so aback by his mentioning of MY home state that I didn't hear the rest of his sentence...but of ALL the places to mention from around the world...he chose MA!? It very much captured my sentiment though!
Kevin qua Kevin, I was dissecting the day on my walk back to the NAC--trying to stay positive, but leaning towards focusing on the negative. I was reflecting over the past almost 3 months away from home (which I'm sure you all know is the longest period of time I've ever been out of Massachusetts), what has been very hard to adjust to, what I like, what I absolutely hate, how I'm feeling, etc. I was trying to make sense of what was running though my head and put it into a comprehensible sentence that I can talk with my Spiritual Director with...when all of a sudden I passed this girl wearing a t-shirt that expressed EXACTLY what I've been thinking for the past 3 months. Her shirt said "I just feel lost". DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!
The rest of my 15 minute walk back to the NAC, and then during the Rosary in the Chapel before lunch I was thinking about it. My head really hasn't stopped spinning since July 15th. Though the intense feeling of being overwhelmed has passed, and I am familiar (enough) with my surroundings now, there's still a lack of something. I haven't yet been able to put my finger on it, but seeing that girls shirt I said to myself "Yes! That sums up how I am feeling. I just feel lost." Thank God this week I will have my first meeting with MY spiritual director. I've met with a couple spiritual directors (mainly during my silent retreat)--but this is the one who I am assigned to. This is the Spiritual Director that the Church has given to me. I am SO anxious to begin meeting with this priest (who FTR, was a classmate of my former SD, Fr. Barber. They entered the Jesuits the same day many moons ago!). I am very much looking forward to getting to know him, and working with him. Say a quick prayer for him...he doesn't know what he's about to get hit with!
With the start of the Academic Year comes "goals and objectives"! I sat with my FA earlier with my draft of goals and we talked about them and he sent me on my way to edit and re-send before next Monday's deadline. No mom, I didn't procrastinate the goals by writing this blog---I actually revised my goals before I began the post!
Now, off to tidy up the room a little before Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in 45 minutes.
Oremus pro invicem...
--KPL
With the start of the Academic Year comes the inception of the REGULAR NAC Schedule! We will finally have a "normal" routine and not be living week to week (sometime day to day) by a slightly different schedule. With the School Year schedule, Morning Prayer/Mass is at 6:15 AM. For someone who has trouble falling to sleep at night, such as myself, it is going to be very difficult to get into a routine of waking up at 5:30 am. After Mass we, naturally, have breakfast. Then it's ready-set-go and en route for the ~30 min walk to school for classes.
The European University system has differences that those who studied at American Schools aren't accustomed to, and may find strange (though it could just be me!). For starters, there was a BELL to start classes. I felt like I was in high school again with that long, annoying bell! Secondly--the class period, though split into two "periods" is really 90 minutes with a 15 minute break halfway. Today I had two classes spread over 4 "periods" (8:30-12:15) Next--we, the students, stayed in the same classroom, and it was the professor who changed rooms...the other difference that I've prejudged as a negative for my learning style is that we have ONE exam at the end of the semester that determines our grade. Oh, and it's a spoken exam. (Typically these can be done in English, I've heard)
My two classes today were supposed to be "Synoptic Gospels and Acts of the Apostles" and "Church History: Ancient and Medieval". I'm sure the italics indicated that this was not the case. Our professor for "Revelation and Transmission" (W/F) came in and let us know that for today only he switched with the Church History professor, who had something come up outside of Rome...(OH OH!! Another difference!! In American that typically means a cancelled class, not a switched class for the same time a different day!)
Despite my earnest effort to pay attention, my mind started concentrating more on the Italian words I didn't know, rather than trying to focus on the context of what the professor was saying and figuring it out from there. It also didn't help that I was very tired. A little math lesson: Lack of attention + little bit of boredom + sleep deprivation = NAP time. Just as I started dozing off our professor said (in Italian) "Your bishop sending you to Rome changed your life!"...To which 1) I woke up and 2) Most of us agreed with and laughed. Then he said something like "You could have remained in MASSACHUSETTS...but" and I was taken so aback by his mentioning of MY home state that I didn't hear the rest of his sentence...but of ALL the places to mention from around the world...he chose MA!? It very much captured my sentiment though!
Kevin qua Kevin, I was dissecting the day on my walk back to the NAC--trying to stay positive, but leaning towards focusing on the negative. I was reflecting over the past almost 3 months away from home (which I'm sure you all know is the longest period of time I've ever been out of Massachusetts), what has been very hard to adjust to, what I like, what I absolutely hate, how I'm feeling, etc. I was trying to make sense of what was running though my head and put it into a comprehensible sentence that I can talk with my Spiritual Director with...when all of a sudden I passed this girl wearing a t-shirt that expressed EXACTLY what I've been thinking for the past 3 months. Her shirt said "I just feel lost". DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!
The rest of my 15 minute walk back to the NAC, and then during the Rosary in the Chapel before lunch I was thinking about it. My head really hasn't stopped spinning since July 15th. Though the intense feeling of being overwhelmed has passed, and I am familiar (enough) with my surroundings now, there's still a lack of something. I haven't yet been able to put my finger on it, but seeing that girls shirt I said to myself "Yes! That sums up how I am feeling. I just feel lost." Thank God this week I will have my first meeting with MY spiritual director. I've met with a couple spiritual directors (mainly during my silent retreat)--but this is the one who I am assigned to. This is the Spiritual Director that the Church has given to me. I am SO anxious to begin meeting with this priest (who FTR, was a classmate of my former SD, Fr. Barber. They entered the Jesuits the same day many moons ago!). I am very much looking forward to getting to know him, and working with him. Say a quick prayer for him...he doesn't know what he's about to get hit with!
With the start of the Academic Year comes "goals and objectives"! I sat with my FA earlier with my draft of goals and we talked about them and he sent me on my way to edit and re-send before next Monday's deadline. No mom, I didn't procrastinate the goals by writing this blog---I actually revised my goals before I began the post!
Now, off to tidy up the room a little before Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in 45 minutes.
Oremus pro invicem...
--KPL
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