Believe it or not, the last few days have actually been chilly here. It's in the 60's this morning, which is a little frigid when you don't have a coat, as is my situation. But I have enjoyed the nights, as it is wonderful to actually use blankets and wake up warm and cozy, not sweltering. But I really hope it warms up at least a little in the next couple days...
In other news, I just saw a little ant floating in my coffee, because the sugar was a bit infested this morning. I'm not so sure that I have a problem with this little insect. Maybe I should, but I really want that coffee. Oh well.
I've been feeling a bit more homesick lately, as has been evidenced by dreaming about being at home, and the fact that I swear I heard Samson barking last night. So I have moments where I feel far from everything that is really comfortable to me, but other times, and perhaps more often, I feel like I never, ever want to leave here. I had a moment on the bus yesterday as I was coming home from WEBB, and I saw a painted advertisement on a cement wall on the side of the road. I realized that in the US, I would never see Portuguese...I worry a lot that all that I'm learning is going to fall right out of my head the moment I go back. And it just breaks my heart to think about being out of this culture. I really love Chicagoland, and sometimes I wish I could teleport just so I could go back for an hour or two every once in a while. It would be wonderful to just pop up there to say hi, to satisfy a craving for some random thing that I can't have here, to enjoy being home...
When I'm here, I miss home. I think about it, sometimes cry about it. But when I think about being home, for a LONG period of time, my heart aches to be back here.
I've been reading a book with my teacher Emilia, at the end of our lessons twice a week. It's called "Because God Answers Prayers" and is the testimony of a woman who was a missionary from Canada in China for 30 or 40 years. She asked God for even the smallest things, and He answered her in all of them. I need to learn a lot from that, because I have trouble trusting God with small things, let alone big things. I see more and more every day that I don't go to Him enough. Last night, I was looking through my journal from the months before I left and saw page after page of truly seeking God, spending time with Him, delighting in Him. I haven't done that enough since I've been here, and I'm starting to feel it. It's almost like when you go running on a regular basis, you feel great. If you stop for a couple days, or even a week, you may miss it, but you won't see too drastic of a change in your energy or in your body. But after a month, things may start to go down the tubes.
In slightly less philosophical news, I decided to accept the offer to teach 2 days a week at WEBB. So Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I will be an English teacher. Never saw that one coming. My Portuguese is coming very well, which is only by the grace of God, quite frankly. Yesterday I had an entire conversation with someone, and realized later that I had actually done that. It sort of blows my mind. How am I understanding these words which were so foreign to me only a few weeks ago?
This week is (thankfully) flying by, and yet I'm realizing that I have a LOT to do this weekend. The first round of Portuguese tests is coming my way, I know I have at least one on Tuesday. I need to plan again for teaching English to the teens at church on Saturday, which this week will include baking some chocolate chip cookies, I need to prepare to lead the OMS Missionary prayer meeting on Monday afternoon, and on Tuesday morning I am hoping to see my fairy godmother, so she can turn me into a teacher.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
You is
Tragedy:
In the month that I have been in Londrina, I have only received one piece of mail, from miss Alexandra Elizabeth Fillmore. Just in case you all need my address, here it is once again. ; )
c/o ISBL
Rua Senador Sousa Naves, 880
Londrina, PR 86010-160
Brazil
Anyway...Today was my first try at teaching English to the adolescents at church. It was interesting, that's for sure. I think it was a good introduction and now I have some more ideas for next time. I decided to make an American dessert or snack or something for every class. Maybe I'll get tired of it after next week, but my guess would be no. Today I tried making toffee. I'd never done it before, so I just looked up a recipe on the internet and gave it a shot. It turns out, that's the easiest thing in the world and you would never know it by how good it tastes! Just butter, sugar and a little vanilla, melt some chocolate on top and enjoy a couple hours later. It was a hit with the kids at church too. My kitchen sort of smelles like Morkes Chocolates now, which is nothing to complain about, that's for sure.
During the English lesson, I just talked a little bit about myself and wrote down some vocabulary words for them to understand what I was saying. We talked briefly about the verb "to be" and as we were going over the different conjugations, Juliana raised her hand and said "my teacher told me it was 'you is'." Yikes.
Today has been nice and relaxing, with some baking, sleeping until 10, and not needing to be anywhere until 3:30. Tonight there is an anniversary service at another church, but as 3 churches are all going to be packed into 1 small church and it is probably going to be a late party, I have gladly accepted Gwen's offer to just stay home tonight. All in all, it was a wonderful Saturday.
In the month that I have been in Londrina, I have only received one piece of mail, from miss Alexandra Elizabeth Fillmore. Just in case you all need my address, here it is once again. ; )
c/o ISBL
Rua Senador Sousa Naves, 880
Londrina, PR 86010-160
Brazil
Anyway...Today was my first try at teaching English to the adolescents at church. It was interesting, that's for sure. I think it was a good introduction and now I have some more ideas for next time. I decided to make an American dessert or snack or something for every class. Maybe I'll get tired of it after next week, but my guess would be no. Today I tried making toffee. I'd never done it before, so I just looked up a recipe on the internet and gave it a shot. It turns out, that's the easiest thing in the world and you would never know it by how good it tastes! Just butter, sugar and a little vanilla, melt some chocolate on top and enjoy a couple hours later. It was a hit with the kids at church too. My kitchen sort of smelles like Morkes Chocolates now, which is nothing to complain about, that's for sure.
During the English lesson, I just talked a little bit about myself and wrote down some vocabulary words for them to understand what I was saying. We talked briefly about the verb "to be" and as we were going over the different conjugations, Juliana raised her hand and said "my teacher told me it was 'you is'." Yikes.
Today has been nice and relaxing, with some baking, sleeping until 10, and not needing to be anywhere until 3:30. Tonight there is an anniversary service at another church, but as 3 churches are all going to be packed into 1 small church and it is probably going to be a late party, I have gladly accepted Gwen's offer to just stay home tonight. All in all, it was a wonderful Saturday.
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Glamorous Life
My deepest apologies for not updating for so long. The truth is, I haven't had much to write about. It's possible that I am becoming so comfortable here and used to this routine that nothing seems worthy of updating. But I will do my best to think of a few things...
Gwen didn't go into the office all week because she needed to catch up on some accounting things at home. I had some things to do, thankfully, because we were making some invitations for an event at the church next Saturday. These involved lots of hearts, glitter, and cutting card stock with fancy patterned scissors. 400 times. So, I had a lot of slow, no-pressure mornings. After such mornings, I went to my Portuguese classes, which are still going very well.
WEBB, the language school, is going to be without one of their English teachers for the month of October, and they've asked me to help with at least some of the higher level conversation classes. It's up to me, and would be good because they could discount some of my lessons, but I'm still deciding on that. Especially because it takes me an hour and 1/2 round trip to commute there and back on the bus, I'm a little overwhelmed with the prospect of going there twice a day. Currently, I'm thinking about taking on a Tuesday and Thursday morning class of higher level students, so it would be more conversational. But we'll see.
I'm also just a little worried about teaching English. Believe me, I am no teacher. I have had no training in anything like TESOL, nothing. I'm going to be teaching the adolescents at the church too, starting tomorrow, but that should be a little easier and less pressure because they're not paying for my knowledge and expertise. Still, it's all very out of my league and comfort zone.
Today I have my second "situations" class at home. Last week, I was a little unsure of how things would go with this teacher. She's very sweet, but seemed the least prepared and also speaks the least English. So there would be times when I would ask what a word meant in English, and she didn't know either. Now, I'm not really sure how that is supposed to help, but thank goodness for dictionaries. The situations class is supposed to involve walking, shopping, talking with people, getting into situations. For example, yesterday in my grammer class, I had to go talk to the secretary at WEBB and ask her questions using interrogative pronouns like "who, what, when, where" etc. Well that was slightly embarrassing, but thankfully Bruna is very nice. I also now know where she is, how old she is and where she's from. So today maybe Denise and I can go buy a piece of fruit or something. SOMETHING.
To tell the truth, I'm doing very well on my own. Yesterday, to assist my craft habit, I needed to go buy some more red glittery glue. So I walked a couple blocks to a paper store, went in and found some puffpaint-y looking things. Then someone asked me if I needed help, and I asked her if she had red glittery glue. She found it for me, asked me if I wanted anything else, I said no, and she rang me up. Simple, but I don't take those sorts of conversations for granted anymore. I'm glad that I can handle myself in a store, unless I needed to ask some terribly complicated question. But let's be honest, I don't ask salespeople complicated questions in English, so why would I in Portuguese?
All in all, this was a calm and nice week. However, it will be followed by a busy weekend. Tomorrow is the anniversary of another missionary church in Londrina, the daughter church of the one I attend, so everyone is going to this party there at 8pm, and I have "English class" at 4:30, then there is a lunch on Sunday at my apartment for the leaders of the camp a couple weeks ago, and church on Sunday night. Thankfully though, next week will be equally as tranquil, and the weekend to follow will be faaaaaabulous.
Gwen didn't go into the office all week because she needed to catch up on some accounting things at home. I had some things to do, thankfully, because we were making some invitations for an event at the church next Saturday. These involved lots of hearts, glitter, and cutting card stock with fancy patterned scissors. 400 times. So, I had a lot of slow, no-pressure mornings. After such mornings, I went to my Portuguese classes, which are still going very well.
WEBB, the language school, is going to be without one of their English teachers for the month of October, and they've asked me to help with at least some of the higher level conversation classes. It's up to me, and would be good because they could discount some of my lessons, but I'm still deciding on that. Especially because it takes me an hour and 1/2 round trip to commute there and back on the bus, I'm a little overwhelmed with the prospect of going there twice a day. Currently, I'm thinking about taking on a Tuesday and Thursday morning class of higher level students, so it would be more conversational. But we'll see.
I'm also just a little worried about teaching English. Believe me, I am no teacher. I have had no training in anything like TESOL, nothing. I'm going to be teaching the adolescents at the church too, starting tomorrow, but that should be a little easier and less pressure because they're not paying for my knowledge and expertise. Still, it's all very out of my league and comfort zone.
Today I have my second "situations" class at home. Last week, I was a little unsure of how things would go with this teacher. She's very sweet, but seemed the least prepared and also speaks the least English. So there would be times when I would ask what a word meant in English, and she didn't know either. Now, I'm not really sure how that is supposed to help, but thank goodness for dictionaries. The situations class is supposed to involve walking, shopping, talking with people, getting into situations. For example, yesterday in my grammer class, I had to go talk to the secretary at WEBB and ask her questions using interrogative pronouns like "who, what, when, where" etc. Well that was slightly embarrassing, but thankfully Bruna is very nice. I also now know where she is, how old she is and where she's from. So today maybe Denise and I can go buy a piece of fruit or something. SOMETHING.
To tell the truth, I'm doing very well on my own. Yesterday, to assist my craft habit, I needed to go buy some more red glittery glue. So I walked a couple blocks to a paper store, went in and found some puffpaint-y looking things. Then someone asked me if I needed help, and I asked her if she had red glittery glue. She found it for me, asked me if I wanted anything else, I said no, and she rang me up. Simple, but I don't take those sorts of conversations for granted anymore. I'm glad that I can handle myself in a store, unless I needed to ask some terribly complicated question. But let's be honest, I don't ask salespeople complicated questions in English, so why would I in Portuguese?
All in all, this was a calm and nice week. However, it will be followed by a busy weekend. Tomorrow is the anniversary of another missionary church in Londrina, the daughter church of the one I attend, so everyone is going to this party there at 8pm, and I have "English class" at 4:30, then there is a lunch on Sunday at my apartment for the leaders of the camp a couple weeks ago, and church on Sunday night. Thankfully though, next week will be equally as tranquil, and the weekend to follow will be faaaaaabulous.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Happy Anniversary
Yesterday marked one month that I have been in Brazil. It's hard to believe that number. 1 month. 31 days. Wasn't it longer? No, it must have been less because I hardly noticed the time flying by. Yes, one month can mean different things to different people. To some, it is just another opportunity to flip the page on the calendar. For me, it was full of innumerable new experiences and has given me a moment to think back on what God has been teaching me.
Before I left, especially in my frustration over why in the world I wasn't given a 5 year visa, the Lord kept impressing obedience upon my heart. "Just go." He pointed me here to Londrina, and was waiting when I arrived, there is no question about that. So He is using me, somehow. And as I thought about it, I have no doubt of that fact now. Although I am still getting to know people, and have found myself involved in more crafts than when I was in kindergarten, I feel a certain peace about the fact that I am just...supposed to be here. I have also learned that nothing compares to really being where you're supposed to be. Plus, it has only been a month. I'm here until the end of December, so who knows what could happen by then? I know, and have been told by many people, that God has some serious plans, so I'm just hanging out while He is working them out.
Well, enough philosophizing, how about an update?
I know I said on Thursday that I would relax Friday morning...well, that turned into waking up at 6:30 to go to a local school with two new friends, Scott and Gustavo. Scott is from Ohio and Gustavo is from Londrina and they have been working together for 6 years, presenting the gospel to high schoolers - in their schools. It's really an incredible opportunity, and they begin by sharing about differences between the American and Brazilian cultures, teach a quick and funny English lesson, and then eventually share the gospel. They capitalized on such things as "what do you do with trash in the US?" and Scott throws it in the garbage. Then Gustavo tosses it on the floor. "How do people greet each other in America?" They shake hands, talk about the weather, maintain a nice distance of personal space, and then wave goodbye. As Brazilians, they hugged, and talked at the same time, loudly. Very exaggerated, but funny, and with some truth to it. It was cool to see what they did, and nice of them to go out of their way to invite me there with them.
Friday afternoon I met my third Portuguese teacher, and that was nice. Our lesson was a bit more repetitive than the other ones, and I think I was tired by the end of a full week, but it was good and challenging near the end. Each teacher has needed to see where I stand, so they begin with things like "good morning" and when they see my brain falling asleep, ask me to tell them about a recent trip I took, in Portuguese, for example. Slightly more challenging, to say the least.
The weekend was relaxing and enjoyable. Tonight is church...soon I'm going to sing "Shout to the Lord" because that's a song that the pianist for the worship team definitely knows. We had an impromptu rehearsal last night about 5 minutes before the youth service, and to be honest I might even be singing it tonight. Funny. Well, I'm always ready...
Before I left, especially in my frustration over why in the world I wasn't given a 5 year visa, the Lord kept impressing obedience upon my heart. "Just go." He pointed me here to Londrina, and was waiting when I arrived, there is no question about that. So He is using me, somehow. And as I thought about it, I have no doubt of that fact now. Although I am still getting to know people, and have found myself involved in more crafts than when I was in kindergarten, I feel a certain peace about the fact that I am just...supposed to be here. I have also learned that nothing compares to really being where you're supposed to be. Plus, it has only been a month. I'm here until the end of December, so who knows what could happen by then? I know, and have been told by many people, that God has some serious plans, so I'm just hanging out while He is working them out.
Well, enough philosophizing, how about an update?
I know I said on Thursday that I would relax Friday morning...well, that turned into waking up at 6:30 to go to a local school with two new friends, Scott and Gustavo. Scott is from Ohio and Gustavo is from Londrina and they have been working together for 6 years, presenting the gospel to high schoolers - in their schools. It's really an incredible opportunity, and they begin by sharing about differences between the American and Brazilian cultures, teach a quick and funny English lesson, and then eventually share the gospel. They capitalized on such things as "what do you do with trash in the US?" and Scott throws it in the garbage. Then Gustavo tosses it on the floor. "How do people greet each other in America?" They shake hands, talk about the weather, maintain a nice distance of personal space, and then wave goodbye. As Brazilians, they hugged, and talked at the same time, loudly. Very exaggerated, but funny, and with some truth to it. It was cool to see what they did, and nice of them to go out of their way to invite me there with them.
Friday afternoon I met my third Portuguese teacher, and that was nice. Our lesson was a bit more repetitive than the other ones, and I think I was tired by the end of a full week, but it was good and challenging near the end. Each teacher has needed to see where I stand, so they begin with things like "good morning" and when they see my brain falling asleep, ask me to tell them about a recent trip I took, in Portuguese, for example. Slightly more challenging, to say the least.
The weekend was relaxing and enjoyable. Tonight is church...soon I'm going to sing "Shout to the Lord" because that's a song that the pianist for the worship team definitely knows. We had an impromptu rehearsal last night about 5 minutes before the youth service, and to be honest I might even be singing it tonight. Funny. Well, I'm always ready...
Thursday, September 13, 2007
So this is life...
I have officially gotten into a "routine" here. My schedule is set, clear, and very busy. I'm tired, but really, what else am I going to do? So, here is a glimpse at what my week looks like:
Segunda-Feira (Monday)
7:30am - Leave for the bus
8:30am - Portuguese
12pm - Wait again for the bus
1pm - Lunch
1:30pm - OMS missionary prayer meeting
3pm - Free time (aka: nap)
Terca-Feira (Tuesday)
8am - Seminary office with Gwen (ISBL)
12pm - Lunch
1pm - Leave for the bus
2pm - Portuguese
6:30pm - Arrive home
8pm - Verdades Basicas (class)
Quarta-Feira (Wednesday)
8am - ISBL
12pm - Lunch
1pm - Bus
2pm - Portuguese
6:30pm - Home
8pm - Prayer Service
Quinta-Feira (Thursday)
8am - ISBL
12pm - Lunch
3pm - Bus
4pm - Portuguese
6:30pm - Home for FREE TIME
Sexta-Feira (Friday)
(?)am - Prepare lessons for English class for teens
12pm - Lunch
2pm - Portuguese at home
5pm - Freeeeeee
Sabado (Saturday)
am - Free (aka: sleep in)
12pm - Lunch
2:30pm - English class/conversation with church teens
3:30pm - Adolescents meet
6pm - Dinner
8pm - Youth service
Domingo (Sunday)
DAY - Free (I'm not a heathen, there's just no church in the morning!)
7:30pm - Church
So basically I have 3 free evenings a week and 2 free days. There will certainly be no time for me to be bored, especially as I'm learning a new language and constantly meeting new people!
Last night after the prayer service, I really had a good time with some of the youth. They were asking me names of American movies, and that entertained them for a while. They kept asking me to pronounce "Arnold Schwarzenegger." Apparently it's a thrill to hear. I felt like I got to spend some quality time with them on my own. I don't always like to have Gwen around to translate too much for me or constantly be asking me if I understood things. It's helpful in the times I don't, but those are becoming fewer and farther between. So I had to stand on my own two wobbly Portuguese-speaking legs, and it was good for me and fun too. This Saturday I'll start a little English with the youth, just talking simply about my family, etc. It will be interesting considering my weak grasp on their language, and their even simpler knowledge of mine. But they're excited to learn a little bit and it will be helpful for me to need to translate some things, etc. I think I'll enjoy it too. : )
My Portuguese lessons have been going well...yesterday I took the bus for the first time, which was quite the event. It's also very exhausting and time consuming. Also, dangerous. Only in that I nearly fall into every single person sitting down when I'm stumbling in trying to pay and push through the turnstyle and grabbing frantically for the poles that do nothing to save me from the stick-shift's desperation in trying to go up a hill. Today I saw one woman walking steadily up the aisle as the bus was moving and I couldn't help but think that I wanted to be just like her.
Tomorrow a new teacher that I don't know is coming to my apartment to teach "situations." So maybe we'll go out a little bit, which would be fun. We'll see what happens. Gwen will be gone for the day so I'll take the morning to "plan" my little English lesson and try to relax after 2 exhausting days of bussing. That will really be something to get used to.
And now, thanks to the miracle of satellite television, I'm going to watch [Scrubs]. Thank you for the comments on my last entry, I always enjoy hearing from people!
Segunda-Feira (Monday)
7:30am - Leave for the bus
8:30am - Portuguese
12pm - Wait again for the bus
1pm - Lunch
1:30pm - OMS missionary prayer meeting
3pm - Free time (aka: nap)
Terca-Feira (Tuesday)
8am - Seminary office with Gwen (ISBL)
12pm - Lunch
1pm - Leave for the bus
2pm - Portuguese
6:30pm - Arrive home
8pm - Verdades Basicas (class)
Quarta-Feira (Wednesday)
8am - ISBL
12pm - Lunch
1pm - Bus
2pm - Portuguese
6:30pm - Home
8pm - Prayer Service
Quinta-Feira (Thursday)
8am - ISBL
12pm - Lunch
3pm - Bus
4pm - Portuguese
6:30pm - Home for FREE TIME
Sexta-Feira (Friday)
(?)am - Prepare lessons for English class for teens
12pm - Lunch
2pm - Portuguese at home
5pm - Freeeeeee
Sabado (Saturday)
am - Free (aka: sleep in)
12pm - Lunch
2:30pm - English class/conversation with church teens
3:30pm - Adolescents meet
6pm - Dinner
8pm - Youth service
Domingo (Sunday)
DAY - Free (I'm not a heathen, there's just no church in the morning!)
7:30pm - Church
So basically I have 3 free evenings a week and 2 free days. There will certainly be no time for me to be bored, especially as I'm learning a new language and constantly meeting new people!
Last night after the prayer service, I really had a good time with some of the youth. They were asking me names of American movies, and that entertained them for a while. They kept asking me to pronounce "Arnold Schwarzenegger." Apparently it's a thrill to hear. I felt like I got to spend some quality time with them on my own. I don't always like to have Gwen around to translate too much for me or constantly be asking me if I understood things. It's helpful in the times I don't, but those are becoming fewer and farther between. So I had to stand on my own two wobbly Portuguese-speaking legs, and it was good for me and fun too. This Saturday I'll start a little English with the youth, just talking simply about my family, etc. It will be interesting considering my weak grasp on their language, and their even simpler knowledge of mine. But they're excited to learn a little bit and it will be helpful for me to need to translate some things, etc. I think I'll enjoy it too. : )
My Portuguese lessons have been going well...yesterday I took the bus for the first time, which was quite the event. It's also very exhausting and time consuming. Also, dangerous. Only in that I nearly fall into every single person sitting down when I'm stumbling in trying to pay and push through the turnstyle and grabbing frantically for the poles that do nothing to save me from the stick-shift's desperation in trying to go up a hill. Today I saw one woman walking steadily up the aisle as the bus was moving and I couldn't help but think that I wanted to be just like her.
Tomorrow a new teacher that I don't know is coming to my apartment to teach "situations." So maybe we'll go out a little bit, which would be fun. We'll see what happens. Gwen will be gone for the day so I'll take the morning to "plan" my little English lesson and try to relax after 2 exhausting days of bussing. That will really be something to get used to.
And now, thanks to the miracle of satellite television, I'm going to watch [Scrubs]. Thank you for the comments on my last entry, I always enjoy hearing from people!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Bênções no Português
Blessings in Portuguese...
Today was my second class, and wow. It was fabulous. Absolutely fantastic. It's still a lot of time, but thankfully not too much homework. Today was vocabulary and pronounciation, and some integration with Christianity, learning about Christianity in Brazil and I'll memorize one Bible verse in Portuguese every week. Well, that's more than I do in English, so that's good. This week is John 3:16, which is always a good one to have covered. We also sang a worship song in Portuguese, and it was one that I had heard before and really liked, so that was fun. In less exciting news, we also talked about how to pronounce the alphabet and about when to use certain greetings that I already knew, but it's good to know more about the culture and what is appropriate when, etc. We learned about countries and nationalities, etc. While this is all very basic, it is so wonderful to move at my own pace and fly through that material. At one point she asked if she was going too fast, but that's exactly how I like things to go when I'm learning. My brain turns off if the material starts to move behind my mind, and today it was great to be challenged for a full 3 hours.
My teacher for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when we'll cover these subjects, is Emilia. I just loved her. She lived for over 20 years in northern Brazil with different indian tribes and is currently studying an indian (not from India) language so she will be able to know the basics of the structure, etc. in case the Lord calls their family back to the jungle. Her husband is a Baptist minister, and she has a daughter my age and a 13 year old son. She almost made me cry at the end of the class...she was telling me that my pronounciation is really very good and with a little more time it will be nearly perfect. She said that she could tell that the ease with which I'm learning is a blessing from God and is an indication of how He is going to use me here in Brasil.
Wow.
I was just so blessed by her honesty and real passion for God that she was so willing to talk about. She asked me if there were any Psalms that I liked in particular, so I could try and read it outloud in Portuguese, and I told her Psalm 86. Then she told me that last month God really spoke to her through that Psalm, and how at the beginning, the writer is complaining and asking God to help him, etc...but then he just starts praising God for who He is, and she was saying that whatever our circumstances, we still need to praise praise praise God. So true.
Anyway, the pronounciation thing was great to hear for obvious reasons, but more superficially, I'm terrified of having an ugly ugly ugly American accent, so that was encouraging as well. Some (not all) Americans I've heard talking just sound...blah. Like they have marbles in their mouths. Then I hear a Brazilian speak and it's like music. I would prefer the latter, for me. It's a lot to do with inflection too, and it's sort of embarrassing to make yourself change the way you would normally "sing" a sentence, but well worth it. Hopefully I can get the hang of that.
Today was really a good day...I got a phone call last night from Becky Abel saying they would be passing through Londrina this morning, so they stopped by my apartment for an hour or so. It was good to "meet" them, though technically we've met before. Cross and Crown, the church I grew up in, has been invested in their ministry for years and my parents have kept in contact with them and been getting their newsletters, etc. It was wonderful to get to know them a little bit and hopefully we'll have a chance to meet again, maybe in Curitiba next time, where they live. Or at the beach after Christmas. : )
Today was my second class, and wow. It was fabulous. Absolutely fantastic. It's still a lot of time, but thankfully not too much homework. Today was vocabulary and pronounciation, and some integration with Christianity, learning about Christianity in Brazil and I'll memorize one Bible verse in Portuguese every week. Well, that's more than I do in English, so that's good. This week is John 3:16, which is always a good one to have covered. We also sang a worship song in Portuguese, and it was one that I had heard before and really liked, so that was fun. In less exciting news, we also talked about how to pronounce the alphabet and about when to use certain greetings that I already knew, but it's good to know more about the culture and what is appropriate when, etc. We learned about countries and nationalities, etc. While this is all very basic, it is so wonderful to move at my own pace and fly through that material. At one point she asked if she was going too fast, but that's exactly how I like things to go when I'm learning. My brain turns off if the material starts to move behind my mind, and today it was great to be challenged for a full 3 hours.
My teacher for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when we'll cover these subjects, is Emilia. I just loved her. She lived for over 20 years in northern Brazil with different indian tribes and is currently studying an indian (not from India) language so she will be able to know the basics of the structure, etc. in case the Lord calls their family back to the jungle. Her husband is a Baptist minister, and she has a daughter my age and a 13 year old son. She almost made me cry at the end of the class...she was telling me that my pronounciation is really very good and with a little more time it will be nearly perfect. She said that she could tell that the ease with which I'm learning is a blessing from God and is an indication of how He is going to use me here in Brasil.
Wow.
I was just so blessed by her honesty and real passion for God that she was so willing to talk about. She asked me if there were any Psalms that I liked in particular, so I could try and read it outloud in Portuguese, and I told her Psalm 86. Then she told me that last month God really spoke to her through that Psalm, and how at the beginning, the writer is complaining and asking God to help him, etc...but then he just starts praising God for who He is, and she was saying that whatever our circumstances, we still need to praise praise praise God. So true.
Anyway, the pronounciation thing was great to hear for obvious reasons, but more superficially, I'm terrified of having an ugly ugly ugly American accent, so that was encouraging as well. Some (not all) Americans I've heard talking just sound...blah. Like they have marbles in their mouths. Then I hear a Brazilian speak and it's like music. I would prefer the latter, for me. It's a lot to do with inflection too, and it's sort of embarrassing to make yourself change the way you would normally "sing" a sentence, but well worth it. Hopefully I can get the hang of that.
Today was really a good day...I got a phone call last night from Becky Abel saying they would be passing through Londrina this morning, so they stopped by my apartment for an hour or so. It was good to "meet" them, though technically we've met before. Cross and Crown, the church I grew up in, has been invested in their ministry for years and my parents have kept in contact with them and been getting their newsletters, etc. It was wonderful to get to know them a little bit and hopefully we'll have a chance to meet again, maybe in Curitiba next time, where they live. Or at the beach after Christmas. : )
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Long Weekend
6:30pm Sunday September 9th
Well, we have returned from the long weekend. Gwen and I got home a little over an hour ago after 3 days at camp. It was definitely a different experience than I expected. First of all, I am currently writing this in a Word document and will paste it in blogger later, because our internet is down. I will admit to feeling incredible disconnected from the world, considering that is basically the ONLY way I can communicate with people, but I’m trying to pretend everything will be fine by tomorrow and I’m telling myself I don’t need to go online. Let’s just say that if it’s not back up by tomorrow afternoon, I will have exploded.
So, back to camp. We got there around 9 on Thursday evening, and it was quite possibly the last place I wanted to be. I was already tired thinking about all we were going to have to do, and I knew I would have absolutely no fun because I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone. Well, I was wrong. Thursday night I was quiet, maybe brooding a little bit, but we were working on putting together all these nametags and cutting and glueing and seemingly endless piles of crafts until about 1am. Yes, it was probably 4 solid hours of crafting. Then we slept to prepare for the arrival of the campers the next morning. Although it has been hot here during the day, at the camp (about 20 minutes outside Londrina, in the countryside) it got coooold at night. I only brought a sheet and a throw blanket, thinking I would maybe only use one, because in my room at the apartment I’m always hot. So I was afraid I would freeze. Before I went to bed, I took some time to pray for my attitude for the next day, and for my comfort sleeping. (Sleep is very important to Christine Rachel Allen…) I woke up on Friday morning, feeling refreshed, and wrapped up like a burrito in my bedsheet, with the warmer of the two blankets on the inside. I was the perfect temperature and had slept like a baby. Miraculous, to say the least.
Friday morning came and the campers did with it. It was total chaos, but it all worked out. I managed to find my nooks and crannies where I could help out, since it definitely wasn’t going to be part of my job description to just hang out with kids and get to know them. Gladly, I was able to do a good amount of that. I was one of the leaders, so I got to know some of them well and it was so great to meet people closer to my age. After lunch I saw a girl wearing a white sox hat. She looked friendly, so I took a few minutes in my head to prepare how I would tell her that I’m from the city where the white sox play, and sat down at her table. She ended up being such a sweet girl, and she and her husband Marcos spoke a tiny bit of English.
::edit::
Ok now I'm writing in real time, Monday afternoon. Internet is back up and running (praise the Lord. When I told Joaquim it wasn't working, he said "I would feel like I was in jail." Truer words were never spoken.)
Anyway, it was great to talk with Marcli and Marcos and I spent a lot of time with Marcli over the weekend. She lives in Londrina as well and I hope to see her more. She cuts hair, so I'll be giving her a call for that in a week or two. That's great, I was wondering what to do about that. She was kind of fascinated by my hair, because it's so fine and I'm so white, so she kept asking me how I dried it, etc. and then said "You have English hair. In my school, we learned about this." Hmm, interesting.
Friday and Saturday were both crazy camp days. The kids played lots of games involving lots of mud, etc. Saturday I helped Marcli work in the canteen (pronounced "can-CHEE-nee" in Portuguese) which was good for my Portuguese. All I needed to know were the names of drinks, the word for ice cream, and my numbers, all of which I have covered, so it was fun. We also spent some time with another leader named Taciane (Ta-see-AH-nee) and went swimming for a little on Saturday. I didn't do much with the campers, I just stayed in a room with Gwen, so I just sort of wandered around looking for opportunities to talk to people or at least smile at some awkward teenagers.
One thing I noticed on Saturday was that it was so refreshing having people address me when they talked to/about me. I got so sick of hearing "ela" this and "ela" that. ("her") and knowing that people were talking about me, but only sort of understanding what they were saying. Now people can talk to me, for the most part, and I feel a little bit more human again. There were a couple weeks where I just felt like a sad little fly on the wall. One girl, Flávia, who goes to Igreja Central, my church, was great about talking to me, speaking slowly and explaining things in goofy ways with lots of gestures. Funny, but sometimes necessary. So I got to actually have some "conversations" this weekend. Refreshing.
I also got to know some of the kids from Igreja Central a little more. It was fun just to sit down at a random table during meals and at least be able to laugh at jokes and let them try some funny English phrases with me. One girl only knew how to say "you wanna mate?" That was...interesting. We played some UNO, ate some popcorn, and overall I enjoyed it and feel a lot more comfortable at the church now that I know people a little better and can talk a little more.
Pastor Jhonatas, one of the pastors of Igreja Central has been asking me when I'm going to sing on some Sunday, and finally talked with Enrique, the worship team's pianist. So hopefully this week I can come up with something to sing maybe this Sunday, and can work with Enrique on that on Saturday.
I started Portuguese lessons today, and I'm realizing that my weeks are going to be BUSY now that those will be taking up 15 hours. I'll do that one morning and 4 afternoons every week, work with Gwen 4 mornings, and then almost every evening has something. Saturdays are booked too working with the youth, and I'll probably start helping them with some English conversation opportunities on Saturday afternoons. Ai ai ai...busy is good though. My first class today was great, I have private lessons, so I can really go at my own pace. It's a strange pace, because I know a lot but don't know a lot of grammar basics. So we could skip a lot of the vocabulary today and just focus on grammar things, which helped move everything along. I think with this program I'm going to learn very quickly. They have great teachers, and it is so well-structured. 2 days of grammar, 2 days of vocabulary and pronounciation, and 1 day of "situations" where a woman will come to my apartment and then we'll go out into town and get into said situations. Interesting, perhaps embarrassing, but effective I'm sure.
It's been good to hear from some of you in the last few days, as I wasn't able to update. Please always feel free to email me, I try my best to respond! But, well...it's Monday and it looks like these afternoons will be good times to sit back and relax. I'm still tired from the weekend, so I'm off to take a little nap...goodness knows I love little naps...
Well, we have returned from the long weekend. Gwen and I got home a little over an hour ago after 3 days at camp. It was definitely a different experience than I expected. First of all, I am currently writing this in a Word document and will paste it in blogger later, because our internet is down. I will admit to feeling incredible disconnected from the world, considering that is basically the ONLY way I can communicate with people, but I’m trying to pretend everything will be fine by tomorrow and I’m telling myself I don’t need to go online. Let’s just say that if it’s not back up by tomorrow afternoon, I will have exploded.
So, back to camp. We got there around 9 on Thursday evening, and it was quite possibly the last place I wanted to be. I was already tired thinking about all we were going to have to do, and I knew I would have absolutely no fun because I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone. Well, I was wrong. Thursday night I was quiet, maybe brooding a little bit, but we were working on putting together all these nametags and cutting and glueing and seemingly endless piles of crafts until about 1am. Yes, it was probably 4 solid hours of crafting. Then we slept to prepare for the arrival of the campers the next morning. Although it has been hot here during the day, at the camp (about 20 minutes outside Londrina, in the countryside) it got coooold at night. I only brought a sheet and a throw blanket, thinking I would maybe only use one, because in my room at the apartment I’m always hot. So I was afraid I would freeze. Before I went to bed, I took some time to pray for my attitude for the next day, and for my comfort sleeping. (Sleep is very important to Christine Rachel Allen…) I woke up on Friday morning, feeling refreshed, and wrapped up like a burrito in my bedsheet, with the warmer of the two blankets on the inside. I was the perfect temperature and had slept like a baby. Miraculous, to say the least.
Friday morning came and the campers did with it. It was total chaos, but it all worked out. I managed to find my nooks and crannies where I could help out, since it definitely wasn’t going to be part of my job description to just hang out with kids and get to know them. Gladly, I was able to do a good amount of that. I was one of the leaders, so I got to know some of them well and it was so great to meet people closer to my age. After lunch I saw a girl wearing a white sox hat. She looked friendly, so I took a few minutes in my head to prepare how I would tell her that I’m from the city where the white sox play, and sat down at her table. She ended up being such a sweet girl, and she and her husband Marcos spoke a tiny bit of English.
::edit::
Ok now I'm writing in real time, Monday afternoon. Internet is back up and running (praise the Lord. When I told Joaquim it wasn't working, he said "I would feel like I was in jail." Truer words were never spoken.)
Anyway, it was great to talk with Marcli and Marcos and I spent a lot of time with Marcli over the weekend. She lives in Londrina as well and I hope to see her more. She cuts hair, so I'll be giving her a call for that in a week or two. That's great, I was wondering what to do about that. She was kind of fascinated by my hair, because it's so fine and I'm so white, so she kept asking me how I dried it, etc. and then said "You have English hair. In my school, we learned about this." Hmm, interesting.
Friday and Saturday were both crazy camp days. The kids played lots of games involving lots of mud, etc. Saturday I helped Marcli work in the canteen (pronounced "can-CHEE-nee" in Portuguese) which was good for my Portuguese. All I needed to know were the names of drinks, the word for ice cream, and my numbers, all of which I have covered, so it was fun. We also spent some time with another leader named Taciane (Ta-see-AH-nee) and went swimming for a little on Saturday. I didn't do much with the campers, I just stayed in a room with Gwen, so I just sort of wandered around looking for opportunities to talk to people or at least smile at some awkward teenagers.
One thing I noticed on Saturday was that it was so refreshing having people address me when they talked to/about me. I got so sick of hearing "ela" this and "ela" that. ("her") and knowing that people were talking about me, but only sort of understanding what they were saying. Now people can talk to me, for the most part, and I feel a little bit more human again. There were a couple weeks where I just felt like a sad little fly on the wall. One girl, Flávia, who goes to Igreja Central, my church, was great about talking to me, speaking slowly and explaining things in goofy ways with lots of gestures. Funny, but sometimes necessary. So I got to actually have some "conversations" this weekend. Refreshing.
I also got to know some of the kids from Igreja Central a little more. It was fun just to sit down at a random table during meals and at least be able to laugh at jokes and let them try some funny English phrases with me. One girl only knew how to say "you wanna mate?" That was...interesting. We played some UNO, ate some popcorn, and overall I enjoyed it and feel a lot more comfortable at the church now that I know people a little better and can talk a little more.
Pastor Jhonatas, one of the pastors of Igreja Central has been asking me when I'm going to sing on some Sunday, and finally talked with Enrique, the worship team's pianist. So hopefully this week I can come up with something to sing maybe this Sunday, and can work with Enrique on that on Saturday.
I started Portuguese lessons today, and I'm realizing that my weeks are going to be BUSY now that those will be taking up 15 hours. I'll do that one morning and 4 afternoons every week, work with Gwen 4 mornings, and then almost every evening has something. Saturdays are booked too working with the youth, and I'll probably start helping them with some English conversation opportunities on Saturday afternoons. Ai ai ai...busy is good though. My first class today was great, I have private lessons, so I can really go at my own pace. It's a strange pace, because I know a lot but don't know a lot of grammar basics. So we could skip a lot of the vocabulary today and just focus on grammar things, which helped move everything along. I think with this program I'm going to learn very quickly. They have great teachers, and it is so well-structured. 2 days of grammar, 2 days of vocabulary and pronounciation, and 1 day of "situations" where a woman will come to my apartment and then we'll go out into town and get into said situations. Interesting, perhaps embarrassing, but effective I'm sure.
It's been good to hear from some of you in the last few days, as I wasn't able to update. Please always feel free to email me, I try my best to respond! But, well...it's Monday and it looks like these afternoons will be good times to sit back and relax. I'm still tired from the weekend, so I'm off to take a little nap...goodness knows I love little naps...
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Camp?
Tomorrow afternoon we leave for the camp, which starts on Friday. It looks like I'll just be a "gofer" as I have gotten good at being, and will also take pictures and video. So that will be fine, and it should be fun, with lots of games and some time in the pool. Bring on the Brazilian "winter" sun, is what I say!
I've been feeling much better today...thank you for your prayers. I have been able to rest a lot the last few days, I took Tylenol PM last night and got a great night's sleep, and then took a long nap today. I think, despite my wishes to be well and energetic, I really need to take it slow. That won't be possible at the camp, but I'm glad I got to spend some time saving energy beforehand.
The great news of the day is that I will definitely be beginning Portuguese classes on Monday morning. Monday - Friday, 3 hours a day. That's 15 hours of Portuguese every week. That's like an entire semester courseload, all in this delicious language that I am surrounded by every day. Will I be speaking soon? Yes, yes I will. I could NOT be more excited about that.
Right after I wrote my tale of woe about my visa on Monday, someone called Gwen's apartment, and ended up talking to me for a few minutes. He is also a missionary here, he lives a few blocks away, and when he asked how long I would be here, and I explained my situation, he immediately told me that Gwen is great at getting visas renewed, and she "knows everyone." I'm still not sure what that means, and she didn't seem to really understand my situation, because I think most people were assuming I had a 5 year visa, not ONLY a 90 day visa...but all I can do is trust that God knows what He's doing.
I have read Psalm 145 and 146 in the last 2 days, and they have been so encouraging. Oh, how much God deserves our praise! Psalm 145 talks about how He gives everything on earth their food at the proper time. 146 says how He even feeds the ravens when they cry out to Him. How much more does he care for us? The biggest point there is "at the proper time."......of course I don't always want to accept that, but He really knows what He is doing.
For now, I need to go to sleep and prepare for a weekend where anything could happen...but I'm glad that I'm feeling better and that we serve the God we do...He is SO good.
I've been feeling much better today...thank you for your prayers. I have been able to rest a lot the last few days, I took Tylenol PM last night and got a great night's sleep, and then took a long nap today. I think, despite my wishes to be well and energetic, I really need to take it slow. That won't be possible at the camp, but I'm glad I got to spend some time saving energy beforehand.
The great news of the day is that I will definitely be beginning Portuguese classes on Monday morning. Monday - Friday, 3 hours a day. That's 15 hours of Portuguese every week. That's like an entire semester courseload, all in this delicious language that I am surrounded by every day. Will I be speaking soon? Yes, yes I will. I could NOT be more excited about that.
Right after I wrote my tale of woe about my visa on Monday, someone called Gwen's apartment, and ended up talking to me for a few minutes. He is also a missionary here, he lives a few blocks away, and when he asked how long I would be here, and I explained my situation, he immediately told me that Gwen is great at getting visas renewed, and she "knows everyone." I'm still not sure what that means, and she didn't seem to really understand my situation, because I think most people were assuming I had a 5 year visa, not ONLY a 90 day visa...but all I can do is trust that God knows what He's doing.
I have read Psalm 145 and 146 in the last 2 days, and they have been so encouraging. Oh, how much God deserves our praise! Psalm 145 talks about how He gives everything on earth their food at the proper time. 146 says how He even feeds the ravens when they cry out to Him. How much more does he care for us? The biggest point there is "at the proper time."......of course I don't always want to accept that, but He really knows what He is doing.
For now, I need to go to sleep and prepare for a weekend where anything could happen...but I'm glad that I'm feeling better and that we serve the God we do...He is SO good.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Mondays...
I have needed to remind myself a few times today that it's labor day in the US. I have also needed to look at the calendar multiple times because I never thought it would be 90 degrees on a daily basis in September. I will only get more confused as the days go by and it gets warmer and closer to summer.
Yesterday was a wonderful day to relax, and was much needed. I slept in and then Gwen and I went to lunch at Pastor Bianco's house. There are 3 pastors of Igreja Missionaria Central: Jhonatas, Bianco, and Israel. The Bianco family had us over for lunch and it was nice to spend some time with them. After lunch I returned back to a nap. Who knew knew I could sleep so much, but I think I need to grab as much of that as I can, especially still having a sore throat. The city is really loud, so I don't think I sleep very well at night as I'm getting used to the sounds of trucks and motorcycles roaring by my apartment. Brazilians are very late-night people, so there is basically commotion 24/7. Fun, and not a problem until you start waking up every hour on the hour when you only have a few to sleep.
This morning I went to the seminary office to help Gwen with some filing and check-writing. I'm still hoping to begin studying Portuguese this week but it looks as though there may be some schedule conflicts. Those are still being looked into. After a morning at the office we went to the Monday missionary prayer meeting. I finally got to meet the rest of the folks with OMS. I had met some here and there, but it was nice to sit and spend some time with other people who are with the same organization. I look forward to seeing more of them, at least next week at prayer meeting.
On the drive home I was talking with Gwen about my favorite topic: my visa. The longer I'm here, the more I start to think that I will be coming home in November. I have no idea why I wasn't given a five year visa and it frustrates me to no end and quite frankly makes me sick to my stomach. I really need your prayers that I would firstly trust what in the world God is doing because everything points to the fact that I need to stay in Brazil for longer than a measley 90 days, and secondly that I could renew the visa that I have. There is now a question of whether or not it is renewable, meaning I would have to go back to the US and repeat the application process. That would be incredibly impractical, considering airfare, and maybe impossible. I'm so frustrated about that and I think it's because I'm holding onto it too tightly. I need to let it go and allow God to handle what He can handle. But I am so worried about that - even moreso now that I am here and I know what I will have to say goodbye to.
I wish I had more exciting things to talk about, but the truth is that it's hard sometimes. I'm really lonely because I'm stuck in this muted cell called "the English language in Brazil." I won't pretend everything is easy and great and all smiles, but I will never deny that I am right where I am supposed to be. I just have no idea what God is doing. No idea at all.
Yesterday was a wonderful day to relax, and was much needed. I slept in and then Gwen and I went to lunch at Pastor Bianco's house. There are 3 pastors of Igreja Missionaria Central: Jhonatas, Bianco, and Israel. The Bianco family had us over for lunch and it was nice to spend some time with them. After lunch I returned back to a nap. Who knew knew I could sleep so much, but I think I need to grab as much of that as I can, especially still having a sore throat. The city is really loud, so I don't think I sleep very well at night as I'm getting used to the sounds of trucks and motorcycles roaring by my apartment. Brazilians are very late-night people, so there is basically commotion 24/7. Fun, and not a problem until you start waking up every hour on the hour when you only have a few to sleep.
This morning I went to the seminary office to help Gwen with some filing and check-writing. I'm still hoping to begin studying Portuguese this week but it looks as though there may be some schedule conflicts. Those are still being looked into. After a morning at the office we went to the Monday missionary prayer meeting. I finally got to meet the rest of the folks with OMS. I had met some here and there, but it was nice to sit and spend some time with other people who are with the same organization. I look forward to seeing more of them, at least next week at prayer meeting.
On the drive home I was talking with Gwen about my favorite topic: my visa. The longer I'm here, the more I start to think that I will be coming home in November. I have no idea why I wasn't given a five year visa and it frustrates me to no end and quite frankly makes me sick to my stomach. I really need your prayers that I would firstly trust what in the world God is doing because everything points to the fact that I need to stay in Brazil for longer than a measley 90 days, and secondly that I could renew the visa that I have. There is now a question of whether or not it is renewable, meaning I would have to go back to the US and repeat the application process. That would be incredibly impractical, considering airfare, and maybe impossible. I'm so frustrated about that and I think it's because I'm holding onto it too tightly. I need to let it go and allow God to handle what He can handle. But I am so worried about that - even moreso now that I am here and I know what I will have to say goodbye to.
I wish I had more exciting things to talk about, but the truth is that it's hard sometimes. I'm really lonely because I'm stuck in this muted cell called "the English language in Brazil." I won't pretend everything is easy and great and all smiles, but I will never deny that I am right where I am supposed to be. I just have no idea what God is doing. No idea at all.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Slowing down...
It appears my body is not very happy with the way I've been treating it during these last 2 1/2 weeks. That is, it would prefer to be a little more comfortable and a little less awake. I'm still fighting whatever strange malady was giving me a fever last weekend, and currently am enjoying a sore throat and a headache, as well as fatigue that can't be explained by the fact that I got 9 hours of sleep last night.
In spite of this, life doesn't stop, so this afternoon, I went to a meeting for the adolescents for a couple hours. They're having a camp next weekend from Friday through Sunday, which I will be going to. I believe Gwen and I will leave Thursday night and stay until Sunday afternoon. I'm really hoping to be feeling better by then, because 48 hours with 12-15 years olds...wow. That will be a stretching experience, let's just say. This evening there was a service for the youth, which is basically anyone and everyone between ages 12 and whatever. So that was fun, they had a church service and then some games afterwards. It was a crazy night, but a lot of laughs. I was wishing I had my camera during a few moments.
I'm still wishing I could participate more in things and get to know people better. It's increasingly frustrating to sit on the sidelines every minute of every day. However, I will hopefully begin taking classes at WEBB, the language school, this Wednesday. They've worked out a schedule for me to take 15 hours a week, however, there are some glitches that need to be figured out. I'm really anxious to dive into that because being able to communicate will change everything. Obviously.
To be honest, tonight I'm very tired. My body just feels like it's running on fumes and has no time to catch up, and I'm afraid soon that will get the best of me. Thankfully we don't have church until tomorrow night, and although one of the pastors has invited Gwen and me to lunch tomorrow afternoon, I hope to get as much sleep as I possibly can tonight and then nap again tomorrow. That's all I'm thinking about at the moment: sleep.
In spite of this, life doesn't stop, so this afternoon, I went to a meeting for the adolescents for a couple hours. They're having a camp next weekend from Friday through Sunday, which I will be going to. I believe Gwen and I will leave Thursday night and stay until Sunday afternoon. I'm really hoping to be feeling better by then, because 48 hours with 12-15 years olds...wow. That will be a stretching experience, let's just say. This evening there was a service for the youth, which is basically anyone and everyone between ages 12 and whatever. So that was fun, they had a church service and then some games afterwards. It was a crazy night, but a lot of laughs. I was wishing I had my camera during a few moments.
I'm still wishing I could participate more in things and get to know people better. It's increasingly frustrating to sit on the sidelines every minute of every day. However, I will hopefully begin taking classes at WEBB, the language school, this Wednesday. They've worked out a schedule for me to take 15 hours a week, however, there are some glitches that need to be figured out. I'm really anxious to dive into that because being able to communicate will change everything. Obviously.
To be honest, tonight I'm very tired. My body just feels like it's running on fumes and has no time to catch up, and I'm afraid soon that will get the best of me. Thankfully we don't have church until tomorrow night, and although one of the pastors has invited Gwen and me to lunch tomorrow afternoon, I hope to get as much sleep as I possibly can tonight and then nap again tomorrow. That's all I'm thinking about at the moment: sleep.
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