It's My Nameday!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen~

I am pleased to announce that today is my offical NAMEDAY! What is that you say? Check it out! This is the first nameday of my life, and certainly a cause for some celebration. Send me some love!

SPRING!!!

Ahhh, after a long and tiringly cold wait, spring is here!! The sun is shining (when it isn't raining), the days are longer (we already turned our clocks forward!), and the winter coat is history, replaced by only a fleece. As it continues to warm up, I hear the songs of birds, and the promises of long walks and bike rides, maybe even a picnic or two :) And with all of this brightness, my joy is filling, and hopefully spreading like a delicious epidemic. This week has even more thrilling adventures in store. We have something called Nyelv Nap (Language Day) on Friday, where all my students perform little skits or do a dance, so all my lessons consist of warming up and practicing, and tomorrow going to the Culture House for a runthrough. On Wednesday, I actually get the day off to go to Visegrad, which another teacher calls easily the most beautiful castle and view in Hungary. There are some Spanish exchange students here, and just because I have never been, I get to field trip with them. Ahhh.

I passed my Hungarian exam! I am now supposedly proficient at this strange language, but I still need some practice in the speaking category. I'm shy ;)

Here's to Joy and Castles and Languages and Spring!

One of the boys who has been coming to our youth group at church received salvation yesterday. The Lord is working and moving, and I feel my students are learning to trust me and are interested in conversation. The rest of this year and next year are promising and glorious. Praise be to God!

Rockin' Week Ahead

This last weekend I spent Saturday in Budapest, visiting with the girls from Prague who came to visit! We went to a wine tasting, Sam cooked us a rather delicious dinner, and I made a late night of getting home near midnight. Sunday then consisted of laying around my flat in my pajamas, to prepare for the craziness this week will hold. For all those interested and in need of some fun, here are the scheduled events:

Monday (today!)
St. Patrick's Day party: I know the holiday was Friday, but due to certain American exchange students who insisted upon celebrating and yet were in Transylvania this weekend, and since Hungary doesn't celebrate this holiday anyway, we decided we could change the date. It's not as possible to find green alcohol, or dye beer green, but Mountain Dew Irish music will have to suffice. Come anytime after 5pm to our flat for fun and leprechaun jigs.

Tuesday
Learn to make pogacha:I may have spelled that wrong, but it is pronounced (po Gotch a). This is a tasty Hungarian cheese biscuit thing, that are found at every wonderful bakery, and Lydia has offered to teach me the art of making them for myself. We shall see how it goes, as I'm not the best cook, but perhaps I may return to the States this summer knowing how to make some kind of Hungarian dish, no matter how small.

Wednesday
Matrix Marathon: To Sarah's astonished students, she has never seen any of the Matrix movies. Now, whether you hate them, love them, tolerate them, they are at least worth seeing once, and so her students will remedy Sarah's illness and let her borrow all these movies. Since they should be seen in order, and we have very little time free, Wednesday afternoon we will attempt to watch all three in a row nonstop. Anyone is welcome to join in on the madness. We will start perhaps around 2 or even 3, which will mean it may last until well into the night. Stay for them all if you are bold, or just part if you can't stand the insanity.

Thursday
Hungarian exam:Ok, this event is only for me. I finish my Hungarian classes this week, and I have a test on the last day. If I pass, it means I get a certificate that says I am proficient in Hungarian up to a certain level. What this level will be, depends on my exam. I think I have a pretty good chance, because it's totally written, and my reading and writing is so much better than listening and speaking. At any rate, the certificate may open up some opportunities, although actually being able to use the language in conversation would probably be better, but I'm on my way. I just have to get over my shyness in speaking, or I'll never be truly proficient.

Friday
Regular Friday: Teaching 4 lessons, perhaps visiting some friends in the church, English club, and youth group. Nothing new for a Friday, but I added it in case anyone wanted to see the madness of a typical week here. And for Saturday, who knows? Sarah and I may travel somewhere, we want to get out of Vác for a day. And a week from Wednesday, her mother and sister are coming to town, so there will be more madness and excitement.

That is my exciting update. If you don't here from me this week, now you know why.

Vác pic

Vác basillica

Latest Rough Overview of Recent Events

I missed my stop on the bus one night, and the bus charges right out of Vác, putting me in panic mode. A 10 minute ride turned into an hour, but God protected me and brought me back home safe and sound. I went to a Scottish dance and saw men in kilts, but I am not near Scotland. I learned that although Valentines' Day is not celebrated, Women's Day is pretty much the same thing only a month later.My school did a presentation for the holiday March 15th, and recited a poem roughly translated as "We swear to the God of Hungary that we will never be slaves again!" This powerful poem was then butchered in a song that sounded more like a lullaby then a war chant, and I had to leave.

What should I major in?

Wow! Who knew a 10 question test could be so accurate??? If I do end up going back to graduate school, I'm not sure if education is really my thing, and the list they gave me does sound a whole lot more interesting, but what do you do with any of those things?

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal. You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk. You should major in: Philosophy Music Theology Art History Foreign language

What Should You Major In?

I'm a Bum

As my friend Barb would say, I am definitely a bum. It's been nearly a month, and I haven't updated anyone with the blog thing. I have trouble with it, it's not that I don't still love to write, but it's so incredibly hard inbetween classes in the mornings. This is largely from the fact that I don't have internet in my flat, a luxury I find difficult to be without. I have a lot of thoughts and things to say at night, but they never make it to the computer at school.
Even though it has been a long time, I'm still not sure what to say. February may technically be the shortest month, but I am a firm believer that it is the longest month of ALL TIME!!! Halfway through, I'm still in shock that it is STILL February! I had a lot of health problems this month too. My stomach apparantly doesn't take well to fatty foods, and so I had to go to the doctor for the first time, get a blood test, with no findings on why my stomach complains. After just avoiding fatty foods, I feel fine (and hopefully am losing weight!) After the blood test, they found I have twice the amount of sugar in my blood, and I will be retested tomorrow for diabetes, which I highly doubt is the problem. But hey, take away sugar AND fat, and I'll be a starving stick! It's hard to find other foods, except bread. I'm now eating a lot of bread. After skipping a lot of school with these doctor's appointments, I came down with a real illness, a cold and cough, and then had to teach anyway because I'd already missed too much school, UGH!
Yet, at just the right timing, because God is sooo good, some former ESI teachers came to save the day and visit and teach lessons for me, as well as bringing great care packages! I'm still coughing, but feeling better, and still praying for God's continual strength and healing in all my situations.
God is teaching me more and more things. As everyone knows, Lent has begun, and although I didn't go to a service, I can feel the time. When winter has been going on and on and on, and my heart grows cold with it and I feel down, and then the sunshine begins to appear, the snow begins to melt, and the warmth erupts deep within, but also exposes the way I have been. I know that Lent this year will be a time of not just reflection, and giving up something, but more than that, repentence. I will critically prepare myself for the celebration of the most glorious event in history, bringing my sins at His feet, learning to die again to all that I've kept hidden, and let the spring and resurrection begin a new work and a clean slate once again. The Jews had a time of year where they sought repentence and where God forgave all the sins of the year. I feel a need every year to do the same. While I may ask forgiveness every day, to spend time truly being cleansed and purified, and giving up those things I've held onto for so long, this requires those 40 days of prayer and yes! even fasting! (fat sugar apparantly aren't enough) I pray for all of you to be renewed as well, to welcome the spring, and welcome the return of our Lord!

Blessings!