Retreat is finished...

So, retreat is over. It was great. Of course, the first night I was sooo excited to be there, and be meeting new people and connecting, I didn't really sleep. Mostly sat awake with butterflies in my stomach. It was that same feeling when you were a little kid waiting for Christmas morning, I couldn't wait for the next day to come so I could keep on interacting!!
Yeah... I know how geeky that is. Shut up. Anyhoo, I'm waiting for the pictures my friend took of some of the events, since they are better and more candid than my own. Some highlights were:
Community meals - good food and fun conversation!
A football game with 7 guys and me - The opposing team didn't even cover me until they found out I could catch, for which they paid dearly! Darrell Johnson was our star QB.
Talent Show - lead by none other than the Ozzie's Narida and Narida (NEH-rid-da). The refrain of "Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy, OI! OI! OI!" still reverberates in my mind.
Service and Communion on Sunday - a slow, relaxed communion served by a mixture of students and staff, where each student received personal prayer with communion, while a violin and piano duet played in the back, later accompanied by a choir.

Tonight, I watched Babette's Feast as part of my Christian Thought and Culture course. It totally sucker-punched me. You are captured by this beautiful view of humanity, the high potential for truth and beauty, for mercy and love. You are so enraptured by this sacrificial wholesomeness that you are lost in wonder. You want to love. You want to hug someone. Then the lights turn on, and you realize that you are far from family and friends, and all that awaits you is a long bus ride home in the dark. And all that is waiting at home is a sleeping roommate and Greek nouns that need parsing. So much for inspiration! Shiloh and I exchanged these thoughts on the bus until I got off, after my 3 minute bus ride. And now instead of doing my Greek homework (it is sitting beside me) I am writing to you fine folks, and contemplating making tea to further procrastinate. Sigh. Life goes on.

(Speaking of which... I just went back to add more to the retreat section... all the highlights... and now I am here, writing this... seriously I need to do my Greek... it's a privilege... yes a privilege... one that I desperately wanted for many years.... go do your Greek Beth.....)