Almost Gone...

Well most of our stuff is packed into the truck thanks to several kind friends. We just have to gather up a few more boxes and clean the apartment now. We're hoping to finish by this evening and then perhaps spend one last fun night in New Haven. Tomorrow we'll savor our last time at Christ Pres and in the evening we'll head off to Hartford. Here we are enjoying some delicious New Haven pizza from "BAR" after the hard work. The pizza here has ruined us - we'll never be able to eat pizza anywhere else again - it's just too good here.

What we'll miss the most: Christ Presbyterian Church

(no, it's not snowing in June - this is a winter picture of where we go to church)

When we arrived here last August we happened upon the best thing that has happened to us this year - Christ Presbyterian Church. We had never been to a Presbyterian church before and we weren't sure what to expect. We wonder if we'll ever find another place like it - the combination of the rich liturgical worship, thought provoking and convicting teaching and amazing fellowship is extremely unique.

There is so much going on at this place and we feel we have just barely seen the tip of the iceberg. First of all, I don't think I've ever seen such a large group of people function so well as a family and yet be so so welcoming to newcomers. We were warmly welcomed immediately and sometimes we can't even believe we've only been here for such a short amount of time. This is the place for us - the worship instructs us and draws our hearts to God. This church cares about the poor and the community and is so generous with what they have. This is a church that is mindful of it's urban location and seeks to be a light in New Haven. And the liturgy -I could write pages and pages on why I love liturgical worship. How it nourishes my soul to weekly read the various responses to "Christians, What do you believe?" or "Christians, what is your only comfort in life and death?" We are always reminded of the whole of our faith - from God to Christ's saving work to the resurrection and to the "world without end" that we long for. I love to see the little ones singing the Doxology and the Gloria Patri - these words are etched into their hearts already at such a young age.

A few weeks ago we were in church and I was just amazed to look around and see us surrounded by friends. We feel like we have been here for much longer than 9 months. Leaving this church is definitely the hardest part about moving. People here have been exceedingly kind to us and we have so enjoyed spending the year getting to know them. We are so challenged by the way everyone serves each other and especially by the way they have served us - meeting various needs we have had, like rides to the store or small group...and yesterday several of them loaded all our heavy furniture onto a moving truck. What a help!

Moving across the country to a state we had never visited, where we knew not a soul and had not one single connection (other than the admissions staff at Yale Divinity...) was the most adventurous move we've ever made. I'm amazed at how the year unfolded - how God put so many of His people in our lives so quickly. We leave behind dear friends and an incredible church body that we will sorely miss.

The year is 1957

So the next Indiana Jones movie (can you believe there's actually going to be another one?)is filming a scene or two in New Haven. It's all anybody has been talking about at work the past few weeks. Several people from the office actually went to the casting call and are determined to be extras. The craziness started the other day and downtown New Haven has been transformed into a town called "Bedford" and the year is 1957. Sameer met me after work on Thursday and we thought we'd go downtown for a last stroll through the green and dinner at Richter's (New Haven's oldest bar - one of our many favorite places here...).


We didn't realize that New Haven wouldn't be quite itself for our last night on the town. The streets were filled with 50's cars and all the store fronts were transformed. It was like walking through a museum - except for when we couldn't cross the street or walk a certain direction because they were filming...

Relief

After 3 awfully hot and humid days the weather has changed and we are actually so cold we're wearing sweaters and socks again. Yesterday was my last day at work so today is the day we need to finish all of our packing. Last night we were so miserable in the apartment (no air conditioner...) we could barely stand it. The oppressive humidity was almost making me sick - I had no idea how we would be able to finish packing. Last night I dreamt that someone gave us an air conditioner and sure enough when we woke up at 6:00 a cold breeze was drifting into our room and we actually needed the sheet and blanket. We are very happy and content now and I think we can handle this move.

The Elm City

I LOVE New Haven. When we first got here we heard so many warnings about the danger and crime and poverty. We were honestly nervous to walk down our own street at night. We were skeptical, suspicious and scared. Now, I feel intimately acquainted with this place and I love that. I love that we don't have a car and that we need to walk everywhere. I love taking the city bus to run errands and I love meeting strangers at the bus stop and hearing all about their day. I've never been good at talking to strangers. Living in Santa Clarita and driving a car everywhere didn't help that. I know plenty of people in suburbia who are outgoing and friendly to strangers but it took a place like New Haven for me to learn that I love to meet people and that it's not that hard.

There is so much diversity here. New Haven is not just a university town. Downtown and Yale are all mixed in together.....it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. I love the bustling Green in the middle of town. I love to cross it to run errands and I love that the more I walk around town the more I see some of the same people over and over again. Like the sweet old man who reads the paper at Dunkin' Donuts every morning, or the nice homeless man who sits by the bus stop on Broadway St. and helps lost looking people figure out which bus they need - or Sal, who lives on the bench at the northeast corner of the Green.

I like that I actually know and talk to the owners of a few of the little stores we shop at. I love that on a typical day of walking to and from work and maybe running an errand in the evening I usually see a couple people from church and several people I know from work or from the Div school. I also now have so much admiration for some of the hardest working yet least appreciated people - like the bus driver who picked us up at the train station after we got back from New York at 1:00 in the morning on a Tuesday. He probably had to work all night and didn't have childcare so his two children tried to sleep on the front seats of the bus. We watched people get on and off the bus and accidentally bump into the poor tired kids over and over again. I know of two other bus drivers who have to take their kids to work so unfortunately this situation is not uncommon.

We're moving this week and while I'm excited for what's ahead, I am so so sad to leave New Haven because I adore this place and in a strange way it helps me feel more human. I see more of the raw beauty of life and people here even in the midst of poverty and racial tension and class distinction...I do hope this place has changed us.

Last days in New Haven

So we got together with our small group for ice cream in the courtyard and we ended up spending the evening playing on children's play equipment anywhere we could find it - 5 different locations to be precise. Our only regret is that we never discovered the cool one person "merry-go-round" sooner.

We started with the small stuff and ended up at an elementary school an hour later. Haven't felt that young in years....

It's better on Broadway

The Office, My Office

I never thought that having a "normal" job working with adults could provide as many funny moments as teaching piano lessons did. My students used to say the weirdest things. Sometimes I would write their hilarious quotes in my day planner because certain things should not be forgotten.

Now I work in a large office with dozens of people. We have enough characters for a whole new version of The Office.

There's a nice older man who sits 2 cubicles over from mine. We'll call him Ernie. Ernie is so kind. He was one of the first people to introduce himself to me and he walks by my desk several times a day always saying "Hi Whitney." Last week I was in the lunch room washing my lunch dish and Ernie came up to me and said, "Hi. I'm Ernie. What's your name?" Reminded me of a certain scene involving Creed.

On another office note, we had "Diversity Day" last week.

Lady Liberty

Sameer's mom wanted to take a picture of us in front of the Statue of Liberty, but was unable to fit her in the picture.... Our dismay turned to joy, however, when we noticed that - by pure and blessed coincidence - Lady Liberty sent a stand-in...

Album: Yadavs in Manhattan

NYC with Sameer's parents

Pure Chocolate Whippet

Sameer got these from the store the other day. They were actually quite good...but I think the description on the side of the box is a little over the top:

"Since its creation by the Viau family in 1927, the irresistibly sinful taste of Dare Pure Chocolate Whippet has been Quebec's favorite cookie for generations! Whippet is a heavenly cloud-like marshmallow cookie that is smothered in a pure dark chocolate for a taste that is sure to satisfy your every desire."

Cool and breezy, 50's and 60's

I am loving our weather right now. This is a dream for June!

Commencement Highlights

The rest of the album:

Commencement

Our Vacation Album

More pictures:

Our Vacation

Our Vacation: Boston, Salem, Martha's Vineyard

Busy Busy (a long, boring informative post)

We had an amazing vacation in the middle of May. It was a much needed bit of rest and relaxation before all the craziness that came after it and will continue for several months. (pictures coming soon) When we came home from vacation I went back to work and Sameer began looking for temporary work. We got our humble apartment ready for the arrival of Sameer's parents soon after that. They arrived on Saturday to be here for Commencement. Commencement at Yale is a long noble event. He actually got to don his cap and gown for three separate ceremonies between Sunday and Monday. (pictures of that coming soon too)

The day after Commencement the four of us took the train to Manhattan where we stayed in a fun little hotel on Broadway. On Thursday morning we saw Sameer's parents off at Penn Station where they boarded a train headed for Niagara Falls. We spent the day in Manhattan mostly looking for peaceful places to read. (By our 3rd day in the city we were in desperate need of quietness). We discovered the New York Humanites & Social Sciences Library. It had a huge public reading room and we spent 4 hours there. Then we went to dinner and finished off our last (6th in fact) New York trip of the year by seeing Les Miserables on Broadway.

We arrived home around 2:45am that night (morning) and then 4 hours later I got up to go to work. After work I went to bed early. Then on Saturday we began working on what we had long been putting off....

We're moving. In a few weeks. I don't remember if we've mentioned it specifically, but Sameer is beginning a doctor of theology program at Duke this fall (Th.D.). We're leaving our beloved New Haven and new friends and church to move to the south. We don't know where we're living or when we're going to get there but we do know we're moving out of this apartment sometime between June 29th and June 30th. We hope to squeeze in a trip to Idaho and California at some point but we also want to get to Duke soon so I can start looking for work. In between applying for jobs and writing cover letters we're also looking into buying a home in Durham. We're thinking of renting an apartment for a few months to get to know the area. Things aren't coming together as quickly as I'd like and I find it so difficult to just stop trying to plan things constantly. If you read our very first post of this blog you'll see how wonderfully God provided for us when we moved here. I'm sure He'll take care of us with this move too. I just need to figure out a way to let a few minutes go by without thinking about it.

I look forward to the time when we can get through a whole year without packing up our apartment and moving. We've never stayed in the same place for more than 9 months since we've been married. It must be nice (but maybe boring?) to be settled.

This town loves a parade

Yesterday after church we found ourselves in the middle of yet another boisterous New Haven parade. There have been quite a few since St. Patrick's Day. For some reason people here love to go out to the street and excitedly watch people, dogs, marching bands, trucks, anything. As we ate our lunch at Bruegger's Bagels we got to see Ronald McDonald standing on top of an ambulance waving a Puerto Rican flag. Now that's exciting! Our lunch with friends had just started to wrap up when we saw the commotion. We stared for several minutes trying to understand WHY. We were stunned really and ended up lingering for about 30 minutes because we were just fascinated by the cultural phenomenon that is New Haven and Parades.

Last week during Sameer's graduation his whole class from the Divinity School had to walk together for about a mile to join the rest of the university for the downtown ceremony. He said that pedestrians on the street began stopping and cheering for them as they walked down the hill. To them it was probably just another parade.