The Freedom of Summer...

Refocusing. I guess that's what I'm in the process of doing. Last week I spent five days in bed sick. I haven't been that sick - oh, possibly ever. I didn't proctor the exams I was supposed to proctor. Other people covered them. My end of the year reports will get written this week instead of last. Everything came to a standstill and I did nothing. Kind of makes you re-think life, eh? What's important and what's not? Relationships continued last week. But those tasks that I worry about so much? They didn't get done. And guess what? The world didn't stop. :)

I am thankful to be feeling better (still a bit weak, but hey - my body waged war on some gremlin germs last week!), and thankful that I was well enough to attend graduation on Friday and some other end of the year festivities. It's that time of year where there are many good-byes - some for the summer, some for a year, some for who knows how long.

I went back to the doctor this morning. As I walked home, and did a few errands on the way, I felt the freedom of summer. You know - that laid-back, unscheduled feeling to life. :) I haven't felt that in a long time. English Camp pretty much consumed my past few summers, so I'm looking forward to enjoying this "sabbath summer."

The End of Classes!

Today is our last day of classes. In ten minutes, we as a school will gather to end the day (and symbolically the school year) with chapel. Next Monday through Wednesday are exams, and then Friday is graduation. Then we will disperse all of the world - literally - before reconvening as a group to start a new school year in August, with roughly 1/3 of our staff and students being new faces. (Yup, that's how high the turnover is here. That's pretty typical for our type of school/community.)

It's a sunny and warm day. Birds are chirping. There seem to be more students - and visitors! - flitting around during classes. Yup, you can tell it's the end of the school year. We are all ready to be done, but the teachers are trying to hold the reins tight until 3:50pm.

At that point, we'll be just as glad as the students to let them go! Oh, but there are still exams to be taken and graded. Good-byes to be said. An Awards Ceremony and Graduation to be held. One more week. THEN we can really let the reins go. (Oh don't get us wrong - we LOVE our students, but we're just as ready for a break as they are!)

The Way We Say Things

Today one of my students told me that last night she had a headache and her "stomach didn't work."

I gave her a slightly puzzled look, and then smiled as I said, "I know what you mean, but that's not how we say it."

We then proceeded to discuss the following words/phrases and the nuances and differences in meaning:
- indigestion
- I'm queasy
- I'm nauseous
- I have nausea
- My stomach is upset
- My stomach hurts
- My stomach is bothering me
- Lunch didn't settle well.
- My lunch is just sitting in my stomach.

I know this list could continue, but the bell rang. :)

And some people wonder why language learning is so difficult. Oh the nuances, idiomatic phrases, etc.

Almost there....

We have two weeks of classes left, then one week with exams and then graduation. It is a full and busy season. Not only are we wrapping up a school year, but we're also dealing with the transitions and good-byes that this time of year brings in an international school community such as ours. We're helping friends move, saying good-bye to some friends, and also hosting and/or visiting with former staff who are coming back to visit. There's definitely more turnover and transition here than at the school I taught at in Ohio.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how life is different here. We're not just a school, we're a community that is based around the school. Mike & I sent out an update email recently, and someone replied and commented on how it seemed like we needed to learn to say no. That person was speaking truth in reminding us not to be too busy. However, at the same time, we feel like we have done a pretty good job of saying no this year. There are just so many needs in the various aspects of this community. However, we know that just because there is a need, doesn't mean we need to fill it.

This email was probably a good, and timely, reminder for us as we start to look ahead to next year and consider various opportunities and ways to get involved here. How will we spend our time? What will be our priorities? God is #1, and our marriage is #2. What else will fill the picture of our lives next year? Please pray for us - for wisdom, for proper balance, and that we will live life the way God wants us to.

Dr. Wess Stafford & championing children

Dr. Wess Stafford is president and CEO of Compassion International. He shared his heart for "championing children," as well as part of his story, as one of the speakers at the ICE (International Christian Educators) Conference here at BFA over spring break. This article includes much of what he shared with us.

Dr. Stafford has also written a book, that I have not yet read, but hope to: "Too Small to Ignore."

Isaiah 43:19

"Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert."

"Only in Germany"

We've had a couple of "only in Germany" moments this weekend...

#1 - Yesterday (Saturday) was a holiday - "May Day." We still aren't quite sure what the meaning of this holiday is, but it means that the stores are closed. Combine that with the fact that stores are ALWAYS closed on Sunday, and that meant that Friday evening we had to make sure we had enough food (especially moo juice - we drink a lot of that:) for the weekend. (Note - our fridge here is SMALL - about 3 ft tall = a large "dorm" fridge in the US, so we can't just "stock up" - it forces us to shop more often.) So after dinner on Friday, we went to the grocery store. It was probably about 7:15pm when we went to the grocery store (it closed at 8:00pm). The produce section was well picked over, which does happen here. We were able to get what we needed, but it did remind us that grocery shopping and holidays here is different than it is in the US.

#2 - This morning. Sunday. 8:45am. As I drowsily got out of bed, I heard a marching band outside in the distance....
I said to Mike, "Did you hear that band?"
He replied, "I was playing that Tenth Avenue North (a Christian group) song."
me: "No, I mean a MARCHING band."
A few moments later...
Mike: "Oh, I hear the marching band now."
me: "See - I wasn't imagining it!"
Silence for a couple more minutes and then,...
me: "Mike, I hear it again." Walk to the window. "See - there's a marching band marching down the street!"

This was the popular topic of discussion at church this morning. Evidently there is a tradition of "waking up May," so a marching band walks around town, playing their music and waking everyone up on the first Sunday of May.

Only in Germany...