Life as an Alien... (so far)

Well, as I have promised, here is the update. As I am writing this, it is September 12th in Virginia, which means that I have been here for one month and six days. This is almost unbelievable! I still cannot get past the fact that I have been away from the place I call home for that long! I guess this is the result of His grace and mercy to me. Always being there for me when I needed Him, or not.

Okay, now brace yourselves for a super long post. (What can you expect from one who has not updated her blog for a month?)

Guess I shall begin with my classes, since they are such a HUGE part of my life now.

General Education (GNED 101): I did not know what to call this subject and how to describe it until Micah calls it a subject that deals with ethics. If that is not plain enough, I'll put it this way: the class teaches you how to think and how to tell what is right and what is wrong, based on the Biblical standpoint, of course. After all, this is Liberty University. And since this is Liberty University, how can salvation and the gospel (something I've been hearing a lot lately! I'm not complaining...) be omitted from the syllabus? So yes, it is in the syllabus. Well, to put it more plainly, it is a Christian Moral class. But the nicest thing about this class is the lecturer. His name is Norman Troy Matthews (but apparently, he hates his first name and hence, goes by his middle name), an American who was raised in Australia. If I do not remember anything else, the only thing I remember about this class is that, on the first day, at the end of the class, he yelled out, "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!", and made us yelled back, "Oink! Oink! Oink!". How crazier can it get?

English (ENGL 101): Obviously, this is an English class. But it is so different from the English classes we have back at home. At least in this class, I was given an essay assignment, but no topic. Basically, I can write whatever I want to write. You may think that this is cool, but it is not, especially when you have to submit three outlines and two drafts before submitting the actual essay. I have written a thousand essays in my life (figuratively!), but I have not written a single outline. But the professor is cute. Can't deny that. She opened my eyes yesterday, by telling the class that 'nice' actually means "stupid or foolish". Nice, huh?

Communications (COMS 101): This is basically a speech class. You learn how to speak, or rather, 'communicate'. I really have nothing much to say about this class, besides the fact that we get extra credits (extra points added to your final grade) by going out front to tell a joke before class begins. So, I went out to tell jokes! Who does not want extra points? (The Americans! kidding...) This is like a freebie! Oh, by the way, I have to give a speech next next week, and I will be talking about the places of interest in Malaysia! Patriotic leh...

Humanities (HUMN 101): Oh... this is a funny class. I have a professor by the name of Dr. Lynn Seipp who is at least 70 years old, and he is a man! Okay, you're probably not laughing, but I always thought that Lynn is a girl's name. Anyway, the first thing he taught us in class is how to pass the attendance sheet, and he had to repeat himself like 2-3 times! Is that cute or what? Well, back to the subject, it is a subject that teaches you to appreciate culture, art, dance, music etc. And our (how I love this pronoun!) Petronas Twin Towers is in my Humanities Textbook! (See, we've finally made a name for ourselves with one of out 'tallest' and 'longest'!) This is actually quite an interesting class, as my professor will sometimes play some instruments in class. (Yes, the 70-year-old man!) Also because I got 100% for my first test for this subject! Oh, and the professor also begins every class with a devotional time.

Bible (BIBL 105): This Bible class that I am taking for this semester is "Survey of the Old Testament". Yes, it sounds like I am in a seminary. Actually, I feel like I am in one. A subject like this sounds like something my Dad did in MBTS. If that is not enough, you should take a look at my textbook. It is as thick as my dictionary, if not thicker! No joke! And it is like reading Middle Eastern history. It is a pretty boring subject, but somehow, my professor (His name is Michael Smith!) made it really interesting. And it also really nice to study the Old Testament as something more than a book of Sunday School stories, but as a book that documents the early history of mankind. Frankly, it's amazing!

Evangelism (EVAN 101): I don't even think that this is a class. It's more like another service (and later you will know why I use the word 'another'), because we start every class with a praise and worship session, and we have guest speakers coming to share their testimonies, and we have altar calls (yes, plural form!) in the class. And did I mention that one of the assignments is to write my testimony?

Well, on a lighter note, I went to a football game! Our first home game for the season, and we won 49-10! My first football game! And if you haven't realised, I am not talking about the football where guys kick a black-and-white ball around. I am talking about American football. And I do not have a single clue how the game goes! I could not even keep track of where the ball went. It's basically a game where you watch a bunch of big guys chasing one big guy holding the ball. So, I just cheered when the rest of the people cheered, and tried to comprehend as much as I can, which is really not much. Well, anyway, I can now claim that I went to watch a game! And I actually stayed till the end of the game without falling asleep! Such an achievement...

Last week we also had Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). It's basically a week where we have services every night. Yes, every night! As though six services a week is not enough! (No kidding!) But SEW is evangelistic in nature, and I witness so many people giving their lives at the altar, that I can hardly believe it (literally!). But I guess my Lord is the Lord of the Impossibles. And to kick start SEW, we had an all night of prayer, and my dorm got the last shift of the night (or day), which is from 7-8am. So we woke up at 6.30am to go to the Prayer Chapel which is on the Hill to pray. I do not know about the others, but it was good for me. It was a time when I can really focus on the Lord and fall on my face before Him in petition. Not that I cannot do it on any other day, but sometimes, life has so many things lined up for me that it is hard to be focused. Sometimes it's hard to get through my quiet time without glancing at the clock even once. And I feel guilty! I mean, just imagine if you are talking to me and I keep looking at my watch. How rude is that!

This is getting too long. I shall not kill your interest and patience. Will update more soon. At least for now, I can say that I kept my promise to update my blog!