Today, Friday, December 13, is the end of my three-month residency at the University of Exeter. I arrived in the city of Exeter exactly three months ago, on Friday, September 13, after my wonderful friend Debbie so gamely picked me up that morning from Heathrow Airport at a horribly early hour and drove me to Exeter. Debbie stayed for that first weekend to help me get my flat set up, to make sure that I bought real food to eat at the grocery store, and to help me navigate the area. If Debbie had not done that, I would never be where I am today: a very happy person, ending an extremely rich time at the University of Exeter and in the city of Exeter.
I also was thrilled that Debbie and her husband Tim came to visit me for a week, and that Debbie came back again with our friend Beth, when Beth was visiting from North Carolina. Debbie, Tim, Beth, and I go back a few decades now (not to admit our ages), and it was wonderful for us to see each other.
Debbie is arriving tomorrow to spend a couple of days with me and help me pack up, and we are going to do some final site-seeing, including taking a quick trip by train to Bath. Then on Tuesday we will fill up her car with my stuff and head to Kent, where I will spend Christmas with Debbie and Tim, something I can hardly wait to do.
The photo above shows the Amory Building at the University of Exeter. This building houses several departments, including the Theology Department, and so I spent quite a bit of time there, although many of the lectures and classes I sat in on were held in other buildings. There was no way for me to capture this on my camera, but the university is built on a very steep hill. Many of the buildings are built into the hill, so you can enter on the ground floor in the front, and, in the case of Amory, walk out the back door on the fourth floor (using American floor numbering), or, in the case of another building I was in, walk out the back door on the seventh floor! I will not miss all the hills and steps, but I sure got a lot of exercise, and the Kingswood hill and hills at Putnam Park will seem like nothing to me when I get back home!
Today I assisted Morwenna with the three final seminars for her first year undergraduate Patristics course. We didn't end until 5:00 PM, so we went up to the very end of the term. I have deeply appreciated being able to participate with Morwenna and her students, and I am grateful to have been given so many opportunities to learn about teaching theology.
I said good-bye all week to folks, including my fellow PhD students, professors, undergrads, staff, people at church, people at my favorite restaurant, etc. And I walked around on a few different days just to say good-bye to places or buildings where I've been. So, it's all wrapped up now, and I can thank God, as well as all of you who have journeyed with me as my friends, for all that has transpired.
Thank you for your friendship, interest, and support. I wish you a blessed rest of Advent and Christmas season. And I am posting below my two favorite photos from the time I was here.
Blessings to all,
Exeter Jane
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