...breath...

Fraturday... or school on Saturday in general is weird. It totally throws me off. Sunday I feel like it is the wrong day of the week and then don't know what to do with myself.

Last Fraturday we made Saturday school fun by watching a movie instead of teaching. Lauren and I felt this qualified as a lesson in "American Culture" and this was our way of protesting having to work on Saturday in the first place. That night we had fun watching the Rugby World Cup...

Sunday after church I went out to lunch with Bogi and Ildiko. It was really nice to get to know them better because they are very sweet. We had some really good conversations about God stuff and I just love being with them.

Monday... I think I slept in... and then I think we went to the CBA store... and then maybe we went to Chili Bar... I don't really remember.

Tuesday... I was invited to Kati and Gyuri's house for lunch. There were two other families from church there and it was great fun. We made home made tortilla's, salsa, and had some amazing tacos. That evening I went to Denes' house because the Herringtons came in to town. They brought me a suitcase with lots of fun things in it... Halloween decorations, funfetti cupcakes, books, some winter clothes, Montana paraphernalia, and... a new digital camera!!! All of this from the greatest parents in the world... Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Wednesday I made Caleb come in and talk to my students about America. We just did a simple Q&A session... they would ask him one question then he would ask them the same or a similar question. It was really good for my students to hear someone else speak English and they got to practice speaking to someone who is not as accustomed to their Hungarian accent.
After school we went to a favorite pizza place, Marcello's. Then we met up with Delcsi and had dinner at Denes' house again.

On Thursday after school I went to Szeged with the Herringtons to visit Bogi. It was really nice to walk around Szeged and talk to Bogi. We went to a traditional Hungarian restaurant. Everyone got to try Halaszle (Fish Soup, a Christmas favorite) and some other specialties. I had my usual favorite: Rantot Camembert Afonyaval (fried camembert cheese with a berry jam.) Yummy! Afterwards we went to A Capella Curaszda (a church of Christ approved pastry bakery?...JK.) Everyone was quite satisfied with their pastries... I had a Becsi Kremes... flaky crust on bottom and top with cream filling inbetween... mmmmmmmgood.
On our way back to the car someone walked by who I thought looked familiar... then I realized that it was Attila my friend Tamas' brother! So I called his name and it was him and we talked for a minute... pretty crazy if you ask me.

It was so nice to be able to spend time with the Herringtons and I hope that they enjoyed their time in Hungary.

Friday and Saturday I dedicated to teaching my students about Halloween. We talked about Trick-or-Treating, Samhain (the Celtic New Year), Soul Cakes, etc. I did some research and it is all very exciting to read about. It is very interesting how secular celebrations are turned into religious holidays or the other way around. In Hungary they celebrate All Saint's Day and All Hallows Day (I think).

Friday night was a very big deal for our ninth graders. This evening is called Golya Ball, which means Stork Ball. Essentially it is when the older students get to make fun of and ridicule the freshmen through various activities. Some might call it hazing but it is closer to what we called "Frosh Follies" at Pepperdine. All of the freshmen had to put on yellow/orange reflective jackets, then a bikini over it, wear mismatched shoes, carry an umbrella and push their classmaster in a wheelbarrow. They gathered at the main square in Csepel then had to parade back to the school, one class at a time. They then had to sing a ridiculous song (I read the words...and it was ridiculous) and endure having many many pictures taken of them by overzealous English teachers from America. When everyone had arrived at school they all went into the gym. Once there students were assigned various tasks: get a stranger to cook these eggs for you, collect as many lipstick kisses on this sheet of paper as possible in 15 minutes, create a dance routine to "I'm a Barbie girl", relay races, putting make-up on boys, etc. It was great fun. I took many embarrassing pictures of my students that are now posted on the internet for all my friends to see. I was very proud of my students who I see the most (9A) in the end because they got second place in the competition.

After the great embarrassment Lauren and I went out to pizza with two of the girls. It was really nice to just talk and get to know them better. I hope that we get more opportunities like this, especially with girls. We seem to bond better with the boys during class (and suspect teacher crushes from a few of them...) It takes a little more effort to get to know the girls and get them out of their shells.

Saturday after school we had a lot of bonding time with students. First there were some 10 and 13 A's who came over earlier than planned. They were supposed to come in the afternoon to play football but showed up right after school because they had no where else to hang out. Jo watched a movie with them, I made lunch for them, and we just had fun talking. It was cool to get to know some of Jo's students better. Later we played American Football... or at least Jo and the boys did. Then we moved on to Baseball... and I played in my skirt. I even hit the ball... which is impressive considering I can't tell you the last time I attempted to play baseball. After one inning they gave up and we just played catch for awhile. Viktor and Andreas came over to play sports with us... they are both Christians and very cool, so Jo invited them to help with the sports and boys. It is hard sometimes when 75% of your students are boys. You can only do so much before they need some guys to hang out with instead.

The boys were especially helpful with decorating for our Halloween Party. They helped us rearrange and decorate the classroom downstairs then stayed for some of the fun. It was a little strange to see 9, 10 and 13 A's all together, but it was really fun. We played Halloween Twister (thanks to the great Halloween section at TESCO... do they celebrate Halloween in England?), musical chairs, ultimate Frisbee in the dark, and other party games. We had some great decorations, courtesy of my students being forced to draw them in class by me, and some great food too. Lauren even made dirt pudding with gummy worms in it which our students loved. I dressed up as a witch with a great had and broom that I found at TESCO. Lauren was a cat with these cute ears and Jo had a crazy wig. Our students did a good job too and I was impressed. We had so much fun playing games and talking, it was great. I let them choose music off of my Ipod and they somehow ended up listening to B.O.B. (Bunch of Believers) a Christian Ska band. They picked the Christmas album and it was very hilarious to listen to Christmas music at a Halloween Party. Then later they asked to listen to Gone by Switchfoot. It turns out that after I used it in class pretty much everyone downloaded it because they liked it so much. Wow. Talk about power and influence. Lauren and I try to use that influence for good in our classroom and at these parties. For example there is only one student in the 9A's who smokes. And ever since we found out we have been on a daily campaign to tell him how awful smoking is for you and encourage him to quit. We are very glad that no one else has picked this habit up yet and hope that we can discourage them from ever starting.

Coming soon: English Club... using the Bible to practice English. Hopefully we can get this started after Fall Break... which is this week. Tomorrow Lauren, Jo and I are going to the Amusement Park with our students because they invited us. It should be a blast.

Please pray for:
- Lauren: health, and the decision of staying or leaving for the Peace Corps,
- Rest over break
- Safe travel
- Healthy relationship building with students
- English Club
- Joanna: health issues... shes going to the doctor soon
- My health... just because I don't want to get sick at all...