Budapest or Bust!

Budapest

This weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to Budapest by train for a retreat with the team from Hungary. Budapest is only a two and a half hour train ride from Bratislava. It felt like a huge city compared to Bratislava. We got into the city in the early afternoon and immediately had to go shopping for food for our BBQ on Saturday. Shopping in Europe is quite an adventure. First, you must take your own bags as the stores charge for bags. Food is another adventure, as at this point we are shopping almost entirely by what the food looks like- as we can’t read the labels for almost anything. For example, we were planning on having hamburgers for our BBQ, so we bought ground beef to make hamburgers. Or so we thought. In fact, we had bought ground pork (aka sausage). Oh, well! We make porkburgers (actual HAMburgers), which were quite delicious. And of course the best part, you have to lug all your groceries back on the bus. So much fun!

We were able to see some of the sights of Budapest, the best was Castle Hill at night all lit up. We walked all around, looking at the grounds, flowers and statues. Then we walked down the hill and across a beautifully lit up bridge. We had a great time!

Interesting Fact #2

Most people in Bratislava live in flats. Many of them are in huge buildings, 10 to 12 stories tall, and 10 to 20 flats across. You have to have a key to get in or out of the building and out of your individual flat. So, when I leave my flat in the morning, I have to get out my key and unlock the front door. Then, of course, I have to lock it. After a walk down the stairs, I have to again get out my key and unlock the front door. It is quite an interesting system. So, it is very possible to get locked out of your flat, but locked in your building. Definitely not the best place to plan a quick get away!

School Update

I am teaching at CS Lewis schools, specifically the elementary school and middle school named the School of Narnia. We have been treated very well by everyone there. On our first school day, our school manager arranged for us to go check in at the police station (required to get our Visas), get cell phones, and get our bus passes. Slavka (the av is pronounced –ow as in cow), who works in the building our school is housed in, was kind enough to take us and treated us royally. She spent most of the day with us and we have found a wonderful friend in her.

I am teaching 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade English conversation. I will have each grade two times a week for 45 minutes, except for the 5^th graders, which I will have 3 times a week. I will work in conjunction with a Slovak teacher who will be teaching English grammar. The head English teacher for Narnia is a wonderful woman named Jayne, who hails from England. Believe it or not, I sometimes have a harder time understanding her than the Slovaks, as she has such a thick accent and speaks very fast. She is incredibly bubbly and energetic. Working with her is going to be an adventure everyday and will never ever get boring. Jayne and I share a classroom, which is quite spacious. It is definitely not as well stocked or furnished as classrooms in the states, but has all the necessities. I am learning to be resourceful and creative!

Thank you so much for all of your comments. I appreciate them all as they make me smile and encourage me when I need it most. Please keep your comments coming. Thank you also for all of your emails. I am going to try my best to respond to all of them, but please be patient as it may take me a while.

Please keep me in your prayers as I will officially start teaching kids next week. I am excited, but also nervous as I realized today that my second graders really don’t speak any English. What a challenge they will be! I would also appreciate your prayers that I don’t get discouraged with my slow acquisition of the Slovak language. While I am learning, it is a slow process and it can be discouraging. Thank you so much for all of your prayers so far. I have had a very smooth transition and know it is due to all the prayers of the faithful.

Col 4:2-6Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us(me), too, that God may open a door for our(my) message, so that we(I) may proclaim the mystery of Christ…Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.