Learning to Live Alone

As most of you know, this is the first time I've had an apartment and the first time I've lived alone. As most of you know, I'm not really the "alone" type so the past few days have been interesting. I cleaned my apartment several times, spent an entire day cooking various things, caught up on tv shows when my Internet was installed, applied for a job, and walked around the neighborhood.

Now, you may be thinking, "well that's great, you got so much done," but I still have an entire week until orientation begins. Luckily, one of my friends I met at General Conference paid me a visit the other day. We caught up, enjoyed the dinner I cooked, had a sleepover, and walked around Evanston.

Today, I got to meet my "companion" from Garrett's new program, "Companions on the Journey." It was designed to pair up incoming students with current students. My companion had been very helpful as I was preparing for seminary, so I was very excited to meet her. We went out for lunch with her boyfriend, a recent Garrett grad, and she made sure I was adjusting to the neighborhood ok. She also gave me different tips on how to get places (Target, the big grocery store, etc). I am really grateful to have her as my "companion" and she even lives in the same apartment complex I do.

So before you all worry that I'm having a hard time living alone, I'm actually doing alright. I know that in the next few months when the workload piles on, I will long for the days I had nothing to do. I'm very excited for school to start and to meet new people, but I'm just going to have to play the waiting game for now.

Last Full Day with the Fam

This morning we all got up and and took the El to the Holy Covenant UMC in Chicago. My pastor had suggested this church as her husband has been the pastor there when they lived in the area. The church was very welcoming and I even met the director of the praise ensemble I will be in at Garrett.

Today was one of those times that you knew God had put you in a place for a reason. The sermon at Holy Covenant was about intimacy in all types of relationships. The pastor giving the sermon was a single, heterosexual woman who laughed about how she was the one to preach on the verse in Ecclesiastes which talks about how "two are better than one." She spoke about the importance of building relationships and how God is with you to help you do that. She highlighted the fact that God made us to be people who need to be in relationships and community so we should not worry about being alone. This was extremely helpful to me as I have just moved halfway across the country and I do not know many people.

After the service, I met a couple of Garrett students who attended worship at Holy Covenant. They made me feel so welcomed and gave me tips for seminary. One of them included: "if you don't feel like you are a completely different person after the first semester, then you're not really getting anything out of seminary...Be prepared for your entire world to change beyond just moving to a new place." This seemed a little intense, but I'm prepared to be transformed in the love of Christ.

After church, we had lunch at Penny's Noodles (delicious pad thai) and then took the El to Wrigleyville. We walked around for awhile and then grabbed dinner at Las Palmas Mexican restaurant.

That basically concludes my last full day with my family before they leave tomorrow. On one hand, it will be nice to finally be on my own and get more settled into my apartment, but on the other hand I think I will miss them more than I realize (maybe after a few months haha).

Wiped Out

After two days on the road, moving into my apartment on the third floor with no elevator, and two days of walking around/exploring Evanston, I was officially wiped out today.

This morning, my mom and I had a delicious breakfast at the local bakery. Bennison's. We then went shopping at a place called "World Market," which is basically like Pier1. I got a few decorations for my apartment and then headed over to the Evanston Farmer's Market across the street. It was huge! There were all kinds of fresh vegetables, flowers, herbs, fruit, and more! I picked up a few fresh basil, oregano, and chive plants for my kitchen. I can already tell this is going to be a problem because I will HAVE to go back every Saturday now.

After we got back from our morning shopping, I started to notice that the allergies I had this morning were more like a cold. So, while the rest of my family went to Chicago, I decided to relax at my apartment (they were just doing touristy things I had already done anyway).

I spent the afternoon fixing up my kitchen and then took a much needed nap. When my family got back, we enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Noyes Street Cafe just down the street from my apartment.

Tomorrow, we will go into Chicago for church where my pastor's husband served while they lived in Evanston/Chicago. After that, my family is trying to plan their roadtrip back home to Massachusetts which could be tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning. Luckily, I have some plans with friends for this coming week so I shouldn't be too lonely after they leave.

A Lovely Day in Evanston

My mom and I started our day with a delicious breakfast at "Fraiche Cafe," right across the street from my apartment. We then went shopping for apartment supplies and groceries for over five hours!

After dropping off my new things, we visited the Garrett bookstore and the Shakespeare Garden. My mom and I got matching Garrett sweatshirts which you can see in the picture below. On our walk back, we found a local grocery store across the street from my apartment with fresh fruit, veggies, and everything I could ever need!

I'm really going to get in shape in Evanston because it's so easy to walk everywhere! For dinner, we walked to Lou Mantali's for famous Chicago deep dish pizza. It wasn't as thick as the pizza I had in Chicago when I visited in October, but it was absolutely delicious.

After dinner we walked more down to Andy's Custard. They make fresh frozen custard every hour. It was so good, but I could only eat half because I was so full.

I'm really loving it here in Evanston. It's going to take a bit to get used to living alone, but there are so many things to see and do here. When I run out of things to do in Evanston I can just take the El into Chicago, which is what my family and I will do tomorrow.

The Big Move

A couple of days ago my family (including my mom, dad, and brother, not sister) left our home in Worcester, MA to drive a total of 16 hours to Evanston, IL. The trip was not actually as bad as I thought it would be. We broke it up into two days, staying overnight in Cleveland, OH. Most of the driving was filled with farms: corn, soy, and grapes. We only hit bad weather once and made it on time to check into my apartment.

Once we finally reached Evanston, I went to the housing office at Garrett, my new seminary. I signed my first lease (nerve-wracking) and went over to admissions to say hello. When I entered the admissions office, I was immediately reminded of why I love Garrett. I was welcomed warmly with excitement and hugs as my dad tried to understand what was going on. After being a little stressed about moving halfway across the country, the welcome was exactly what I needed. It was genuine Christian hospitality and I am so thankful it was there when I needed it most.

We then headed to my new apartment on Noyes Street, which is right above a coffee shop, pizza place (with amazing homemade Italian ice), and a few other stores I need to check out. I trekked up to the third floor, opened my apartment door, and immediately fell in love. The apartment was huge; complete with a bedroom, living room, two closets, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. It was clean and bright with hardwood floors. You could tell the building was old with the way the floor creaked, but luckily I was on the top floor. I will definitely have to get used to the sound of the "El"(elevated train) going by and stopping near my window.

After we moved everything in (with no elevator), we walked through Evanston to the Davis Street Fish Market. We had a delicious dinner and walked back to my apartment on the lakeshore (which is so big it looks like the ocean). My brother noticed the pizza/Italian ice place downstairs, so we concludes our first evening with some delicious Italian ice.

I have to say it is still surreal that I am here. I have been looking forward to this journey for quite some time and I still can't believe it's actually happening now. It hasn't hit me yet that I will be staying here once my family leaves (it still feels like a family vacation). School doesn't start until September, so I'm trying to find ways to keep myself busy once my family leaves. I am so excited to be here, but I'm also nervous. However, I know God brought me to this seminary for a reason and I look forward to all the knowledge (social, academic, and spiritual) that I will gain.