Post Graduation Thoughts

May 18, 2013 – my last day at Erskine College as a student…

It’s hard to believe that four years went by so quickly. It’s all so bittersweet. I guess the saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” is accurate. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Erskine. Sure it started out a little rough, but over the years I grew quite fond of Erskine and the community there. I left Erskine with tears in my eyes because I realized just how blessed I have been. I received a fully funded college education. I made life-long friendships with students and faculty and staff. I traveled to Europe with the Choraleers. I traveled to China during J-Term with Dr. Grier and Dr. Chaney and students from various departments. I met outstanding alumni who helped me find internships and jobs. I further developed my talents and skills. I was given several opportunities to be a student leader.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

– Luke 12:48

I was given four years at Erskine to grow academically and spiritually. I gave back to Erskine as much as I could. But all of my accomplishments and accolades aren’t of importance. Over the years, people will eventually forget what I’ve done. My only prayer is that I left a legacy that reflects back on Christ more than it reflects back on me.

As a student, there were times when I complained about Erskine and got tired of the school and church politics. I got caught up in the rumor mill. I talked about things I didn’t fully understand. But I implore current students to realize just how much of a blessing the Erskine community can truly be. It’s not a utopia of higher learning, but it is a fine institution. You will be pushed academically, but that will prepare you for your future endeavors. You will be nurtured spiritually, but that will help you define what you believe and why you believe it. You will be given opportunities to lead, but that will teach you how to deal with people from different backgrounds.

Above all, you will make friendships that will last a lifetime. You may meet your future spouse. If not, you’ll at least meet your future bridesmaids and groomsmen. You will meet professors that actually care about your well-being. They will push you to succeed not only in the classroom, but in life! We have a tight-knit community and many times it’s seen as a curse instead of a blessing.

Choose to see it as a blessing. Choose to focus on excelling academically, growing spiritually, and reaching out socially. Squeeze that Erskine education for all it’s worth! Then, when your day of commencement comes, you will be able to walk underneath the towers (I’m still a little bitter that I had to graduate in the gym…) with a smile on your face, knowing that you grew as a person and are adequately equipped to take on the world and impact the Kingdom.

Under the Towers

Choraleers Friends

Magna Cum Laude

Easter travels, part IV: Praha (continued)

I just couldn’t wait to share more photographs of the lovely city of Prague with you!  Especially when the alternative is to continue revising.  I think I deserve a break, right?

Inside the Katedrála St. Víta (St. Vitus’ Cathedral), the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. I keep using the same adjectives to describe the cathedrals of Europe, but each of them is truly magnificent. Work on this one began in 1344. What history!

There was an entrance fee to go past where the rope is, just before the pews begin.  This broke my heart, because I’ve never heard of their being an entry fee to a house of worship.  This opened my eyes to the lack of widespread, strong faith in the Czech people.  I’m not certain why this is, but I’m glad that there is still a Christan presence and that the government is still committed to preserving this magnificent cathedral.

I was stunned by the view of morning sunlight streaming through this stained glass window in St. Vitus, overlaying the wall next to it with vivid colours.

Bazilika Sv. Jiří (St. George’s Basilica). I don’t think I have ever seen a church painted such a vivid colour before; I love it! This was originally built in 920, expanded in 973, and rebuilt following fire in 1142.

This was the street sign for a pedestrian crossing; every time we saw one I grinned, because it reminded me of Billy Joel’s song, “Piano Man.” All I can see when I look at it is a man dancing on giant piano keys!

The next place we explored was the Karlův Most, or Charles Bridge, which was built in 1357!  This is the most famous bridge in Prague; dozens of beautiful old statues, many of saints, line the entire bridge for pedestrians.  Local artists and craftsmen dot the entire length, displaying and selling their work.  I stopped at many of them to admire the jewelry, paintings, or other pieces, and everyone I talked to was quite friendly whether they spoke English or not.  Fortunately, I at least know how to say hello, good day, please, and thank you in Czech [thanks to my wonderful voice teacher at Erskine, Ms. Svatonova, a native of Prague]!

A collage of a dozen of the statues that line the Karlův Most.  Scott laughed at me because I spent several minutes in front of every single statue admiring it.

This bridge had a place specifically for lovers to add a lock, just like the bridge in Paris. I love seeing symbols of love like this!

Despite how little sleep I had the previous two nights, how long I had already been awake, and how cold I was, I was still so excited to see everything! This is at one end of the bridge, near a super old tower.

This was my favourite part of the bridge. It dates to 1628.

A series of plaques in English, Hebrew, and Czech beside The Calvary explains the Hebrew on the statue:
” The addition to the statue of the Hebrew inscription and the explanatory texts from 1696 is the result of improper court proceedings against Elias Backoffen, who was accused of debasing the Holy Cross. The additon of the Hebrew inscripton of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Holy, holy, holy is our Lord of the multitude,” which represent a very important expression of faith in the Jewish tradition, was intended to humiliate the Jewish community.”

A detail of the crucifix. This photograph brings tears to my eyes nearly every time I see it; I can’t explain why but it really touched me.

This was my second favourite part of the bridge.

The Latin inscription underneath this reads,
“O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte, si est dolor sicut dolor meus.”

We finally made it to the other side of the bridge! It probably took us an hour in total to make it across, mostly thanks to me taking so much time to look at everything. It was entirely worth it though!

Scott and I had a late lunch at Lokal, which gave me heart-shaped sugar…cubes?…with my drink. The waiter was super friendly, recommending good combinations of traditional food. I had fried cheese with homemade tartar sauce and a side of buttered potatoes. Sounds like an odd combination but it was delicious!

This is the restaurant we ate at, Lokal, which boasts of being the narrowest restaurant in Prague. I believe them! I took this standing several metres in from the front door, looking toward the back.

The façade of a building in Prague (not certain which one, though I know where it was). Almost all of the older buildings were ornate like this and often quite colourful.

I have so many more photographs and stories to share with you, but I need to spend some time revising before our hall’s Valedictory dinner this evening.  I was sort of nominated to give a speech, so that will definitely be improvised.  We’ll see how it goes!  I am looking forward to it though.  I also want to wish a huge congratulations to all of the 4th year students at Erskine who finished their last undergraduate classes today!  I wish you all the best as you finish out your semester and take your final exams.  Less than 10 days left! I am praying for you all.

Easter holiday, part III: Praha

Good afternoon! I am quite a happy panda right now, as I submitted my final paper for the semester yesterday.  I still have loads of revising to do, but I am taking a bit of a break to…write more?!  Yep, that’s accurate.  But I am so excited to share more photos of my travels with you, so I will continue where I left off!

The next leg of our holiday travels was an overnight bus–yes, the second in as many days–from Paris to Prague.  This bus was through a company called Student Agency.  We dozed off and on through the evening and into the night; it was fun hearing all of the announcements in three languages.  I think the worst part of the trip, though, was arriving in Prague almost an hour earlier than scheduled.  So instead of arriving around 6.30 AM, we arrived at 5.40 AM at a rather ugly bus station.  I won’t speak for Scott, but I was half asleep, freezing, and hungry; and between the two of us we still spoke few words of Czech.  To be honest, my first impression of the city was not a very positive one.  This was exacerbated by our first adventure in the city.

Our first goal in Prague was to find our way to the train station to store our luggage for the day.  Unfortunately, we had but a faint idea of how to get to the train station.  Using that faint idea, we set off in that direction.  It was still well before 7AM and there were few people on the streets, but we came upon a kindly looking older woman.  She spoke no English but we pointed to the map and asked the name of the train station (pronouncing it as well as we could).  She smiled broadly and started talking excitedly in Czech, pointing the way for us.  We thanked her as best we could and set off again.

After walking for awhile, we spotted in the distance a building that looked like it could possibly be a train station.  We headed toward that, our spirits somewhat lifted.  Upon getting closer, however, I became a bit uneasy.  We crossed the tram tracks and neared an old, pale green building behind what appeared to be an abandoned fairground.  Beside it was the edge of a wooded park which was silent except for the footsteps of a passing runner.  Despite a protestations from me, we started up a long drive around to the building.  As we got closer, we realised for sure that we were in the wrong place.  The green building was the zoo, not the train station.  The entire situation honestly seemed like the opening scene of a horror film, and I was quite glad to be getting back to civilisation!  We stopped to re-consult the map at the nearest tram stop and realised we had veered off at some point in the wrong direction.  Luckily, we found a kind young man who spoke English and pointed us along the right way.

After we finally got our luggage stored and some money converted, we headed up the hill to the Castle and Cathedral.  We got there  before 8 AM, in perfect time to see the changing of the guard at the hour.  We were the only people on the square apart from those working in the Castle and surrounding buildings and the sun was still coming up!

I will tell about the rest of the day in the photographs below as well as in the following blog post.  A few of the photos were taken by Scott.

The sun was still rising as we walked the last bit up the hill to enter the Castle gates. This is looking toward Katedrála St. Víta, or St. Vitus Cathedral.

 

The courtyard of Pražský hrad, or Prague Castle. It was so peaceful, cold, and beautiful!

We spent a good bit of time in this area in front of the Castle gates, just taking everything in. I have seen few sunrises as pretty.

 

This is the best photo we got of the flag that flies over the Castle.

Of course, I had to pose with one of the royal guards! We later heard one that was off-duty giving directions to some tourists. Scott and I were trying to imagine how cold they must be, standing there for an hour at a time in literally freezing temperatures. We were so cold ourselves, and able to move around! Their noses were quite red by the end of the hour, bless them.

Scott and I spent about an hour walking around Castle Hill, admiring the buildings and views and finding so many interesting places along the way.  I couldn’t tell you how many photographs I took, and it was quite difficult deciding which to share.

This was probably my favourite view of Praha the entire day! I love everything about this picture, from the red roofs and bits of snow to the church steeples and the hills in the distance.

One of the churches in the area around Castle Hill. The Czech Republic as a whole is not very religious, but Scott and I enjoyed spending a bit of time in every church we visited praying. It was an awesome experience!

 

Vojenský kostel sv. Jana Nepomuckého (military church of St. Jan Nepomuk);
This was a smaller church but quite lovely. It was early enough that Scott and I were the only ones in there, which was nice. This is perhaps one of the most peaceful churches I have ever been fortunate enough to spend time in.

I think this post is long enough, so look for more photographs in the next post! xx

Easter holiday travels, part II: Paris, continued

As promised, here are some more photographs of our time in Paris.  We had a great, if mostly cloudy, day walking around the city.  The Louvre and surrounding grounds were absolutely gorgeous and we saw several interesting characters, including a man making absolutely massive bubbles in front of the building pictured just below; a nice gentleman who was quite set on drawing a portrait of me which we politely declined; and a dispersed group of Africans trying to sell us miniature Eiffel Towers, each of whom was offering them for different prices.

We spent a lot of time walking around outside the Louvre. I was astounded by the size of it all! I only wish that we had had time to go inside.

A close-up of the façade of part of a Louvre building.

Posing in front of the famous Louvre pyramid

Le Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, on the Louvre grounds: every bit as impressive as the better-known Arc de Triomphe in my opinion (and definitely more colourful)!

After the Louvre we found our way to a wee bakery on a quaint side street called Le Pain Quotidien and bought ourselves a good bit of freshly baked French goods.  I am not ashamed to admit that all I ate the entire day was breads and goods from bakeries.  Scott was kind enough to film [another] video of me trying a new food: pain au chocolat!  Here is my reaction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGmcLGUgwkg

We saw several of these bridges around Europe. Couple write their names or initials, and the date, on a lock and throw the key into the river to symbolise that their love will never be broken. So romantic! There were thousands upon thousands of locks.

We visited 3 or 4 churches, and below are photos from two of them.

Scott posing in front of the Eglise Saint-Sulpice. We didn’t realise this was a church until we entered it–it certainly does not look like a traditional Catholic church from the outside. It was built during the reign of King Louis XIV.

This fountain stands outside of the Eglise Saint-Sulpice (Church of Saint Sulpice).

I am 5’5″. The doors are that immense!

A view from the doors, looking into the church; the photograph does not do it justice. I cannot find the words to explain how breathtaking it was.

I didn’t realise that Scott took a photo of me praying the rosary in front of the Lady Chapel. This was definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the church.

Chilling out with my countryman, the great Thomas Jefferson, in Paris! I was pretty excited to come across a statue of one of the first American Ministers to France.

We witnessed the beginning of a pro-regime Syrian protest in the middle of Paris.
The banner reads:
“Syria will always be fortified against penetration
As long as we believe in it.”
There were riot police EVERYWHERE.

The Medici Fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg

We saw little gardens on balconies (and roofs!) absolutely everywhere in the city. I loved seeing the green giving colour to the pretty old buildings!

Le Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris! One of the most famous cathedrals in the world, but every bit as beautiful as the others that we visited.

One of the chapels along the perimeter–marble statues.

The Chapel of Our Lady in Notre Dame. Can you tell that I really love Mary? All of the stained glass was gorgeous and so detailed.

Paris was absolutely incredible, and it was only the first of many cities we visited!  I have papers to write, but I promise to share more photographs and memories very soon!

In other news, it’s warmer in St. Andrews right now than it is in Due West!

Easter holiday travels, part I: London & Paris

I promised to tell you about my spring holiday adventures, and here they begin!  Our two full weeks of holiday began after classes on 15 March and I travelled from 16-29 March with my friend, Scott.  Six friends met us in Germany almost a week in, but that is for a later post.

The first leg of our trip began around 7.30AM on a Saturday (horrid time to be awake, I know) when we left our hall for the bus station.  We took a double-decker bus down to London [front-row view on the top deck!] and as we neared the English border we saw the first of a lot of snow on the trip!  This Southern lass was quite excited.  One exciting part of travelling with Stagecoach is that their buses have free WiFi access for passengers.  Chatting with friends and tweeting (and revising, of course!) make the time go much faster.  We truly are 21st century university students…

Me and Scott on the double-decker to London, early in the morning. We look much more awake than we felt!

The sky views we were treated to along the way (when it was not precipitating) were breathtaking!

We arrived in rainy London for a late dinner and then had a couple of hours to walk around before catching our next bus.  Scott, who used to live just outside of London, led the way to Buckingham Palace, which is quite impressive even at night.

Buckingham Palace at night–massive and beautiful!

posing in front of the Victoria Memorial, across from the palace.

That was about all we had time to see before we had to make our way back to the bus station.  The next leg of travelling was an overnight bus (single deck this time) to Paris.  Scott and I managed to get the front seats again (more leg room!) and spent the first quarter hour or so laughing because the bus driver was sarcastic and quite the joker.  After we settled in and set off, we tried to get some sleep.  Unfortunately, buses stop every few hours.  We also had to cross the Channel, which ended up being a bigger adventure than anticipated.  We arrived in Dover after 23.00 and, after going through border control (another passport stamp!), found out that we had to wait an extra couple of hours to cross on the ferry.   We all hung around in the terminal or on the bus in varying degrees of sleepiness.  Finally, a bit after 2.00,  we boarded the ferry.  Whatever idea I had in my head of the ferry was shattered when I realised how absolutely massive the ship we were on was.  There were hundreds of people on board; we all found a couch or window seat to curl up and nap on.  A couple of hours later we arrived in Calais, re-boarded the bus, and were on our way.

We arrived in Paris fairly early in the morning and Scott and I set off to explore Paris!  The fact that it was cloudy and a bit drizzly just added to the romance of the beautiful French city.  Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe, then we stored our luggage in the train station and continued our wanderings.  Following, and the next blog entry, are selected photographs from our day:

Le Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile on a rainy day. So impressive.  There is no way to cross the massive roundabout above ground, so there is a tunnel under the street to get to the centre.

Looking up…so many details over every bit of it!

Tomb of the unknown soldier, with an eternal flame. I was happy to see so many flowers and wreaths placed in memoriam.

Le Porte Saint-Denis in the middle of Paris; we saw so many gorgeous old detailed arches.

The Conseil d’Etat (Counsel of State)–a very impressive government building.

 

missing in action.

Happy…May Day?!?!

Time flies when you’re having fun; there’s no other way I can describe the past month! Several of my friends are on the hall committee, and consequently I’ve been involved in helping with some hall events recently.  I also spent the first three weeks of April rehearsing for a performance with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, which was an amazing experience.  I met dozens of fun, interesting, and incredibly talented people and got to formally sing for the first time this semester.  Though it was a bit hectic learning over a dozen songs in about 2.5 weeks, every moment was worth it.

The performance itself went so well–I was struck several times on- and off-stage by the energy and joy radiating from everyone in the cast.  I challenged myself musically, as I had previously sung very little G & S.  In addition to being a member of the chorus, I was Marta in “Do Re Mi” from The Sound of Music, Mona (“Lipschitz”) in “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago, and Edith in “Climbing Over Rocky Mountain” from Pirates of Penzance.  My biggest challenge, though, was getting ill a couple of days before dress rehearsal.  I woke up the morning of the performance with a cough and barely any voice; I proceeded to spend the entire day drinking tea, eating spoonfuls of honey, and trying not to talk.  It turned out so, well, though, and the audience was incredibly receptive and engaged.  Owl Eyes, the student magazine of St Andrews, published some photos here: http://www.owleyesmagazine.com/gallery/night-musicals.

A few days after the performance, I had a paper due for my Scottish Music module.  The day it was due was one of those gorgeous Scottish summer days that make all of the cold, rainy ones entirely worth it.  Unfortunately, I was stuck inside sick and trying to write a paper.  My academic dad decided that I needed a break from my essay, so he came over after dinner and brought Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and some excellent music.  We went outside and swing danced barefoot in the grass for about an hour, taking a break to enjoy some ice cream.  It was by far the best study break I’ve ever had!

I’m not sure that I’ve explained academic families yet, so let me do so now.  Academic families are a St Andrews tradition; upperclassmen (some starting in 2nd year, others in 3rd or 4th) “adopt” incoming freshers during the first weeks of classes.  JSAs and JYAs (Junior Semester or Year Abroads, aka study abroad students) often get adopted as well.  Some people adopt singly, others choose to adopt with a friend of the opposite sex like my “parents” did.  My mum is my English friend, Laura, who is going into her 2nd year as the president of Swing Dance Society.  She’s so wonderful!  My dad, as I mentioned above, is my Belgian friend, Lawrence, who is treasurer, and now vice president, of Swing Dance Society.  He’s pretty great, too.  I met both of them through dancing, and most of the time when I see them that’s what we’re doing!

Lawrence and Laura, my academic parents, swing dancing outside of the Library

another angle; we were selling tickets for our ‘600 Minutes of Swing’ Speakeasy.

Another highlight of April: I cooked, by myself, for the first time!  Though I’ve done a good amount of baking in my life, I never did much cooking before I came to St. Andrews.  But we have to fend for ourselves every Saturday and Sunday evening for dinner, so we do a lot of cooking in the hall together.  In the middle of a paper for psychology, I decided that my break would be to challenge myself and cook solo.  A friend picked up some groceries for me while in town and I made myself some chicken fajitas.  I was so surprised–they were delicious!! I wish I had access to more spices here, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (as did a few friends: I made way too much for just myself!).

My first time ever cooking by myself was a success!

I’m off to go meet with a professor, but I have so many more stories to tell you (like dancing for 10 hours straight)! And don’t worry, I promise I have not forgotten about sharing photos and stories from my Easter holiday travels.  I will write soon; it’s week 1 of revision and I know I will want study breaks!