Residency

I'm an official resident of Hungary now! My school has been so great in helping me get all of my paperwork done and everything. Yesterday, Thursday, I missed school and went to go pick up my permit. The ride over to the office literally took me over an hour and a half and I then I was in and out of the office in less than ten minutes.... then another hour and a half home. But I'm so glad that it's finally over.

I now have medical insurance because of it and I will soon be getting paid by my school! Woot! So it's been a very exciting week. I am so happy it's the weekend though. I had to sub today at school so instead of getting my 9th grade students (who are nothing but pure energy) for the usual 3 class periods straight, I had them for four. That means thirty 14 year olds for FOUR hours. I'm so tired. But it's been a good week and I'm looking forward to a great weekend too.

Oops

So it's been over a week since my last post. There hasn't been a lot going on- I've just been sick for the past week and now it's to the point where it's just annoying because it won't go away. I mean, it's always annoying to be sick, but trying to teach when you've completely lost your voice gives you some new challenges to face... and some new movies to watch with your class.

Today was an especially rough day at school, but it got better as soon as that last bell rang and I was home free. I taught five classes today (3 of which I administered exams) and they were all little devils. No matter what I did, no matter how loud I yelled, no matter how much homework I gave.. it didn't phase them. In one class I just held my breath and started counting down from ten in my mind to calm myself before I went off on the students. One student saw me and was like "uh oh, i think she might be ready to blow up on us."

Then after teaching for five classes, I had a few hours of staff meetings to look forward to, all of which are in Hungarian and I wouldn't understand anything. (Keep in mind I hadn't eaten anything at all during the day, so I was extra grumpy). So after my class and before my meeting, I ran out with a colleague and got something to eat which improved my day. Well, when I went back to school for the meeting, a teacher ran up to me and said she had talked the administration into letting me leave since I wouldn't understand anything. HALLELUJAH! So I ran home and may have accidentally took a 2 hour nap. Then I've been eating my share of chocolate and Skyping with friends.

So the day has gotten better, but I regret the nap since I'll never be able to sleep, especially with all the sugar loaded in me. Now if I could just get rid of this dang cough and get my voice to stop squeaking... :)

Visegrad

Today was spectacular. I went to the first Conversation Club of the year on Thursday which is when a bunch of foreign students from the local university get together and just hang out... we may or may not have also participated in some karaoke afterward too. :)

So, today we went to Visegrad which is a castle about 45 minutes away. We all got together, rented a bus, and headed out. We spent some time touring the castle and such and then we went to a local park nearby to enjoy time together. We cooked some stew over a fire and just hung out, played frisbee, and had a pretty good time. It's fantastic getting to meet people from all over the world AND still be able to communicate with them.

Just off the top of my head, I've met people from: Cypress, Columbia, Russia, the Netherlands, more Hungarians, Korea, China, etc. So it's been an absolutely fantastic time. The majority are around my age, so that makes it even more exciting for me to finally get to connect with some people that are my age (and it doesn't hurt that I have a blast with them too). I can't wait for next Thursday!

Joy In Teaching

I have to say that I am have been completely overwhelmed with the joy that I get from teaching. I feel like I can't stop smiling because I just know that I'm in the right profession and I literally have so much fun doing it everyday.

Yesterday, in class, I was signing some of the questions from the homework to the students in order to wake them up and get them paying attention. We were all laughing and having a good time when one of my students stopped me. She asked, "You really love and enjoy teaching don't you?" YES!!

I really want these students to see my passion for teaching overflowing everyday, but more importantly, I want them to see my passion for THEM overflowing as well. We're on the right path and I hope that it keeps going that way. :)

GDC

Tonight we are having our first official Gourmet Dinner Club dinner. Joanna decided she wanted to start this thing for the women here in Budapest, for us to get together one night a month and cook a really fancy meal and just enjoy the company.

Joanna has been cooking all day while I was teaching and now I am in charge of decorations. Woot! It's going to be a good one. I'm pretty excited. I'll post some pictures hopefully of our absolutely fabulous time.

Sickness

So sickness came upon me this past weekend starting on Friday and has haunted my presence continuously. My longest days are Mondays in which I teach 5 classes in a row, but God definitely got me through it. I'm not sure I would have survived otherwise.

I have finally met all of my students and they are a hoot. I'm going to need to pray for some extra help with students who are more trouble than others, but I really want to make an impact on everyone..not just the good kids.

We had our first Bible study as a team tonight which was awesome. We got a chance to encourage and challenge one another as well. We are going to each be prayer walking at a place that we feel led to pray for over the next 2 weeks. Then we're going to come together and figure out something that we can do as a team (and with other missionaries in the area) in order to serve the community.

In other news, I was supposed to run a 5K this Saturday at night where you run through the main part of town and all the lights are on, but unless my lungs miraculously heal.. that probably won't be happening. Bummer.

First Day

God is so good.

Last week I was reading in the Bible and I came across the verse that said "if you ask this in my name, it shall be given to you". Well, I've heard this verse a million times, but have never really put it to practice (foolish of me, really). So I prayed that the Lord would take away my anxiety and worry for the school year.

Today was our first day! It was a little pointless since all we did was have a small ceremony to celebrate the 100th anniversary (and when I say pointless it's because I couldn't understand a single word they said) and then I met one class for literally 30 seconds. One of my colleagues pulled me into his class just to introduce me since I'd be teaching them eventually and that was all.

I know that it was a small day, but it was nice in order to sort of break the ice and get a look at what I'm dealing with. I'm still fighting over what I should do tomorrow. I mean, it's only introductions, but first impressions last you know...

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. AND hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon- I've been seriously lacking in that department.