/Karen/

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The first few days of Moore

Thursday, 10 February, 2005

Like I said before, Moore is not quite church, not quite school, not quite Uni and not quite Christian convention. But it has elements of all of those things: preaching, Bible reading, rote learning, a classroom environment, handouts, student cards, concession cards, lockers, admin, morning tea, orderlies (they call them “committees”), standard lunches, name tags and lots and lots of getting to know new strange but very friendly people who come from all over the place.

Monday

I wake feeling nervous. College starts at 10. We park in a friend's car space (these friends live across the road and we are helping them move in the afternoon). We meet fellow first years whom we recognise from other contexts when walking to the college. We are a little late and so get ushered into the front row of the D. Broughton Knox lecture theatre which has been nicknamed “The Kelvinator” because of its extreme air conditioning. It is so extreme that Ben puts on his hat and my cardigan to keep warm. Senior students read the Bible and pray for us and the world. We stand to say the creed and I am reminded of being in the minority by the abundance of tenor and baritone voices. John Woodhouse preaches from Matthew 9 and exhorts us to always remember the most exciting thing that is happening in the world today—the work of God in building his kingdom.

Morning tea. Back in the Kelvinator, we are forced to sit in alphabetical order. Because of Ben's fear of freezing, another Ben we have befriended brings him a jumper and a beanie. We are given orientation packs and the Registrar slowly takes us through the paperwork. I am disappointed (and a little bit relieved) to find that I will not be doing Philosophy this year. We break up into groups for our campus tour and are given Library showbags that contain a free issue of Reformed Theological Review and some gummi “bookworms”. There is so much history in the buildings—a testament to people long gone. I wonder what Newtown was like at the beginning of last century when it still may have been “new”. We go to lunch and are given the drill for wash up. Everyone stands at the end of the meal for the return of thanks. People tell me you have to learn to eat fast when college proper begins.

We keep running into people we know and decide to go over to a friend's place for a drink to see his college accommodation. This friend expresses surprise that Ben isn't doing Hebrew and tells him that he's so intelligent, he shouldn't have a problem with doing two languages at once. (Ah flattery, such a bad influence.) There are vague thoughts about getting afternoon tea at Mary Andrew's College (MAC) which is served every day at 3 but instead we check out the bookshop and call our friends about moving. They haven't been able to get keys to their new place so we drive home and have a relaxing evening instead.

Tuesday

With no guaranteed parking, I'm nervous about how late we leave. We still manage to get an all-day parking spot and arrive on time. This time we have come equipped with scarves and beanies. The day starts with a devotion from the Bible and prayer. These are given by different members of the staff. The Greek course begins with basic grammar, then John Woodhouse gives a talk about what Moore college is (an organisation designed to serve us as a fellowship in Christ, a partnership of the gospel and a community of scholars). It was refreshing to listen to him and to be reminded of the things that are important (“To achieve First Class Honours in your course may be a serious sin,” he says, because it might be at the expense of your family relationships and relationships are far more important). My phone embarasses me by going off in the middle of his talk. During the tittering, twenty other people reach down into their bags to turn theirs to silent.

After morning tea, Barry Webb tries to convince us all to do Hebrew (four reasons: 1. Because it's fun, 2. Because you can, 3. Because you should want to be as well-equipped as you can for teaching the Bible, 4. It's a requirement for Honours). We parrot the first bit of Genesis 1:1 and get a quick crash course because no one can escape Moore without doing at least a little bit of Hebrew. Ben decides to see if he can change his course.

There is always a ten-minute break between lectures so people can stretch their legs/go to the bathroom, etc. In the afternoon we learn the Greek alphabet, punctuation, dipthongs and other symbols before it's time for lunch.

Our friends are in the process of moving and it's a hot and sticky day. We load up the car with some of their odds and ends and drive to their newer cooler bigger place. Some of the guys haven't had lunch yet and it's bordering on 3 so Ben and I get Maccas and sushi. When we return, we find the guys have gone and the Maccas will be going to waste so Ben breaks his no gluten/no dairy diet. Everyone is quite tired. We try to help our friends sort of basic things so that they can at least feel that their stuff is in some sort of order without unpacking everything. Then it's time to leave for training.

In the car I get a call on Ben's mobile. Mine has been on silent since its disgrace this morning and I haven't been answering it. It's my dad and I have forgotten that it's Chinese New Year (I never know when Chinese New Year is). Two months ago he said, “Let's do dinner.” I wrote it in my 2004 diary but it didn't make it into my 2005 diary. This lapse in my organisational skills makes me feel depressed. I help make rice and go get the dinner for the evening meal, then it's training time and I have to really struggle to pay attention. Luckily Apologetics is pretty interesting and almost makes me feel like I'd be good at Philosophy. When it ends, I'm keen to go home. We help a bit with pack up (why is it when people are packing up the church, all these other people are just standing around doing nothing?), drop three people off and then come home.

Wednesday

Pete is away so we promise to pick up stuff for him. Devotions and prayer by the Vice-Principal. More Greek—second declension nouns (mostly masculine but some feminine just to confuse us) and their definite articles (who knew there are so many forms of “the”?). Morning tea, then we spend a bit of time learning about field work and why college students have to do it, how to manage catechist positions so they don't encroach into college or rest time (Mon to Fri for Moore; Sunday for church; Saturday for rest rest rest) and all about committees (complete with sign up sheet). So many of the committees look interesting. My preferences are: 1. Societas, 2. Music, 3. Moore Books. We don't find out 'til Saturday.

After lunch, Tho asks if we can meet up. He's feeling stressed and wants to do Greek exercises. He and I struggle through a few of them together. Ben goes to sleep. Though it's hard, I feel like it's worthwhile, even though I don't know my paradigms as well as Tho. He said he learnt them while waiting for three hours in a bank and recommended that I write them out several times. Ben and I drive home and I try to call all the people I'm meant to call and email all the people I'm meant to email the things I'm meant to email them. It's a little hard because I can't connect to the internet until we buy a wireless card and a router (anyone know where you can get ones secondhand?) My dinner date cancels on me but thankfully is still keen to meet up. I'm a little relieved because then I can make it up to my dad about Chinese New Year. I go out to dinner with him and the rest of the family (his side). Ben stays home because he's exhausted. Thankfully all the conversations are in English because we have an Australian guest with us (there is nothing more boring than dinner when everyone is speaking in Chinese and you can't understand anything).

Thursday (today)

We are getting better at getting up early. The traffic is worse if we leave 10 mins earlier, but maybe that's because it's Thursday. Devotions and prayers are done by our Greek teacher who says we'll be sick of him by the end of the day. He's a very nice guy and always puts up a cartoon in each lesson to amuse us. The Calvin and Hobbes ones are the best.

He takes us through first declension nouns (mostly feminine but there are few which are masculine—Bill calls these “mongrel” words) and their articles, as well as neuter nouns but I've forgotten what declension they are (second?). After taking up Tho's advice, I think I can almost do it in my sleep. I get embarassed when we pair up though because I'm usually the one who is more advanced and I'm worried I'm making the other person feel bad. Thankfully, a competitive spirit is not encouraged in our classroom like it was in high school. Ben says his high school was like this—it had an emphasis on nurturing and encouraging each student according to their abilities. Makes me wonder why I ever went to St. George since now I always feel inadequate and make comparisons, and Ben doesn't suffer from any of those hang-ups. I buy some useful books to help this girl I'm meeting up with from church and check our pigeon hole. Ben's application to transfer has been approved and he's going to do Hebrew.

Before morning tea, the ones doing music for the first year houseparty (which is on this weekend) have a quick meeting. Among them, Fell is on drums, Brendan is on guitar and Ben is on keyboard, thus reuniting three of the original members of Birdwood Snape. I think this is so exciting because I never got a chance to hear Birdwood play live before they broke up. Ben is talked into bringing his keyboard and ridiculously large amp. Guess we're not giving anyone a lift now ...

After morning tea Bill gives us a lecture on the world of the New Testament—“The Hellenisation of Palestine”. I fall in love with the first quote on the handout:

If you suddenly found yourself in first-century Jerusalem, in the home of a member of the Jewish ruling class, you might be surprised by what you discover. You would soon learn that your host speaks Greek and some Latin as well as Aramaic. He dresses in Hellenistic clothing, possesses Roman citizenship and claims to worship the God of the Jews, but he does not follow Jewish dietary regulations very closely. In fact, the dinner he serves you seems more like a banquet in Athens or Rome than the meal of a devout Jew. He dinner table groans with various delicacies, some of which do not fit what you know of Jewish dietary regulations. The gleam of silver is everywhere, fine wine flows freely, and slaves bustle around you, each with his or her unique task.

His home is decorated with art from around the Mediterranean, and his library contains the works of a number of pagan authors. When he talks politics, he talks about the influence of the Jewish Sanhedrin, but also about the looming threat of Roman power. He speaks in hushed tones of Jewish desires for independence, as if afraid he might be overheard.

James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, Intervarsity Press, 1999, p. 14-15.

After lunch I borrow that book out of the library while going in to have a look around. Moore has got an impressive collection, including a host of Adrian Plass and most of the Narnia chronicles on video. Ben and Pete go for a walk and I decide to explore King St. I find a very impressive wool store, then realise I have no money. I get the call that it's time to go and walk back. We drive south and drop Pete off at Hurstville. He may never come with us again because of the ridiculousness of Sydney traffic. A nice relaxing afternoon ensues in which I stay well away from Greek and make some time for blogging.

/Karen/ had a thought at 7:30 PM | | EE comments (6)

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