Eventful Weekend

Well my weekend went something like this:

Friday- Movie night with my students
Saturday- Babysit in replacement of my roommate who breaks ankle while babysitting
Sunday- Visit said roommate in hospital

It was an absolutely crazy and pretty much non-stop weekend. Friday night was fantastic. I had about 6 students over for a movie night. I baked them brownies and apple pie while we watched Date Night. They had never seen it before and they seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. It was a great time to have them over and bond with them even more. I'm even making some progress with some students that I though didn't like me too much at the beginning of the year. Turns out that they just take a while to warm up to someone new. :)

Saturday was crazy. My house was left looking like a fraternity had torn through here because there were plates and glasses as well as food remnants everywhere left over. Well, while I was eating breakfast and even before I had the chance to clean up, I got a call from my roommate who was laying in the snow at a park saying that she had broken her ankle. The ambulance and her fiance were both on the way, but she needed me to take a taxi over there ASAP in order to cover for her while she went to the hospital.

Turns out, she has a severely fractured ankle and they had to do surgery in order to repair it. They had to put a metal plate and some screws in there in order to strengthen it again. She's going to be in the hospital for a few more days in order to recover, but she'll be stuck at home for about 5-6 weeks. BUMMER! She was supposed to start teaching at the University again this week, but has to find some sort of replacement since she can't cancel that many classes. I visited her yesterday and gave her some company for a little less than 2 hours. She's in a lot of pain, but she's a tough gal. She said that God is already healing her ankle and it already felt astronomically better before they even did the surgery. So, we're all obviously still praying for a ridiculously quick recovery. I can't wait for her to get home since she's been gone to various places for almost 2 weeks. SO, please be praying that everything heals correctly and quickly, but also pray that something works out for her classes. It's a huge stress factor for her and we're all looking for some possible options in order to help her out.

Prom

My students had their version of Prom this past weekend and it was so much fun to attend. They don't have anything like in America, their dances are more like performances. They actually have choreographed waltzes that they do as a class, then a dance that they make up on their own for fun, then a dance with their parents. All of the girls wear wedding dresses and the boys wear tuxedos. The main point of the event is for the 13th graders to recieve a ribbon from the school that is a sign of their up-and-coming graduation. It's to encourage them to keep going and finish strong.

A lot of the Hungarian teachers felt indifferent to the event because they've been through so many of them and the think it's a little pointless, but I really enjoyed it. First, it really made me realize the differences in culture. This is a REALLY big deal to the students here and much more classy than prom. Second, even though it wasn't any of my students getting the ribbons, it still made me proud to be a part of that. If I stay next year, I will be the one up on stage pinning the ribbons on my class that I am the assistant head-teacher for.

Coming back is something that I am continuously praying about since it's such a big decision. I have to make my decision in March and that's only a short time away. There is so much to offer in both places and I know that there isn't any right or wrong answer, but I want to make sure that I'm in the place that God is going to use me the most. Keep praying for me!

Coffeehouse

I took two of my student girls to Coffeehouse last night and it was fantastic. It's in a basement of a church and it's open every Friday night for a few hours where you can just hang out while they play music (either live or from a playlist). It was supposed to be 4 of my students, but one got sick and the other one had a transportation conflict, so it ended up just being 3 of us, but it was so much fun. We just sat around and talked for about 3 hours and hung out together.

I'm really excited that I get these chances to keep bonding with these girls. They said that they'd like to come back more often, so I'm looking forward to those times too :)

Connections Galore

I know it's been a while, but I've been busy running all over the place here in the big city. BUT it's been so beneficial because I've been making so many connections and really building my relationships.

First, I'm going to attend an exercise class with a few of my girl students twice a week and I'm really excited about it! It's called Kangoo Jumping and it's basically a dance class where you wear these crazy space- agey looking shoes and jump around to some great, upbeat music. They've also invited me out with them for hot chocolate and just some general hang out time. I have to say that I'm incredibly blessed because it means that my invested time and many, many prayers have started to bear fruit. :)



I also met a guy last night that might possibly start joining the Bible study that I attend every Tuesday. I was meeting with my friend, Nicki, before the Bible study at our little slice of American-heaven...Starbucks. Well, she asked me a question about baseball that one of her students had asked her and we spent a little time discussing it. Then we spent some other time talking about our schools/students, etc. A few minutes later a guy behind me perked up and asked what company we teach with. We started up a conversation with him and then come to find out that he actually went to Lynchburg college which is about 5 miles away from my college, Liberty!! It was crazy. Anyway, we invited him to join our Bible study some time. He said that he goes back and forth in spiritual things, but it interests him nonetheless. So thanks to a loud conversation about baseball being overheard, we might have a new member to our home fellowship group.

I'm really, really excited about these opportunities (among others) that I've been given in order to build relationships and get to know some people through the city.

Christmas Catch Up

There has been so much going on since the last time that I've blogged that I'll do a quick recap:

Illnesses on all accounts are completely recovered and I have to say that it's very refreshing and alleviates a lot of stress.

We were able to give gifts to the homeless last week and that was amazing. We collected so many things (way more than I thought we would be able to) and we able to give out so many gifts to so many thankful recipients. The bags included: apples, oranges, peanuts, scarves, gloves, hats, socks, toothpaste, a toothbrush, hand wipes, candy, tissues, and deodorant. We met a huge group at one of the train stations where they were all crowded in a warm room to sleep together. The were so thankful and the celebrated even the small things like the hand wipes. It's just so amazing to see how much small things can brighten up the weeks of these people.

Christmas is tomorrow and we're all excited. Joanna's family is here visiting and they brought so many goodies with them. Tomorrow is going to be a great day of just hanging out, exchanging gifts, and skyping with family/friends here and there. I'm really looking forward to it. I have to admit though that I'm torn about spending my first Christmas away from home. Even though with all the stuff going on as of late, it's been almost too busy to be homesick.

Last, but not least, I had a great time with my students the other day when we traveled to Vienna. I also got to hang out with a few of them at my house the night before and it was a great bonding experience. It was fantastic to be able to sit down with them in an intimate setting and just talk with them and continue to build our relationship. They even invited me to hang out with them to get some hot chocolate after Christmas- so I'm really looking forward to that. I've also had the chance recently to witness to one of my colleagues and share my beliefs about marriage, etc. We didn't get to talk about too much because we were under time constraints, but it was a great way to open the doors. So keep praying!

To Remain or not to Remain?

The question that I have been asking myself non-stop for the past week is whether or not I'm thinking about come back to Hungary next year or not. I don't have to give my answer for a bit longer, but I've started thinking about it and praying about it already. Although I'm currently homesick because of the holidays, that surprisingly hasn't played too much a role in my decision so far. My main concern is finances.

I'm struggling so much with my finances because I've started paying back my student loans. It's tough. I put myself on a really strict budget and I'm trying my best to follow it, but it's really difficult with holidays being around. I know that we're called to rest in God and not worry about anything, but I can't help but to stress out in this particular situation.

As is stands right now, I really want to stay another year. I think that it would be great to go into my second year now that I'm finally settled and have a handle on things. It would also be fantastic to truly build up those relationships that I've worked so hard to establish. But, I'm just not sure if it's financially responsible for me to stay here when I make such a small salary. It's something that's been on my mind lately and something that I've been praying about fiercely.

My students asked if I was coming back next year and I told them that I might not because I don't make enough money and they were so upset. They were like "you're not staying to see us graduate!!!" Although they were upset, I must admit that it made me feel pretty good that they want me to come back. :)

Improvement

On the health front we are all improving greatly which is a huge deal. We're all on medications of one sort or the other and they are helping a lot. We're still on the road to recovery, but we're doing much better already than we were a few days ago. Unfortunately, I bruised all of my muscles in my right rib cage from my excessive coughing which makes it painful, but that's improving slightly day by day too.

We're all pushing hard for our last week before Christmas break and then we finally all get a chance to rest and relax for a little over a week! We're all so excited for Christmas coming though, it should be super exciting. :)