introducing a new coffee house

Starting in mid October, my organization began a coffee house outreach. Every Thursday night from 8-10, we meet at the Zsuzsanna (Susan) guesthouse. We rent a room there and invite people from the community, university students and those we teach at the high school. We have different activities, games and contests. The first couple of things were a pianist, and game night. Next for Halloween we had a fear factor evening followed my win lose or draw and twister. This week we had an evening with the doctor, where a MD from the US came to answer medical questions that people might have.

The count down

School children are not the only ones who are counting down for Christmas this year. Next week is American Thanksgiving, and I will be in school talking about what I would be doing in the US. Don't feel too bad for me though, because later that day I will be flying to Jolly Ole England to spend the holiday with a family that used to live here in Hungary. They moved to England when our office moved there in August.

For Christmas, Lord willing, I will not be spending in a classroom, but at home with my family in Locust Grove! Hence the countdown. Sadly for the students here, they only have a one week break from classes before they return to school for the stress of the end of the semester. The semester ends here about mid January. On the bright side, students get to put their new year's resolutions of studying harder into practice right away.

I'm not sure what I expected from this school year, but i trust that this is the place that the Lord has me and i will be content in that, count down or not. As in all things, teaching in general and especially in a culture and language not your own, i have learned and observed a few things:
-Children are the same everywhere, boys are still trying to prove something, and girls still have terrible taste in boys.
-Some students care about their studies, others care only about turning 18 and being able to leave. Everyone strives for acceptance and nobody wants to be the outcast.

Some days are hard, some I enjoy, but mostly I try to remember (some days it is very hard to do so) that I don't represent myself, but Him who sent me. I'm don't know how or if i will ever be able to see it, but I trust that his light will shine in this spiritually dark place.

í have my days.

People often ask me how do i like teaching. usually i answer i have my days. some of my classes are good and i actually get to teach something. the others well... lets just say that i call them evil for a reason. Often i have this voice in my head that says that there are not bad students just ineffective teachers, this however i have never embraced wholeheartedly and still do not, because i can introduce them to a few. i am not saying that i am a great teacher or that i could not be more effective, i know that i could. Iám just saying.... there are bad students. But as in all things, there are good students as well. I have good classes with students that really want to learn. does this make it all worth the headache?... i will let you know.

Really, keep giving them this water!

Today started early! My first class begins at 7:45 which i know is not early to most of you, but for the girl who works with university students and is up late usually, this is early. Out of my 6 classes today only 2 were annoying. This is a fairly big improvement from last week. One of the classes was my fault for not having a lesson which suited the class so i will not judge them until next week. The other is well... i guess there has to be one of those classes in a semester. Kind of like there is always "that guy" in the class.
So i'm sure many of you are wandering how Hungarian High School is different from American High School. The answer, vastly different. Some example:
- the teacher change classes when the bell rings not the students
- students are supposed to stand when the teacher enters the room
-they do not have a set lunch time or for that thought a planed out lunch system. there is a bufe to get junk food and a place to get a hot meal if you would like to buy it but only if you have a free period, other than that they occasionally eat in class
- they do not call you by your last name, but the english equivalent to "teacher lady."
-To my knowledge there is not much of a disciplinary system, though i did see a kid cry today with who i think is the principle (we haven't actually meet).
- grades are both subjective and objective meaning when a kid annoys me i can give him a bad grade. (this i am a fan of and already have one in mind)
-there is no toilet paper in any of the bathrooms, you have to bring your own.
-the only accessories in the classroom are chairs desks and a chalkboard.
-the students are with the same classmates all day long.

i'm sure that there are many more, but here is a couple just to get your mind thinking. As for now, i'm glad that I do not have classes on Friday!

what's in a day

I am not sure what is either in the water or the air today, but i like it! I was a little nervous about going into work today from the not so lovely students that i had on monday. I shouldn't say that, only one class was terrible. anyways, i walked in today and went into a class that was a handful last week and there sat not 15-20 but 7 quiet teenage boys. The bell rang and a few more students wandered in. It was like i had entered another world. They greeted me, talked a very little about their weeks and then studied the lesson in which they participated. crazier things have happened, but not this week. I hope the same goes for tomorrow as well.

Did she really just say that?

Yes, yes she did. I found this question a reoccurring thought of mine this past week. There are many things that I did not think that teachers would really say, but guess what, they do in Hungary. My favorite example of this was during one of my first meeting at the school. I had written down some of my questions to try to get a better handle on school policies, organization and just school life in general. Most of these questions I received a strange look and a blanket answer. "Is there a dress code?"... no "Do you allow food or drink in the classroom?" .. no, but maybe if they are hungry. "Tardiness?".. they will come.. and my favorite " what do you do about misconduct? what is the disciplinary system?"... oh just ask them to stop.

Who could not be impressed with this well oiled machine? Even so, I tried to prepare myself, and come the first Wednesday in September I got on my bike and headed off to my first day of Hungarian High School. I arrived early, learned how to use the copier and was inform that Zsuzsa, who i think is the head of the department, would be sitting in on my first class. As I was waiting for her, a man full of presence, came bouncing in the teacher's room surveying with whom he would introduce himself, and landed upon me. He told me, in Hungarian, that he only taught on Wednesdays and that he didn't know anyone. I told him that i didn't know anyone either, and before another Hungarian word could come out of my mouth, I hear the other teachers loudly proclaim that i am the English lecturer and that i do not understand him. He then turns to me and says- are you not Hungarian? i replied no i am American, but i understand you to which he now says in English oh i am so sorry i also can speak some English. Before the next breath, he bounds off to meet the other teachers in the room with his funny story of how he mistook the American for a Hungarian, and everyone had a good laugh. This little incident occurred a couple more time that day. By the end of the day, however, my graciousness was about at its limits and decided that if i did not make this a joke, we were going to have issues. So the next time someone came up to me and began speaking Hungarian and the teachers gave their, by now rehearsed speech, I smiled and said something about never knowing what the crazy American would say, and thus ended that. Obviously I am still working on my relationship with the other teachers.

Now for what you really want to know. How are the students and what is the classroom like. Well they are all different. some classes are very quite and some are very lively. The one thing they have in common is that no one can say my last name. Another similarity is that they are not a fan of speaking English, but boy do they love speaking Hungarian. In my first class, I walked in the room and Zsuzsa introduced me, and one of the guys said that he did like to speak English, and something else in Hungarian- I don't remember now. I looked at him and told him that was such a shame since this was a speaking class. Of course all of their eyes got big and could not believe that the American could understand some Hungarian. So, for the most part this past week, was many many classes of students trying to push limits and me pulling teeth to get them to introduce themselves. The agenda for next week? Is survival asking for too much? Really only in a couple of my classes do they really try me, the others are quite lovely and over all i think this will be an entertaining year.

The blind leading the mute

For the past month or so, people have been asking me about my upcoming position as an English teacher. All I knew at that point was that they started sometime in September and that someone would be getting in touch with me (or so I hoped). Finally, I got a text message last week about coming in, but there was a holiday so it was postponed until today. So this morning I got ready, gathered a couple of things and headed out on my bike to the school. On the way, I realized that it was kind of my first day at my new job which felt kind of odd, but kind of exciting.

When I arrived I saw the teacher that I was supposed to meet with and she asked me to have a set and went over a few minor details with me. It was then that I realized a couple of things: one, I was teaching double the amount of classes that I thought I was responsible for. Two, I was not team teaching with any specific English teacher, but was teaching class all of my own. Therefore, I am not confined to either a grade or a level. I have them all. I will be teaching 9 different sets of students and only one set will be more than one time a week. The level range from hello my name is... to those taking a language exam, in which you most be proficient in the language

This, however, was just the beginning of things in which i was not aware. School does not start sometime in September but the first of September, as in next week. I was just given 2 of the 4 books out of which the grammar teacher will teach, I just have to base lessons off of that. Suddenly, i was aware of exactly how much i did not know. I don't know the exact day school starts, where classrooms are, what school policies are, what the dress code is, what the disciplinary process is, and many other such details. I know there is a saying, the blind leading the blind, but i realized this doesn't really apply, b/c the students know all these things they are not blind, they just can't communicate them to me because we speak different languages. what a pair we will make come next week.

out for a stroll

Even though it i just the beginning of August, it has the end of the summer feel to me. We put 2 of our interns on a plane on Thursday and the third one on a train on Sunday. Ap, my co-worker, took a quick vacation, and my boss and his wife went to Africa leaving me in the city all alone for the first time in quite a few months. It was good to finally go to church sunday morning, and worship together with my church family here. then i did something that i have never done before, i went to the movies alone. i took myself out for chineese food and then a matenee. It was air conditioned and funny enough i felt quite empowered that i strangly did not feel awkard. This week i have slept in, checked email, and read a book.

I am waiting for a call from the school that i will be working at, inorder to schedule for September. I also am about to begin planning for the fall and what direction our student ministry will take. Other than that i am just trying to get back in contact with students after summer holidays and some sort of a schedule. On an interresting note, i went for a walk today and saw something sadly unusual on the tram. See i like to think that i can spot ticket checkers as they get on the tram. this is no problem for me since ihave a monthly pass but it is just a funny observation game that i like to play. well this one guy was getting on and i thought maybe this is one, but.... no i don't think so. just then he looks at me, and comes and sits in front of me, pulls out, not a badge, but an old book. Next he opens it and begins reading. I thought surly not, can it be, is he reading what i think he is reading, and it was. He was reading the book of John. The next stop was mine, but i got off in the rain grinning because truly only God knows the heart of man.

my summer - brothers

For those of you that get my newsletter i know that i promised pictures and stories, and i got the pictures up yesterday. Here are just a couple of the stories from the summer. My brothers came in may and were able to see my city. Brian got a hungarian experience right off the plane... i wasn't there. My friend and i were caught in traffic and his plane was 45 min early. so i ran into the terminal at what i think is his arrival time to see them taking his flight number off of the monitor. Next i ran to the information counter for them to tell me he is at the B side not the A. Then as i go to B i ran in the doors and see him sitting in one of the chairs waiting for me. How horrible am i. He got to experience his first (by no means his last) experience of waiting on public transportation.

Once Jeremy arrived we headed to Debrecen where the boys entertained my friends with countless (exaggerated) stories from our childhood. My friends ofcourse not really knowing by brothers almost believed them. Of course good sense prevailed and they do not think that i am an evil person. Jeremy, not to be out done by Brian also got to experience the joy of traveling through airport and finding your hotel. Jeremy and I arrived in Istanbul at 11:30ish pm and were trying to find our way to our hotel. we were told that there was a bus that went to the asia side (where we were staying), but that it did not leave until 1 am. the lady at the information desk wrote down a note and told us to give it to the bus driver. she told us that it said to take us to the asia side and drop up off at a taxi hot spot so that we culd find our hotel. we handed the note to bus diver and rode for at least an hour until everyone else was off the bus. When we came to a stop we handed him the address of the hotel where he mimed no taxi, walk. Then he proceed to stop and ask different taxi drivers where the hotel was and dropped us off at the bottom of the hill of our street. Amazed, Jeremy and i tried to tip him but he would't take it and we set off for the hotel. We checked in that evening at about 3am. All in all we had a great time and there were all kinds of adventures, not only in transportation, but food, funny tasting water and misconception. I mean come on we even look like brother and sister!
for pictures click here

Spring is in the air!

And all I have to say is that it is about time! I love the sun and all that comes with it. Since the sun has come out I have been to baseball game, an american football game, an easter egg hunt and gone for several bike rides. The baseball team was the Mikepercs Mosquitoes. This was their first game ever! Sadly they didn't win, but they did the following week. The football team is the Debrecen Gladiators, our local team. For more pictures click here.

The easter egg hunt was with our english class. I unfortunately, only go now when needed as my students have gotten jobs and other things that prevent them from being able to attend. I do however, still help with a converstion class at a high school here in Debrecen called Doci.

march mayhem

March has been an interesting month. First, and sadly, my partner AP had to go to Budapest for the month because she was experiencing back pain. She is currently in physical therapy and doing better. However, she was currently coaching a volleyball team here in Debrecen in a high school, therefore the task fell to me. Did I mention that this was a guy's team? Really there is one girl on the team, so I guess it is coed. I walked into the gym that week with a volleyball and a sheet of paper from AP describing the different drills that we would be working on for the day. The guys were quite patience with me as i tried not to laugh and instruct them on the proper technique for an overhand serve (something in which i myself do not do). This week the drills will be on spiking, another thing that a 5 foot 1girl does not attempt
.

Two weeks ago they had a scrimmage game with a team from another city. They lost. They won 1 out of 4 games. I'm not sure how long this (my) team has been playing but I noticed somethings that they could work on, even with my limited volleyball knowledge. For instance, we they serve the ball the entire front line all squeeze in the middle of the court and take their precious time to get back into position. They don't hustle and could work on their aim, but their serves are good! :) Thankfully, AP is returning to Debrecen this week and I am relieved of duty! Welcome back AP the team missed you!

trilingual? .....nah

I know one of the reasons that God's mercies new every morning, it is because so are all the new experiences and challenges that a day holds. Thankfully this was just a funny one. My co-worker AP has a vision to see an open gym night here in Debrecen. In order to take steps in this direction, she has been going around to different gyms, and high schools to see if their facilities were available. One day she asked me to go along with her. We entered a school that neither of us had ever been, and was received by the porter.

We greeted him in hungarian, and he did likewise as he politely asked us how he could assist us. Ap asked him if he spoke english, which he did not, and asked if we spoke french. Though AP studied French in highschool, she was wise enough to say no. So I tried to ask him (in hungarian) if the gym was open in the evening. What I did not realize is that i used the term for highschool instead of gym. Finally he asked if we spoke anyother languages. I not being as wise as AP, said alittle spanish. Suddenly i hear him on the phone asking for the spanish teacher because he has a spanish girl that has a question. I told the man that i didn't need the spanish teacher because i was not spanish, but american. He said okay and gave us directions to the teacher's lounge.

Next thing I hear is a lady greeting me in yes you guess it... spanish. I said hello back and tired to remember any words that would come to my mind, but only hungarian came out. So i asked if i could answer in hungarian. Our conversation consisted of her asking me questions in spanish while i answered in hungarian. I'm sure this was quite funny to anyone who may have been listening. After i tried to explain that AP was not looking for a job, but wanted to use their gym, she said that she would check, and sent the english teacher back. The end of this tale is that their gym is not avalible. On our way out of the school i thanked the english teacher in english, the spanish teacher in spanish and the porter in hungarian. Really, Great is His faithfullness!

a casual walk

Last week, I was walking around campus and was praying for what the Lord would do there when suddenly the enormity of my task hit me all over again. I looked at all the students coming in and going to class and I wondered what life held in store for each of them. Would they ever find truth or would they spend a lifetime searching without ever discovering true life. I know the truth, I know the one who creates and sustains life, but how do i tell them in a way that they would hear? I wish I could say at that moment I had a revelation, but I didn't. All I know is that the task is bigger than me, and much more important. I do not know how much longer I will be here, but I pray that the truth will spread and reside in the hearts of those students forever.

girls conference

January 16-17 I participated in a girls retreat in Mikeperc, which is a village outside of Debrecen, with goodsports international. This retreat was for the orphan girls of Miskolc. We were in small groups and were able to cover some of the issues that face girls everyday. Also helping were students from Biola University in California and the Debreceni youth group from Calvary Chapel. Here is the skit that Biola preformed for the girls saturday night after our panel discussion of what do guys really think... for pictures click here and then on outreach projects!

cookies and carols

In November, I began helping with an english class in a neighboring city. I teach the advanced class and we were studying the christmas story. This is my first experience ever teaching english and for those who currently read this blog i'm sure you have your founded concerns. Thankfully it isn't all about how competent I am in english grammer and syntax, but in building relationship and sharing the most important lesson that i could ever teach, the gospel. My students are very kind and patient people and it is a pleasure to get to know them. We had a chistmas party before i left for the states and we had gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies and sang christmas carols in both english and hungarian. here is a little taste.