Anxieties, Coffee Houses, and Other Adventures
Yesterday was adventuresome, to say the least. It involved 2 coffeehouses, financial aid paperwork, printer, fax machine, taxes, and a Lot of walking. Then dinner with my future in-laws. That's the quick summary. Detail following.
1. Coffee-house 1: I met one of my teachers from the Gamliel Institute for coffee, to talk about life, rabbinical training, and how class is going for me. It was pleasant, if a bit formal and stilted. It takes me a while to really get comfortable with most of my teachers- it's a frustration of mine. I'm in graduate school, they don't necessarily need me to be a little "look what a good school-girl I am" figure any time we meet outside of our regular classroom. But I have a hard time breaking out of that, and really interacting comfortably and genuinely.
2. Walk to the library: lovely, and longer than usual, as the first coffeehouse was in the opposite direction from home.
3. Library: found good books. Realized I needed to absolutely have my financial aid stuff in by tomorrow (today now), so I was on a quest for printer and fax/scanner. I found the first at the library, did my paperwork. Realized I needed to have my taxes in too, for that. Found tax forms also at library. Luckily remembered my various information from having done the FAFSA last week. Did my taxes, for the very first time on my own. Ran off for...
4. Coffeehouse 2: I had a great meeting with one of the local Hillel staff, who's applying to JTS, to talk about JTS. Ostensibly. And really, we did some of that. But in between, we did a lot of just talking and getting to know each other. She's lovely. I hope JTS takes her, I think she'd do well there and for them. Found that she could let me use the fax machine at Hillel to send in my paperwork. Took a deep, relieved breath. Did so, concomitantly giving H's good friend a "what are you doing here, you're from my Other world" moment when he saw me there.
5. More walking. Google maps confuses me- how is a 25-30 minute walk, plus a 17-20 minute walk, added together, along the exact same route, supposed to be a 40-41 minute walk? It worked out, just fine, though.
6. Dinner at H's grandmother's, with her and with H's parents. Went on rather longer than expected, and was quite fun. H didn't get his scrabble game (the original reason we were planning to go to his grandmother's last night), but it seemed worth it.
7. Today: meeting with mentor, various readings and such for school, Gamliel tonight.
1. Coffee-house 1: I met one of my teachers from the Gamliel Institute for coffee, to talk about life, rabbinical training, and how class is going for me. It was pleasant, if a bit formal and stilted. It takes me a while to really get comfortable with most of my teachers- it's a frustration of mine. I'm in graduate school, they don't necessarily need me to be a little "look what a good school-girl I am" figure any time we meet outside of our regular classroom. But I have a hard time breaking out of that, and really interacting comfortably and genuinely.
2. Walk to the library: lovely, and longer than usual, as the first coffeehouse was in the opposite direction from home.
3. Library: found good books. Realized I needed to absolutely have my financial aid stuff in by tomorrow (today now), so I was on a quest for printer and fax/scanner. I found the first at the library, did my paperwork. Realized I needed to have my taxes in too, for that. Found tax forms also at library. Luckily remembered my various information from having done the FAFSA last week. Did my taxes, for the very first time on my own. Ran off for...
4. Coffeehouse 2: I had a great meeting with one of the local Hillel staff, who's applying to JTS, to talk about JTS. Ostensibly. And really, we did some of that. But in between, we did a lot of just talking and getting to know each other. She's lovely. I hope JTS takes her, I think she'd do well there and for them. Found that she could let me use the fax machine at Hillel to send in my paperwork. Took a deep, relieved breath. Did so, concomitantly giving H's good friend a "what are you doing here, you're from my Other world" moment when he saw me there.
5. More walking. Google maps confuses me- how is a 25-30 minute walk, plus a 17-20 minute walk, added together, along the exact same route, supposed to be a 40-41 minute walk? It worked out, just fine, though.
6. Dinner at H's grandmother's, with her and with H's parents. Went on rather longer than expected, and was quite fun. H didn't get his scrabble game (the original reason we were planning to go to his grandmother's last night), but it seemed worth it.
7. Today: meeting with mentor, various readings and such for school, Gamliel tonight.