Grind

Bethel is moving out of online classes in stages – currently I’d say that I was split about 50/50 between Zoom and the classroom. The classes are pretty varied, but all of them fit within the broad range of the ‘History Major’. Some of the subjects are very hands on, like my Journalism class where I’ll soon be writing and editing articles for the Collegiate newspaper. Others involve far more studying, like my History of Civilization class, which has a 500-hundred-page textbook for this term alone. Some of the subjects, like my public speaking class and convocation seminars, are compulsory for all students as a part of their all round Collegiate education. There’s a lot of variety, so I can’t really get bored. The Americans love a good argument as well. The members of my history class have not been shy in reminding me of the USA’s famous victory in the revolutionary war. I think it’s a great shame that these students of history should not have learnt about Britain vs America round two in 1812, in which they came off considerably worse.

The Will Academic Centre, I have a lot of my classes in here. 

History is not the main topic of debate around these parts. Over the past three weeks the political temperature seems to have turned up a notch. There is no doubt that the election in November shall be one to remember. Both sides, each with their merits I’m sure, have declared that the integrity and continuity of the United States is weighing upon the voters this time around. The Republican candidate, Mr Donald Trump, appears to have closed Mr Biden in the polls over the past fortnight, and the tension of the race is beginning to show on campus. I welcome the lively political debate, but I have too say that neither candidate seems particularly appealing. President Trump’s moral record would put a dung beetle off his dinner, but Vice – President Biden doesn’t actually seem to be alive. The Democratic candidate is hardly a knight in shining armour, come to deliver the Free World from the clutches of the Orange Ogre of Doom. The lack of choice only seems to have added fuel to fire, which I’m sure will only continue to build as the election draws ever closer.

The Luyken Centre houses the lecture auditorium. 

We’re required to follow these events closely for our Social Work class. This subject is far broader in America than it is at home, and essentially concerns the role of government in American society – a role which is constantly fluctuating and has to be watched carefully. Politics is far more volatile in the States, and things move fast. It’s a lot for an Englishman to take in.

Voth Hall is the accommodation block for most of the students in their final year. 

The running has been a rather mixed bag of late, with some good and some bad. Coach’s vision for his athletes is broadly in line with the exulted Sarah Kearney (praise be upon her), in that he wants to build up our mileage steadily over time to establish an aerobic base. Some of us are further along in this process than others. Me and Mauro, though Mauro especially, are the stand outs of the current men’s team. I definitely have my limitations of course. For example, coach sent us on a long run on Monday. He initially told us ten, but when we got to five and were meant to turn around Mauro asked if I wanted to do six. Then when we got to six, I suggested that we just run a half marathon. We weren’t going slow either – averaging about 4.10 a kilometre in the end. The weather was lovely, and I felt great. The following day however was not so great. The 800 session the following afternoon was pretty terrible. Listen to your coach kids.

The beautiful Mennonite Chapel, which is on campus. 

We have our first race on Saturday! It’s an invitational 5k, and we’re not expecting that much being honest. The team is definitely a work in progress, and coach is keen to see how we get on. He’s not tapering training to any significant degree, because he wants to incorporate this race into our ongoing 8k training. I’m pretty excited, and I don’t really have any idea what to expect. I’ll be sure to tell you how I get on!