Before we moved to Tucson, I began to realize that I had been living quite a sheltered life, especially for the last year while I was working full time at Hoffmantown. Of course, I couldn't have asked for better co-workers. And I did enjoy being around people who shared the majority of my convictions. Even while I was at UNM, my job (and of course my family) still provided a haven. Well, it's become very clear that I was right about my new environment. Don't get me wrong, everyone I've met so far has been very nice. I've really enjoyed getting to know my fellow GATs and the faculty. It's great to have some new friends already, and since we are in the same discipline, we do have a lot in common. There are lots of things to talk about and so on. But, I'm definitely in the middle of a liberal department where my worldview will be uncommon and frequently challenged. And, I realize that it's good for me--I anticipate having lots of opportunities to discuss my beliefs and convictions. Also lots of opportunities to take another look at what I believe so I can explain/defend it better. I don't know if that really makes sense...but academia is definitely a different environment. (And also one that I enjoy--I have been looking forward to going back to school for a while.)
Another thing I thought I would miss about my old job was all the free food. Actually, my eating habits went down the drain the last month in ABQ because everyone was taking us out and I was eating a lot of going-away desserts, so I thought it would probably be good to have less food temptation. As it turns out, though, I got free lunch yesterday after the graduate college orientation, and another free lunch today during the writing program orientation. I'm assuming I shouldn't get used to it, though.
Also, Mark had some 'diagnostic exams' earlier this week to determine what music history and theory classes he'd need to take. He spent a lot of time preparing for the tests, and got the results this morning when he met with his adviser. He only has to take one music history class, which will count toward his degree, and one undergrad theory class, which he expects to be very easy. The tests were pretty hard, and some of his classmates have to take two undergrad classes, so he's pretty happy with the results. He now has a little more information about what his schedule will look like, but he's still got an audition on Saturday for the large ensembles. Hopefully by tomorrow (I've been saying that for days now), I'll know what my schedule will look like, if they can resolve the conflict with the linguistics class. I guess we'll see.
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One thing that was really good for me was making friends with a number of Christian grad students. This was good because we were all being trained to be very analytical, and very open to new concepts - and thus we were able to be very analytical about and open to each other's beliefs and about what the bible really has to say.
I think my beliefs are still the same at their heart, but they are very different when it comes to more surface issues. I see it more in my attitudes than in my actions. If I hadn't been surrounded by such a specific population, I would have never considered a lot of the things that I've been faced with.
I hope that you guys can also have some great experiences in this area.
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