Sziasztok!

mi ujsag?/what's the news?

2010-01-28T08:44:00.003-05:00

So I've known about this for a while, but I wanted to wait until it was officially announced -- I am now permanently employed! My job before was temporary and only supposed to last until June, but earlier this month I was offered a permanent spot as a case manager. I'll be doing follow up services for people after they've completed programs at their JobLink Centers. It's a nice change because I'll have regular contact with these people --and I'll get benefits! Sometimes it's hard, though; I had a woman cry to me over the phone last night because it's just so difficult to find a job.

This job really is a blessing, because I've really been debating about grad school. Last year I just didn't really feel right about it, but this year I became intrigued with ECU's online Masters degree in World Literature. I was trying to decide how I could manage teaching with grad work when my supervisor asked me if I was interested in working permanently. Perfect! So against all odds I will be in Nash County indefinitely; who could've predicted that one?

So life is good!

In other news, Kathy and I took a trip to San Antonio! I don't have any pictures now that I don't have a camera, but if you're friends with her on facebook, check out the album. San Antonio is a very cool city. I highly recommend the riverwalk; it's full of ambience, people-watching opportunities, and TexMex food. We also really enjoyed seeing all the Spanish Missions - although we both were disappointed that the Alamo was crowded with extremely loud, obnoxious tourists. I really miss the relative quiet of Europeans. We got a great deal through orbitz and stayed at a Sheraton with a great location and incredible beds. Kathy declared the pillows coma-inducing! I was also pleased that we were able to successfully navigate San Antonio in our rental, although we were forced to call Mom to ask for mapquest directions back to the rental place at one point; we made it back with minutes to spare. And we just barely made our flight back. We had a fast connection when we stopped in Houston, so I knew we'd have to move quickly -- and I made a novice traveler mistake. I failed to doublecheck the gate number. After we made it all the there, I noticed that instead of Raleigh, the gate was for Guatemala City. Guatemala sounds cool and all, but I didn't have my passport, so we had to book it. And naturally the gate was in another terminal. In fact, it was literally the gate the greatest distance from our original one. We made it just as they called our rows for boarding. Whew!

Also, if you're traveling out of Raleigh and need to park, don't use the airport parking. Use this instead; it's amazing.

more helpful tips for seeking employment!

2009-12-30T09:34:00.002-05:00

If you are actively looking for a job, perhaps you should avoid using an email address with the phrase "pumpkinbutt" -- just a thought.

Also, if you plan to lie about your education, it may be wise to remember that community colleges do not offer bachelor's degrees, nor is accounting spelled acconten.

the more you know...

(I really wish I were kidding about these.)

Christmas highlights

2009-12-27T18:52:00.002-05:00

- being with the family again for the first time in years! Even Grandma was there. She did pretty well, although she couldn't quite figure out Dirty Santa and thought she was being left out of the presents. :) Granddaddy added to his stellar collection of word faux pas. Although it doesn't quite reach the level of previous years' cashmere nuts and Polio fragrance, hearing him try to pronounce our Peruvian guest's name was pretty funny. Eduardo has now been twisted into a variety of very different names, such as Waldo and Ed Waffle. Fortunately, Eduardo seemed to be pretty patient. The best thing, though, is that three of my cousins have now added to the total of great-grandchildren. Christmas is so much more fun with little ones!

- seeing Mom and Dad give each other Wiis. Hilarious. but not as hilarious as later watching Mom practice the boxing game. I thought I would wet myself, I laughed so hard.

- Dad's awesome gift-giving. He surprised Mom with a hammered dulcimer. pretty cool! I look forward to playing around with it.

- Copper's first Christmas! He couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but he loaded up on treats and toys - two of which he has already destroyed. good times.

So even though I greatly missed mulled wine, snow, and Hungarian ambience, Christmas was pretty spectacular. Now I'm ready for a new year!

spreading Christmas cheer

2009-12-23T08:42:00.004-05:00

So it's been a hard year, and every day I talk to people who are struggling just to get by. Some of the most heartbreaking calls I've had are with people who make just enough to miss qualifying for most assistance, but they hit an unexpected snag and can't ever catch up. So if you're in a position to help out someone like that, check out modestneeds.org. I saw it on CNN's website this morning, and I'm impressed. It's designed to help people with one-time expenses, like car repair or a doctor's bill. So if you're looking for a way to share some holiday cheer, it looks like a great option. They research each case and pay bills directly to eliminate the chance of fraud, and they have high ratings from charity watchdog organizations.

Another thing that I'm really excited about this year is sponsoring a Compassion Child. I know several of you do this already, but if you have about $40 a month, consider sponsoring a child. I have honestly loved praying for my little girl in Tanzania! I sent an extra gift for her birthday not long ago, and I'm excited to find out how the family used it; others in her area have reported buying chickens, clothing, and even a bed with similar amounts. It puts things into perspective a bit -- I can buy drinks at Starbucks once a week for a month, or I can buy two chickens to support a family in an AIDs affected area of Africa.

It's good to be able to help others financially again --especially after I've been the recipient of so much generosity from you guys! Thank you again; I am so incredibly grateful. Love you all, and I'm praying for you to have a Christmas full of joy!

"to see ourselves as others see us..."

2009-12-08T10:02:00.002-05:00

So yesterday two odd things happened that made me wonder how I appear to others.

a) Last night at church (I help run a children's program for Spanish speakers learning English on Monday nights) a woman flagged me down by saying, "Little girl! Little girl!" I am 31 years old. I should probably take this as a compliment, but still.

b) During a phone call, I overheard the following conversation (by the way, cupping your hand over the receiver does NOT muffle sound. post on this coming soon):
"Mom, someone wants to talk to you."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know. It sounds like it's a woman."

Really -- is there any doubt?

sigh.

praise!

2009-12-03T15:31:00.002-05:00

So Dad had his testing today, and I'm thrilled to have confirmed that Dad does NOT have anything degenerative. Whew! This doctor believes it's probably stemming from all of the many, many cancer treatments Dad had years ago, and we now have a few prescriptions to try. Much relief!

In other news, I've been stuffing myself with delicious food for the holidays, finishing up my shopping (including meeting up with Becker! yay!), cheering for UNC basketball without having to be up in the middle of the night, and alternately trying to spoil and discipline the dog. He's such a cutie. :)

It was wonderful to experience Thanksgiving with the family again, but now I find myself experiencing a bit of holiday culture shock. For instance, where is my delicious forralt bor from the Christmas market? And when did so many people in my neighborhood decide to start putting giant inflatable AND moving Christmas displays all over their yards??? By the way, we light a giant tree outside our house. Mom and Dad have this elaborate system figured out, although we may need a cherry picker to reach the top next year. That tree is huge -- it took 50 feet of lights to wrap around the base branches once. That's a lot of lights!

Anyway, I'm really excited about Christmas, but it is strange to see it from a more European perspective. I'm hoping to kind of merge the two experiences together this year. Itunes, surprisingly, had a Hungarian carol available for download, which was handy, since I couldn't remember the words. So I'll add it to my eclectic Christmas mix along with Bing, Elvis, and Mariah. Now if someone would just provide me with some greasy but finom kolbasz... :)

Helpful hints for your default message

2009-11-20T08:52:00.002-05:00

Now that my job consists of calling people all day, I'd like to share the wisdom I've acquired regarding voicemail and answering machines (I spoke with 160 yesterday!). Here are a few things I've encountered lately:

1. Please don't begin your outgoing greeting with "Hello? [pause]" In that 3 seconds of dead space, I've already begun to speak. Then I just feel stupid when you tell me you're not home.
2. Call and listen to your message sometime. If the sound is so garbled you can't tell if you're listening to rap, gospel, or country, perhaps you should think about losing your favorite song so we can actually hear what you're saying. Related: we don't need to hear all three minutes of your favorite song before we can leave a message.
3. If you have a ringback tone on your cell phone, you might want to consider whether it's appropriate for potential employers who call you to hear it. Songs about getting drunk and dirty in a club are probably not going to put you in the best light.
4. Again, you may not want to have potential employers hear things like this: "If you reached this message, I either can't get to the phone, or I don't want to talk to you. Leave a message. I'll call you if I feel like it. If I don't call you back, there's a reason. Move on." Related: Adding "Have a blessed day!" at the end of the aforementioned message is kind of contradictory to your overall tone.

However, there are a few messages out there which make me smile. So thanks to the lady, whom I called again yesterday, with the following message: "If you are a bill collector, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!" It may be ridiculous, but at least it's a nice change!

Copper's Back!

2009-11-14T21:48:00.002-05:00

Someone called tonight after having seen one of our bajillion Lost Dog signs, so we took off for the school across the highway -- and there he was, sitting in the parking lot looking at us. It took a little food and coaxing to get the leash on him, but when we got back to the house, he went straight to his dogbed in the living room, where he is now sleeping off his grand adventure. :)

Thanks for all your prayers; we are so happy to have our sweet dog back!

so

2009-11-12T21:40:00.003-05:00

I've been really slack about updating -- first because I was bored and depressed with nothing positive to say, and then because life suddenly took an upswing, and I was busy again!

So quickly, here's a rundown of the positives:
*I have a job! I'm working with ConnectInc. Basically, we refer people to resources to find jobs or receive assistance. It's long and tedious sometimes, but in the end it's worthwhile. By the way, if you know any people having a hard time paying for prescriptions, and they have no insurance or Medicaid, send them my way -- 888-927-3230, ext. 276. We're enrolling people in a prescription assistance program right now!
*Dad! Some of you may know that a specialist told us that he does NOT have Shy-Drager, and that it doesn't appear to be a degenerative disease. Whew! The bad news, though, is that we have absolutely no idea what it might be. The next doctor appointment will be just before Thanksgiving, so be praying for clarity.
*Copper. This is our adorable little beagle. We adopted him a few weeks ago. We think he's been abused, because he's extremely shy. But he has quickly learned to be part of the Hardy household. You should see the way he follows Mom and Dad around!

Unfortunately, today he was outside during a brief period of no rain, and Dad moved the truck to let Mom drive out of the garage. Apparently, Copper thought they were both leaving, so he took off. By the time Dad realized it, Copper was nowhere to be found. We're pretty heartsick about it. Fortunately, he has his collar and nametag on, and we hope he makes his way back once the rain stops again. Anyway, I just thought I'd post so you guys could say a little prayer for this little guy. He's truly part of the family now, so we're anxious to get him back!

Thanks for your prayers -- and for your prayers for my adjustment back to life here. Things are getting easier, and working with people who so desperately need help reminds me of just how blessed I am. So I'd like to publicly repent for my negative attitude for the past few months; a big thank you to all of you who've had to put up with me! :)

9/11 with high school kids

2009-09-11T11:00:00.005-04:00

Since everyone on facebook seems to be sharing their "where were you?" stories, I thought I'd do the same.

I was a second year teacher at SEHS. Rebecca Byerly, a student I didn't actually teach, but knew, walked up to me as I stood guard outside my room during class change. Her eyes were big, and she was a little agitated. "Ms. Hardy! I heard America was being attacked by terrorists! They flew a plane into a building! Is it true?"

I looked at her with the skepticism of a teacher who had, even in just a year, already seen her fair share of preying on the gullible. "No, Rebecca, I'm sure that's not true. Just go to class, and don't listen to them."

Reassured, she smiled, thanked me, and walked to class. I've often wondered if she remembers that exchange as vividly as I do, and how she reacted when she finally learned it was true.

I learned it because of another student, Isaac Perez. Isaac didn't bother to speak to me; he walked past me into my room and turned on the class tv. When I walked back in at the class change, it was obvious I had been wrong. We all sat there quietly and watched -- just in time to see the second plane hit.

Experiencing tragedy in the classroom is a surreal experience. Even while I was dealing with shock, fear, and sadness, I had to monitor their emotions and figure out the best way to handle them. They had a wide range of reactions --- many sat and cried; one desensitized action-movie fan actually yelled out, "Sweet!" as the tower crumbled.

I don't remember anything I said during 2nd period that day (although I do remember the teacher look I shot that one kid. It must have been vicious, because he slumped in his seat and didn't say another word). I do remember sobbing during my planning period directly after that. I remember thinking my little world would never be the same.

And it is, and it isn't.

Living overseas, I found that the topic of 9/11 would occasionally come up. Most people were saddened by what had happened -- and yet often I would hear comments about how America could finally understand what it had been like in other countries, where people live with the memories of tragedy in their streets every day. I had never before realized how sheltered Americans have been. The thought of an attack in our country seemed impossible. Perhaps it was fitting that I saw the tragedy unfold with a roomful of sophomores; it was time for all of us to do some growing up.

my chance to be Molly Ringwald

2009-09-09T12:24:00.003-04:00

so Mom and Dad are off exploring the West Coast for a few days.

You know what this means.

I have the house to myself -- finally, my chance to live life as an 80s movie.

So this is your invitation to a small gathering of a few carefully selected friends. Word will get out that there's a rockin' party in Birchwood. Cars will fill the yard, strangers will pour into the house unannounced. I'll be thrilled with my new-found popularity - until I find myself in line to use the bathroom in my own house. Then I'll spot that totally hot guy making out with the slutty blond girl. oh, the teen angst!

Then some dumb jock will drunkenly break a valuable item belonging to my mother, I'll realize that popularity isn't worth this hassle, and I'll kick everyone out. I'll eye the massive chaos and wonder how I'll ever explain the pizza stuck on the ceiling. Thankfully, the boy I previously dismissed (because, you know, I was totally crushing on Hot Boy) will appear out of nowhere. He'll help me clean everything so that mom and dad will never know, and we'll begin our happily-ever-after by goofily dancing to Walk Like an Egyptian as the credits roll.

(I may have a) watched far too many movies as a child b) WAY too much time on my hands.)

See you this weekend. :)

P.S. casting for role of Quirky Best Friend is now open!

Tuesdays

2009-09-01T15:19:00.002-04:00

Being unemployed changes your perspective. I used to dread Mondays. Now, to my surprise, I dread Tuesdays. They seem like the longest day, with the weekend too far off to look forward to -- and let's face it, the weekend is just like every other day anyway.
This is not, by the way, a positive thing, for those of you who are still employed.

So how have I been spending my time, particularly on long, long Tuesdays?

Well, for starters, I've been checking job listings fanatically. There are definitely jobs out there. 85% of them are in the health field, unfortunately. Also big -- fast food managers. Who knew?

Nothing yet, but I'm maintaining hope.

I've also been exploring the online world. Aside from my new addiction to hulu, I've discovered a wealth of fascinating free courses online. So if a new job doesn't pop up soon, I plan to become an expert in music theory, art history, French, and/or Greek.

But mostly, I've just been bored. Where exactly does a single girl in her 30s go to meet people in Rocky Mount? I have no idea how to answer this question, since church is apparently not the answer. I welcome your suggestions!

hmmmm....

2009-08-18T17:43:00.002-04:00

I haven't done so well with keeping up with this, have I?

I'd like to blame it on my incredible whirlwind tour of the South visiting friends, but I've been back for a while.

Honestly, I think I'm just trying to get my feet under me. I realized that I am at an entirely new place for me. I am more or less stripped of identity. For years now, I've introduced myself as a teacher. For the past three years, I've added the subcategories of missionary and American living abroad. Well, what happens when those things are gone?

Being at a point of reinvention seems exciting to many people; a lot of you have told me that very thing. But being in it doesn't seem exciting. It's horribly stressful. I just want someone to make a decision for me!

I've been really struggling with that lately. I don't have a job, nor do I currently have any leads I'm interested in. So do I just blindly apply for anything? Can I go back to being a waitress? perhaps a bank teller? grocery bagger? And church -- I won't even go into the trauma of trying to find a place where I fit. Let's just say the help desk at church Sunday had no idea what to do with someone who is single, out of college, and not divorced, despite having probably 20 classes as options. And I have free time right now -- do I join the choir, teach English to non-native speakers, join a Bible study, help with children's ministries? I have no idea.

I just really would like some part of my life to have a direction right now. Pray for me, please.

On a positive note, I have lost six pounds in the past month! Being unemployed definitely gives you time to work out. :)

update on Dad, because I know many of you have been wondering. We've started to see the development of a couple other symptoms, so we're pretty sure it is in fact Shy Drager Syndrome. This isn't good news. But Mom and Dad have been handling it really well. They're planning four different trips right now!

Kathy and I are also planning a trip -- this weekend, we're going camping and white water rafting! I'm so excited. :)

culture shock

2009-07-13T11:08:00.002-04:00

Things that are weird about being back in America, in no particular order:
*Size. Everything is bigger -- lanes, cars, stores, and people.
*Hearing English everywhere. Americans are LOUD. I can't block it out!
*No one walks. unless it's a workout.
*Commercials.
*Customer Service. Servers come to your table multiple times just to see if you're ok! Cashiers make small talk! Managers say hello and thank you for shopping! So strange.
*Flip-flops. Everyone is wearing flip-flops.
*Driving. I can't get used to driving past the stop signs here before I come to a stop. and I really miss the yellow-before-green light.
*Radio stations. I missed American radio -- until I heard the same songs over and over again in only three days. I turned it off.
*Cell phones. Service here is expensive and pretty mediocre.
*Restaurants. They're everywhere. and the menus are overwhelming.

I hope I don't sound critical. I've really loved being back (even while I miss Budapest). but it's so strange to feel this flustered by my own culture! It's weird.

Spent some time with Kathy in Raleigh -- leaving for my four state tour this week! :)

I'm back and jetlag free!

2009-07-06T12:53:00.002-04:00

I really should've written sooner, but this wasn't exactly my favorite travel experience, so I kind of wanted to forget all about it! Let's just say I had one of my worst ever headaches and multiple delays. but I made it home after a VERY long day.
and in an interesting case of symmetry... long-time readers may remember my flight to Budapest three years ago, where I nearly missed my connection and Polish Air graciously held the plane for me. I was thrilled. Well, on this flight from Budapest to Warsaw, I was the very first one there. I decided to take no chances!
It did me no good.
About ten minutes before the boarding time, I heard my name announced over the intercom. I was informed there was a problem with my luggage and I needed to talk to the police. So I was led through a maze of hallways and tiny offices until I got to the security area. I had to wait for the police to come, but finally we were able to open the suitcase and investigate the mysterious weapon in my bag.
It was a very high-heeled shoe.
The girl monitoring the process laughed and filled out a ridiculous amount of paperwork. And once again, I had to run (this time dragging my 23 kilo suitcase plus my laptop case and giant purse full of books) to make the plane they were holding for me. whew!

I haven't had much jetlag, but I have been really tired. I haven't done much at all, except see family. But that's been great, so no complaints.

My last mailout is coming soon, but my laptop won't start at all right now, so I can't access my addresses... anyway, if you're one of my financial supporters, don't mail anything after the end of this month; my last paycheck will arrive August 15, and I won't receive any money after that date. Thanks so much for all you've done! It's been amazing to see how well the Lord provides for His children!

I'm beginning to plan a whirlwind trip through Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta soon -- so if you want to meet up in one of those places, let me know!

It's time to go.

2009-06-28T16:24:00.002-04:00

My hard drive holds 88.1 GB.

I currently have 355 MB free.

And this is after I removed every program I don't actually use and all the free junk that came preloaded.

About 70 GB of that amount is music and pictures. I think this qualifies as addictive behavior.

(I do have an external drive, which is currently waiting for me in Chattanooga, but I'm scared to erase anything until I know for sure it survived being in a container for a journey across the ocean!)

So today I went into Budapest for the last time. I cried all the way home.

I know it's time to go -- but that doesn't make it easy.

less than a week left in Hungary

2009-06-25T09:11:00.005-04:00

and I'm really sad.

but I have a few days left to write about that, so I'll procrastinate a bit longer!

Mom's visit was really great. Highlights include real Hungarian food at Izabella's, kurtos kalacs, a trip to Esztergom, and of course the baths.

We also experienced being stuck in miserably cold rain, getting literally trapped on a crowded bus, and getting a parking ticket. I SWEAR there was no meter nearby! sigh. but all minor details compared to the joy of having my mom with me here to say goodbye to the city. And she helped me pack and took back a lot of my stuff -- I don't know what I would've done without her help!

some pictures:

prayer request

2009-06-22T16:09:00.003-04:00

I didn't want to write about this before, partly because I wanted Dad to be able to tell people before they read it here, and partly because I just needed to process it. but here goes:

Last week, I found out some awful news. My dad has been tentatively diagnosed with Shy-Drager Syndrome. You can read more about it here; it's what Johnny Cash had, and it's similar to Parkinson's. There is no cure. Right now he only has one symptom, fluctuating blood pressure, so we're holding out hope that this is a misdiagnosis. However, we are also trying to prepare for the possibility of it being accurate. We would love to have your prayers.

When I was in college, I found out my dad had cancer. I immediately started throwing up. I then spent the rest of the night sobbing to my friends.

A few years later, when Mom was really sick, too, I spent most of the night arguing with God. When I finally shouted myself out, I just cried until I fell asleep.

This time, my reaction has been much quieter. I think that could be because I'm older -- but also because I am learning so much about the nature of God. I've been reading Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey, one of my favorite authors. This passage really stood out to me:
In the face of tragedy, I can respond either by blaming and turning against God or by turning toward him, trusting him to fashion good out of bad. One option focuses on the past and closes off the future. The other option opens the future, allowing an Artist to use whatever happens as the raw material for a new story, different than it would have been without the tragedy or failure, but in some ways even richer, redeemed.

I love that. I love that God can redeem any aspect of our fallen world, no matter how terrible, and use it for His glory. I've seen it proven, too. Yes, Dad's cancer was horrible and frightening -- but it enabled Dad to minister to others in the same situation. Yes, it was terrifying not knowing what was going on with Mom -- but it taught me that it's ok to wrestle with God. And in both cases, I'm convinced our family became even stronger.

I'm sad and scared when I think about what the future may hold. I'm not sure I can handle it. BUT I am confident in the Lord. I am confident that He can work all things together for good.

And I am so grateful I was already planning to go home! I couldn't understand why I felt drawn back; I don't want to leave Hungary! But now I am so thankful that God has been actively leading me this whole time, even when I didn't know any of this.

This is getting long, so I'll end with one of my favorite quotes: The world breaks everyone, and afterwards some are stronger in the broken places (Hemingway).

Pray that in our brokenness we may turn to God and find strength.

Fathers' Day

2009-06-20T18:06:00.004-04:00

I love you, Daddy. Wish you were here; I'd take you to the cukraszda!

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

2009-06-18T17:43:00.000-04:00

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

sunset from the Citadel

2009-06-16T17:31:00.002-04:00

so beautiful.

settle in.

2009-06-14T13:35:00.002-04:00

I think this will be a long and unusually serious post (and not entirely because I want to procrastinate the final cleaning of the old apartment....)

I really just want to write and share how very, very blessed I am -- in many ways. Today has been such an incredible day. I spent most of it with Csilla, and I really enjoyed my time with her. After church, we grabbed gyros and came back to the house and just chatted for a while. Good talk. and then Izabella came over to help pick cherries and teach me how to make hideg meggyleves -- Hungarian cold cherry soup. It's pretty delicious, and I'm thrilled to have a large pot of it chilling as I type. But the best part of my day was when I had one of those moments where I step back and realize what my life looks like.

Maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive because I know I'm getting ready to leave, but I absolutely love that I just opened up my "home" to people who come from different cultural, spiritual, and linguistic backgrounds. What amazing opportunities I've had here to get to know such cool people. And after Csilla left, Izabella and I just talked for a while. I love talking to her. She's so very honest about her need for God and His grace -- and so appreciative of the ways she's been changed by Him. I'm hoping that Csilla and Izabella will be able to talk after I've gone... it's fun to play a role in bringing other people together!

But here's what really got me today. Don't eat while you read this.

This is now the second time I've seen something like this -- the first time was pretty powerful for me for about a day. I told some people about it, and then promptly forgot all about it. So I think God wanted to remind me this morning! I'm sharing with you in the hopes that the lesson will stick this time. I got to church early, so I planned to walk around for a while before I met up with Csilla. I turned the corner and immediately found myself approaching several homeless men. One was digging through trash, one was begging -- the usual. And then I saw this one man sitting with his back against the wall. He had just taken his shoes off. His feet looked like they were rotting. They were purple and blue and black, with scaly pieces of skin falling off. Blood was pooling on the ground underneath him as he picked at blisters and scabs. It was absolutely revolting.
A tourist was walking towards me, and we both looked at the man in horror and sped up our pace.

And as I walked away, it suddenly dawned on me that this kind of man was exactly who Jesus encountered. When I read in Scripture that Jesus touched the lepers, I always envision the flannelboard version -- sad men in rags that look a little dirty. What a jolt, then, to come face to face with people who are probably just like them in today's society. They're outcasts whom others would rather ignore than acknowledge. And yet Jesus not only acknowledged them, but he also touched them. Seeing that today, and knowing that God deigned to touch people probably just like that, moved me to tears.

I wish I could say I did something exceptional after that. Maybe I should have given him some money, or bought him some food, or something. I just kept walking. At the time, I was so overwhelmed that I really couldn't think of anything else. I did pray for him.

I'm glad, though, when God shakes up my complacent views of Him. What an amazing God we serve! May we continue to be transformed into His image.

and on a very different note, Mom comes tomorrow!!!! :)

unexpected benefit of the cherries...

2009-06-13T04:34:00.002-04:00

so I've been trying to think of who's around to help me eat all these cherries... and then Csilla sent me a text message. She's the girl I met at the Thanksgiving outreach I did with Campus Crusade. So I offered to bring her out to the house to get some cherries, and now she's coming to church with me in the morning!
:)

a cseresznyefa/ the cherry tree

2009-06-13T02:44:00.003-04:00

I love staying at the Hollowells. I don't have a horrible mattress, a bathroom faucet that doesn't work, or mold growing all over my things. I do have a large kitchen, a microwave, my own bathroom, and internet access. So nice to feel like I'm in a home again.

I also have a cherry tree that is LOADED with cherries.

This is both a blessing a curse. I spent over two hours yesterday picking up cherries after a storm -- and then I had to pit some of them!

But the payoff is pretty exceptional. I'm eating delicious cherry crisp right now for breakfast, and I have another two gallons of cherries in the fridge waiting to put into a tasty pie or this recipe, which I'm dying to try.

and there's more on the tree! Woohoo! In a couple days, Lisa will be back from Dubai, and Mom will be here! so I'll have a little help :)

I am a little sad to be missing the Hardy family reunion this weekend. It's being held at the old family place, so I'm a little bummed to miss seeing that. I'm more bummed, though, by missing the people. Love you, Hardys! See you soon.

graduation

2009-06-05T13:55:00.007-04:00

I have tons of pictures of me with students, but I'll save you from all those and only post a few....

This is Mason, one of my awesome sophomores. He was incredibly sweet today telling me how much he had enjoyed my class.

Meet Michelle, the one who broke her collarbone while I was staying with her. Because of that, she holds the distinction of being the only student whose hair I've washed. That's definitely something I never anticipated when I became a teacher :)
She also shares my love of Carolina basketball and Lost, so it's been fun hanging out with her.

And this is Olivia. I am so ridiculously proud of her. She came to our school two years ago with limited English, but she enrolled in my AP class anyway. It was really difficult for her, and her father almost made her drop the class, but she begged him to stay because she enjoyed it. In the end, she was one of my best students -- and her dad sought me out to thank me for giving her a love of literature. That's the kind of compliment teachers live for.

All in all, a good day. I only cried once! And I got a lot of compliments on my song; thanks for praying. I ended up choosing one of my favorites; you know how much I love Sandra McCracken! I thought it fit pretty well for both me and the graduates: My hopes and desires seek a new destination, and all that You ask, Your grace will provide. How thankful I am for grace! and for the hope of heaven, so these goodbyes aren't too final. :)

saying goodbye sucks.

2009-06-04T10:35:00.002-04:00

I've had a really great day -- but it is no longer possible to postpone saying goodbye to people. I saw the Hollowells for the last time today, and I was determined not to cry. I failed.

Last night the six of us singles who came to ICSB at the same time got together for one final dinner together and looked at old pictures and told crazy stories about each other. I managed to enjoy it and not cry, but it's so strange to think that I may not see these people again, especially when they've been such a huge part of my life for the past three years.

I just really, really hate the finality of these goodbyes.

So I've been consoling myself as I finish up grading by eating leftover cake and listening to some of my favorite melancholy music. Check out Joe Pug if you haven't already. Very Dylan-esque. I heard this song months ago on All Songs Considered, but I can't quite forget it, so I've been playing it all afternoon. I think I just love the lyrics:

i've come to test the timbre of my heart
oh i've come to test the timbre of my heart
and i've come
to be untroubled in my seeking
and i've come
to see that nothing is for naught
i've come to reach out blind
to reach forward and behind
for the more I seek the more I'm sought
yeah the more I seek the more I'm sought

Good stuff when you're feeling pensive.

If you happen to read this tonight, say a little prayer for me. I'm starting to worry that I won't make it through the song I'm singing tomorrow morning at graduation!

did you know I'm famous?

2009-06-03T02:29:00.002-04:00

So now I can add to my list of accomplishments --- I just saw this week's issue of the Budapest Times, which did a profile of our school and they used a picture I took.

OK, so I didn't have my name with it or anything... but how many people can say they've had their work published in an international newspaper?
:)

Prague

2009-06-01T11:46:00.002-04:00

You know a trip is going to be memorable when you get the following email from your host on the morning you leave:
And there is also one thing that you should know. My door to bathroom
did not work correctly so the company that made it, took it away - so
it is public now :o((( I am so sorry but I am sure that we will find
some solution - mays be during time when you are taking a shower, I
will go out. I am really sorry - hopefully it is OK for you!!

Ha! as you'll see, we remedied this situation with a giant blue foam thing taped to the wall. It was entertaining.

And so was the trip, in spite of the cold and rain! I love travel, period -- but it's especially fun when you actually get to stay with locals and meet people. Heidi used to live in Prague, so her friend Pavel let us stay with him for free. can't beat that! :) Her connections also meant that we found cool places to eat for cheap, had our own personal tour guide, and listened to some cool music. It was seriously one of the most interesting trips I've ever had. On Saturday night, for instance, we were at a Wild West themed birthday party in a British pub in Prague listening to an acapella girls' group sing the Flash Gordon theme song while Pavel put confetti stars in my hair and Doini talked about how she was part of a ceremony honoring Ceauşescu as a young girl. Later a Czech girl taught some friends how to do the line dance for the song Achy Breaky Heart. I couldn't make up my life if I tried.

Prague is definitely one of my favorite cities. Enjoy the pictures; I hope they capture even a piece of its charm.

I now have less than a month before I move home -- yikes! Be praying about a job for me :)

Viszlat, Gellert.

2009-05-23T08:07:00.002-04:00

It's official.

Gellert is no more; yesterday I sold our 1990 VW Golf for parts in a transaction I hope was legal. :)

Lisa and I both teared up when it was done. I've never loved a car more, and I've definitely got lots of memories. Most involve some form of breakdown, but there's also learning to drive stick shift, riding in the trunk, driving back from Etele Ter on the eve of my 30th birthday, and singing ridiculous songs in order to make up for the lack of a radio. Good times.

My week of birthday fun has been fabulous. I've gotten to spend time with Kay Myers, the Hollowells, my mission, current and former students, the Custers, Heidi, Audrey, and Lisa. I've done a lot of reflecting -- and I'm convinced there is an abnormally high percentage of amazing, Godly, and fun people here in this community. Truly, I have been blessed! Also, I found SoftBaked Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies at the local CBA; I choose to believe this is a sign of God's love for me. :)

The senior class asked me to sing at graduation, and naturally they failed to choose a song before they left for Cyprus on their senior trip! Any suggestions? I'm desperate!

I got pied.

2009-05-19T10:50:00.004-04:00

in a sneak attack by Laurel Farina.
She faked everyone out by first going for Austin and then getting me instead! cute.
but sticky.

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-05-17T09:15:00.002-04:00

Cinco De Mayo Carnival from Andrew Curtis on Vimeo.

ok, so the video has nothing to do with my birthday; I just thought it was cool.

but birthday fun was had, even if carnivals were not involved!

I slept late and enjoyed my morning, went into the city, did some shopping, spent some time at Coffee Heaven, came back to see the school musical, had the cast serenade me, and went home to a birthday pig pickin' cake! (For those of you not from the Nash County area, a pig pickin' cake is a yellow cake mix with mandarin oranges in it. The topping is vanilla pudding, cool whip, and pineapple pieces. I love it, so Mom sent all the ingredients! I may have had a large chunk for breakfast this morning, too!)

Today Lisa and I took the Custers out to Wasabi as a thank you for their friendship during our time here. They're expecting Baby Custer in about a month! It was good to chat with them -- and especially to do so over delicious sushi. yum.

This week will be busy -- I'm having a Lost marathon to finish out the season, meeting with the Hollowells for my goodbye dinner, attending HS awards night, going out for my birthday with some friends, and going out with UWM people. crazy, but fun!

fokhagyma

2009-05-15T05:01:00.002-04:00

is the Hungarian word for garlic. I love garlic. I cook with it all the time; I increase the amount in all my recipes. I'm a big fan.

I do NOT, however, love garlic jelly beans!

One of Lisa's supporters sent a huge bag of jelly belly pieces. I was happily munching away until I thought I had a coconut jelly bean -- and it was in fact garlic.

For the love of God -- why is there a garlic jelly bean?!

Just for fun, today when we had a few extra minutes in class one of my students and I had a garlic jelly bean showdown. for real. I had at least 15, but we ran out before either of us backed down. :)

And the room still smells like garlic.

Yes, this is what teaching at the end of the year looks like -- I taught for an hour about the Holocaust, and then the class cheered as I tried to eat garlic jelly beans.

I am so ready for summer!

or at least my birthday weekend -- I'm clearly SO mature now at 31 :)

weird

2009-05-14T10:27:00.004-04:00

This morning I woke to Fats Domino singing Blueberry Hill.

This was followed by Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga, and some unidentifable Hungarian rap...and then Frank Sinatra.

all on one station.

Hungarian radio... there's nothing else quite like it.

Szaz.... Szaz..... Ket Szaz....

2009-05-09T10:06:00.003-04:00

I feel like that's what I said all morning long at the rummage sale. It's roughly the equivalent of 50 cents, 50 cents, and 1 dollar.

But those added up quickly -- Lisa and I together sold around $500 worth of things we don't want to pack up to take back home! Woohoo!

It also meant I had yet another opportunity to practice my not-so-stellar Hungarian. I can't tell you how many times I had to explain what Lisa's quesadilla maker was... It went like this in English: mexican food. like a sandwich press. tortilla, and cheese, and meat, and veegetables. yeah -- my grasp of the language is astounding.

I enjoyed my conversation with the cleaning ladies much more. They got first dibs while we were pricing our goods last night, and they started to ask me about leaving -- all in Hungarian, naturally. This translation doesn't quite do it justice, but I nearly cried over this conversation:
Erzsi: You leave to go to the States?
me: yes.
Erzsi: and there is pain in your heart?
me: yes, I am very sad.
Erzsi: Perhaps you will return.
me: Perhaps.

sigh. I hate leaving.

moving back...

2009-05-07T02:29:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, I stopped at my local CBA to get some food. The workers recognized me, smiled, and gave me a friendly Jo reggelt. I confidently placed my order (20 dekagrams of sliced turkey and two rolls, please), and then proudly reflected on three years ago when placing that simple order would've terrified me. How far I've come! I proudly thought. Even that horrific meatchunks-in-congealed-fat concoction doesn't scare me as much anymore. I understood every word that guy said! He understood me! I've got this living in Hungary thing downpat.

And then the guy handed me the seven rolls I had apparently ordered. Fortunately, bread goes well with pride...

In other news, I am truly sad to announce that our beloved/hated car Gellert has finally left us. Yesterday, we received word that repairs would cost almost $500. That's more than the car is worth. We still owe 18,000 forint for what's already been done, but fortunately we had an offer to buy it for parts for 20,000 -- leaving us with a grand total of $5 each in profit! Woohoo! :)

We're also packing up to sell things at the rummage sale on Saturday. Things are really coming to a close. Sad.

I saw this video on a New York based website this morning -- it's an ad for a place I actually recognize from my time in Greensboro. For those of you not blessed to live in the South, here is a hilarious taste of what I have to look forward to:

Oh, NC.

*If anyone is able to find and send me the link to the first "Mary, I've got a broken windshield!" commercial with the original Grandma at the end, it will make my day. Worst/best commercial ever!

when it rains, it pours.

2009-05-03T01:50:00.002-04:00

actually, I think I can safely say this past week would be more like torrential downfall and extensive flooding....

I really don't want to relive the technological issues, the parent emails, and the yearbook frenzy, but let's just say it was a rough week. So I was kind of looking forward to staying with the Martin girls over the long weekend. They're in high school, so it takes minimal effort, and they're just fun kids.

On my first night with them, I scratched their car. oops. (Michelle's response was, "It's not that bad. I'll use a marker on it when we get home, and they'll never know!")

On my second night with them, I was getting ready to sing at the school coffeehouse when I suddenly learned that Michelle appeared to have broken her collarbone playing basketball in the gym. sigh.

Thank God for Lisa, Mary, and the Humphry family, who figured out transportation, navigated the Hungarian emergency care system, and kept me company until everything was over! I can't tell you how much I value being part of this community.

Michelle is doing fine, although the break is pretty bad. She finds out Monday whether she'll need surgery. We've spent the last few days playing board games and watching a ridiculous amount of tv and movies --- which, come to think of it, are pretty much exactly what I needed after this week!

Things are definitely looking up -- yay for May!

And congrats to Karen on her wedding! Wish I could've been there... :)

long time, huh?

2009-04-26T12:32:00.005-04:00

I feel pretty bad about not updating recently -- but this past week has been insane! We're in the home stretch for yearbook, so basically all my waking hours will be spent on the computer for the next few days. I'm also in the middle of sophomore presentations, Senior Projects, grading research papers, and two weeks until the AP exam --which is why I'm showing a movie in class tomorrow!

Spring break was amazing. I cannot remember a more beautiful Easter morning. Before church (I love that the service I attend starts at noon!) I went to a little park Aaron told me about last year. The tulips were in bloom, and it was just incredible to sit there and soak up the beauty of creation for a little while. Spring is always my favorite time of the year, but it's been especially gorgeous this year! Heidi, Lisa, and I took advantage of it one day and went up into the hills of Buda. Nice little walk. Check out how tiny Parliament looks from Janos Hegy:

Let's see -- I sang at the Good Friday service, which was so much fun. I don't know that I'll ever get to sing in a church that nice again (the acoustics were unreal), so I really enjoyed it. I had several people tell me how they were touched by the song, so that was encouraging. Overall, it was a really meaningful service - a good reminder of the need to focus on the meaning of the Cross.

Over Easter weekend, I had some visitors from Amsterdam. It was really strange to end up playing tour guide for someone I knew when I was in middle school, but it was fun. Plus, they stayed in a really nice hotel, so I got to see how the other half lives! I used it as an extra chance to visit the baths. How I love them.

I also stayed at the Wingets house and took care of their sweet dog, Daisy. It came with some unusual benefits: 1) I was able to take advantage of their tv -- and I watched crappy American programming in Hungarian. Yes, I actually watched MTV shows such as Paris Hilton's new BFF and Pimp my Ride in another language. I understood quite a bit. I can't decide if that's more of a commentary on my growth in language, or on the level of vocabulary to be found on those shows... 2) I have now driven their monstrous van. the kind with the steering wheel that's almost parallel to the floor, and a stick shift that's behind the wheel. If you had told me a year ago that I'd be driving that thing, I would never have believed it. So I figure now that after the van and dear old Gellert, I can drive anything. Just don't ask me to parallel park!

I've been meeting with Csilla, a girl I met back at the outreach we did at a Hungarian college back at Thanksgiving. She's really eager to practice her English, so we've enjoyed talking about everything under the sun.

I was able to take advantage of a generous offer from the Swanson family, who allowed me and a few others to add boxes to their container being shipped to the States. It was kind of stressful (and my room is still more of a wreck than usual), but it's so good to know that all of my winter clothes, souvenirs, pottery, books, and DVDs are already on their way, and I don't have to worry about them anymore! Lisa and I are also getting ready to sell off a ton of stuff at our school rummage sale in a couple weeks, so we're definitely nearing the end!

It's a good thing we're so close to the end, because our car is dead. It began to do this really fun thing where we could drive it for about five minutes before it overheated. It has never taken so stinking long to get home. But on the positive side, we got friendly service at a number of gas stations along the way! I've learned that men love the opportunity to diagnose car problems, even in other languages. So ladies, if you want to meet men, drive a dying car into a gas station and look helpless. I promise. We had eleven different guys peer under the hood and try to rescue the poor American damsels in distress! We're awaiting word from the mechanic on whether poor Gellert will ever be driven again, but I'm not holding out much hope at this point. Fortunately, with the weather this nice, I don't mind walking to school.

And finally -- I'm really excited that my dear, dear friend Heather is engaged! and I get to be a bridesmaid! :)

UNC Pride (Hungarian style)

2009-04-07T03:37:00.003-04:00

When Carolina won its last championship, I was there. Kathy and I went to the Dean Dome, cheered with a ridiculous number of people, and then joined the masses on Franklin Street.

This year, my experience was a bit different, to say the least. I was the lone Carolina fan watching in Diosd, I'm pretty sure! I watched alone online (thank you, ncaa.com)in my classroom [but Kathy and I did do a little trans-Atlantic text cheering], and when I left this morning, there was definitely no one out celebrating in the streets! It was 6:15 -- just enough time to run home, shower, take a quick nap, and come back to teach! It's much more fun to watch with people -- but the victory was still pretty sweet!

I'm so pleased.
Here's a timelapse video I found of the celebration on Franklin Street. I was there in spirit, anyway! :)

Timelapse: Franklin Street after the victory from The Daily Tar Heel on Vimeo.

It's going to be a long day, as I'm singing tonight for a special worship evening here at the school. But totally worth it.

and just for fun --

May this kid see many, many more wins!

Easter Week

2009-04-05T12:36:00.004-04:00

Wow, am I tired after last night's tournament games. Here, they lasted from midnight to almost 6 in the morning -- and I watched it all.

Consequently, I did not make it to church today! oops. :)

However, today I did get to meet with a Hungarian girl, Csilla, whom I met at the Thanksgiving outreach I did with some of the Campus Crusade people. She contacted me recently wanting to practice her English, and I really enjoyed meeting with her.

And it is finally spring! I wish I had had a camera with me earlier today to capture all of the cherry and almond trees in bloom. Lovely.

I forgot to mention that I'm singing in a Good Friday service this week! I really like this song; here's a demo version from Indelible Grace so you can get an idea of how it sounds. But the lyrics are really what make this song memorable. Enjoy, and may your Easter week be meaningful!

O Come and Mourn with me awhile
O come near to the Savior’s side
O come together, let us mourn
Jesus our lord is crucified

Seven times he spoke
Seven words of love
And all three hours, his silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men
Jesus our Lord is crucified

O Love of God O sin of man
In this dread act your strength is tried
And victory remains with love
Jesus our lord is crucified

O break, O break hard heart of mind
My weak self love and guilty pride
His Pilate and his Judas were
Jesus our lord is crucified

O love of god o sin of man
In this dread act your strength is tried
And victory remains in love
Jesus our lord is crucified

A broken heart a fount of tears
Ask and they will not be denied
A broken heart love’s cradle is
Jesus our Lord is crucified

O love of God o sin of man
In this dread act your strength is tried
And victory remains with love
Jesus our lord is crucified

alpha wrap up

2009-04-03T09:06:00.004-04:00

We had our last Alpha meeting last night. It was bittersweet -- a time of celebration, but also a reminder that I'm not going to be around for much longer.

I was so touched by the people who came each week; I didn't anticipate how quickly we would feel connected. When one of them was leaving last night, she apologized that everyone was so quiet during the discussion and explained it was because they were all so emotional. She also said, "Thank you for taking care of our souls." How sweet! Every single one of them said they were interested in meeting again. One of them said he wanted to continue our discussions, and another immediately added, "and go deeper!"

This gives me so much hope for the church our team eventually wants to plant there. The people genuinely want to know more. And they are such kind people!

I am so pleased I had this opportunity. Keep them in your prayers.

The picture is of the English speaking group -- from left to right: Tivadar, Chad, Mario, me, Kacie, Laci (yes, it looks like lacy, but it's a guy name!), Imre, Eva, Ina, Steve, Robyn.

I realized I never wrote about ACSI accreditation. After months of preparation, unit plans, and self study questions, we finally had the visiting team come. We passed with flying colors, and they were extremely complimentary of the school. It's such a great place to work.

And finally... (I really didn't mean to make a pun there, but I'll go with it)

This weekend. Final Four. YES.

Final Four!

2009-03-30T04:42:00.002-04:00

I am so pleased. even though my brackets were terrible this year, and UNC is the only team I correctly called for the Final Four! oh well.

good weekend -- I spent some time at the baths, enjoyed singing at Danube, and of course watched Lost and basketball! but this week should be rough with yearbook deadlines looming....

This morning I was struck by the sudden appearance of spring, in the form of buds on our trees and a number of very fat earthworms wriggling on our driveway. And that reminded me that it's almost April, which is Poetry Month! Here's one to start your celebrations. :)

worship

2009-03-27T05:22:00.002-04:00

I'm helping lead worship tomorrow at Danube again; they wanted to do a bluegrass-inspired worship session, and they needed my NC roots! I find this ironic, given my intense hatred of bluegrass as a child.... but it should be fun.

Here's a non-bluegrass song we're singing that I really love. Enjoy.

late night again tonight to cheer on the Heels!!!!

Margareta

2009-03-21T19:25:00.001-04:00

Remember the girl from the Alpha course who couldn't finish the prayer?

She finished it. :)

hungarian rock 'n roll

2009-03-19T11:56:00.002-04:00

Here's a song from the movie we saw last night. It's about a kid who left Hungary after the revolution in '56 but returned in the early 60s with a love of Jerry Lee Lewis and the American lifestyle. It was interesting to see a glimpse of Communist Hungary, and I thought you'd enjoy hearing some Hungarian rock!

The best part, though, was that we saw it in the neighborhood where it was filmed, and we got to hear a Q&A session with the directors, actors, and producer -- all for about $3. pretty sweet.

March Madness starts tonight -- Tarheels to win it all!

crazy global warming...

2009-03-18T12:19:00.003-04:00

It's been beautiful here for the past few days -- all sunny and springlike.

and then we began to have insane amounts of wind. This wouldn't be a big deal for students spending the day inside,you would think... except you would be wrong. You see, here at ICSB, the wind creates this eerie howling noise. The first time I heard it in the building late at night I was terrified! So all day long today I taught with the sound of whistling --nay, screaming! -- winds. not fun.

And then midway through the day my students looked outside to see... snow! Huge flakes being driven by near gale-force winds.

You know, I love snow. in winter. not so much in mid-March! We should be seeing buttercups and tulips everywhere! I should be able to wear skirts with no tights! It didn't last, and it certainly didn't stick. But man, it's jarring to see snow when all you really want is spring.

The good thing about the crazy wind, I suppose, is that it does make for fantastic views out my window. Because the weather's changing so quickly, the sky has been utterly gorgeous all afternoon. I'm not getting anything productive done because I've been staring at clouds racing over Diosd. :)

I haven't updated in a while because I've been frantically grading. I hate the end of the quarter, when I check our online program and realize I haven't entered any grades for the last month or so. So I spent this weekend grading away, while watching some basketball online! I was sad about Carolina's exit from the ACC tournament, but I realize that saving Ty Lawson was necessary for the REAL tournament. Let duke have a win; they know we swept them this year, and that's what really matters!

I did have some fun this weekend, however. Some of us went to Vapiano's, a pasta place I love, so that was a nice treat. The real highlight, though, was Friday. We had a day off from school, so Heidi, Audrey, Lisa, and I had our Indian cooking lessons! Ashmita was an amazing teacher; we were there for four hours, and we left with full bellies and 16 delicious recipes. 16! I can't wait to make some chicken masala on my own now. :)

Tonight I'm going with Heidi and Audrey into the city to watch a Hungarian movie screening and Q&A with the director, which is pretty exciting. I don't know much about the movie other than it's somewhat like a Hungarian version of Grease -- and given how much Europeans love Grease, it's sure to be entertaining!

This made me laugh.

2009-03-12T06:12:00.003-04:00

(Heather, it made me think of you! Please use the phrase Javalujah at least once today, thanks.)

UNC

2009-03-09T10:41:00.003-04:00

So here's a fact you may not know --- The US and Europe have daylight savings time changes on different days. Why is this important?

Well, I was waiting for the game to start at 10 (4 EST + 6 hour difference). Little did I know that I was missing the ENTIRE FIRST HALF. I had no idea the time changed back home. but I did get to sleep a little earlier than planned, I guess.

not quite as funny as the last game, though, where espn360 wasn't working yet, so for a while I tapped into an illegal stream of the game via ESPNChina. Yes, I have now watched Carolina and Duke play with Chinese commentary. much less annoying than Dick Vitale.

Anyway, it all ended well, and I was able to watch most of the second half, including the important part at the end, where we swept them. I love victory.

since I couldn't find clips from last night yet, here's a fun one with highlights from the rivalry, including some really old footage I don't think I've ever seen. (Mom and others who don't exactly love rap may want to turn the volume down.)

We weren't able to meet with the girl from the Alpha course, but it was still a good weekend. Kim and I caught up on the past three episodes of Lost, which were of course amazing. And I got to help celebrate Audrey's birthday yesterday! I thought it was interesting that we sang Happy Birthday in Hungarian while we were in a Mexican restaurant in a group composed of Americans, Hungarians, a German, and a Canadian -- truly multicultural!
Most importantly, it feels like spring outside, and the sun is shining. I am beyond thrilled. :)

recession. sigh.

2009-03-06T07:22:00.002-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/03/us/20090303_LEONHARDT.html

I thought this was interesting. Note that my hometown of Rocky Mount (Nash, Edgecombe Counties) is categorized with the second-highest levels of unemployment rates in the nation -- and Edgecombe's percentage of increase over the last year puts it in the top level in the nation. Sobering.

For me, the upside, if it can be called that, is that the economy here is much worse. Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic have seen the values of their currency drop dramatically. In July, $1 = 141 forint. Today, $1 = 249 forint. That's a massive difference. Filling up my car last year cost nearly $100. This week, I spent less than $50. Amazing. It's like everything's on sale!

I am so grateful that I can literally stretch my dollars a bit, especially since my support has dropped pretty drastically. And yet, I feel such mixed emotions, considering the troubles of my host country.

But I am far more grateful for the people who continue to support me! And it is both a call to prayer and reminder of how important it is be a good steward of our finances. Living on a missionary salary has made me even more aware of the uncertainty of life and the need for utter dependence on the Lord to meet our needs.

In Alpha related news, last night's talk was really frustrating, when we ascertained that most of them didn't believe in the concept of evil. One of them believed that God created Satan so the two of them could compete and God wouldn't be bored. yikes. Some of us are going out to eat Saturday night, so be praying.

I've been in a grouchy mood all day, so I share with you this video. It never fails to make me laugh.

Alpha weekend

2009-03-02T07:33:00.002-05:00

Although I really did miss the basketball tournament, I was so encouraged by the weekend away with some of the Hungarians who've been attending our Alpha course. Not everyone was able to attend, but I am confident that those who did were blessed. They had some really great questions, and I think we gave them plenty to think about. One told us later that he would like to have us pray with him, but he is scared of what will happen, and he is not ready for that yet. Another woman agreed with him, and I think that seemed to be the common theme of the weekend. They are drawn to Christianity for sure -- but they haven't quite been able to take the initial step of faith. One woman was visibly moved during a prayer time, and when two of the women on our team prayed with her, she wanted to pray the sinner's prayer and started to pray-- but she couldn't say a phrase about surrendering her life to the Lord. She later said that she realizes the importance of that, but based on our conversation on the way home, she's still struggling with what that may mean.
So please pray for our guests as they struggle with questions and new ideas. We're all excited to see God work, and I was really thrilled to have been a part of this weekend!

tournament time

2009-02-27T08:04:00.002-05:00

I love basketball.

So far our boys have lost a couple heartbreakers. Sad. but we have lots of American candy (and even some barbecue, with options of Eastern or Western NC sauce!) to console them in their loss. I have resumed my traditional post as DoorNazi, ensuring that no food or drink shall cross the threshold of the gym door. Honestly, you'd be surprised how many parents try to sneak some stuff in. No wonder our kids disobey the rules!

We leave in a couple hours for Vajta for an Alpha weekend retreat. I'm really excited about it. Please pray that language will not a barrier during this time, that we will have the right words to say, and that the guests will be open to seeing what God has to say to them. updates coming soon!

mold. :(

2009-02-23T06:32:00.002-05:00

I really, really hate it.

We've had problems with our basement apartment being too damp for months now, and we've been trying to combat the mold on the walls for a while. We wipe down the windows, we clean with 20% vinegar, we have three dehumifidiers, and we run an electric heater throughout the night. But when I found some mold on my floor,on my clothes, and and ruining three different purses, I knew I had been defeated. It was time to call in the landlady, whose previous not-so-helpful advice has been "open the windows!" in freakin' February.

Last week I left my keys with her so she could see the damage in the corner and behind the giant wardrobe. Imagine my shock when she not only cleaned the mold, but rearranged my room and its contents. For instance, she apparently didn't like my organizational system for shoes (which involves having the shoes in the spaces specifically designed for that purpose in my wardrobe)and removed the shoes to put them into a suitcase, thus freeing up wardrobe space for random odds and ends, like my external hard drive. Weird.

She also apparently missed the mold growing on the purses I left out for her to see, and she took all my gloves (which had been in a box with all my other cold-weather gear) and placed them inside one of the purses -- and then proceeded to hang the moldy purse on the rack with my clothes. Ew.

So guess how I spent my weekend? :) Laundry and rearranging!

Apparently, this isn't such a weird occurrence in Hungary -- one of the girls told me about how their cleaning lady rearranges their things and even their furniture at will.

Fortunately, I'm not missing anything except for some empty boxes and a yoga mat, and she cleaned all the mold!

It's still snowing...I went into the city on Saturday, and people were sledding on the trails of Gellert Hill. Very cool. but I chose to spend my afternoon inside coffee heaven!

winter poetry on a gorgeous day

2009-02-18T10:53:00.005-05:00

This morning, we had a delay, so I had to scramble to adapt my lesson plans, since I missed meeting with half of my 10th grade students this morning. I decided to pull out a trust-worthy assignment -- creating Found Poetry. I printed off several poems about snow, and told the kids to "steal" lines and combine/rearrange them into an entirely new poem about snow. It's harder than it sounds, but the kids enjoyed it.

During our staff meeting this afternoon, I got bored and decided to write my own! all stolen from other poems, of course :)

Last night the winter danced back.

Regard the frost and the boughs of pine trees
crusted with snow layer on layer.
They carry the load with aplomb
magical in the peacecfulness.

I will shake a laden branch,
sending a cold shower down on us both.
Marvel for a moment at the ballet before me.

You can see a few pictures of my students playing in the snow at this link
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5849916&l=7c751&id=544125300

*Yes, I realize that I have now made myself sound like a horrible teacher by admitting that I didn't pay attention during a staff meeting AND skipped class to play in the snow! I am not ashamed. :)

Snow!

2009-02-17T03:11:00.002-05:00

It would definitely be a snow day back in NC... The first few pictures are at our place or on the way to school, and the last three are from my classroom. I especially like the father bringing his kid to school on a sled! Just for the sake of ambience, while I was taking these pictures, the church bells started ringing. Beautiful!

Valentine's Banquet was fun -- although I was freezing walking to and from the hotel. Cute little dresses aren't exactly warm. Also, heels on cobblestones are tricky at all times, but add a little snow to the mix, and it's downright dangerous! I enjoyed seeing the kids all dressed up (but still being goofy), so I posted a few of the pictures. Notice how in one shot you can see the Parliament building all lit up in the background!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T07:45:00.002-05:00

Basically, I'm having one of the most romantic Valentine's Days ever tomorrow. I'm going to the Budapest Hilton (next to Fisherman's Bastion and overlooking Parliament -- check out this view!) for dinner. It kind of takes the romance out of it, though, to know I'm going there to chaperone high school kids for their Valentine's Banquet! I'm taking lots of pictures, so hopefully I'll post some after the weekend.
Today is the annual Singing Valentine's Day, when ours honors choir delivers singing telegrams to people all day. I earlier was the recipient of You Are My Sunshine, courtesy of some seniors. Fortunately, they knew me well enough to change it to the You Are My Sunshine rap... I'm so sick of hearing that song today!
Have a wonderful Valentine's... much love to you all!

hahahaha. Duke.

2009-02-12T02:21:00.003-05:00

oh, you tried. You chanted insulting cheers, you threw things at people, you even threw an elbow, but all of that could not prevail.

After the game, I saw this comment on someone's celebratory facebook status. I wanted to respond to it so badly, but I knew that probably wasn't especially wise, given I don't know her from Adam* -- so here it is!
the stupid dean dome could NEVER match cameron's intensity. EVER. unc fans are LAME.
I am incredibly proud to be "lame." Not only am I on the side of victory, but I understand that the game is about more than just the venue or the fans.
As we celebrated our win, our incredible talent, our poise under pressure, and our proud tradition, I'm fairly certain none of the Carolina fans thought, "But what we really need is for our fans to dance around in blue paint and Speedos and write obscene songs about other players!"
You call this intensity; I call it obnoxious overcompensation (much like your use of capitalization). Whatever you choose to call it, it has been soundly defeated by talent four times in a row.

There -- I feel much better now having vented!
and now I'm off to a very sleep-deprived day!

*Did anyone else laugh when ESPN did the montage of great players from Duke and Carolina? They had Jordan, Laettner, Worthy -- and then Wojo. Wojo! ha! Do you think the average basketball fan would even know who he was?!

more inspiration...

2009-02-10T10:52:00.001-05:00

it's almost here...

2009-02-09T12:24:00.002-05:00

In case you're unfamiliar with the importance of Carolina playing Duke, this trailer should help clear that up a bit. And coming soon, I'll be up at 2:30 on a school night to watch Carolina play Duke. and boy, do I hope they destroy them.

on a more spiritual note, Spiritual Emphasis week went really well, and I had some kids write reflections that were really moving. I think I see some real growth coming out of this week, and I hope it continues.

This weekend was the annual sugar-fest known as the ICSB staff dessert competition. I think I sampled 13 desserts -- that's as much as I could do! and 9 of us went to see Bride Wars. My favorite part, honestly, was trying to figure out how the hungarian subtitles differed from the movie. The best one was changing "She's such a b----" to Micsoda sarkany! which literally translates as "What-wonder dragon!" Translation makes me laugh.

So far I'm avoiding the flu! Others have gone down, but I am sticking to a lot of sleep, oranges, and hand sanitizer. So far it's working :)

student work

2009-02-05T04:12:00.002-05:00

We've been reading The Rape of the Lock in Brit Lit, which is a satire mocking ordinary events by describing them melodramatically. I gave my students the assignment to write about something that happened at ICSB in overly dramatic poetry, and I really enjoyed the results. One student wrote about the travesty of how her makeup ran in the rain, and one wrote about how horrible it was that she forgot her lunch. My favorite, though, related specifically to my class.
When I first got here, some of you kindly sent over hand sanitizer. Although you can find it now, it's still pretty rare, so the kids always clamor around my desk using my sanitizer. Right before Christmas, though, it ran out. This is the poem written to commemorate that fateful day.

The sun was shining, the air was cool
on that fine Monday morning I walked into school
I entered our room with a skip and a hop
Then I witnessed a horror that caused me to stop
There on the desk was a pale lifeless form
and inside my chest grew a tormenting storm
I screamed for the others to see this sad sight
This terror that drug the whole world into night
The salt from my tears could have flavored a roast
but then a thought hit me like some ejected toast
forever and ever my extremities dry
Then I looked at my hands and renewed my cry.
A new wave of sorrow like the death of a god
electrified me like a lightning rod
we tired to keep using, like a cow and its cud
But to my dismay it had lost too much blood
I'll remember the day that the Germ-X died
No longer shall my hands be 99.9% purified.

I thought it was clever. :)
(no worries -- we have a new bottle now!)

really hoping this isn't the flu...

2009-02-04T04:23:00.002-05:00

but I have that horribly achy tired feeling, and I slept for 11 1/2 hours last night! Maybe I'm just tired. really, really tired.

Anyway, this is Spiritual Emphasis Week, and I'm really excited about it, despite a rocky start. Our speaker got stranded at the London airport because of all the snow, and he just got here last night! Needless to say, we had to do a bit of scrambling to fill in the gaps.

Fortunately, things went really well. Austin stepped in to speak and did a great job challenging kids to think about their desire for God, and we extended our worship times -- even including a couple of songs we had definitely not practiced!-- but it was surprisingly good.

I have to admit, I get so frustrated with singing the same songs over and over again; I don't always have high expectations for leading worship. But as often happens when I lead, I found myself experiencing some of the lyrics in new ways, partly as a result of watching people worship. I love being on stage, because I can see other people experience the power of worship. And they did. Some of the kids were visibly moved; some journaled; some spread out in the chapel to pray.

Please be praying for the rest of the week, and for our speaker, Andy Slaughter. Be praying especially for the guys. I feel so sorry for them; they get shafted a lot just because there are so few men at the school. We have weekly bible studies for every grade level of girls from 5th to 12th, but there's only one group for the guys. We have been praying as a staff for some of the guys to step up and become leaders at the school, so pray that God will work in them!

snow!

2009-02-01T10:19:00.003-05:00

I finally fulfilled a wish yesterday -- to be at the outdoor baths at Szechenyi while it snowed! Ok, so it was only a few flakes. but it counts! Today, however, it's snowing quite a bit, and hopefully will actually stick around for a while.

It's been rather busy lately. Kacie and I volunteered to make lasagne for our Alpha course Thursday night, so Wednesday we busily made enough lasagna for 30 people. I left it out to cool -- and forgot to put in the fridge. I found it in the morning when I got up. oops. so Thursday I made ANOTHER large batch and got it done just in time for the course! Alpha's going really well, by the way, and they have lots of great questions. and I'm off the hook for cooking again for a while! :)

This weekend has been busy. To celebrate the rise of the dollar against the forint (today it's at 232, which is a huge jump from last year's 170 or so!), Lisa and I went to eat at Wasabi, an all-you-can-eat sushi place, Friday night. Saturday after the baths and our favorite coffee shop Gloria Jeans was the senior auction, which is always fun. Lisa, Heidi, Audrey, and I went in together to win Indian cooking classes from a mom at the school, which I'm really excited about. During the auction, I was in charge of the sophomore class, who provided babysitting for the families. It's a little scary to be in charge of 15 year olds playing with 20 or so small children, but they did really well! It was a long 3 1/2 hours, though. Today after church we went back to Gloria Jeans to meet up with some friends, and tonight I'm rehearsing for worship this week. It's Spiritual Emphasis Week at school, and it's a big deal here.

Whew! I'm tired just typing all that!
Just for fun -- here's the song I can't stop listening to lately. Enjoy.

"Think Destination"

2009-01-27T08:22:00.002-05:00

Before moving to Hungary, we went through lots of training on dealing with culture shock -- which I fully anticipate having in reverse upon my arrival back in the States this summer. One of the tips to deal with it is to look forward to your new home -- so I've been making a list of things I'm excited about.

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that, aside from family, the vast majority of my items involve food. ChickFilA biscuits, steak, salads with ranch dressing, cheddar cheese -- all kinds of things that aren't exactly in abundance here. But today I found myself wanting one thing in particular, even though I haven't had it in years: a pig-pickin'. That's right -- a real, honest-to-goodness pig, cooked right there in front of you and chopped into pieces with a delicious sauce. Believe it or not, I found a recipe for a slow-cooker version that sounds fairly accurate (there's no tomato sauce in real pork barbecue, people!) So I'm going to try it and let you know how it works...

(other things I'm excited about: being able to communicate with strangers, Netflix, and the absence of the highly illogical Hungarian right of way laws!)

This week promises to be another busy one; it's the week of senior auction, and the class I sponsor is providing babysitting care. That's right -- I am in charge of 18 sophomores, who are in charge of 30 children. This could be.... interesting. And tonight I finally get to watch Lost! woohoo for the giant projector and screen at the school!

last night

2009-01-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

Alpha = awesome.

Making a wrong turn onto a narrow unpaved road in an unfamiliar Hungarian neighborhood = not awesome.

Subsequently backing into a ditch while attempting to turn around = yikes.

Thank God for the ICSB community -- once again coming to my rescue, even at 11pm!

playing mom again

2009-01-22T06:18:00.002-05:00

This week I'm housesitting for 4 kids and a dog, so I haven't been able to get online much ...but I wanted to brag about how great my students are. Sometimes I wonder about these kids; they know all the right answers, they know how to play the Christian game, but they don't always show evidence of a genuine, life-changing faith. The staff has especially noticed that this year, since the school lost so many strong student leaders at graduation. Sometimes, we just wonder who's going to step up and do something!
Well, I sponsor the sophomore class, and this week, they've encouraged me. Without any prompting of any kind, they suggested that we sponsor a child as a class, which I think is very admirable, and that they could set up a mentoring program for upperclassmen to meet with the lowerclassmen. I was so pleased to see them taking initative in areas where they see need. Great kids!

1st Alpha meeting

2009-01-16T04:52:00.002-05:00

After literally months of planning, we finally had our first Alpha meeting last night, and it was really encouraging!

We really weren't sure who (if anyone!) would come; we weren't sure if we were over- or underplanning; I wasn't sure how the language barrier would affect the evening. But I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything went. For those of you not familiar with Alpha, it's designed to be a course in the basics of Christianity which also involves building relationships. You meet with the same small group of people for ten weeks, eat dinner each week, worship together, listen to a lecture about a point of the Christian faith, and then discuss it. People are encouraged to be honest about their beliefs, even if they differ greatly from Christianity, and this really helps combat the common misconception
that Christians are merciless and cold. It's what drew me to the Alpha program, actually -- the Christian faith is presented very clearly according to Scripture, yet there is no pressure or judgment. It gives seekers the chance to talk through spiritual issues without feeling defensive.
I was pretty nervous when the couple who sat down at my table spoke no English! But I understood the wife pretty well, and in spite of my horrible grammar, she understood me too. She even complimented me on my singing during worship! Fortunately, we were soon joined by a woman who spoke English remarkably well and was kind enough to translate! We ended up shuffling the groups a bit so Kacie and I had all the English speakers, with quite the range of visitors -- from a 16 year old boy who wonders whether God exists at all and just wants to practice his English, to a much older man who said he came mainly to get away from the new puppies smelling up his house. :) The language barrier was a bit of an issue, but as one of the men said, some of those questions would be hard to answer in Hungarian! At the end of the evening, they were very complimentary, and some even mentioned bringing others next week. So you can be praying for us in the coming weeks: pray that we can transcend language difficulty, that we can develop real relationships, that we can discuss well. I'll be posting updates! Next week's topic: why did Jesus die?

"Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long..."

2009-01-06T11:37:00.002-05:00

are the lyrics to my current favorite song (by the way, Dad, I'm planning to include this cd when I mail your package -- I think you'll love it.), and I find it pretty applicable, as I've finally ended my debating about next year in favor of heading back to the good old USA!
ok, so the song doesn't totally fit. But I do feel like for me Hungary has been a mountain-top experience -- a definite highlight of my life.I absolutely love working at ICSB and living in Hungary. I love these kids, this community, this culture... I truly have been incredibly happy here.

It will be pretty heart-breaking to leave, honestly.

But after much prayer, I've decided that returning is truly what I'm supposed to do next. I don't have the support to come back for another year, and it's hard to ask for more when people are already giving so sacrificially even during difficult times. But even more importantly, I've been struck by the need to be near my family right now. My three remaining grandparents are getting older, and I want to spend some time with them -- which is pretty difficult to do with an ocean between us.

So I'll be back home in June!

I'd appreciate your prayers, as I have no idea what I'll be doing next, which kind of terrifies me. So if any of you know of amazing job openings, let me know. I'm also considering maybe returning to Hungary in the future, but I'm just not sure what will really happen. I do know it will be hard to leave here, so please be praying that I'll use the rest of my time here wisely so I can leave with no regrets!

I love alumni.

2009-01-05T09:31:00.002-05:00

My AP English class was just invaded by 8 ICSB graduates -- which I'd like to point out is greater than the number of students actually in that class. I abandoned poetry entirely to chat with them, and it was really fun to catch up. Not surprisingly, they remember my crazy personal stories far better than they remember syntax and diction lessons, but whatever! It was encouraging to hear that they were doing well and that my class had helped prepared them for college. One student proudly pointed out that referring to the books he had actually read in my class had made him look really smart in front of other people. I refrained from pointing out how smart he'd seem if he had only read ALL of the books I taught in my class!

They were an especially pleasant surprise on the first day back at work, when I just didn't want to show up at all... a great way to end the day!

the mother of all blog posts...

2008-12-31T08:42:00.004-05:00

yeah -- it's been a while! I've been pretty busy, and it's much harder to update this blog without having internet at the apartment! so this is going to be pretty long. Save it for when you have some free time. :)

In fact, first visit Karen's blog. She's posted pictures from her trip last year, and it's like a virtual trip to Budapest! She and Kathy were fortunate enough to be here over a holiday weekend, so she has tons of really cool shots of things you don't always see. Go look at them, and come back here to read the rest of this post later!

I'm trying to remember all that's gone on.... Let's start with the Nutcracker! It was pretty amazing... little did I know that we actually had bought box seats! The set was incredible, the dancing was great, and it was all for a pretty cheap price. I love the opera house.

Then, we had the labyrinth, a kick off for the Alpha course. It was held in conjunction with the neighborhood Christmas party, and each station had something there to help people process and meditate on the meaning of Christmas. It came out far better than any of us expected! And hopefully it was meaningful to people as well. I did get thrown for a bit of a loop when we realized that they had no one to play carols at the end of the party....although earlier in the evening we were treated to a performance by the local doctor, who is also a trained concert pianist. That's right -- I had to follow the amazing musician! But it came out ok, I think. Anyway, it was a fun evening.

And in the morning -- very early in the morning!-- Kacie, Scarlett, and I left to Poland. The ride there was incredible. I seriously think it was worth the price just to ride through the snowy countryside. We arrived in Krakow just around lunchtime, so we settled into our apartment and started exploring the Christmas market. Later we visited the Jewish ghetto area and then Auschwitz. Since I teach Night every year (and if you haven't read it, you should!), I've been wanting to visit the camp for a long, long time. It was truly impressive. and sad. We arrived on a cold, cold day, and as we started to walk toward the crematoriums, it started to pour. Let me tell you -- that was a lesson in itself. I was determined not to complain, as I knew I had a warm coat, gloves, a scarf, hat, and shoes, and I had eaten well. It really helped to put things into perspective for me -- and that was only for a very brief time. If you ever get the chance, you should go.

And on a very different note, we went out one night to a Karaoke bar -- and we treated by an odd mixture of classic rock, Christmas songs, polka and or Jewish inspired folk songs, and my personal favorite -- an ode (in Polish) to "King Bruce Lee." I laughed so hard -- and fortunately for you, I found it on youtube! Sadly, this version does not include all the fun sound effects we heard. Just picture loud "hee-yah!" sounds -- with a Polish accent.

I've decided Krakow is one of my favorite cities. The buildings were beautiful, the people were friendly, and the food was amazing. I ate so well on this trip! All in all, a really good trip.

We got back late on Christmas Eve, and then I spent Christmas Day with the Bullock family. They had a couple ofther single girls staying with them -- one of whom was also a teacher from NC, so that was cool -- and a Hungarian woman who was visiting. She was a big fan of green bean casserole! It was really nice to spend Christmas eating, playing games, and watching movies with a family -- although it was nicer to use their Vonage to call home and talk to my real family for Christmas!

I am so grateful to have people around who are willing to invite me into their lives. In fact, I had several other invitations for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day -- it's nice to feel like I'm part of a community. And when our car died recently, I sent out an email to the staff and immediately got offers to jump our car and suggestions as to what may be wrong. Two different men helped me out by taking me to buy a new battery and then installing it for me. It was really wonderful not to have to take the car to a mechanic -- I am so blessed to be surrounded by people who are so gracious and helpful.

It's also been fun to see the alumni coming back. Many former students have come home to be with their families for the holidays, so I've been catching up with them. It's kind of the equivalent to Homecoming back in the States!

and Izabella took me to see some of her Irish friends who play traditional music all over Budapest. It was kind of surreal to be in a Hungarian pub talking to Irish musicians! but they were really talented, and it was lots of fun.

So there you have it -- the extremely condensed version of my life lately! And if you didn't click over to Karen's pictures -- seriously, go!

more Christmas fun

2008-12-16T02:59:00.006-05:00

Every year the single teachers and those without children have a progressive dinner and white elephant (Dirty Santa) game. This year, the gifts were truly horrific, as evidenced by the pictures. Lisa somehow got back the video she had tried desperately to get rid of, and two men ended up with interesting women's apparel, much to their wives' dismay/amusement. I, however, ended up with the coveted white elephant, which meant I got to sign it. I really wanted to sign the elephant's posterior for posterity -- but sadly, that had already been taken! I settled for next to Lisa Adams from Christmas two years ago :)

We're finishing up exams right now (which I should be grading at the moment. oh well), and everyone is ready to be done. We're already feeling festive; some of these pics are from the annual Christmas concert. Notice's Lisa's debut as a pot-banger! One of the songs was a 70s version of the 12 days of Christmas; Day One's gift was an 8 track of the Partridge Family. :) Last night Lisa, Kim B., Jillian, and I went to Box Utca for dessert, and tonight Kacie and I are going to the opera house to see The Nutcracker! I've never seen it, and I've heard it's spectacular here...

the goose is getting fat

2008-12-12T04:50:00.010-05:00

and Christmas is soon to be upon us!

Most of you know how much I love Christmas music -- but this is one that I can't seem to get out of my mind lately. I appreciate my family so much more now; this is now the third year away for the holidays!

But I expect to have a good Christmas nonetheless... Kacie, Scarlet, and I booked our tickets to Krakow yesterday! Can you believe it only costs $20 to go from Budapest to Poland? crazy! and we're setting up our Christmas labyrinth for Alpha this weekend... pictures coming soon.

For now, here are a few pics from this year's Christmas market... make sure you notie Santa's guest appearance, and be sure to read the "english" sign posted beside the mulled wine. :)

the holiday rush

2008-12-08T09:33:00.003-05:00

So today I looked at my calendar and realized that starting Wednesday I have something planned every single day from here until the 25th. every. single. day.

I will be so grateful for a few days after Christmas to breathe.

This weekend was a return to Rezkigyo coffeeshop! I was really excited about this setlist, as I basically forced Austin to play songs I wanted to sing. :) I got lots of compliments, and the place was packed, so it was tons of fun. and some of us went to Beckett's afterwards -- too many to fit into our tiny car, in fact, so I have now had the experience of riding in my trunk. That's right -- I rode in the trunk so we could accomodate everyone. but it wasn't as uncomfortable as you might think :)

and the Christmas market is open again. I would love to have some pictures, but it was so freakin' packed that i didn't bother to try taking any. I love the Christmas market so much, though, that even hordes of tourists can't ruin it for me!

Our Alpha course kick-off is coming up, so please be praying for us as we set up our final preparations... I'm really excited to see how it will all turn out! and yet again -- it's decision time, when we must notify the school whether we plan to come back for the next school year. such a stressful decision! Be praying for me to have wisdom about what is best.

Sweden!

2008-12-02T17:58:00.002-05:00

So I left the snow of Budapest for the rain of Sweden. lots and lots of rain! oh well. I still greatly enjoyed my time there! Judy was a great host, and I enjoyed seeing a bit more of Europe... it was especially interesting to see how different it is from Hungary. I actually had a man working a cash register apologize to me for not speaking English when I first walked up. And then his English was impeccable, as most people's was. Sweden was also very clean -- note the picture of the bus terminal. I kept mentally comparing it to Blaha Lujza here, just to make myself laugh. It was also cool to hang out with Judy's friend John, who actually spent several years in Greensboro, of all places, before going back to Gothenburg. It's always helpful to get a local perspective, but especially so when the tour guide actually knows the place you're from! Truly, it is a small world.

Pictures follow. I didn't take a lot of pictures due to the cold and rain, but you get the idea. There are some of the sights, several of a ministry Judy works with at a sescond-hand store, and some from a family's Advent celebration, to which I was graciously invited. I've decided I love German Christmas cookies, much like the dog who waited at my feet for any crumbs to fall! And in lieu of turkey for Thanksgiving, I had traditional pea soup (better than it sounds) along with pancakes with cream and berries. And later, I had bear meat! pretty delicious.

a winter adventure.

2008-11-25T04:07:00.002-05:00

so back home in NC, I never have to drive in snow, because as soon as flakes fall, schools shut down and all driving ceases.

That's why I was a little nervous about driving yesterday -- snow had been falling pretty steadily for a while, and since the sun starts setting at 3:30, the temperature was dropping, too. But several of us were working with a Thanksgiving outreach with Hungarian college students, and we had to get to the first meeting point, and I was the only one with a car, so I faced my fears and drove anyway.

Getting there -- not so bad. I slid a bit a couple of times, but I was ok.

However, we then transferred all our stuff to the Kliewer's van, and Steve drove the rest of the way. I knew we were in trouble when we slid down a hill...and then down another hill...and then crept along the highway in miserable, miserable traffic.

At one point, we saw our director's van also stuck in traffic. Kim rolled down the window, starting waving her arms wildly, and yelled "No School! No School!" :) Alas, it was no avail, as we didn't even get a delay. sigh.

When we realized we were going to be insanely late creeping along in traffic like that, we parked the van and took public instead -- carrying pumpkin pies, jello, cornbread, cookies, and a plastic pumpkin, among other things. Needless to say, we got some interesting looks, and two slightly drunk Hungarian men were really, really confused.

After three hours, a car, a van, two trams, and a metro ride, we met our contact at the dorm -- only to find that we were still a bus ride away. Basically, our assigned dorm was as far from Diosd as humanly possible while still staying in Budapest. So we finally got there over an hour late.

It was actually really good, though. They loved talking to us and asked great questions, and we got to share all about Thanksgiving and the concept of gratitude. They liked Jello and LOVED pumpkin pie! The turnout was high, and so was the interest, and I'm making plans to meet up with one girl, Csilla, to practice her English.

And then came the return journey....

we stood in the snow waiting for a bus for a really long time and then had to retrace our steps back (although we did stop at a McDonald's -- woohoo for the 24 hour drive through!). And then I had to drive back from the Kliewers' house to Diosd after midnight. on snowy roads. with snow still falling.

No one died, and I didn't even really have any problems, except for trying to get the car in the gate to our place. A fear conquered! but I was incredibly grateful to finally, finally get home.

So to sum up, I left the house at 5.30 and returned at 12.30, and all but about an hour and a half of that were traveling. yuck. and then I had to pack! I've never wanted a snow day so badly in my life...

I'm looking forward to a restful trip to Sweden! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

holidays!

2008-11-24T06:51:00.004-05:00

I was recently "tagged" by Kacie to share things about myself on my blog. However, I'm breaking the rules a bit and making mine all holiday-related! I've been listening to Christmas music, and it snowed this weekend, and all the stores have Christmas displays up -- which means I am more than eager for some holiday joy! So here's my "Welcome to the Holidays" themed 7 random things about myself:
1. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition from my childhood took place at Granny and Papa's farm. We would shake the pecan trees (literally) and then pick up all the pecans -- and there were a lot! It got a little competitive at times. :) As an added bonus, that meant we had pecans for the rest of the year... and I was always very thankful for that!
2. I love cranberries. I do not, however, love cranberry sauce. Also, I prefer my turkey deep-fried, and Christmas Eve feels somewhat incomplete without a few porkskins on the snack table next to the Rice Krispie Treats (clearly, I am a product of the South).
3. My family listens to Christmas music year-round. Even in the middle of summer, Dad will sometimes put on his favorite Christmas record (yes, record!) at night.
4. My two favorite religious Christmas songs are O Come All Ye Faithful and O Holy Night. As for secular songs, I love Nat King Cole's Christmas Song -- and living in Budapest has finally allowed me to taste chestnuts roasted over an open fire!
5. We love our Christmas decorations in my family, and we don't throw any away. So every year, my kindergarten ornament (a plastic cup melted around some beads) still makes an appearance on our tree, as does a glued-string model of Hailley's comet from 3rd grade.
6. As a somewhat precocious child and an avid reader from an early age, I put two and two together after I read a label that said "Made in China" and realized that China was not, in fact, part of the North Pole, and therefore my stocking stuffer toothbrush could not have been made by elves. ah, innocence lost.
7. My favorite gift from last year was when my family sent a dvd slideshow with pictures from past Christmas celebrations. Then each gift was linked to one of the pictures. It was a brilliant way for them to help me feel close to my family and remember my favorite Christmas memories.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people who will also write 7 random things on their blogs, but I'm not sure who else posts consistently -- Karen? Lisa? Aaron? Renata? We'll see, I suppose!

planning for the holidays!

2008-11-20T09:28:00.002-05:00

Last night some of us went to Kashmir for some delicious Indian food in honor of Lisa's birthday next week. I do love samosas... but I'm really looking forward to some Swedish specialities! I leave on Tuesday, and I can't wait!

and Kacie and I are planning to visit Krakow over Christmas! I'm trying to take advantage of the great exchange rates right now, so even if I can't afford the ridiculous cost of plane fare home, I can do a little bit of cheap traveling. It's of my favorite perks of living in Europe.

I've talked with a couple people about Christmas packages... and I do love getting mail (by the way, Kathy really stepped up her already stellar package sending with an awesome State Fair theme... a bunch of state fair freebies! For instance, I'm typing this while a giant mask of Greg Fishel watches me. kind of creepy.)

However, I can't really think of things I need this year, and mailing things can be pretty costly. So then I saw this list online today when I was reading some John Piper. Some of them aren't especially helpful here (and the thought of a pizza with corn and shrimp kind of disturbs me). but I particularly liked the idea of people praying specific Scriptures and then emailing them and of the video greeting! Some of you blessed with adorable children did that for me on my birthday, and it was awesome. So anyway, I pass it along to you in case you were looking for ideas :)

video from our fundraiser

2008-11-17T04:43:00.003-05:00

It was a little dark and noisy in there, but you can get the idea of what our "coffeeshop" was like -- and you can see me playing piano! Just imagine that you can hear my harmony; sadly, I was sick and had no voice at all.

trash day!

2008-11-12T07:33:00.005-05:00

but not just any trash day -- the days where the entire neighborhood puts their junk outside (unbagged!) for others to rummage through. It's highly entertaining -- yesterday I saw a large pair of men's polka-dotted boxers spread out upon a 80s-ish couch, while this morning I saw a toilet on the side of the road. so strange.

And I just realized I've never written about the road we live on now. It's a one-lane road.... except it's for two way traffic. So there are spots every so often where a car can pull onto the side. When cars meet, whoever is closest to a shoulder just pulls aside and lets the other squeeze by. I was absolutely terrified the first time I drove it last year, especially when I learned that someone actually pulled too far off and rolled off the side of the hill! This road is a prime example of things that are totally normal to Hungarians, but you probably wouldn't see in America :)

I do love walking to school in the mornings, though, because it's so interesting. Every house has a different kind of gate, and the yards often have apple trees or grapevines in them. Sometimes in the morning the old people will be out working or smoking -- or, in the case of old man I see regularly, erratically biking home from a long night of drinking in a pub somewhere! At the same time, there's a huge Ford 350 with Florida license plates parked on the side of the (very narrow) road which we cannot figure out, and there's a car with a stencil advertising the Hungarian equivalent of 1-800-555-PIMP. You never quite know what you might see...

Things are starting to take off with the Alpha program; please keep us in your prayers as we plan!

i hate being sick

2008-11-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

I have now had laryngitis for almost a week. This is ridiculous! and it prevented me from singing at the school "coffeehouse" this past week!

But I did get to play piano, and, more importantly, it was a huge success. Student Council organized it as a fundraiser for the International Justice Mission to end child trafficking. I was absolutely shocked -- the kids raised $1500! Click to learn more about IJM and love146 . But be warned -- it's pretty heartbreaking.

Yesterday, we had a cool experience at church. Heather Mercer was our speaker; she's the one who was imprisoned by the Taliban for talking about Jesus in Afghanistan. I remember reading about her plight as it happened back in 2001, so it was really interesting to hear her first-hand account, which Lisa, Jillian, and I agreed should be a movie. It was even more moving to hear her talk about the after effects, including some of her Taliban guards who have now come to know the Lord. She's currently serving in yet another danger zone, passionate about giving Muslims the opportunity to learn more about Jesus. I left more determined to abandon all for Christ -- and yet incredibly grateful that my area of service is a lot safer than hers!

also this weekend, the Korean families combined forces to feed the teachers! I love Korean food, so I was looking forward to this for weeks, and it did not disappoint. :)

more pics

2008-11-05T11:30:00.008-05:00

The pictures don't really capture how beautiful it is, but hopefully you can get the idea of what a Hungarian cemetery looks like for All Souls' Day!

pics

2008-11-05T11:19:00.008-05:00

a few pictures from our trip to Vienna...

even in Hungary...

2008-11-04T03:40:00.003-05:00

...you can't escape politics on Election Day!

Most mornings I wake to Hungarian morning radio, which is much like American morning radio. They even use the same sound effects and make prank calls to people on their birthdays. The only difference is that I can only understand about 3% of what's happening (but I'm getting much better at figuring out the weather forecast!). This morning, however, I woke to conversation about Obama and McCain -- I wish I could type out how Hungarians pronounce these, because it's pretty funny. Anyway, I didn't understand all of it, but I understood enough to know they were making puns on Obama's name. In Hungarian, barack means peach, so they were making jokes about offering Obama some jam for his palacsinta (crepes) and all the confusion that could result. yeah -- even in Hungary, morning radio hosts aren't all that funny :)

I know I'm way behind on posting pictures; I'm having some problems with my laptop :( But they're coming soon...

Happy voting!

in honor of Halloween...

2008-10-30T10:56:00.001-04:00

way behind on things right now...
but I just discovered mtvmusic.com and took a break to watch Thriller. you know, before Michael Jackson went psycho. I still remember the first time I watched this!
Happy Halloween!

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

a break!

2008-10-22T07:27:00.002-04:00

so the orchestra was a lot of fun. I could see maybe ten instruments, but it was beautiful, and I enjoy watching the people more anyway. An old man directly across from us "played piano" along with the music for 90% of the time -- and he was fairly accurate, which was entertaining. But my favorite was a family -- the little boy started imitating the conductor, the older brother punched him in the ribs, and the mother glared at them both with a death-look. Some things transcend culture!

Tonight is another HS party, and I got roped into again being a chaperone. I don't really mind, but I am a little nervous that they put me in charge of the pumpkin carving area. Being responsible for lots of teenage boys with knives just doesn't really appeal to me! but it will soon be over, and then a glorious four-day weekend! Several of us are driving up to Vienna for a day, so I'm excited about that.

We still don't have internet at our apartment, so I won't be online for a while...but hopefully I'll have some viennese pictures up soon!

a surprisingly good Monday

2008-10-20T09:29:00.002-04:00

It's a beautiful day, my classes were easy, and I'm going to hear the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra tonight at the opera house -- for $2. $2!!!! I won't be able to see the stage, but who cares? :) I need to do things like this more often. Lisa and I made a list at the beginning of the year so that if we leave Budapest, we'll leave no stone unturned! Cultural events like cheap orchestra tickets were high on the list.

So Lisa and I survived being parents for a few days, with no major problems. We did have one sick kid for a while, but I think it was mainly missing Mom! And I more or less successfully navigated them to and from school, practices, and lessons -- in a stick-shift van! --- although I did sort of hit a car on the side of the road. The combination of huge van + tiny (one lane wide) Hungarian road + cars parked on the side of the road + oncoming traffic that didn't stop = not cool! Thank God for side-mirrors that fold in :) I was so embarrased. Fortunately, no damage done, and the kids thought it was funny. And really, we had a good time.

Short week because of the Hungarian holiday weekend! Woohoo!

playing mom

2008-10-17T09:38:00.002-04:00

not much time to update this week!
Grades are due for the first quarter, always a traumatic time, and I'm staying with the Bullock kids this week! They're such great kids, so it's a lot of fun... but quite a change to suddenly be responsible for four kids (2nd grade through 11th!) and a dog.

In other exciting news, the dollar is continuing to do well against the forint -- I went to the ATM yesterday and withdrew enough money to pay my rent for the next two months. If I had withdrawn the same number of forint a month ago, I would have paid $120 more for it, and at the rates from this summer, that would have been $200 more. Crazy! So all the Americans are pretty giddy. :)

forgot two things!

2008-10-10T08:26:00.003-04:00

one -- I went to the Bodies Exhibition, which was completely fascinating. If you're ever in a city where they have it, you should go, even if you're pretty squeamish. absolutely amazing.

two -- this video was done by one of my ap students and features the kids (and my roommate!) on a recent trip to an orphanage here. I know I say it all the time -- but we have such great kids. I'm so proud of them.

long awaited pics

2008-10-10T06:06:00.012-04:00

Hallelujah -- against all odds, the value of the forint has shifted, and this morning the dollar was actually worth 200 forint. It hasn't been that good in two years!

So I'm celebrating by taking a trip to Sweden! A dear friend, Judy, moved there recently, so I'll be spending my Thanksgiving break celebrating with her! And with the help of discount airfares, my roundtrip ticket costs less than $100. so excited!

HS retreat --

back

2008-10-05T09:40:00.002-04:00

a moment I'd like to share, because I'm so freaking proud of myself: at church today, I ended up sitting next to a Hungarian while I sang my little heart out. After the music was over, he spoke to me in Hungarian, and I responded in English -- and he was shocked! He thought I was Hungarian because of the way I sang. So finally, I have fooled a native! :)

High school retreat was great -- wrap-up complete with pictures coming soon!

court stuff

2008-10-01T10:23:00.002-04:00

So if you happen to think about this on Thursday, our school is involved in a pretty big court case and could definitely use your prayers. We're appealing a court decision that could cost us a considerable amount of money, so please pray for the appeals court to act fairly!

We leave for high school retreat in the morning! This year I expect the highlights to be a) freshmen initiation -- I believe this year the freshmen will become ice-cream sundaes, topped with all sorts of sprinkles, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup, so the pictures opportunities for yearbook should be pretty stellar :) b) the filming of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight -- my Brit Lit students decided the video version of this we watched was not up to their entertainment standards, so we're filming our own version at an actual castle while we're on the retreat! c) hanging out with the students. Seriously -- I look forward to this. We have some awesome, awesome kids at this school :)

behold the power of cheese...

2008-09-29T02:45:00.002-04:00

I had never heard of raclette before, but when the Custers invited us over for raclette, all they needed to say was that it involved cheese! It's similar to fondue; everyone cooks meat on a common grill, while lots of cheese melts in little trays underneath. Then you pour the cheese over your veggies and potatoes.... Nagyon finom volt!
Short week -- because this weekend is the High School Retreat! Pictures coming soon...

busy week!

2008-09-26T04:22:00.002-04:00

but today is a fun day, as it's the day when my sophomores make masks in honor of our African novel, Things Fall Apart. They're so cute -- they try to be all grown-up, but throw some markers and construction paper in front of them, and they suddenly become different people!

prayer request for you all: I'm working with a new ministry this year, an Alpha course, that I'm really excited about. I'll send out more info in my newsletter (by the way, if you follow my blog but you're not on my mailing list and want to be, let me know. Email my gmail account; it's misshardy) but for right now pray for the planning stages. We had a meeting last night, and a lot of questions still need to be answered about logistics and finances. We're also hoping a team from the States will be able to come and help out with our kick-off events in early December...so if you want to take a trip to Hungary, maybe you can work in a missions trip! :)

So my language lessons are going well -- Heidi is meeting with me, too, so the three of us have a lot of fun with Izabella. But apparently my confidence level isn't exactly high, as evidenced by a dream I had, in which I was trying to help a Hungarian man who was lost. I was talking to him over the phone and trying to explain to him how to get to our village. I thought I was saying things correctly, but he just got frustrated and mocked me, until he yelled at me and hung up. I was so angry/embarrassed that I woke up... and then I thought about my dream-Hungarian. In the dream, I was convinced I said, "Are you familiar with Balatoni Highway?" -- but what I actually said was, "You know how zoo?" Ha!

God has such a sense of humor....

2008-09-22T06:08:00.002-04:00

Lisa and I often joke about how the Lord will have to bring a man to our doorstep. Little did we know that would actually happen....

So Sunday morning, I was in my room getting ready for church, when I heard a man's voice. I walked into the hallway, thinking I'd go to the door and see what he wants -- but actually he was right there, inside the house, in front of my bedroom door -- a man I had never seen, carrying a bouquet of flowers!

Thank God he spoke English, because I was so flustered by having a random guy in our place I couldn't think of a single word in Hungarian... although he was pretty embarrassed and confused himself! Apparently, his mother (who now lives in the house above us) used to live in our apartment, but the son (let's call him Gabor) hasn't been too great about keeping in touch with her. He showed up unexpectedly to spend Sunday with her, and just walked in to surprise her! We laughed about it, and I sent Gabor on his way upstairs.

It was a pleasant weekend -- although I had to give in to impending cold weather and switch out all my summer clothes for warmer things. Yesterday Lisa and I spent the afternoon at Gloria Jean's coffeeshop with a Polish girl who's new to Budapest and looking for a church. Nothing like a little coffee with good conversation on a cold day -- especially at Heroes' Square.

We sang a song yesterday during worship that I love. I actually found the Hungarian lyrics online, which is kind of a minor miracle, but here's the English version for those of you not fluent in magyarul :)

icsb outreach

2008-09-17T04:32:00.007-04:00

One things that's been really great this year is the excitement over the new outreach team, headed up by my very own roommate! The kids are full of passion, and they're going into the city to do drama and street evangelism. This video was done by one of the parents, and is a good picture of the work they're doing as well as downtown Budapest.

It's cold and rainy here, so the walk back and forth to school has not been fun (and naturally we chose to put our car in the shop this week, the only one with rain!). And I'm a little stressed out by open house last night and progress reports tomorrow. But our staff retreat was fun..... some pictures from that and the wine festival:

Everyone loves the coffee shop! Great drinks at less than half the price of Starbucks :)

The grounds are beautiful, too.

We played ICSB Family Feud, and I correctly guessed the #1 answer for the biggest problem facing ICSB staff: lack of available single men!

So I'm not the only short one this year! But we're pretty darn short...

I never get tired of the city at night.

hallelujah!

2008-09-11T05:04:00.002-04:00

The forint is at 172 today!

After this summer, when it fell to 141 forint to a dollar, I was really worried about my budget. Thanks for praying -- keep it up!

I haven't posted much because I've been playing with our brand new yearbook software! I'm so excited; this is life-changing :) Seriously, when I told our publishers what software we were using last year, they laughed. Now we're high-tech!

This weekend is our staff retreat at Vajta, and tonight is the wine festival! Pictures coming soon....

This would only happen to me....

2008-09-08T06:05:00.004-04:00

so after I posted those pics, I taught one class and then looked at my statcounter to see if anyone had seen them yet (thinking maybe I had time to change my mind and email it just to Kathy).
Well, with the statcounter, I can see where people are when they view my pages.... and within that 45 minute period, I had 70 page-views of my blog. 70, all from the following countries: Germany, Malaysia, Switzerland, Italy, France, Hong Kong, Latvia, Singapore, Sweden, UK, Phillipines, Mexico, and the US. Apparently, the "View next blog" button in the toolbar was set to display mine for a long, long time...

I always wanted to be internationally famous -- this isn't the way I had anticipated! :)

So Kathy... don't ever say I didn't get you anything for your birthday. I think my total humiliation today has more than compensated for my lack of a card!

Happy birthday, Kathy!

2008-09-08T04:45:00.004-04:00

I hope you know I would NEVER do this for anyone else... may this gift bring you abundant hilarity... (for the rest of you, this is me with the fake "grills" Kathy sent me, as a souvenir from the lake!).

(I can't believe I'm actually posting these)

over the weekend

2008-09-01T06:27:00.002-04:00

I love weekends. I particularly love them after the first full week of school, because I was absolutely exhausted this week. Friday night was the high school party, which was surprisingly fun. They had Rock Band and karaoke and various party games, and it was nice to see the new kids (we have 20 this year!) starting to fit in. So we had a good time -- but I was really glad to sleep in Saturday morning!

Heidi's birthday was this weekend, so she took us to this place I've wanted to go to for a while, just because it sounds so odd.... it's on the rooftop of a supermarket building. literally. Just imagine hanging out on top of your local Food Lion! so weird.

Continue to be praying about my work here -- I'm trying to make some decisions about other ministries outside of the school, and I have a lot of options! I'm meeting with Chad and Serina tonight to talk about it all, so pray that I'll have discernment and know how to make wise choices.

meleg viz!

2008-08-28T09:50:00.002-04:00

Finally -- hot water! It's enough to make me giddy... still no internet access yet, but at least I don't have to take lukewarm showers in the school locker room!

now if we could just get rid of the mosquitoes... Window screens are pretty atypical in Hungary, and even though I'm careful to shut the windows before it gets dark, those pesky little things still find their way in. So I've spent more than one night wrapped up in a sheet like a mummy while I listen to mosquitoes buzz around me as they try to pierce the sheet. It's not exactly conducive to sleep. And I regularly sleep outdoors (no tent!) while camping, so you know this is pretty bad to keep me awake.

On a positive note, my classes are going great! I'm trying to decide what other activities to be involved with, though. So be praying for me to make wise choices! And tomorrow I start meeting with Izabella. We're meeting every Friday for an hour of English and an hour of Hungarian. Whew! Hopefully I'll be able to actually have conversations before long :)

multiculturalism and language milestones

2008-08-25T07:37:00.003-04:00

Yesterday reminded me of how very international Budapest is. I spent the day exploring parts of Hungary I've never visited, including a rose garden which is home to an Islamic tomb/monument. Then Lisa called to say they were filming a commercial, so of course I had to meet her. When I got there, it was a commercial for Coke, being filmed in Budapest, which was made to look like New York (complete with American taxi and mail box), to air on Israeli television. Then we went to a gospel choir concert at our church, where the South African/Irish choir director led the group in African, American, Hungarian, and Polish songs.

I love living in a big city!

As for language, I had perhaps the most successful day I've ever had. For one thing, at church Sunday night, the service is all in Hungarian, and English speakers listen to translation through headsets. My headset definitely didn't work --- BUT I understood a lot of what was being said! I was really proud of myself. However, my greatest accomplishment thus far was yet to come... I sang, for the first time ever, the one song in Hungarian I've never been able to keep up with. ever. I spent the last two years with the personal goal of singing that song without stumbling. I came close once, only to lose it in the last line -- it's so dang fast! But last night, I finally sang it not once, not twice, but three times through!

I am so very proud :)

I feel old right now

2008-08-22T08:09:00.009-04:00

because I just overheard two students discussing the greatest classic rock band of all time. I was expecting to hear them mention Led Zeppelin or something similar.... but no. They had a heated debate over their two favorites: Aerosmith and Guns and Roses. ha.

So we survived St Istvan's day with no storms, although we did walk for miles that day because of roads being closed off. Sadly, the water was too high for the planes to fly under the bridge, but the obstacle course was pretty cool -- and the fireworks were amazing.

And classes are going surprisingly smoothly. It's going to be a good year!

This is what happens when you move the camera while taking a picture! but I thought it looked pretty cool anyway...

my classroom

a few pics of the new place

getting settled...

2008-08-19T04:20:00.002-04:00

Whew.

So I went to our mission organization's retreat, left on Friday and drove straight to work, left work and began packing up, spent Saturday moving, went to church on Sunday and then continued to unpack, had a full workday yesterday, and still have tons to do in my classroom and my apartment. Oh, and school starts in two days. not fun.

Also not fun -- no internet access, and no hot water. That's right. I haven't had a shower in two days.

But it has been fun to catch up with some of the other teachers and meet all the new ones. We have a lot of new people this year, so somewhere in the midst of all the other craziness I've been able to go out to dinner and to the coffeeshop and just get to know them better. And I'm really excited about being closer to school this year; it's a nice little walk, so we don't have to rely on our car as much, or keep pouring $10 gallons of gas into it all the time! AND the forint has risen slightly since I've been back! Hallelujah.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again, since tomorrow is a holiday! It's St. Istvan's Day, the memorial day for the first king, who was the first to convert to Christianity and establish Hungary as a Christian nation. There's a cool air show where planes do stunts and fly under the bridges on the Danube, and then there's an amazing fireworks display. And then -- school starts the next morning!

again...whew.