beyond the green

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent a couple of weeks at Bethel visiting with my friends who are remaining on campus this semester (which was all but 3 of them). However, I am now back home in the great city of San Antonio, Texas.

My adventure in Greece starts on Sunday (Sept. 16)and I find myself feeling similarly to the days leading up to the start of school in years past. I have a few definite details, like where I will be traveling and staying, but for the most part, the next semester is just a big pile of unknowns. As scary as this experience seems to me when I think about it, it’s really not too horribly different from when I started Bethel. I don’t really know anyone; I don’t really know the location; I don’t really know what’s coming. Remembering that very little of the circumstances surrounding my Greek adventure are different from my Bethel adventure that I set out on two years ago is comforting.

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Hello good folks of the blogosphere.

I am Ben Kreider, a hometown boy from North Newton, Kansas, a sophomore and an excited blogger. I am majoring in Social Work and Bible & Religion – both areas that stimulate me intellectually and vocationally. I find myself captivated by many things here at Bethel College. I am a soccer player – from the center defender position I survey the field, careen into opposing players, and find great joy. I am a singer; In the Concert Choir, I focus my bass voice onto particular notes and rhythms and in conjunction with fifty or so other folks find transcendent harmonies. I am a member or at least onlooker in many groups, in clubs with fellow social work students or people wanting to make social change, in the chapel worshiping with the wider college community, at the lunch table feasting on food and conversation.

I am intrigued by the possibility of telling the stories of my experiences at Bethel, of letting you all into the little beautiful crannies of life, of sharing the ordinary and extraordinary with you.

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This year, when students returned to Bethel College for the fall semester something was different. The east part of our campus was a construction zone! Tall orange fences block off a large section in the middle of the three residence halls. While it is tempting to grab some hard hats and help out, it’s probably best to let the construction crew do their work. The crews are still working and hopefully, they will be through by Fall Festival (October 12-14). Here’s a list of some of the work that’s been done thus far (I’m sure that I’m forgetting some):

-Academic Center- The new Academic Center was completed this summer. Previously it was known as the Old Science Center. Crews added on a new part to the building and renovated the old part. The building looks wonderful and has a cool atmosphere with a large 3-story atrium that lets in some lovely natural light. It is now home to many faculty offices, has many large classrooms, conference rooms, two computer labs, nursing simulation rooms, and even a student lounge area.

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Hello! I’m Jenae Janzen, a senior from Newton, Kansas majoring in Literary Studies and Bible and Religion. This is the very first blog that I’ve ever written, and I have to admit that the whole idea of blogging has been stressing me out all week. I’m not really sure why; as a lit. major, I’m more than used to writing (last spring I had forty-five pages worth of essays due in the last two weeks of school). Yet, for some reason, the idea of writing something that’s not an essay or a fictional story makes me tongue-tied. However, I’ll try my hardest to say something interesting and pertinent here.

I guess I’ll start by saying a bit about myself.

I grew up in Newton and have lived in the same house my whole life. It’s a nice town, I guess.

I work at Mojo’s Coffee Bar, here on campus, and it’s really a wonderful place to work. For one thing, I love coffee, and the coffee at Mojo’s is fantastic. The other reason I love Mojo’s so much is the people. At work, I’ve met so many people from Bethel and the greater Newton community, and I definitely enjoy spending time with all of my coworkers and my boss, Patty Meier.

Some of my hobbies include reading, walking, tennis, yoga, writing abstract poetry during class, drinking coffee (or tea) and searching for the meaning of life. I have not yet found the meaning of life, but someday I will. But when that day comes, I won’t tell anyone so that everyone can have their own fun figuring it out.

Bethel is a pretty cool place. Today was fancy Friday–a student-generated effort to bring classiness to classes–and everyone looked fantastic. I’m really looking forward to this year of school, even though it’s my last year here.

So have a great year, everyone!

Peace and love,

Jenae

Dear Blogosphere,

My name is Becca Epp. It’s my junior year here at Bethel and my first year blogging. I had a blog once before, but I did a poor job of taking care of it and it died. I very much hope that the same fate will not come of this one. Anyway, I’m a Literary Studies major and a History minor. Reading and writing are two of my favorite hobbies (which is good considering my major) along with movie watching, rain walking and strange conversations at the dinner table which happen daily - one of the many perks of coming to Bethel. If you’re into that kind of thing.

We’re almost through our second week of classes for fall semester. Summer days are slowly fading away, although the heat is not necessarily going with them, and I can’t stop feeling a sense of weirdness. Something about this year is just weird. There have been a lot of changes made to Bethel this summer. Remodeled cafeteria where there are so many options you always end up seeing something better after you already got food, a revamped Academic Center which looks peculiarly like a hospital (especially when the nursing students are out and about in their adorable uniforms) and all the new landscaping changes (where did the bushes outside the caf go?!). I’ve felt like a freshman so many times this week. Seriously, I’m supposed to be able to find all my classes after two years here. Or maybe the weirdness stems from my new mod (full of gorgeous ladies pictured above). I mean they are pretty odd, but I don’t think it’s them. Still. Weirdness.

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