So today was the first day of Orientation at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. I'm totally having flashbacks of my Freshman Orientation at Wheaton College 12 years ago. It's the same atmosphere of meeting tons of new and interesting people, listening to all the long talks with all the details of campus life that you'll never actually remember and will just have to figure out as you go along anyway, and getting really excited about picking classes and getting started. The only difference from those early college days is the lack of sexual tension here at seminary given that most people here are already married and represent a range of ages spanning several decades.

Anyhow, I think Austin Seminary is going to turn out to be a great choice. The community seems really welcoming and family-like, the classes seem interesting and the faculty are very well credentialed (most hail from schools like Vanderbilt, Emory, University of Chicago, Harvard, and Princeton), and the atmosphere has the laid-back, eclectic Austin vibe. The student body is more diverse in church backgrounds than I expected as well. Already I've met folks ranging from Unitarian/Universalists to Church of Christ, as well as a former Assembly of God couple who had connections with Dan Kimball's emerging church out in the California Bay Area.

So yeah, the first day was good. Tomorrow we head out for a mini-retreat for some swimming and community building activities. Friday we finish all the logistical stuff and sit through a few more orientation talks. Classes start Tuesday next week. Woo-hoo!

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