First Day of School!

I woke up early yesterday and threw a pot of oatmeal on the stove and started a pot of coffee. I woke up Norah, did the diaper thing and gave her breakfast. Then, for the first time ever, Rach took Norah out of the house, and dropped her off at daycare. I spent the rest of the morning at home catching up on my Hebrew and reading a little. Then, around 8:30, I jumped on my bike and took the 10 minute bike ride down to campus.

It was a very pretty day and I sat on the sandstone steps with two other equally confused-looking new students wondering where my class was. I was trying to pretend like I wasn't nervous. I was prepared. I had restudied my notes for class, practiced that transliteration again, and packed my book bag the night before so my pens were clipped in their little pen pockets and my pencil was sharpened and my books were ready to go. But sitting on those stairs before school officially began, I felt very intimidated. I tried to engage in small talk with the people around me and nervously shifted my book bag from one hand to the other. It turns out, I was more than a little unnerved to think that I'm actually here. I was actually standing outside that enormous gothic structure with those four inch thick carved wooden doors, and in a few minutes, I was going to pull on the molded iron door handles, walk inside, and be a student again.

When we went in the building there was a note stapled to a placard in the lobby telling us that Biblical Hebrew was in room 201. We still had a few minutes so I walked downstairs to get a cup of coffee. Then, two other students and I walked up the worn stone stairs to room 201.

We learned about the philology of the Hebrew Language (where it came from etc...) and drilled into the first chapter of our Hebrew Grammar for the second half of class. I think I aced the quiz, I had studied it pretty well, and nothing we talked about in class yesterday came as a big surprise to me. Everything we covered was covered in Chapter one, so it was mostly review. All in all it was an encouraging lesson. I left the room thinking, I can do this.

Then, we walked down the wide stone stairs and congregated in the hallway before our orientation meeting. I talked with a few of the students (two of whom are named Josh... funny.) And around 12:00 we walked into the beautiful meeting room covered in portrait paintings and carved wood. We sat on folding chairs at huge wooden tables and listened to instructions on immunization records and registration and the like. Then, we all ate a free lunch, drank a glass of wine, and I rode over to the Library to get my ID.

So, now it's official. After nearly six years, I'm a student again. And man, does it feel good. Now, I have to jump in the shower, pack my bag, and head back to school for day two.

(Norah did great in daycare in case you're wondering. She napped twice, and ate all her Cheerios. Way to go baby girl!)