Currently Reading The Four Loves By C.S. Lewis see related

in spania pentru cateva zile

Hey

Am fost in spania si a fost minunata.  Am vazut ruine romane si am trecut timp cu prietenele mele.  A fost asa de distractiv sa fiu acolo si sa fiu afara de acest oras putin.  Uitati-va la pozele mele si uitati-va la mai multe in "photos" daca vrei.

and for my english speaking friends: I was in Spain and it was wonderful! I got to see Roman ruins and spend time with my friends.  It was so fun to be there and to be outside the city a bit.  See my pics and see more in photos if you want.        

This is on the Roman city wall and inside a Roman vault underneath, what was, the circus. 

 And the Mediterranean Sea!

Paste Fericit-Happy Easter

Easter here has caught my attention cause it has nothing to do with the Easter Bunny; however, there are some decorated eggs thrown in there.  It's a really big holiday here. Almost everyone goes to an Orthodox Church somewhere on the Saturday night before Easter Sunday and lights a candle starting with the priest, they sing songs, listen to the priest speak, and then thousands of people walk home with their candles in hand all the way, taking the light to their home.  

Romania is said to be about 87% Romanian Orthodox. There are new churches being built all the time.  It seems so apparent that they know the passion and truth of what Christ has done as evidenced by the painting on church walls and the heartfelt prayers, speeches, and poems, but ... then its mixed with all these other pictures of people who are not Jesus --icons...i dont know what more to say on that right now.  I just have been praying a lot more for the people here, the mindset.

So then i think of my own culture...how many say they are Christians...right, because they go to church on Easter Bunny Day...that makes me think too and pray...

a bit of traveling

I already talked about my holidays here in Bucharest on the myspace, I'll tell you about the couple days after Christmas.  Kristy, one of my roommates, and I attempted to go visit some monestaries in the north.  We bought our train tickets kind of last minute and were so indecisive about whether we should go or not, but we decided we wanted to.  We looked at what train line our train was coming on, waited for our 11:45 PM train, and got on. About 20 min into the ride the lady checked our tickets and we discovered that we were on a train going to the west-Timisoara! We were going the total wrong way and yea, we felt like dumb foreigners, but it was pretty funny.  So we HAD to get off at the first stop which was in the middle of NOWHERE, to us anyway.  We waited in a restaurant/bar until about 3:30 when three nice and drunk men came and decided to make conversation.  They kept on , one trying to put his chapstick on my buze uscate until the bartender eventually called the police-who came to our rescue!!! One even escorted us back to Bucharest at four in the morning, since he was going anyway.  This was a night I'll never forget!  Sadly, though we didnt see the monestaries--until this weekend, when I got to go with a group of girls to the mountains. It was so beautiful and snowy...

Winter is a whole new experience for me, put it that way. We hiked a little while after arriving in Busteni up to an area with a church and a small monestary.  It was absolutely enchanting with the snow covered trees and mountains.  I cant believe how enthused i was to just like play in the snow-i felt like a kid.  After that we decided to go for a (what the sign said 30 min) hike up the mountain to see a waterfall.  I didnt have boots on and i have NO background of experience in hiking on icey-snowy trails.  I was like a person who never learned to walk.  I had to have a person on both sides helping me hike at some points and was falling over every 5 sec literally-but I could not stop laughing at myself and with the other girls as we all peeled out at one point .  I wasnt even afaid of falling anymore--yea we didnt see any waterfalls and on our way down finally just decided to slide down on our coats. Probably dangerous but fun-coat sledding. Yea, and then, if you know me, i had to go the bathroom so that was fun finding a place in snow covered woods!  Another day Ill never forget, but i definitly empathize with the person who hasnt learned to swim or ride a bike til adulthood-things are like that are so much harder to learn as a grown-up. But snow is fun! and hey, i always had a grudge against cold weather but it can be fun too--if there is a place to warm up in end.  (i will add some pics soon) It was so so pretty.

Passing gas in an international setting?

First of all teaching at BCA has so many days of wow i work with these great experienced teachers and these such interesting kids!  I learn the most from my ESOL Chinese students who are learning English.  I just identify with them as i struggle through trying to construct meaning with words i know in Romanian.  Its funny, exciting, discouraging, fun, tough, and just what God wants me doing right now i am sure. 

Missionary kids are so different and teaching here is different than any experience i have had as of yet.  I mean just one instance-farting- so one kid totally lets one during a movie about Joseph in Egypt and i am like expecting an uproar, totally NO reaction and if any of you have worked with 6 and 7 year olds, you know that this is definitly an interesting thing.  It puzzled me and i felt like the dumb American with the gross humor when i realized that i was the only one about to bust out laughing. You may ask "well maybe they didnt notice?"  I would agree except for it was anything but a silent and it was all about the deadly smell!  Geez.  teaching with these kids is definitly fun and crazy. 

You'd think that oh ok you have 10 kids, easy.  Well not exactly when you have a combination of 1st and 2nd graders ranging from 6-10 years old including 2 who are just learning English, a few who havent had kindergarten, and a plethora of other needs.  It is amazing though that we can really touch on whatever they do need and take the time for them that kids so badly need when they are just learning how to get along with others, read, etc. So thats how the International Teaching Experience is going for me here.

Oh and i also did a Seder Supper with my kids when we were learning about the Exodus from Egypt in History.  I love that i am teaching first and second graders real world history like about polytheism, cuneiform, military dictatorship, ancient Greece and you name it!

to the faithful

Hello

Havent touched this site in a while but I have put some new pictures; its just a glimpse of Romania, Bucharest mainly.  I also got to go to a fotbal game (soccer ;) It was really fun.  We got to sit behind the hardcore fans who sing and cheer the entire time. I found it to be really cool that like emo punk people make up most of the crowd, its awesome.  Well, its getting colder here too.  Its like I am not too used to it but I am getting into it too and trying to enjoy it, you know the fear of breathing out cause your chest will separate the slightest bit from your shirt and the wind might steal in, yea thats a good feeling...Riding the bus, public transportation, its really becoming like normal life to me.  Part of it I like b/c I just feel like part of the people.  It's funny though, I've found that everyone acts like they are the only person having to squish themselves on the tram and the only person who has to walk and find their way through the cold.  A lot of people really just seem miserable.  But then I go out on a Saturday morning and the atmosphere is totally different.  Like so many people talked to me, I understood a bit and mostly couldnt respond too well but the language thing is coming along.

I love language lessons, its like opening up a part of your brain that you dont use!  Crazy and I just get certain words in my head like song lines and even if I dont know what they mean they like play in my head, Fun.  I really look forward to going to my lang teacher's house.  Its like going to gramma's house and you like the smells and the feeling and all of it.  She isnt too much older than me but thats the closest thing i can relate to that feeling.  I dont always feel like learning the language of course.  I dont want to sound like some super missionary positive-all-the-time person because sometimes i think about how i dont even know how long i'll be here for or if i will return and what is the point? But i know there is a point and sometimes i just have to refind what that is and then convince myself of it you know?

Well, this has been long enough, if you read this check out the pictures and hey, email me some time.