It’s been about two weeks since I started my research at Harvard Divinity School for the summer. In that time, a lot has happened; some things quite interesting and other things quite eventful! Here’s a post to catch you up on what’s been happening.

Leaving at 5:30 AM on a Saturday from San Jose International Airport on a flight to Boston Logan Airport, I arrived in Boston around 8:00 PM local time. After several hours of flights, I was tired, but still very eager to get from the airport to a place with a nice warm bed. After a short car ride to Somerville (one of the neighboring communities surrounding the Cambridge area), I arrived around 9:00 PM on the front porch of an apartment building that was listed to be my interim stay for the week; the dormitories at Lesley University were not open until the following Sunday. A little confused, I knocked on the door and rang each of the three doorbells (each floor had its own bell to alert people living in the building to greet their guests at the main door of the entrance) hoping to reach someone in order to check into my room. After five minutes of no response, I got the sense that something was wrong.

Memorial Hall, built in honor of 136 Harvard students who had fought and lost their lives for the Union in the US Civil War.

After a few more minutes of waiting, a man appeared from inside the building carrying a couple of bags of garbage. Still worried and confused, I asked him if he knew anything about the housing listed online. Sadly, he didn’t know anything of the sort and was about as confused as I was. After examining the images of the listing (according to him, the bathroom and bedroom photos didn’t look anything like the rooms offered in the apartment) and the name of the person listing the option, we determined that the listing had been an unfortunate scam. Distressed, I frantically called numbers of people I knew to see what support I could gather.

During this time, the man’s girlfriend came down to check up on what was happening. Welcomingly, both of them explained that they were headed to a local Indian restaurant to pick up food for their visiting families. One of them had just graduated from a Masters program at Harvard and both sides of the family had flown in from England and Pakistan to celebrate the commencement. The couple invited me to leave my heavy luggage locked inside their apartment while I traveled with them to the local restaurant, minutes down the street. During this time, I left my luggage safely locked away and made some emergency phone calls to receive accommodations for the night.

Another view of Memorial Hall.

After my securing a hotel room at the Harvard Faculty Club (this was the only option available, as all of the other hotels in the area were booked up for not only commencement weekend but Memorial Day weekend!) and their purchasing food from the local eatery, the couple and I walked back to the apartment. The two of them treated me with such kindness, inviting me to have dinner with their family; I was a total stranger, yet they wouldn’t take no for an answer and had me climb the floors to meet their relatives. They had also explained to me that this was the first night of Ramadan and that they were more than happy to share their meal with a stranger. Mothers on both sides of the family assured me that I reminded them of their son/daughter and said that I was now a member of their family. I was touched with so much grace in this time of panic. After a delicious meal and lots of laughter about the whole incident, I finally gathered my things, grabbed the mandatory dessert I just had to try for the road, and headed to the hotel’s location. It had been a long night, and I was glad to finally be in bed resting. The next day I was able to call for support from the online listing service and received a booking for an alternate listing that wasn’t a scam! Everything seemed to work out.

I am now writing this from the comfort of one of Lesley University’s dorm rooms. After two full weeks of research, I’ve been exposed to some really incredible things. At Andover-Harvard Theological Library, I am given the privilege of using the library’s historic archives and special collections to find primary source documents for my research. The current trajectory for this summer is to explore the concept of moral injury, as I previously compiled a literature review and conducted interviews with representatives of veterans organizations last summer, and how military chaplains, particularly Unitarian Universalists, work and historically have worked to address the moral injuries of those they serve. While in the archives, I am able to leaf through extensive files of chaplain letters and correspondences, as well as hold yellowing letters from the time of the US Civil War in my hands. It’s really both incredible and chilling.

A picture of Andover Hall, one of the historic buildings at Harvard Divinity School. In the right wing of this building is Andover-Harvard Theological Library, which serves as my primary workspace; the library also heralds itself as the friendliest library on campus.

While new to the Cambridge area, I have been able to walk around quite a bit and explore the surrounding areas. As a campus, Harvard is absolutely mesmerizing. There is so much history packed into a short area of campus. The surrounding area is also full of a lot of history; one can hardly walk down the sidewalk without coming upon an old tombstone or historic monument of some sort! Overall, everything has been really wonderful since arriving here in Cambridge. I am very excited for all that lies ahead.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some words that have spoken to me recently:

“The practice of prayer was not intended for the times when everything is going smoothly with us, though prayer is of inestimable value at all times. Prayer is really intended most of all, however, for just those times when we are surrounded by difficulties, when the problems and dangers of life are most threatening. When doubts and perplexities arise, then is exactly the time when prayer ought to be most easy and natural, for it is those times of distress that make most clear our need of divine help. Instead of ceasing to pray when we find difficulties in the way, we ought to seek the presence and guidance of God with all the more earnestness.”

—The Rev. Dr. Frederick May Eliot, 1918

I came across these words in a sermon I uncovered in the archives. Although I do not hold prayer in the same theological meaning as Eliot (he was a Unitarian minister with a different, yet still similar, theology to Unitarian Universalists today), this has served as a reminder to me that it’s okay to ask for help when things get rough. While amazing in almost every aspect, this trip so far away from CSUMB has been overwhelming too, with all of the research ahead of me and the intense internal pressure I place on myself to do this research to the absolute best of my ability. The unexpected dinner with the family upon my arrival taught me this simple truth: in being connected to aspects greater than myself in times of greatest difficulty, I can find a wider sense of community and peace.

A rainy day in Cambridge, just outside Harvard Square.

I send this gentle reminder to all of my fellow researchers from UROC at CSUMB; remember that you are not alone and that even though we are far away, we remain a closely connected community. I wish you all well with this summer’s research and I look forward to hearing all about it the next time we reconnect.