Rengeteg

I have really admired the "older" missionaries that I have gotten to know here in Hungary. I love that married couples are not afraid to take their children and move overseas. I admire the people who have been here for 5, 10, 15, even 20 years. I envy how well they know the language and the customs here. I look up to how they have adapted over time.

In being here almost 8 months, I have had some pretty cool experiences. However, time and again, I am struck by how "new" things are to me. I really like to watch the missionaries who have been here for years and years. Things aren't new to them anymore, things are "life" to them. They don't think of the U.S. as home anymore. Hungary is their home. They work in Hungary. Their friends are in Hungary. Their kids go to school in Hungary. They can speak the language. They have Hungarian hobbies. Everything is in Hungary for them.

The facilities manager at ICSB has lived in Hungary for over ten years. One way that he is really connected is through a band. He is the drummer for a Hungarian Christian band called Rengeteg. I got to go to a concert of his this past weekend. I liked observing someone who is so used to life here that nothing is uncomfortable, even playing in a Hungarian band.

The band sang mostly in Hungarian, but had a few English songs. The music was nothing like I had heard before. The songs had an African-tribal sort of beat to them with a hard-rock electric guitar thrown in. The lead singer had a sort-of rap type voice. He spoke really fast to get in the many syllables of Hungarian words! Accompanying were two female singers who contributed high, eerie, wispy tones. Even though most of the lyrics were Hungarian, I could tell by watching the lead singer that he was singing to God! Also, he was fun to watch because he liked to dance a lot...at one point, he was doing the Russian kicks! He was quite entertaining.

The concert was a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching Steve, the drummer. I could tell that this band combined two things that he really had a passion for: Hungarian ministry and music.

Enjoy these pictures of the band!

Discovering Differences

I thought after living in Hungarz for 8 months I would reallz have the hang of things. For the most part I do, but I keep discovering little differences that throw me off!!! I keep finding new things to adapt to in everz area of mz life.

Did you notice all my "misspellings" in the paragraph above?? It's not my fault! Recently, my computer which I brought from America has been having some "technical difficulties." While it is out of order, I have been using the school's laptop which is a Hungarian computer. It looks pretty normal at first glance until you start typing and find that the Z key is where the Y key should be! The exclaimation point isn't in the right spot, and I still have trouble locating the apostrophe key!! I'm sure all my co-workers thought I was a nut when I sent out an email requesting certain art supplies with all my words misspelled! I am thankful to be using this computer, and even more thankful that I figured out how which button to push to switch the computer to type as an American keyboard does :-)

Another difference that has constantly been an obstacle is the time difference. Yes, I knew that I would be night/day opposite the U.S. I have pretty much gotten used to this, and have figured out convenient times to call my loved ones at home. Recently, things have been thrown off due to daylight's savings time. Did you know that Hungary does spring forward until 2 weeks after the U.S. ? It doesn't seem like a big deal until all your phone dates are thrown off an hour! Another thing affected by the time difference is March Madness :-) I have enjoyed watching Kstate play at 2 in the morning!! How can one combat loss of sleep?? Hungarian caffiene!

Radio has been interesting as well. Hungary follows much of the music from the U.S. It is easy to find music in English on the radio. What I have found interesting is that several times when I am listening to the radio (whether in the car or over the loud speaker in a store) a seemingly secular station will play Christian songs!! It has surprised me how they just mix in Christian music. In America, it seemed like Christian music was only played on Christian stations. Maybe Hungary has it more figured out than we think...

One final difference has been driving. Everything is different and I'm clueless!! All the cars seem to be manual, the spedometer and speed limits are in kilometers, you can't turn right on red, speeding tickets come in the mail (radar cameras capture your tag number if you are speeding), signs don't mean the same thing, and words are in Hungarian! I feel like I am 16 again and learning to drive. Stalls aside, I am really proud to have learned to drive a stick shift!

Moving to a new country has been quite the experience. I am eager to see what it will be like to return to the U.S. Have I gotten used to the way things are in Hungary? How will it be to readjust to the U.S.? And, how much different will Colorado be than Kansas? Change is becoming normal for me.

Cruisin' Along!

I always think that one project a class does is my favorite...until they turn in the next project!

Recently, my 7th graders finished a watercolor painting project. They really impressed me!! We studied a well-known artist named Winslow Homer. He is known for painting seascapes and sailboats. The students learned about his life, and they looked at some of his paintings. After analyzing different things (like color, shapes, space, and subject matter) they were ready to paint their own sailboats!

Watercolor is actually one of my least favorite mediums to work in. I don't feel like I really know how to use it well. I faced my fears and demostrated 8 different painting techniques. The students loved to watch the different effects that watercolors can make. Not only do the colors mix together beautifully, but you can drip and drop the paint into wonderful blends. Also, if salt is sprinkled on the wet paint, one can get a sparkly look. Another method the students loved was the stained glass effect achieved by sticking plastic wrap to the wet paint. Seemly such simple techinques, but the kids loved it :-)

After experiementing with the paint, the students drew out their sailboat scenes. Some had beautiful sunsets, while others had stormy skies. A few students thought outside of the box and I ended up with one sea monster, one floating ship, and one shipwreck scene!

The students worked hard painting, and I was so proud of them! For being my least favorite medium, it turned out to be my favorite project...that is until the next due date!

Learning a New Medium

As an artist, I am always interested to learn a new trade...I never knew that frosting could become an art medium for me!

Last weekend ICSB held the ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) Honors Band and Choir events. Students from several different countries traveled to Budapest for the weekend to learn together, practice together, play together, and perform together. The result was a very beautiful concert of music from around the world!

To help feed the participating students, 100 cupcakes were required for a banquet. These couldn't be just any cupcakes...but specially decorated cupcakes! The high school secretary shared her skills with us and taught several of us women teachers how to frost the cupcakes into flowers. I have never really had much of a passion for cooking of any type, but this tasty art form just might change my mind! We ladies had a fun time together and got to eat a few of the cupcakes that didn't turn out so pretty :-)

Game time!

My year at ICSB has led to some interesting opportunities for me. Probably the most surprising is that I took on the role of Assistant Coach for middle school girls basketball. Mainly, I wanted to spend my time with the girls and take advantage of a few extra workouts a week during practice. I'm not sure how much help I was at teaching, as I'm sure I learned more about the sport than some of the girls!

We had 13 6th-8th graders on our team. Ability levels ranged, but I was very surprised at how dedicated the girls were and improvement was very apparent by the end of the season. This past weekend the team participated in the final tournament of the season. We took a 2 hour road trip (an encountered a bit of Kansas on the way!) to Vienna. The girls won 1 game and lost 2 giving them 4th place out of 6. The highlight of the day was when Sadie made two free-throws "granny" style!!! I was very impressed by how the girls encouraged their own teammates. Also, I was so proud of how polite they were to their opposing teams. It seemed clear to me that winning was not a priority for our team, but a good time and kindness were!

Personally, this was a fun challenge for me! I had to draw back on my years of basketball from elementary school. Usually I don't really care about basketball, but one day I found myself watching clips of pro-players on the internet! I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and onto the basketball court!