Keeping Busy
I'm sorry to have whetted your appetites and then not to have followed through on more frequent and regular posts. However, I've been utterly occupied with reading and thinking. And translating my notes into blog posts (for my academic blog) is more labor intensive than I suspected.
I've also been busy with a few regular extracurricular activities. Every Wednesday I attend a dinner and prayer meeting with various other calvinist international students (and, happily, a few orthodox Lutherans join us). Although, midweek is so hectic, we're thinking about moving it to Friday nights.
Thursdays are packed. After classes, there is a department social (which I'm at this very moment... it just started) every other week. And each Thursday evening I attend a philosophical discussion at the "student chaplaincy." The Thursday evenings when there is no department social, I'll attend a dinner at the chaplaincy before discussion.
Anyway, I hope to post on my thesis topic in the near future. Of course, there have been more unscheduled social activities --for instance, I attend a performance of Carmina Burana at the university Cultural Center this past Saturday-- but I haven't found such things truly "blogsome." But I will try to include more of them to satisfy your curiosity.
9.29.2005
9.19.2005
It's Pronounced: OW-len-shtay-duh
Just in case you want to send me care packages and such, here's my new postal address:
Uilenstede 102 E-2040
1183 AM Amstelveen
Nederland
This is my apartment building: backyard canal, front courtyard with bikes, side view of the courtyard. In reference to downtown (or "centrum" as they call it), I'm located at the red star on this map. That's about as far as St.Agnes Hospital on the southwest side is from Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Anyway, I'm just checking in with ya'. Things are going quite well. I'm really, really enjoying classes (see note below for more info). I deleted the blogger comment system from my academic blog because I was tired of the spam and lame interface. Haloscan should be more convenient.
NOTE: new post at Reformatorische on 21 Sept.
Just in case you want to send me care packages and such, here's my new postal address:
Uilenstede 102 E-2040
1183 AM Amstelveen
Nederland
This is my apartment building: backyard canal, front courtyard with bikes, side view of the courtyard. In reference to downtown (or "centrum" as they call it), I'm located at the red star on this map. That's about as far as St.Agnes Hospital on the southwest side is from Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Anyway, I'm just checking in with ya'. Things are going quite well. I'm really, really enjoying classes (see note below for more info). I deleted the blogger comment system from my academic blog because I was tired of the spam and lame interface. Haloscan should be more convenient.
NOTE: new post at Reformatorische on 21 Sept.
9.01.2005
The Travel Blog
Finally, through the extensive help of this fellow named Yahp, I was able to connect to the wireless on campus. I also thank Shawn for loaning me his pass code. In short, I arrived safe and more-or-less sound.
Monday 15 aug 11:58am Wash,D.C.
Jeff dropped me off at Reagan without much trouble. I was able to check my bag and pass through security without delay. My flight leaves in about an hour. Right now, I'm preoccupied with a nasty head-cold which developed last night. Runny nose and wicked sore throat. Very, very annoying... but I guess it could be worse. I'm just praying it doesn't last. I don't want to spend my first week under the weather.
Monday 15 aug 5:18pm New York
The flight from DC to New York was delayed. When I finally got to JFK, I jumped on the wrong train and had to loop all the way back around to get to the correct terminal. Thankfully, the layover was long enough to keep me from missing the flight to Shannon. Now they're saying this plane is also delayed. Looks like we're due to depart at 7:30-ish. That will probably put me in Ireland around 7am tomorrow morning. Can't breathe through my nose. I feel slightly dizzy and chilled. Wish I could have a smoke.
Tuesday 16 aug 9:13am Shannon
Somehow the flight arrived in Ireland on the original schedule (6:10am). The cramped seats were terrible, and I'm only feeling worse. But I've managed to avoid fainting. I'm now on the bus to Cork. There is painful pressure in my ears that I can't alleviate and I'm virtually deaf. Anyway the bus ticket was 15euro. I hope Gary answers his phone when I call him in Cork. At least it's not very cold as all my jackets are packed away.
Thursday 18 aug 6:08am Cork
I'm feeling much better now. Gary picked me up at the bus station with no problems. I took a hot shower, had something to eat, took some pseudoephed, and gradually my hearing returned, and my cold began to weaken. The past two days were very enjoyable. I met several of my brother's friends and we had a good time going about town and listening to music in a pub on Tuesday. All of Gary's friends were very hospitable and we stayed up til 5am. Wednesday was more subdued. Now I'm at the airport just about to board for the Netherlands.
Wednesday 24 aug 11:27pm Amsterdam
After arriving at the Amsterdam airport on the 18th at 9:30-ish, I took a taxi to the housing-campus in Amstelveen, which is a 5 minute tram ride south of the University. After dropping off my bags at my apartment, I went to the VU and checked in with the department secretary. I met a theology student from Canada and his Texan-born wife, and a computer science student from California who is my upstairs neighbor. That evening the four of us went downtown for dinner. Since then I've met several more international theology students, and other neighbors, but no one from my program yet. I think my cold is now passed. Thank the Lord. Today I bought a European plug for my computer. I'm expecting to hear from my director soon, then I will register and get a university internet pass code. Unfortunately, there is no wireless in the dorms. Until orientation starts we are simply getting settled, adjusting and familiarizing ourselves with the city. I can't wait for classes to begin.
The Church Search
Sunday 28 aug 5:19pm
Last Lordsday I visited a liberal Dutch protestant church which used to be reformed. Surprisingly enough I thought I understood the crux of the sermon and it seemed quite good... but perhaps it was only my imagined translation. This morning I visited the historic English Reformed Church in Amsterdam, and the sermon --in plain English-- was awful. The congregation was established in 1607 and many of my Pilgrim Fathers worshiped here during their sojourn. Today the church has relations with the liberal Church of Scotland. In any case, I intend to call the Vrijgemaakt (liberated) reformed church (related to the Can/Am Reformed in North America) and the Christelijke (or Afscheiding: secession) reformed church (related to the Free Reformed in North America) and ask if they have any services in English. As far as I understand, these are the remaining orthodox Calvinist churches here in the NL. If they don't have any English services, I will probably be attending services in Dutch, and "house-churching" in the evenings with any other confessionally reformed English-speaking students I can find.
Thursday 1 sept 1:17pm
I discovered that the Vrijgemaakt churches are somewhat liberal in this area. That is, they have non-regulative / "unliturgical" worship. I was told that there is a splinter group from the Vrijgemaakt called the Nederlands reformed, but I could not ascertain whether they are really more orthodox (I'm not sure if this has any connection to Joel Beeke's church). I was also told that within the liberal protestant church, there remains an orthodox faction called the Bond and that I might find theological kinship there. But in my "sectarian" mindset, I can't see the prudence of orthodox congregations remaining in a liberal church. Anyway, I met a girl from the Afscheiding church, and I may attend her congregation this next Lordsday.
Orientation
Yesterday afternoon we had an introductory meeting for our program. There are several Dutch students in the program. The only other international students who arrived are one guy and one girl from China. At least two others, one from Romania and the other from India, have yet to arrive. There may also be another American coming. The Chinese fellow, who we call Frank, is a 76th generation descendant of Confucius, and an avid Go player, which I'm very happy about. He was humored by my fondness for Li Po (which he says is properly pronounced 'bay,' not 'po'). Anyway, I'm only more excited about my studies here, and can't wait for classes to start on Monday. I have been somewhat discouraged with the amount of bureaucracy, however. There is an extensive re-organization taking place in the University, and no one seems to know what is going on or what I need to do to actually register for classes. I've been to a dozen different administrative offices. But I was assured by my professors that this will not prevent me from beginning the course. It does prevent me from getting my university computer pass code, which is why I have been unable to post these entries on my blog. Happily, I did obtain a temporary library card.
Finally, through the extensive help of this fellow named Yahp, I was able to connect to the wireless on campus. I also thank Shawn for loaning me his pass code. In short, I arrived safe and more-or-less sound.
Monday 15 aug 11:58am Wash,D.C.
Jeff dropped me off at Reagan without much trouble. I was able to check my bag and pass through security without delay. My flight leaves in about an hour. Right now, I'm preoccupied with a nasty head-cold which developed last night. Runny nose and wicked sore throat. Very, very annoying... but I guess it could be worse. I'm just praying it doesn't last. I don't want to spend my first week under the weather.
Monday 15 aug 5:18pm New York
The flight from DC to New York was delayed. When I finally got to JFK, I jumped on the wrong train and had to loop all the way back around to get to the correct terminal. Thankfully, the layover was long enough to keep me from missing the flight to Shannon. Now they're saying this plane is also delayed. Looks like we're due to depart at 7:30-ish. That will probably put me in Ireland around 7am tomorrow morning. Can't breathe through my nose. I feel slightly dizzy and chilled. Wish I could have a smoke.
Tuesday 16 aug 9:13am Shannon
Somehow the flight arrived in Ireland on the original schedule (6:10am). The cramped seats were terrible, and I'm only feeling worse. But I've managed to avoid fainting. I'm now on the bus to Cork. There is painful pressure in my ears that I can't alleviate and I'm virtually deaf. Anyway the bus ticket was 15euro. I hope Gary answers his phone when I call him in Cork. At least it's not very cold as all my jackets are packed away.
Thursday 18 aug 6:08am Cork
I'm feeling much better now. Gary picked me up at the bus station with no problems. I took a hot shower, had something to eat, took some pseudoephed, and gradually my hearing returned, and my cold began to weaken. The past two days were very enjoyable. I met several of my brother's friends and we had a good time going about town and listening to music in a pub on Tuesday. All of Gary's friends were very hospitable and we stayed up til 5am. Wednesday was more subdued. Now I'm at the airport just about to board for the Netherlands.
Wednesday 24 aug 11:27pm Amsterdam
After arriving at the Amsterdam airport on the 18th at 9:30-ish, I took a taxi to the housing-campus in Amstelveen, which is a 5 minute tram ride south of the University. After dropping off my bags at my apartment, I went to the VU and checked in with the department secretary. I met a theology student from Canada and his Texan-born wife, and a computer science student from California who is my upstairs neighbor. That evening the four of us went downtown for dinner. Since then I've met several more international theology students, and other neighbors, but no one from my program yet. I think my cold is now passed. Thank the Lord. Today I bought a European plug for my computer. I'm expecting to hear from my director soon, then I will register and get a university internet pass code. Unfortunately, there is no wireless in the dorms. Until orientation starts we are simply getting settled, adjusting and familiarizing ourselves with the city. I can't wait for classes to begin.
The Church Search
Sunday 28 aug 5:19pm
Last Lordsday I visited a liberal Dutch protestant church which used to be reformed. Surprisingly enough I thought I understood the crux of the sermon and it seemed quite good... but perhaps it was only my imagined translation. This morning I visited the historic English Reformed Church in Amsterdam, and the sermon --in plain English-- was awful. The congregation was established in 1607 and many of my Pilgrim Fathers worshiped here during their sojourn. Today the church has relations with the liberal Church of Scotland. In any case, I intend to call the Vrijgemaakt (liberated) reformed church (related to the Can/Am Reformed in North America) and the Christelijke (or Afscheiding: secession) reformed church (related to the Free Reformed in North America) and ask if they have any services in English. As far as I understand, these are the remaining orthodox Calvinist churches here in the NL. If they don't have any English services, I will probably be attending services in Dutch, and "house-churching" in the evenings with any other confessionally reformed English-speaking students I can find.
Thursday 1 sept 1:17pm
I discovered that the Vrijgemaakt churches are somewhat liberal in this area. That is, they have non-regulative / "unliturgical" worship. I was told that there is a splinter group from the Vrijgemaakt called the Nederlands reformed, but I could not ascertain whether they are really more orthodox (I'm not sure if this has any connection to Joel Beeke's church). I was also told that within the liberal protestant church, there remains an orthodox faction called the Bond and that I might find theological kinship there. But in my "sectarian" mindset, I can't see the prudence of orthodox congregations remaining in a liberal church. Anyway, I met a girl from the Afscheiding church, and I may attend her congregation this next Lordsday.
Orientation
Yesterday afternoon we had an introductory meeting for our program. There are several Dutch students in the program. The only other international students who arrived are one guy and one girl from China. At least two others, one from Romania and the other from India, have yet to arrive. There may also be another American coming. The Chinese fellow, who we call Frank, is a 76th generation descendant of Confucius, and an avid Go player, which I'm very happy about. He was humored by my fondness for Li Po (which he says is properly pronounced 'bay,' not 'po'). Anyway, I'm only more excited about my studies here, and can't wait for classes to start on Monday. I have been somewhat discouraged with the amount of bureaucracy, however. There is an extensive re-organization taking place in the University, and no one seems to know what is going on or what I need to do to actually register for classes. I've been to a dozen different administrative offices. But I was assured by my professors that this will not prevent me from beginning the course. It does prevent me from getting my university computer pass code, which is why I have been unable to post these entries on my blog. Happily, I did obtain a temporary library card.
8.12.2005
The Next Blog
As I gear up to leave for Amsterdam on the 15th, I decided to set up a separate blog for potential studies related posts. I'll probably note here when I've posted there... so you'll be sure not to miss a single word. Go To REFORMATORISCHE.
In other news, I've secured housing not far from the University. Moving the majority of my earthly belongings into storage went smoothly. And I am so ready to go. I've never been readier.
As I gear up to leave for Amsterdam on the 15th, I decided to set up a separate blog for potential studies related posts. I'll probably note here when I've posted there... so you'll be sure not to miss a single word. Go To REFORMATORISCHE.
In other news, I've secured housing not far from the University. Moving the majority of my earthly belongings into storage went smoothly. And I am so ready to go. I've never been readier.
8.10.2005
Belated Bye-Bye To B&N
Thanks to all my co-workers and managers at the Pikesville Barnes&Noble bookstore. After working there for about a year and a half, I can say it was one of the more pleasant jobs I've ever had (thanks to you) and thus, the longest period I've been employed at any particular business.
It is regrettable that our friendships didn't extend much outside of work, but I am truly grateful for the magnanimity and humor you brought to our co-labors. And it was always a relief to have sympathetic ears about difficult customers.
I hope you will continue to check back for updates on my progress over the next year. Several of you suggested you might email me and/or come for a visit. I would be so pleased if you did! Contact Brad if you've lost my info.
[notice: This post was made from my new laptop!]
Thanks to all my co-workers and managers at the Pikesville Barnes&Noble bookstore. After working there for about a year and a half, I can say it was one of the more pleasant jobs I've ever had (thanks to you) and thus, the longest period I've been employed at any particular business.
It is regrettable that our friendships didn't extend much outside of work, but I am truly grateful for the magnanimity and humor you brought to our co-labors. And it was always a relief to have sympathetic ears about difficult customers.
I hope you will continue to check back for updates on my progress over the next year. Several of you suggested you might email me and/or come for a visit. I would be so pleased if you did! Contact Brad if you've lost my info.
[notice: This post was made from my new laptop!]
7.13.2005
The Rush And Push
Long, weary story short... no convenient web access of late. However, in the Lord's gracious providence, He has made the bulk of my funding for school available (although any additional support is welcome and will be put to neccessary use). I am tremendously relieved... beyond words. So, a few more weeks of work, then packing belongings for storage, then off to the VU on the 15th of August (with a day's detour in Cork to see my brother). I'll have a week or so before class starts to find a place to live [DV].
The support of family and friends during this hectic transition means a great deal. Thank you all. More trials remain ahead, I'm sure. I'll keep you posted.
Long, weary story short... no convenient web access of late. However, in the Lord's gracious providence, He has made the bulk of my funding for school available (although any additional support is welcome and will be put to neccessary use). I am tremendously relieved... beyond words. So, a few more weeks of work, then packing belongings for storage, then off to the VU on the 15th of August (with a day's detour in Cork to see my brother). I'll have a week or so before class starts to find a place to live [DV].
The support of family and friends during this hectic transition means a great deal. Thank you all. More trials remain ahead, I'm sure. I'll keep you posted.
6.14.2005
Paid Vacation
After working at the bookstore for over a year, I merited some vacation pay... a first for me. So, the first weekend of June, courtesy of a friend's frequent flier miles and superb hospitality, I flew out to Los Angeles. The first thing I did was drive to the nearest In-N-Out and enjoyed the best un-fastfood in the universe.
I really enjoyed the live performance of Prairie Home Companion at the Hollywood Bowl. The air was a bit crisp, but we had wine and cheese and performances by the Old Crow Medicine Show, among others. Phenomenal.
The rest of my time in LA was dinners and cookouts with old friends and new acquaintances. I'm generally not a fan of the westcoast, but I hated to leave.
Upon my return, I eased back into work by filling in for our community relations manager. I setup and enjoyed a local author discussion and signing with Catherine Rogers Arthur, curator of the Homewood House. Wish I could afford to attend the Evening of Traditional Beverages.
After working at the bookstore for over a year, I merited some vacation pay... a first for me. So, the first weekend of June, courtesy of a friend's frequent flier miles and superb hospitality, I flew out to Los Angeles. The first thing I did was drive to the nearest In-N-Out and enjoyed the best un-fastfood in the universe.
I really enjoyed the live performance of Prairie Home Companion at the Hollywood Bowl. The air was a bit crisp, but we had wine and cheese and performances by the Old Crow Medicine Show, among others. Phenomenal.
The rest of my time in LA was dinners and cookouts with old friends and new acquaintances. I'm generally not a fan of the westcoast, but I hated to leave.
Upon my return, I eased back into work by filling in for our community relations manager. I setup and enjoyed a local author discussion and signing with Catherine Rogers Arthur, curator of the Homewood House. Wish I could afford to attend the Evening of Traditional Beverages.
5.27.2005
Top Worldwide Destination
Frommer's placed Charm City on its recent top 10 summer 2005 travel destinations.
(that's all. just wanted to brag.)
Frommer's placed Charm City on its recent top 10 summer 2005 travel destinations.
(that's all. just wanted to brag.)
5.24.2005
Intro To Transcendental Critique
Roy Clouser's The Myth of Religious Neutrality has recently appeared in a new revised edition by Notre Dame Press. This work is the best introduction to the foundation of Dooyeweerdianism available in the English language. I can't recommend it highly enough. See a comment on the first edition here.
Also, check out the Roy Clouser Pages. I particularly recommmend his article "Is God Eternal?".
Roy Clouser's The Myth of Religious Neutrality has recently appeared in a new revised edition by Notre Dame Press. This work is the best introduction to the foundation of Dooyeweerdianism available in the English language. I can't recommend it highly enough. See a comment on the first edition here.
Also, check out the Roy Clouser Pages. I particularly recommmend his article "Is God Eternal?".
5.18.2005
Shameless Self-Promotion
If you haven't heard the news, I was recently accepted to a Masters program in philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam. I am tremendously excited about it, but the funding is still up in the air. Please consider an endorsement from Gideon Strauss, and pass it on to other possibly interested parties.
[Gideon is director of education and research at the Christian Labour Association of Canada; a senior fellow of the Work Research Foundation, and editor of Comment]
If you haven't heard the news, I was recently accepted to a Masters program in philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam. I am tremendously excited about it, but the funding is still up in the air. Please consider an endorsement from Gideon Strauss, and pass it on to other possibly interested parties.
[Gideon is director of education and research at the Christian Labour Association of Canada; a senior fellow of the Work Research Foundation, and editor of Comment]
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