Sailings and Beginnings

Joshua's First Day of Grad School!

Hello All! Things are getting underway here in New Haven. Joshua is officially recognized as a Yale student, picture I.D. and all! This semester will consist of classes in Medieval Latin, Intermediate Greek, History and Methods of Old Testament Interpretation and Greek Exegesis: Revelation. Don't worry. If that sounds confusing to you, it does to me too. :) There is much to be done in each class and it can seem overwhelming at times, even just a couple of days into the semester. We all know he will do great, however, and represent the Lord well in his hard work!
This past weekend Joshua and I had the opportunity to trek just a few hours north of here into Rhode Island. Joshua's uncle and cousin own a sailboat that is kept in a harbor up there and invited us to journey the ocean with them. We drove north on Friday evening and had some delicious clam chowder at a very New England restaurant called the Black Pearl. I felt as though I was in a seaport town from the movies, the smell of seafood lingering in the air and the sounds of boats off in the distance. We spent the night on the boat, which fared pretty well, with just a small dose of sea sickness in the morning. After breakfast at a nice bakery, we set off. We (meaning Josh's uncle Harold and cousin Ken) sailed around the island there in Jamestown, RI, about a 6 hour trip. We spent the time talking, learning sailing terms such as tacking and beam reach, and learning how to tie a proper boat knot. After dinner we headed home but our bodies thought we were still on the boat until the next morning.

Captain Joshua

We have found a church that we like and got to spend this Sunday getting to know people a little more as we went out to eat with some of them. We are also making friends with some of the students here at Yale, which is nice since they will be experiencing a lot of the same things as us. I am still waiting for an offer on a job. I have applied to three positions and all could still turn into a job so I am staying hopeful. Your prayers are much appreciated! Tomorrow begins Chi Alpha. Joshua and I are very excited for that and hoping we can really minister to some of the undergrads here at Yale. This year will be a very challenging one academically but a very stretching year for both of us. We already feel like we have learned so much! We love all of you guys!
Joshua and Alissa

Orientation!

Hello everyone! This week has been an exciting one. Joshua had and is still in the midst of a long, very informative orientation. We have made our way through library tours, Divinity school tours and many many sessions. I (Alissa) got to spend this week with him, learning all that he was learning. It has been very helpful to me, allowing me to meet the people he will be spending his time with and getting oriented with what his life may be like during the day. Joshua and I began the week apprehensive to meet people and not sure how to begin conversations but as time has progressed so have our skills. We have spoken with students from all over the world all coming to Yale to study the same thing. The Divinity school has chapel everyday, varying in denominational format, yet this week chapel has been conducted in the Episcopalian tradition. Each day after chapel, coffee hour is held outside, weather permitting. Neither of us are coffee drinkers but they have tea as well which Joshua has enjoyed at times. The rest of the sessions have been what you would expect at a grad school orientation and I have skipped some that Joshua had to go to. The best thing this week has been the food. They have been serving us very well and we have gotten a taste of some of the classic food here in New Haven. This city is known for its food and if you talk to anyone from around here one of the first things they do is tell you about all the restaurants that you need to go to. There is a huge international food presence and we got to experience some of that. The first day we had some Mediterranean food, which we both agreed was not our favorite. We have had "soul food" and the local international food carts. There are a couple of places on campus that are prime locations during lunch time, as 8ish food carts line up and serve a large plate of food for about $5. Joshua and I both tried the Kati Rolls (also called Bengali Burritos) which were very good. Yesterday we were served New Haven pizza. Pizza is a huge deal around here as they claim they are the inventors of what we know as pizza. Each person has an opinion whether Pepe's or Modern is the best. We got to try multiple places and I think I would say Pepe's is the best. I would never say it to a native but I didn't think the pizza was the best I had ever had. It's good though. It's thin crust, wood cooked and I generally like the thick, hearty pizza. Joshua also thought Pepe's was the best. We got to spend an evening at the Chi Alpha leader's house (the people we spent the night with at first). They got together a bunch of people who are affiliated with the Assemblies of God or want to get involved in that ministry. We are excited to begin helping on Friday nights with that! There was a jazz festival downtown a little bit ago that we went to. It is a nice walk (a little over a mile) and free entertainment.

The Jazz festival

 

If you guys would continue to pray for things to work out with our jobs that would be very appreciated. At this point, I am not sure what I am going to be doing. I have not yet heard from the original school I was hoping to work at so I am looking at some other positions and going to be putting out applications. Joshua is looking forward to school starting. Next Wednesday is when classes begin! It is going to be a lot but we all know he is going to do great!

Joshua and Alissa

Little Adventures

Hey guys! I hope everything is going well with all of you. We talk of family and friends often. This past week has flown by for the two of us! We have gotten more time to relax and explore some of the places beyond Yale. When we first decided to move to New Haven we set off on a search of some of the places in New England to hike. One of the first places we heard of was East Rock. This is not a surprise, given that it is about a mile down the road and the red face of the cliff can be seen from much of the city. We began at the Eli Whitney museum (quick quiz: What is Eli Whitney's most famous invention? answer at bottom of post :)). The hike was a clear, well-maintained trail until the portion called the 'Giant Steps' which is a very accurate description. We made it to the top and enjoyed the monument and view. From the top of East Rock you can see all of New Haven and if you look hard enough you may be able to catch a glimpse of Long Island across the Long Island Sound.

This picture doesn't do it justice but this is the view
 

Friday we ventured over to Guilford, a short twenty minute drive east. Many of the towns in this area were settled in the 1600's and this specific town is known for it's history. We toured the home of Henry Whitfield, a pastor who came and settled along with some other Puritans in the early 1600s. We were slightly confused whether it is the oldest home in Connecticut or the oldest STONE home in Connecticut because we saw both claimed. The museum had some old furniture and miscellaneous household items in it but lost some of its charm in the1930s. The guide told us that in the 30's the thought was to make the old historic places look as comfortable as possible to almost rewrite history, thus losing the history, as is what happened here.  Saturday we got to go grocery shopping. Through Yale Divinity school we heard of a local meat market. We made our way over there and it was surely an experience. I felt like I was in New York City (I guess we really aren't so far) and it was pretty busy but we found good, safe chicken on the weekly special (1.79/lb!!!) and some Italian sausage. Sunday we went to a local church and will try another next week. It is exciting to look forward to plugging into a church. The last couple of days have been pretty calm around the Harris apartment. Joshua continues to study and I am working on a knitting project, and have experimented with baking French bread and bagels. Don't worry, quilting will begin shortly :). Joshua is feeling sick today and some thunderstorms are coming in tomorrow. We like to spend our evenings on a little walk around the quad (what students call the Divinity school), playing Frisbee (which was actually invented here at Yale), reading and blogging. There is an observatory just past the Div school which allows the public to use the telescopes on Tuesday nights that are clear so we are looking forward to going there at some point. Still no word on jobs but we are hopeful. Joshua has orientation next week and I am signed up as well and get to go with him. We would love your continued prayers as we are still transitioning. If you have any questions or anything else just comment on the post! Love you guys!

Joshua and Alissa
Answer: cotton gin- There are a lot of things Eli Whitney right around here and his home is just a few miles away

The First Week

We have officially completed one week here in New Haven and are continuing to learn more each day. My parents and two sisters got to come out this weekend and help us get some more furniture. The apartment has come a long way in such a short time. This weekend we had the opportunity to walk down to "old campus" (a little over a mile) and explore. Yale is very unique in the fact that they randomly assign students to one of 12 colleges. Each college has a dorm, cafeteria, library and many other amenities. I heard today that one of the colleges has a three story suite with a dance hall. The requirement of living in the suite is to host a dance party once a semester. We got to see where Chi Alpha meetings will be held this semester. Dwight Hall was the original library of Yale and is now used for small group meetings and a capella groups mostly. Although we will meet in another room of this building I wanted to post a picture of the chapel because it is quite beautiful.


Dwight Chapel

We got to go into Beinecke Library. It is focused on rare books and manuscripts. All the books are kept within sealed glass walls and controlled closely for temperature and humidity. The walls are made of marble which is supposed to prevent harmful UV rays from coming through. A Gutenberg Bible is there as well as some of Emily Dickinson's original, handwritten poems.
Yesterday we got our car fixed for free because it was recalled! yay! Monday we were very blessed to have access to a furnished apartment to take whatever we wanted. We got some end tables, a knife set, dresser, lamps and much more. God has been providing wherever the need has arisen. We are both still looking for jobs. I am waiting to officially hear. We would appreciate your continued prayers. We are beginning to feel like our apartment is home and enjoy coming back after busy days and relaxing. Our cooking skills are improving each day and right now we have our laundry hang drying in our bedroom. We are looking forward to classes and jobs starting soon. God is good! I added some pictures below so you can get a feel of what it is like here!

Joshua and Alissa





Our bedroom with some furniture in it and a real bed!

our new living room



 Joshua studying at the Divinity school library.

Settling In

Yay! We officially made it to New Haven. The drive was filled with construction, pretty empty roads and much anticipation. We landed at the house of the Yale CHI ALPHA (an assemblies of God college outreach program) leaders. We are so grateful to them for their generosity, warmness, friendship, meals and air mattress!
My interview at Christian Heritage School went well and we will see what happens. I learned that it will be a part time position so I am still looking for extra work. We would appreciate your prayers in this regard.
After some confusion with the move in date for our apartment, we got the keys the morning after we arrived.  Moving into an apartment with only duffel bags and camping chairs isn't hard but you can imagine what our apartment looks like. Through the help of the Target, Kohls, the Chi Alpha leaders and the Goodwill outlet store ( we got a 99 cent kitchen table, rocking chair and end table from here) we are slowly making our apartment like a home!

The living room of our apartment complete with camping chairs as we eat breakfast. Joshua is hard at work studying.

We have been so busy getting everything set up here and going from office to office to be able to explore much of Yale besides the Divinity school. The campus itself is really what the city of New Haven is centered around. It is old and beautiful. We look forward to exploring the libraries, buildings and underground tunnels.
During our first few days here we have managed to get honked at probably 10 times. We have heard the stoplights described here as guidelines as people feel free to continues through an intersection even if the light has been red for 3 seconds. Overall, it has been a great week and we have learned a lot. We look forward to the rest of our time here.

Joshua andAlissa