The Nerve!

I know that it was my decision to attend the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University. Without arm twisting, or duress, or even any doubt I sent in my check proudly showing my intent to be a student in, what else, Religious Studies during this year in Jerusalem. Part time granted, but still it was an attempt to keep atrophy from seeping into the small dark crevices of what little mind I have left.

The first semester ended during the last week of January. I missed a few classes due to the course that I took at Yad Vashem. That didn’t seem to stun the professors too badly especially since I said that I’d still do the final research papers. Professors here are, let’s say, a lot more relaxed. Not about the work and the scholarship but in attitude.

But, actually, early on in the semester I realized that, honestly, I wanted to be an auditor, not an active student with all that paper writing stuff. University, Seminary…enough paper writing is enough! What was I thinking? Why would I come all this way to sit inside of a mole hole of an apartment and write research papers and try and remember how to write pain-staking punctuated bibliographies?

That’s right, apparently, I wasn’t thinking. But you bet your booties folks that now I am! I just completed the final paper for the semester. Melito of Sardis, an early Church Father of the virulent kind. There are not many extant writings of his left. I say, so be it. Let bygones be bygones. It feels so good to get this off my desk and onto someone else’s.

Don’t they know that I’ve got photos to take, paintings to watercolor, people to meet, sites to see, hummus to eat, blogs to write? I ask, what are they thinking?? Really, the nerve.

A new semester begins next week.