To my Left and my RIght

The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was, is lost, for none now live who remember it.
-GALADRIEL

The past two weeks have flown by, faster than any other time of my life. As usual, I will try to update you all on my on-goings.

These past two weeks have been devoted to my God and Nature class. Our two professors have flown in from Canada where they teach at Regent. The title of my blog is an excerpt from our morning prayer (Christ all around me, to my left and my right). We spent our 5 hours a day of class talking about the Christian call to stewardship, examining the corrupt food market of America, and working on research projects. It was a compelling week. I probably won’t eat meat when I get back to the US, but as some have pointed out, that isn’t really much of a change.

On Wednesday I had one of the greatest experiences of my life. We had the chance to swim with wild dusky dolphins in the Pacific Ocean as the sun rose over snow capped mountains. Mind blown. We geared up in full wetsuits (hood, socks, gloves, snorkel, mask, etc) When I say swim with dolphins, I literally mean dive down and swim in circles as 4 or 5 dolphins play within 2 inches of you. I mean being accosted by a fur seal with bared teeth. It was so great to be in the freezing water with such amazing creatures, creatures that actually are what they were meant to be. We got to sit on the back of a speeding boat, flippers hanging out into the ocean. After our dive was over we changed and moved to the front of the boat. We raced albatross and hutting’s shearwater as the dolphins did back-flips next to the boat. Everything about the experience was exhilarating and amazing.

Class this week was intense, mostly because we watched some powerful documentaries and had a huge research paper to accomplish. We also had our first rugby game. Although we lost 7-4, we still had a blast. All of that is building to our 9-day “spring” break. Kayla, Josh, Ben, and myself (what is the proper grammatical structure for that anyway?) are heading out to hike the Milford track. We are renting a car and road-tripping there and back--camping, bungee jumping, and exploring along the way. Needless to say, I have never been more excited for anything else in my whole life. Every moment of life is exhilarating.

Some things I have learned:
1. Sometimes you really, really need to act your shoe size and not your age (thanks Lisa ☺)
2. Seals are scary.
3. Living in a community is extremely difficult yet incredibly rewarding. Who knew doing the dishes produced by 30 people could be so much fun?
4. The only way we can truly be ourselves is by offering all we have up to God.
5. Loving people you like is great. Loving people you don’t like is more difficult. Loving people you know are only passing through your life is one of life’s greatest challenges.
6. The only bad part about New Zealand is the massive amount of man-thigh visible.
7. Lavender and honey ice cream is the best ice cream in the entire world.