Julie’s News from Maryland

Today was the first day of “Orientation for New Students.”  The day began at 8:00am with Morning Prayer and ended at 8:30pm after a session about Emergency Preparedness.  The parts in between included: small group sharing time, a welcome from the dean and other staff members, lunch, a tour of campus, general info about living here, general info about the computing services, dinner, and an introduction to “worship” and how we do that around here.

Needless to say, it was a very long day and I’m quite tired.  It was a lot of info to receive and process in one day. 

The good news is that I met lots of great people.  It was nice to see everyone that will be around for the next few years and chat with them a bit.  I think I managed to at least introduce myself to most people, and had some opportunities during meals and breaks to talk to folks.  There is lots more getting-to-know-you stuff that will be done over time, but it felt good to have everyone be here and get this thing started.  It seems like a long time that I’ve been waiting to be here and to do this.

Tomorrow is another long day with activities scheduled from 8:00am to 7:30pm.  There are a few more breaks in the schedule for me as some activities only apply to certain groups, so that should allow for some much needed downtime.