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The Church of the Good Shepherd UCCAnn Arbor, Michigan, USA
I write this entry from the vantage point of my office -- in the picture below, it's the corner windows, upstairs, on the right, in the two-story part of the building (the corner closest to the camera). It is the meeting house of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.cogsaa.org), where I have served as Pastor and Teacher since 1996. 
This blog is being created to document and share my journey on Sabbatical as I travel to South America for a Spanish language/Latin American culture immersion program in January, February and March of 2007. My journey will take me first to Buenos Aires, Argentina, followed by Santiago, Chile and finally, Quito, Ecuador. I will spend three weeks in each city, taking classes and private tutoring in Spanish on week days; living in homes with families where only Spanish will be spoken (or "Castilliano" in Argentina); and having afternoons, evenings and weekends to explore the cities and the cultures. This is something I've wanted to do for so very long, and I'm thrilled for the opportunity.
This will be my second sabbatical during my pastorate at this church. I have been a pastor for a little over 20 years now: the last ten years in Ann Arbor, and before that I served for four years in Detroit. Prior to that I was in Kansas and Texas.
Today it is cold and there is snow and ice on the ground, but the sun is peaking through the clouds. As winter settles-in in Michigan, I prepare myself to travel to the South American summer. But not so fast! There is much to do to get ready before I go, and I work my way down several lists of "must dos" that all have a deadline of December 24th -- my last work day before vacation, and then sabbatical. After Christmas Eve, I will not return to work until "April Fools Day," April 1st, 2007.
Let me end this first blog entry by saying that it might just be that keeping a blog will be too much for me while in the midst of a language and cultural immersion program. My first priority will be language fluency. Next will be rest and renewal -- the primary task of sabbatical. After that, tourism, and then, blogging! So it may be that my entries will be few and far between. Or they may be frequent and bountiful. We shall see.
At any rate, thank you for joining me on my journey.
Adelante!
Grace and peace,
-- Bill
This blog is being created to document and share my journey on Sabbatical as I travel to South America for a Spanish language/Latin American culture immersion program in January, February and March of 2007. My journey will take me first to Buenos Aires, Argentina, followed by Santiago, Chile and finally, Quito, Ecuador. I will spend three weeks in each city, taking classes and private tutoring in Spanish on week days; living in homes with families where only Spanish will be spoken (or "Castilliano" in Argentina); and having afternoons, evenings and weekends to explore the cities and the cultures. This is something I've wanted to do for so very long, and I'm thrilled for the opportunity.
This will be my second sabbatical during my pastorate at this church. I have been a pastor for a little over 20 years now: the last ten years in Ann Arbor, and before that I served for four years in Detroit. Prior to that I was in Kansas and Texas.
Today it is cold and there is snow and ice on the ground, but the sun is peaking through the clouds. As winter settles-in in Michigan, I prepare myself to travel to the South American summer. But not so fast! There is much to do to get ready before I go, and I work my way down several lists of "must dos" that all have a deadline of December 24th -- my last work day before vacation, and then sabbatical. After Christmas Eve, I will not return to work until "April Fools Day," April 1st, 2007.
Let me end this first blog entry by saying that it might just be that keeping a blog will be too much for me while in the midst of a language and cultural immersion program. My first priority will be language fluency. Next will be rest and renewal -- the primary task of sabbatical. After that, tourism, and then, blogging! So it may be that my entries will be few and far between. Or they may be frequent and bountiful. We shall see.
At any rate, thank you for joining me on my journey.
Adelante!
Grace and peace,
-- Bill
3 comments:
Bill,
Thank you so much for going through this effort to share your South American experience. While I agree that blogging should be your fourth priority, I hope that your time allows you to share the many revelations you will have with those who are stuck in the snow and ice of English-speaking Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti.
Remember that posting your thoughts and impressions does not necessarily involve painstaking rewriting and editing; that a timely sentence or paragraph relaying an illuminating moment is much more moving than a well-crafted post written weeks or months after the fact.
God will go with you, so let us go too!
I am reading this knowing that you are off tomorrow...DIOS TE BENDIGO Y BUENA SUERTE!!!!
Happy Birthday, Bill. We are having a birthday cupcake in your honor as I write this. I blew out the candles; you have to make the wish. The great outdoors is covered with ice here and most places in the US between here and Texas (just north of Mexico. Very destructive beauty. Will be watching your blog!
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