2008 September Archive at Ben, ‘11

Archive for September, 2008

Fall Retreat

September 8, 2008

This past weekend, I went to the West Virginia border on a retreat with InterVarsity. Despite the threat of Tropical Storm Hanna, we were prepared to make the most of it. In the end, the weather was great and I think everyone had a great time. There was volleyball, worship, a bonfire, games, and a Retreat of Silence. So much happened and so many pictures have emerged from the trip that I’m just going to explain the trip in pictures. So, here it goes:

We arrived at the lodge in the mountains of western Virginia on Friday evening.

The area was beautiful and my friend took some great pictures…

including this one….

as well as this one.

The first night was spent creating skits such as this one…

as well as this one about David and Goliath

There was also plenty of free time for exploring the area
including this “Mountain Swing”…

as well as sports such as volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee

The purpose, though, was to grow closer as a group and also
have quiet time to worship God without everyday distractions.

I think that we definitely became closer as a group…

and I became very close with some of the freshmen guys

The nights were spent playing spoons…

which became violent and resulted in injuries.

There was also a bonfire for people to hang out and have s’mores….

as well as to attempt to gain “superhuman powers”
(apparently it actually worked)

Before leaving, we got pictures of all the classes. These are the fun
and crazy freshmen that came on the retreat…

and this is my Sophomore class that went. It was much smaller than last
year and I was one of only two sophomore men to go.

The whole weekend was draining and everyone crashed on the ride home….
just to wake up and start hours of homework they had put off

Overall, it was a lot of fun. I made new friends, led a small group for the first time, and actually calmed down for a short while and had quiet in my life. My Northern accent was also mocked the most that I can ever recall. Because some friends and I trekked through the woods during the pitch black night, I kept commenting on the “roots”, which sounds quiet different in my “Canadian” accent. My friends repeatedly brought it up countless times over the next few days. Anyways, there were plenty of good memories. I created a skit under the guidelines of it being the story of Gideon using toddler accents and incorporating Dr. Seuss style and Jeff Probst. It was quite strange. That’s all for this weekend. I worked very hard to get ahead and leave myself as little homework as possible. Now to see if I can do the same for next weekend.

Quote of the Week: “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you wil make one.” -Elbert Hubabrd
Thought to Ponder: Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
Shout Outs: Any guidance counselors
YouTube Video of the Week:

For those who didn’t make it to the real Olympics, there’s still hope

Published by Ben on September 8, 2008 in InterVarsity. 0 Comments

Settling In

September 5th, 2008

Hello all prospective students,

The second week is done and it was much more manageable than the first. Maybe I’m actually getting into a routine. I feel like I was always going, but I don’t have too much to report to you. Obviously I had all of my classes and I also had a planning meeting for the Collegiate Disaster Relief Team, watching speeches of the Republican National Convention for Campaigns 2008, a tour, a meeting for the Council for Christian Unity, an NFL Kickoff Party for InterVarsity, and a lunch for the United Methodist group. I guess I’ve just been busy doing homework and trying to work ahead so that I won’t have any homework when I return from the Fall Retreat. I did have my first paper due already. I had my teacher preview it and she suggested “taking it to a whole new level” and almost rewriting it, even though she said it was “beautifully written” and “very good”. Well, I did rewrite it and she liked it even more. So, even though it was a lot of work, I think it got me off to a solid start in the class. Other news included me being selected to represent my class by speaking at Investiture, the event welcoming the freshmen men to Richmond College.

This week, we had Iron Man play at the Pier, which was fun to watch with some of my new freshmen friends. We also had Ben Lee come for a concert on Saturday night. It was a great time. I was up front and, even though I hadn’t heard much about him before the concert, I found that I’ve been listening to a lot of his music throughout the week. He was humorous and put on a very entertaining show.

Ben Lee performing at the concert

A Ben Lee music video

Now it’s time for a fun story that happened on Wednesday (a crazy day of the week for me). I get up at 7:00 AM and go non-stop until 9:00 PM. I go from breakfast to class to an hour of homework to two classes to an hour of homework to a tour to an hour of homework to Spider Diaries training to Student Government to InterVarsity. Anyways, at the very end of the day I relaxed by playing volleyball. At the volleyball courts, a freshman girl I didn’t know ran up to me and asked if I was Ben. I said “Yes” and she said that I had given her a tour in May and I was the reason that she chose to come here, which was fun to hear.

Another thing going on in my life is looking ahead to study abroad. I’m so active on-campus and I have a few other complicating factors, yet I definitely want to study abroad next year. It’s one of the reasons why I chose this school in the first place. So, I spent all summer researching my options for the future and I think that I have a good feel for what I might do. Although I looked into Semester at Sea (circling the globe aboard an academic cruise ship), I believe I will study abroad next summer in a more traditional program, but it could be moved to the summer after. I’ve always enjoyed traveling and seeing new places, but I wasn’t sure if just one city would be enough. Plus, I’ve always wanted to see Europe. So, I think I have found a solution. I will probably take a month of classes at the University of Salamanca in Spain. Then, I will spend the next month backpacking through Europe and visiting a whole bunch of places I’ve always dreamed of visiting, such as Paris, Normandy, Amsterdam, Munich, Rothenberg, Vienna, Bern, Interlaken, Rome, Tuscany, Venice, and Santorini. I’ve done tons of research and hope all goes according to plan. Our office of International Education has worked with me to make sure that the program I want to attend is a possibility and also to help me in whatever way possible, since I am planning on doing it in the summer and also at a non-University affiliated program.

In other news, our football team moved up to being ranked third in the nation for Division 1-AA. We even received a vote for the top team in the nation. This week we play at the University of Virginia. It will be very interesting to see the game considering that Hurricane Hannah will be hitting Virginia at that very same time.

I won’t be able to go to the game because this weekend will be spent at the InterVarsity Fall Retreat. I’m really excited to get to know all of the new freshmen and make more friends. Hopefully the weather cooperates some and we’re not locked inside all weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Quote of the Week: Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” -Anthony Robbins
Thought to Ponder: If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
Shout Outs: Any parents of prospective students out there
YouTube Video of the Week:

What a nice big sister

Published by Ben on September 5, 2008 in Campus Events. 0 Comments

My Room

Now that I’ve had a chance to settle in, I’d like to show you what my room is like. Lakeview contains five Living and Learning programs. In each program, the students all live on the same hallway and take the same class during the fall semester. They also participate in events outside of class and try to explore their field outside the realm of the classroom, whether it be trips to Washington D.C., service projects, or some other activity. Enjoy checking out where I’ll be living for the next year!

My residence hall, Lakeview, from the front

The main floor has a classroom that most of the Living and Learning programs use for class. So, a student can roll out of bed, go downstairs and attend class if they choose. It’s also used for studying a lot… as well as some students who like to hook up their X-Box or Rock Band set to the projector and have some fun.

The classroom in Lakeview

On the main floor, there is also a computer lab with several computers and a printer. In addition, there’s a group study room with whiteboards and comfy chairs. Finally, there is a kitchen with a full stove, refrigerator, and sink. Right now, they only allow the professors to use them for program events, but we’re working on allowing all the students to be able to use it whenever they so desire.

The computer lab

The study room

Each floor has a common lounge with a nice, flat screen TV. These lounges are really nice and a lot of students use them for studying or socializing. They are right in the middle of the hall and separate the two programs’ wings on each floor, so it provides for a lot of interactions. My wing, Campaigns 2008, shares it with the Civic Engagement program. The other programs are Spanish in the Community, Literature and the Arts, and Earth Lodge. Some events that are hosted by the Living and Learning programs are also held here in the lounges. My Campaigns 2008 program watched Senator Warner’s speech here during the Democratic National Convention.

The lounge on my floor

Now, onto my room. I room with another guy in the program and I suite with my two good friends, Andrew and Caleb. It is so hard to explain the set-up of our room that I’ll let the video show you. Under my bed, I store the refrigerator, microwave, food, and a whole bunch of storage. As you can see, my desk is also under my bed. I have strange study habits, so I end up doing all my work sitting in my bed or futon or in the lounge or study room. There’s plenty of space and I’m hoping to start having events in my room soon.

My room

My calendar that I post on my door, for those who need to know where I am
The TV and entertainment part of the room

My half of the room

The fridge, microwave, food, and storage under my bed
The futon for entertaining guests