dallas

im finally here and getting into a schedule. mom, leah and i left pa on friday morning after great efforts to pack all my stuff into the camry along with their 4 suitcases. we were pretty tired all that day but we drove about 13 hours. we stopped somewhere after nashville. the next day we took easier and stopped around 5pm at the lovely town of texarkana. i love that name. its ridiculous sounding, right on the border of texas and- you guessed it- arkansas. we met my great aunt and uncle for lunch in tyler, tx and then drove to dallas.

the GIAL campus is much different than i expected. its very green and looks like a jungle (sounds and feels like one too with the heat and cicadas). im actually living in duncanville, a sorta sub-city southwest of dallas. its very different living in a city, well i havent actually taken advantage of it yet. ive been on campus the last couple of days but there is a lot of things to do that arent that far away. thats different for me. ive always been at least a 2o min drive from anything. there is a starbucks and restaurants and malls and theaters within a couple minutes. now if i can only make time to go to these places... today was the first day of class and i spent quite awhile doing homework. i was a bit distracted, but i just finished.

mom and leah stayed in the dorm (different room) until tuesday morning. we went out and they helped me get some last minute things and we ate out too. it was nice having them aroudn but i was a little stressed about getting everything done. i cant get over the fact that it will be a really long time before i see them, six months. eventually i will be leaving everyone for 2 or 4 years at a time. i try not to think about that. my roommate, emily, was already set up when i got here. it was nice to get to know her a little before class got started. the wierd thing is there are only about 5 other girls and 6 guys in the dorm. we didnt see any of them until tuesday.

our room is pretty big (taylor people, think bergwall) and nicely frigid. we keep it cold. its a nice contrast when you walk in from the heat. we have our own bathroom, 3 huge closets and a porch balcony thing. its also very well lit, a welcome difference from gerig. there are about 50 students in the certificate program, about half of them doing the 'mod20' program. that means we're taking the whole 27 credit in 20 weeks. the rest are doing it over 2 bimesters. that would be twice the room and board-yuck. there will be more students coming for the graduate programs next month and we might have a few more students in the dorm. a lot of students have various apartments and there are even mobile homes some share, but i think the dorm is the best option. we're right on campus, so its close to the library and classes. we get free dsl and 10 meals a week for practically nothing. thats good for me, i dont cook. the dorm is really nice with a large lounge and kitchen (dishwasher!)

i met my personnel administrator (kind of advisor/admin contact for Wycliffe) today for the first time. before i just talked to her over the phone and email since her office is here on campus. that was cool being able to talk to her normally. im getting excited, i only have about a month before we start talking about possible assignments and parts of the world i might go to. im still apprehensive about raising a support team but i have to remember what God has done for me to get me this far.