What We're Up To: Part Deux

We'd be lying if we said we didn't get pretty silly
while we're working, too.

It's been awhile since we've given y'all a glimpse into our lives in New Haven and the surrounding area. Don't get us wrong: you are our first priority this summer. But, when we're not answering emails, writing blog entries, posting on Facebook, drafting schedules, and wrangling deans (let's be real), we've been having fun this summer, too.

For this post we're going to ditch the formal third person and speak in our own voices in our sections. While we do hang out a lot, we are not actually connected at the brain.




Patrick

The view from one of my friends' rooftop patio in Hells Kitchen.

Most of my free time this summer has been spent exploring. New Haven is a great town, but when it's filled with all of us Yalies during the academic year, it can become difficult to maneuver. That's meant a lot spending inordinate amounts of time in Koffee, green well, and the local fro-yo and ice cream joints (with the heat this summer, there's been a lot of fro-yo consumed). I've also spent a lot of time (and far too much money) in NYC with the scores of friends from undergrad and elsewhere who live there now. A few weekends several friends and I went up to Lincoln, NH, for the New England Brewfest.

A group of friends—mostly non-YDS students—and I have begun a weekly rotating (mostly vegetarian) pot-luck this summer, which has been a ton of fun. My schedule hasn't always permitted me to go, but there's been many a great conversation held over shared food. This is part of my usual schedule with my group of YDS friends since the first week of classes—a weekly rotating "family dinner." I would highly encourage this model during your time at YDS. It's nourishing (physically and spiritually) to have a committed time to step away from schoolwork and to spend time with folks over shared meals.

Hiking along the Pemigewasset River in the White Mountains

This past weekend, one of my good friends from undergrad and a fellow divvie went on a 15mi bike ride up to Hamden and back on the Canal Trail, before deciding to hike up East Rock. It was a beautiful and not-so-hot weekend, and the views from East Rock were particularly beautiful.

I finally started tackling my summer reading list, which was far too ambitious for what I could reasonably accomplish. Things that I'm currently reading include: a recently graduated STM student's thesis using queer and post-colonial theory to analyze Paul's understanding of the Cross in 1 Cor. 1-2, Archaeology of Knowledge and Will to Knowledge by Foucault, White Like Me by Tim Wise, Undoing Gender, Bodies That Matter, and Gender Trouble by Judith Butler.

Also, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London started on Wednesday with football, but the Opening Ceremony is at 4pm EDT on Friday. I am a huge Olympics fan, so I will likely be spending a lot of time over the next couple of weeks sitting in front of the television (esp. watching Michael Phelps' last hurrah).


Esther


In the previous installment, when we described our summers up to mid-June, I was on the verge of embarking on my greatest summer adventure and I am happy to now report it was a rousing success. Two weeks of hiking in the highlands, drinking delicious Scottish brew, perfecting my brogue and driving along windy country sheep-ridden roads was the height of vacation perfection. I swam with Nessie, stormed the castle where they filmed Monty Python and the Holy Grail, learned that I come from a long line of kidnappers, wandered in search of fairies, and may even have found some. It became quite obvious that rather than applying to Ph.D. programs I should spend 5-7 years motor-biking, hiking, and kayaking around Scotland, and I have yet to meet anyone who disagrees with that assessment. The highlight for me was the Isle of Skye, which was just enchanted. I don't have the words to describe the untouched natural magnificence, all in a mist that is straight out of the 8th century. History is alive my friends, and it's alive in Scotland.

Everything is actually this beautiful.

The Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye

Also, when the British claimed "The sun never sets on the British Empire" I'm pretty sure they were just talking about Scotland - in the summer the sun never goes down. It's light out from about 4:00am - 11:30pm, and then after that it's a nice dusky half-light. I was oddly troubled to learn that it had been two weeks since I'd been in darkness, but not nearly as troubling as spending two weeks in perfect 70 degree weather only to disembark in Philadelphia to 100 degrees with outrageous humidity. Oh, weather.

The best part about the rest of my summer (aside from BTFO and so much quality time with Mr. Burrows, obviously) is that I have been dogsitting for a friend of mine. This means that I get to loll about my sunny afternoons with a 10 week old mini-dachshund named Maya. Normally I'm a fan of bigger dogs, but ohmygoodness this little darling steals my heart every day. She's not a big fan of walking, but she loves to eat mulch and cuddle so we were fast friends. Plus, look at her. It takes -.3 seconds to fall madly in love.


The rest of my summer has been spent and will continue to be spent either playing hostess or visiting friends. So far this month I have had a friend visit from DC and another from Boston, and my parents come to New Haven with my aunt and uncle. In case you haven't realized it yet, I am a creature of habit and when it comes to local dining I definitely play favorites: everyone goes to the Carts for lunch, Koffee in the afternoon, and then it's off to Miya's for dinner. When I returned from Scotland, my garden plot had gone wild, and so taming it back has been a challenge that I haven't quite overcome, but I look forward to some tasty tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers, and have been enjoying a great deal of kale and chard for my efforts. I'm reading for pleasure, a luxury I can't much afford during the school year, and working on lots of musical projects which has been a welcome change of pace. Currently, I'm sitting in my childhood bedroom in Pennsylvania after deciding to spend the week floating in the pool and celebrating family birthdays. It's been quite the mini-vacation, complete with ups and downs. Yesterday I got stung on the face by wasps, and today I took the dog trail-running, made and canned some salsa with my sisters (I'm the family homesteader, so they waited until I was back to try their hand at canning for the first time), and had my first juicer experience. All in all, I can't complain. Except about the wasps - that was really awful.

See ya'll in a few weeks!