As many know, I am no technocrat. I am more of a luddite. So, I hope I am even blogging in the right place. Oh well. I'm going to spend my blog time remeniscing on the joys of the semesterly camping trip with Dr. Kleber. Dr. Kleber is not only important to me, but he is also important to the McConnell Center. His steadfast congeniality and deep widsom always facilitates growth for everybody.
Saturday morning at 8 a.m. came around very quickly...too quickly. There are few things that can roll me out of bed that early on a Saturday. Luckily, going camping with Dr. Kleber and fellow scholars is one of them. We all sat around the thinker, slightly shivering, yet enjoying the Krispie Kreme donuts that Dr. Kleber got for us. We then headed out.
The van rides are alway fun. Something I have come to value about the McConnell Center is the conversations I have with scholars outside the lectures and the seminars. We talk about everything...from love lives to global warming to relativism. But those van rides always cultivate great conversations and I value them very much.
The weather truly was gorgeous all day. We hiked around. I thought Zach Barnes and Max Morley were going to fall to their deaths off of the cliffs. But, alas, they didn't. It was great just hiking through the woods and chatting with all the scholars.
That night, as always, Dr. Kleber adhered to his traditonal mandatory silence. This is always..always my favorite part of the camping trips. Dr. Kleber has us lay down on the ground underneath the canopy of the stars. And he tells us to be absolutely quiet. No talking. We sit there for fifteen minutes in complete silence. That is something nobody gets these days. When that complete silence seeps into your brain, you are thinking clearer than you have in a long time. It's a rejuvinating and quasi-religious experience...if you allow it to be.
Camping with Dr. Kleber and the rest of the scholars has and continues to be one of my favorite activities that the McConnell Center provides for me.
Saturday morning at 8 a.m. came around very quickly...too quickly. There are few things that can roll me out of bed that early on a Saturday. Luckily, going camping with Dr. Kleber and fellow scholars is one of them. We all sat around the thinker, slightly shivering, yet enjoying the Krispie Kreme donuts that Dr. Kleber got for us. We then headed out.
The van rides are alway fun. Something I have come to value about the McConnell Center is the conversations I have with scholars outside the lectures and the seminars. We talk about everything...from love lives to global warming to relativism. But those van rides always cultivate great conversations and I value them very much.
The weather truly was gorgeous all day. We hiked around. I thought Zach Barnes and Max Morley were going to fall to their deaths off of the cliffs. But, alas, they didn't. It was great just hiking through the woods and chatting with all the scholars.
That night, as always, Dr. Kleber adhered to his traditonal mandatory silence. This is always..always my favorite part of the camping trips. Dr. Kleber has us lay down on the ground underneath the canopy of the stars. And he tells us to be absolutely quiet. No talking. We sit there for fifteen minutes in complete silence. That is something nobody gets these days. When that complete silence seeps into your brain, you are thinking clearer than you have in a long time. It's a rejuvinating and quasi-religious experience...if you allow it to be.
Camping with Dr. Kleber and the rest of the scholars has and continues to be one of my favorite activities that the McConnell Center provides for me.