Exeter updates

Dear family and friends,

I am sorry that it has been three weeks since my last blog entry, but these have been very rich weeks, and I am doing the things I came to Exeter to do.  Even so, I miss you all, and I am eager to get home to see you and talk to you again.  And there are some photos at the end, so do not give up!

First of all, I finished a huge chapter of my PhD dissertation, which I had been working on for months. This is my third huge chapter, and the first of two on St. Augustine, who is my "main man" so to speak, and this chapter represents a major milestone for me.  But it meant I had to be "heads down" on the final writing for a while, which is why I disappeared!

Next, I was very pleased to be gain admittance to the six-week course that teaches PhD students how to teach at the undergraduate level.  We've had two of the six sessions so far, and the course is very informative and practical, and I like the instructors and my fellow PhD students in the course.  This is a real opportunity for me, as I would not be able to get this training back home, and this is one of the benefits of being here in Exeter in-person.  In conjunction with this course, my PhD advisor agreed to give me a specific number of hours for leading seminar sessions for two of her courses, one of which is in my area of speciality. For that one, I'll be able to lead three identical seminar sessions on St. Augustine and the Trinity.  And for the other one, I'll be leading two identical seminar sessions on Martin Luther and two of his key writings, including his 95 Theses!  I am very excited about this, and I continue to be very impressed with the caliber of undergraduate students here in the theology department.

Now, on to the exciting things!  Debbie came back, bringing our friend Beth, who flew in from Raleigh, North Carolina. We've all known each other for over 34 years, from when we worked for IBM in Raleigh.  We had terrible weather, so I did not get many photos, but I wanted to share a few pictures with you from Lyme Regis. We went there last Sunday, because all three of us had read the historical fiction book Remarkable Creatures, about Mary Anning (and another woman), who discovered major fossils and some extinct species in the early 1800s.  We LOVED the museum there, which featured not only Mary Anning and the fossils, but also the many authors who had written books while living in Lyme Regis, or which were set in Lyme Regis. This includes Jane Austen, who set part of her book Persuasion there.  We also saw a church --- the one in the photo here --- which has been there for 900 years, and outside of which Mary Anning and her family are buried.  The cliffs in the far distance, in one of the photos, are where Mary Anning found the fossils. It's hard to imagine her climbing up there in long skirts and in the rain.

So, I have been in Exeter over six weeks now, and have just under seven weeks left in Exeter. Then I'll be with Debbie and Tim for two weeks in Kent, and I'll return home two days after Christmas.

Best wishes and blessings to you all,
Jane