Beginnings
I’m writing this in my second week in Grand Rapids, MI. My wife and I are here for one semester, and then we’re off to Dublin, Ireland for about two years. She’s a mathematician, and I’m an aspiring theologian, and all our plans are, of course, subject to the fates.
It’s my first time living outside of Canada. So far, the city seems like a great place to live. I’m an alien in a foreign land, but it’s not such a foreign one, really. There are some differences though. The most obvious seems to be the number and variety of restaurants. I’m only a short distance from Canada, but I’ve never heard of most of the restaurants that are here, and they’re obviously well established chains. Not a lot of independent restaurants/stores here at all actually. I think corporate is the name of the game.
There are other differences I’ve noticed as well. Grand Rapids is super-Christian, and this contrasts sharply with most of Canada. I guess it’s a bit like a huge Steinbach Manitoba, although it’s not nearly as strait-laced, which suits me fine actually. The analogy works for Calvin College as well I suppose, a much larger and less conservative Providence College.
Calvin however is much better integrated into the milieu of greater American culture than any Christian institution in Canada. It offers degrees in Engineering and Nursing and these degrees are recognized by other schools and the governing bodies of these professions. Compare that to the experience of Canadians trying to get credit for their courses from Christian colleges.
On the whole the people of Grand Rapids have been very good to us, and though this stint in Grand Rapids will only be for four months, I think it will serve to endear the place to us, and make leaving Dublin a little easier.
