Merry Christmas!!!

Dear Family, Friends, and supporters!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! I hope and pray this letter finds you well and surrounded with His love this season.

I love this time of year. Not only is the weather getting colder, but the city is all lit up with white lights and Christmas decorations. Heather and I decorated our flat last weekend and...It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!!!

There's only one week of school before our too short break. This week, I don't expect to get too much "teaching" in. It's going to be hard to get the students to focus on comparatives and superlatives when their break is so close. So, I'm planning some language games with a Christmas theme. I've prepared some reading lessons on the true meaning of Christmas, and we'll be working on pronunciation while singing Christmas carols! I'm excited about this week. Pray that the students will catch on to the true reason for the season.

Here is some bits of news from the past couple of months...

Thanksgiving 2007
I got to have two Thanksgivings this year! The first was November 8-10, with my extended Teachoverseas.org team in the Czech Republic. The second was the Sunday after the real TG, with Mary Jill, the Persons, and other friends here in Budapest. I got all the trimmings I would have had at home. It was truly a blessing!

Mom's visit
My mom came to Central Europe for two weeks, after a quick conference trip in the Netherlands. She came to school with me for one week, and watched me teach, talked with some of my students, and even taught a class about using portfolios in language learning. After a week of school, I had a break from school. The first couple of days, we went to Debrecen to visit "The Real da Vinci" exhibit. It was a really good exhibit showing just about all of his work. Then we spent three nights in Prague. Mom had never been before, so it was a treat for her. My friend Kelly, who lives in Prague, met us and was a wonderful tour guide!

Rézkígyó Kávéház (Brass Serpent Coffee House)
This is a YWAM base ministry here in Budapest. I often come here on Friday evenings to visit with some of the staff and other ex-pats living in Budapest. I've sang there on several occasions. I've also started inviting my students so they can practice English outside our 90 minutes a week. A couple of weeks ago, I had 10 students show up when I was singing. It was fun to meet with them outside the school...I think for them too. I usually go a couple Fridays a month.

Hungarian lessons
I had my last Hungarian Lesson (magyaróra) this. We took a test and I got a 5 (equivalent to an A in the states!) I'm planning to take a break from traditional classes for a couple of months. I'm going to be meeting privately with a Hungarian teacher at my school. This way, I can keep up the language learning, and not have to go out two nights a week in the cold winter months!

Support
An important part of my work over here is having the support of people back home. I get so many e-mails and comments on my blog that people of praying for me and my students. Another important part is your financial support. I love being involved in ministry here and invite you to partner with me.

You see, I am still $1500 short of my support-raising goal. Will you pray about giving a special year-end gift toward my account? As finances are extremely tight this year, please reply to this email with your pledge. This will help me track my account status. This is the best Christmas gift you could give!

To contribute, you can follow this link:http://www.TeachOverseas.org/contribute. It's that easy, but is such a huge blessing to my ministry.

Thank you for reading about my life and ministry over here in Budapest! I would love to hear from you and your family, so please send me a message!

God Bless,
Erin

P.S. I will be in the States for Christmas from Dec. 22nd to Jan. 1st. If you'd like to call me, send me a message, and I'll send you my phone number. I'm almost always available on Skype (Skype name: bound4thenations).

Christmas Survey

1. Christmas tree up yet?
no...but I could have it up in 5 minutes...mini one...small flat in Budapest!

2. Any Christmas decorations up yet?
Nope

3. what are you asking for Christmas?
Haven't thought of it yet. I'm going home for Christmas..that's enough. But I know my mom will get me something for my computer, or some type of technology gadget.


4.What do you usually do on Christmas Eve?
Well, Christmas will be different this year (as well as last year since my folks' divorce). I'll go with my brother and his family for dinner with my dad's family. Then just go back to mom's house and stuff stockings and get to bed late.

5. What do you usually do on Christmas Day?
We play with our new "toys" and watch football. Then eat, of course.

6. Do you own any christmas clothes or jewelery?
Some...not much. I sometimes borrow mom's stuff.

7. Do you use white or colored christmas lights?
Well, I'm not much of a decorator, but I prefer white lights.

8. Do you cook Christmas cookies?
Not since I was a kid with my grandma.

9. Do you buy Christmas presents for your whole family?
Yes, I hope to get most of them here in Budapest before I leave.

10. How many friends do you buy presents for?
I'll get one for my teammate, and probably give trinket/ornaments for some other friends.

11. Is there a Santa Claus?
Of course ;-)

12. Favorite Christmas Carol?
Have Yourself and Merry Little Christmas

13. Would you rather it be a white Christmas, or a warm Christmas?
White!!!

14. Was last years Christmas a good one ?
It was hard because it was the first since my parents separated.

15. Which Christmas color do you like better?
GREEN!!!

16. Do you get a real Christmas tree, or is it artificial?
I like real, but too much trouble and a fire hazard. Fake with pine-sol works.

17. When you get older, will you get a real or artificial tree?
not sure

18. Do you hang stockings?
yes, then stuff them and lay them around living room until morning.


19. When opening presents, does your family all open them at the same time?
well, the tradition at my Aunt Kathi's when I was a kid was opening them one at a time, from youngest to oldest. At our house it was a free for all.

20. What is usually in your stocking?
Chap-stick, tooth brushes, candy, batteries (which was often a clue to a wrapped gift), school supplies, and always a mandarin orange in the toe.

21. Do you get up early on Christmas day?
when there are kids (i.e. my nieces) then yes. Otherwise, I do like to sleep in, no matter what the day.

22. Does your family eat breakfast before or after opening presents?
This is a tradition I HATED as a kid, but appreciate it now. When we woke up, we got into our stockings. Then we had to get dressed, and have waffles. Every Christmas since birth! Then the kids passed out gifts around living room (according to where everyone wanted to sit) while the adults cleaned up from breakfast. Then we went for it.


23. Do you have a favorite ornament you hang on the tree?
hhmmm...So many...hard to say. I like my mom's angel.

24. What Christmas movie do you like to watch the most?
White Christmas, Elf!

25. What do you like better, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Day. Nothing really to do, but spend time with family!

Blast from the Past

I found an old school mate on My Space a while back...or at least, I think she found me. Anyway, she sent me this photo of our Gifted and Talented class. It's either 3rd or 4th grade. I only know where one of these kids are (Holly is in the lavender shirt in the back. I'm in the early 80's orange outfit in the front.) The others are (clockwise from left) Deborah Foulton, Lisa Hollowel, Holly, Mike, Roy Strandberg, Desmond Moore, and me. I don't remember Holly or Mike's last names, and I'm not sure I spelled the others right, either.

I wonder where these people are today?

Surgery saga continues

I went back to the surgeon yesterday, and he took out left-over suture number 5! I asked him how many would typically be used in a surgery like the one I had. He said they could have used up to 10! So, I could only be half way there!

I'm pretty sore tonight. This was by far the largest and most painful so far.

Paul asked 3 times for God to remove his thorn. My only hope is that God must think I can handle this, because it's been 5 times, and more may come.

Autumn Day Bike Ride

My friend, Marcus, and I met around noon today and rode all over Budapest. We met at Deák, then went to Margit Island. We rode all over the island and stopped for lunch at one point. We then left the island then went to Váci utca to a cute little tea house and had some delicious chai tea.

I just got home and boy, are my legs tired. I'm going to shower then go off to a party! Life never stops.

Enjoy the pictures...

Erin

Update

I've updated my "teaching blog." So check it out if you'd like to read more about my students.

Things are going well here. Aside from the horse bite, here's a bit of a rundown...

Old surgery woes:
Four years ago, I had surgery here in Hungary. Well, as I've discovered, it's common practice to use non-dissoluble sutures on internal incisions. So, over the past couple of years, they've been making their way to the surface. Long story short- Another one's emerged! It was taken out last week by a very nice doctor who didn't speak any English. And there seems to be another one working its way up too. Pray for the quick resolution to this annoyance.

New Bike:
I bought a bike! It's red! They didn't have any green ones, so that's why it's red. Oh well, it's still fun.
I've been riding it a couple times a week, about 10 miles a day. It's about 5 miles into the center of the city, so that's a good journey. I've ridden to church and just around. I'm going again tomorrow with some friends, if the weather holds out. It's supposed to rain in the morning, but should clear up by mid-day.

Visitor!
My mom is coming to visit at the end of this month. We'll spend one week at school together. She's going to help me put together a teaching portfolio, complete with video of my teaching and samples of some of my lesson plans. We're also going to help one of my classes start a language portfolio for themselves. This is a bit of research for my mom and will be more of an experiment..we'll see how it goes.

The second week she's here, we're going to Debrecen and then Prague! I've been to Prague a couple times, but mom hasn't. It's going to be fun...and hopefully a bit relaxing!

Hungarian lessons:
I've started taking Hungarian lessons again. It's been a year since I've cracked my course book. I was placed in a group with only two other students! It's a great sized group and we all get along well. Our teacher is Tibor...he speaks very little English. But that's good, because it helps our Hungarian. It's been interesting to be on the "other side of the desk." I get a little taste of what my students experience. I've even had some colleagues make comments about how they appreciate when a foreigner comes to Hungary and at lease attempts to learn the language. The other day, Agota was helping me with my homework, and Janos came in and made a comment something like, "I don't know how ANYONE could learn Hungarian outside of Hungary." I had to agree with him. It's so unlike English...or any other language for that matter.

Teachers' Trip:
A couple weeks ago, the teachers from my school all took a trip to Hortobagy National Park in the eastern part of Hungary. There were so many adventures, but I really wanted to share this photo with you. My colleague, Kata, took it and it's one of my favorites.



Old Times:
Last weekend I got together with the original team I worked with when I first came to Hungary. Mary Jill, the Persons, Edith, and Kata were all in Szeged last weekend for a student ministry "kick-off" event. I went down for the day as well. It was great to see everyone. The concert was great, with a guy from Croatia who has an anti-drug ministry, a hip-hop group from Debrecen, and a wonderful worship service at the end. It was a long day, but really wonderful. Read " Mary Jill's blog ." for more info.

Nice pic of all of us... Click on photo for larger view.


A little more fun in this one!


Prayer Requests:
1. Students! They are why I'm here. Pray for opportunities to get to know them better and to share my life and faith with them. Today I had a student ask me if I liked the musical group Mercy Me. It surprised me he knew of them. Maybe he's a Christian.
2. Colleagues. I have so many helpful colleagues. Even the ones that don't speak English are very friendly, and especially patient when I try to speak to them in Hungarian.
3. Team. Heather and I are doing well. We hardly see each other as she has Hungarian classes on Mon/Wed, and I on Tue/Thu. We either see each other late at night or on the weekends. Pray that the times we ARE together are meaningful and co-supportive.
4. Support. If you'd like to be a part of what God is doing with these students in Hungary, you can send donations to the following...

TeachOverseas.org
444 E. Huntington Drive
Suite 200
Arcadia, CA 91006

Write "Acct. 205125" in the memo line of the check. All donations are tax deductible.

Thank you for praying and for your support. God bless you!

Blessings,
Erin

Horse bitten!

Hi there. I've had it on my Facebook that I'm recovering from a horse bite. Well here's the story...

I spent last weekend on a teachers' trip to the eastern part of Hungary. On Sunday, we were visiting an Archaeological Park in a small town called Polgar, near the Hortobágy National Park. I was taking pictures of a horse they had in a corral, apparently for pony rides, when I guess I got a little too close and the horse didn't like his picture taken. Me=paparazzi; horse=Keanu Reeves. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I wound up falling backwards after he bit me. I either tripped, or the horse actually knocked me over.

I found the other teachers and they took me to the first aid station (a bench outside the park entrance) and cleaned the wound (no broken skin, but pretty scraped and red). I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, so that's probably what saved the skin.

After the tour was over, they guide took me and Kata (to translate) to a doctor in Polar. I got a tetanus shot. Ouch...still hurts today! Then it was back to the group (we were gone less than an hour, while they all had lunch) and back on the tour bus. As we were leaving the park, Kata got on the loud speaker, as she did every time we were going to a new destination to explain our next stop, or give some information about where we were going. I usually understand about 25% because of course she does it in Hungarian. But this time I recognized my name. She was sharing all the details of the trip to the doctor; what the wound looked like, the shot they gave me, what we had to pay! We actually didn't pay anything...the park took care of that. I leaned over to one of my collegues and said "rolám beszél?" "Is she talking about me?" She nodded and I rolled my eyes. Nothing is private in Hungary..especially at my school.

For the rest of the afternoon, everyone kept asking if I was ok, "does it hurt?" All in Hungarian of course. I just wanted to say "I'm not part of the tour...not an exhibit..leave me alone!" But I didn't. I just let them know I was fine, and just a bit sore.

When I got home, I removed the bandage and it was very swollen. It looked like I had a sock stuffed under my skin. I put some ice on it, then later that night some more. By morning, the swelling was still there, but better. It was on Monday, that the arm I got the tetanus shot in started hurting. It was extremely sore and stiff today (Tuesday).

It's still sore. I didn't realize how much I bump into walls and door jams. No matter which side, it hurts.

So that's the saga. I'm recovering and the bit is turning a lovely shade of green!

Re-entry to the Blogosphere...

I know I've been neglecting this blog for a while, but I'm back.

I've been back in Hungary for about three weeks, and teaching almost as long. Since coming back, a lot has happened. A couple cool things are some purchases I made in the past few weeks. I bought a dining room table! So now we can have dinner parties and not have people eating with their plates on their laps.

I also bought a bike. BTW, pictures will come later. It's fire-engine red with only 6 speeds, but it does me just fine for Budapest biking. I've been out on it twice now. I'm pretty saddle sore, but I'm sure that will go away with more use. Tonight, I rode from my place all the way to the Danube River. I haven't figured out how far that is, but it's pretty far. I was out for 2 hours! I'm tired and a bit sore, but feel really good. Gotta love those endorphens (sp?)!

So, off to bed with me now. I'll be sending out an e-mail update by next week.

Blessings,
Erin

Riding the Train

Heather took this picture of me on our way back from the retreat in Vajta. We had a great time just being together and enjoying the peace and quiet of the country side.

Mac'n'Cheese Night!

Some students from my 12e class came over for some good ol' American Mac'n'Cheese. Of course, there's nothing like it in Hungary (they don't go much for the chemical-cheese-powdered stuff.) We had a good time. It was intended as a "good-bye" for the class, but only 4 (out of 12) could come. We had fun anyway...and they really liked the M'n'C!
Anita, Szidi, and Andi

Tamás

Balagás

So, what exactly does that mean? In Hungarian it means to walk or to stroll. It's a tradition in Hungary for the graduating students to walk through the school with their classes. They sing songs and carry loads of flowers from friends and family. It's a very important rite of passage to them. The interesting thing about it, is it's done before the students even take one exam! But, I guess the reason is that exams are so stressfull students tend to burn out towards the end. So they get the Balagás in before exams, otherwise, it might not happen. That's just what I think.

Well, here are some pics from the 2007 Balagás. (I don't have any from last year because my camera died just as they were starting.)

9a Class trip to Pécs, Hungary

Beautiful old part of Pécs. Those are my students in the group.



Waterfall by the entrance to the underground museum of an ancient Christian burial ground.



Inside the museum...very cool!



Waiting for the museum to open

Easter Trip to Venice

Sorry these are late getting up but here are some pics from our trip to Venice, Italy. Tracey, Rachelle, Heather, and I went for Easter.

(Top to bottom)
Heather and me on a canal with the Bridge of Sighs behind us.

Here we are on our gondola ride. Our gondolier was named Fabio.

Nice night shot of the Grand Canal

Latest update

"Miss Barrett! I was at my job this weekend, and I had a customer who was American. I told her that I speak English, and she was so happy! She said that she almost never finds waiters that speak English in Budapest. It was really good for me to talk to her." Tamás was supposed to be working on a dialogue with a fellow student, but he had some exciting news he just had to tell me. At times, that can be annoying to me, but in this case, it just reminded me of what kind of service I'm offering to my students.

Most of my students will wind up working in a restaurant. Maybe abroad, but most likely in Hungary. But for those that learn English, they have a better chance of traveling.

This month, the leavers (graduating seniors) are taking their written exams and preparing for orals in June. Each part accounts for half of their final mark, and that mark determines the rest of their lives. There is a lot of excitement in the air at school! The non-leavers are effected by this time of year too. The hallways are less crowded, the weather is much nicer (80 today!), and they are getting restless and ready for summer. They still have a month left of school. So I'm having to come up with clever and interesting lessons to keep them from going crazy (and driving me crazy!)

It's hard to believe I'm almost done with my second year teaching at Gundel school. I've grown so attached to my students and colleagues. I will have some of the same students next year, and there will also be a new batch of anxious language learners. This year, God has taught me the value of relationships. That's what this ministry is all about. Sharing Christ's love through my relationships with my students. I don't know what it is, but native English speaking teachers have a different relationship with their students than do the Hungarian teachers. Maybe it comes down to teaching style and philosophy, or just personality. Whatever it is, God has used it to allow me to bless my students.

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a class trip with my 9th graders. While the leavers are taking their big written exams, the rest of the school got 3 days off to travel around Hungary and have a break from the books. We went to Pécs (pronounced pay-ch), in southern Hungary. This was my first time there. The kids were so much fun, and really took care that I was enjoying myself. They are first year English speakers, and I was still impressed with their willingness to translate for me and help me understand all that we were seeing. It was as much a blessing for me to be with them.

So, as I wrap up another year, and look forward to next year, I ask that you join me in prayer. Teenagers in Hungary have many of the same worries and concerns at those in the US. Sex, drugs, alcohol, peer-pressure. All of it. As a Christian teaching in a public high school in Hungary, I may be the only person praying for my students by name. What an awesome blessing.

I'm going to be returning to the States for a couple months this summer. I'll arrive in Seattle on June 27th. I'll be going to Alaska sometime in August (around the 12th, I think. No definite plans yet.) They I fly back to Budapest on August. 27th.

If you're in either of those areas, please look for me and I'd love to see you and share in person the joy that I get from pouring into these students' lives.

God bless!
Erin

**Note about support.
Like any mission endeavour, it takes not only the prayer, but financial support of God's people. If you'd like to contribute, you can send a check to:

TeachOverseas.org
444 East Huntington Drive
Suite 200
Arcadia, CA 91006

Make checks payable to Teachoverseas and please put "Acct. 205125" in the memo line to reflect on my account.

Thanks!

Alaska Quarters

Finally! Alaska was the second to last state to join the union, so we got to wait for years until our quarters came out. Well, they haven't come out yet...below are the choices. Personally, I like number 2! I read on another blog where someone asked "Where are the oil rigs?" Funny!

Good Eats at Gundel

Tonight was the annual Gundel International Culinary Competition. Culinary students from all over Europe (Germany, Finland, Croatia, Norway, and, of course, Hungary...to name a few) spent all day creating wonderful goodies. The judging was this afternoon, and this evening, we got to help the chefs fulfill their purpose..feeding people.


The place was packed with wonderful creations and delicious works of art. It was a pitty to destroy some of them, but they were yummy!

Haven't blogged in a while....

...so what's up?

Not much. Same ol'e same ol'e. Teaching, teaching, teaching. Oh yeah, I'm a student too. I started a pre-DELTA (Diploma of English Laguage Teaching to Adults...kinda getting tired of typing that!) and it's going well. Next year I'll do the full 10 month DELTA course. I'm hoping this will open up opportunities to be able to do teacher training in TEFL.

Heather and I have been cooking a lot lately. Our new favorite thing to cook is soup. Real, home made, from scratch soup! We've made a chicken soup...used a whole chicken, and this week a ham and potato soup. We've almost finished the ham and potato soup. Heather bought a huge pot and we've been making double and triple servings.

I went to Prague a couple of weeks ago, with my friend, Tracey. It was a short trip and we stayed with a friend. We had one hardcore day of sightseeing. Then, the second day we were planning to go to the castle, Tracey got sick and my neck was hurting. So, our second day in Prague was spent at our friends' flat! Bummer. But we made it home and still have fond memories of the weekend.

Not sure what else to write about. When I'm going through my day, I often have moments of reflection and contemplation that I think about blogging, but they don't last too long and then get forgotten. Oh well...I'll get something written some day.

Drop me a line and let me know IF you're reading this blog.

Blessings,
Erin

My New Cooking Show!!!

Future in Cake Decorating???

My friend Jan is moving to South Africa. I made her a cake for her going away party. It was fun and I wasn't sure how I would do it, until the day I made it.

Heather also made a greek salad (her new specialty.) We didn't have a serving bowl large enough to serve 25+ people, so we took this tub from our cupboard. We usually use it to store smaller tupperware-type containers and lids.

The disappearance of distance

I was just on a Skype video conference with my nieces. I live in Budapest, and they live in Puyallup, Washington. Tori read her award winning poem, Aimee showed my her new dolly, and I got to hear a live performance of a minuet by Bach...all over the Internet.

I wonder if I'm missing out on the true overseas experience, by having such easy access to my family via the internet. I really don't care. We now live in a connected world. I know missionaries from ages past didn't have Skype and Internet video technology, and I can't imagine how hard it was for them. I guess it could be one of those "if you don't know what you're missing" things. I just know that I love those little girls and hate to miss anything about their lives.

Some day, there will be technology that will allow my brother to be filming my nieces live in the theater and I can be watching via satellite, or cell, or whatever, sitting at my desk in my flat.

What a (connected) world we live in now.