end of the semester

It's the end of the semester and in this upcoming week I have two more classes with my students. I'm very excited.

I came down hard with a sickness, tonsillitis, where I lost my voice and I slept a lot. I'd say I'm almost fully recovered and today I'm hoping to get much accomplished.

My sister and my mom come in 1 week and I can hardly stand it! I'm so excited to see them, spend Christmas with them and have lots of fun! Woohoooo!

Can you believe its only two-weeks before Christmas?! Better get to shopping!!

Have a great week!

Joanna

Video Will Made

Here's a video Will has been working on for the past few weeks and it does an awesome job representing our partners here in Budapest!

30 before 30

So, I hear all about people doing these things before they turn a certain age.. well since next September is my 30th birthday (oh my gosh) let's see what I can come up with.

1. marry Will (pending)
2. Bake a Souffle
3. Knit a Baby Sweater for a friend's new baby
4. See a New European City (not including Brussels)
5. Start writing my Textbook (2 Chapters)
6. See Taylor Swift in Concert
7. Attend a Stitch & B**** in Budapest (knitting group)
8. Start Compost in my apartment
9. Write an article about TESOL in Hungary
10. Plant a Spring Herb Garden on my Balcony
11. Go to the Villany Wine Region
12. Make Felted Slippers
13. Go out in Budapest and do some night-time photography
14. Make Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch
15. Fit into my Skinny Jeans
16. Finish the Nanny Diaries
17. Read Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
18. Be able to run 3 miles again
19. Write a letter in Hungarian
20. Prayer Journal every day till 30
21. Go to a Nat's game
22. Make Creme Brulee
23. Go on a Danube River Cruise
24. Buy an antique-real deal
25. Write a handwritten letter every week
26. Make a Korean food dish
27. Memorize 10 Bible Verses
28. Learn how to say hello in a new language
29. Go to Robert Dinero's New Restaurant
30. Win Dutch Blitz against Sharon Bauer and Ashley Romig

Prague

For Will's fall break we went to Prague to visit some of my dear friends the Stewarts. It was a refreshing to hang out with dear friends and enjoy a beautiful city.

On Friday evening we were able to go to the main square and pray over the sex trade, prostitution and deliverance of the city! It was moving and motivated Will and I to begin praying more here. We will begin praying over certain parts of our district for deliverance and a great work to be done in our lives here. Pretty Exciting.

Click here for Will's pics on Facebook

a surprising conversation

Nowadays, the sun goes down early and when I'm going home its already dark. I don't mind so much because my commute includes the beautiful castle, churches and bridges lit up at night. Last night, as I was riding the old, rickety and loud tram I was reading my newest subscription of the Economist.. finding out what's going in the Elections. Anways, as we approached a stop there were tons of sirens and lights. It turned out to be a diplomat or ambassador of sorts I'm sure. The lady sitting across from me pointed it out to me and said a few things about who it might be. I smiled and said, yes I'm sure it was someone like that becasue of the police. (remember this was all in Hungarian)

We approached the Kossuth Lajos Ter stop where I ride the long escalator to the metro when we both got off, walked across the cross walk and started down the metro together. She asked me something and I said, I speak English but if you speak slow and loud I can usually understand. She repeated herself and we started on the typical conversation about.. Why am I here? What do I do? Do I like it? How are the students? We arrived at the bottom of the escalator and the metro was waiting there so we sped up and got on and continued our conversation (let's remember this NEVER happens). As we kept talking about life here in Bp for me I said, I'm getting off the next stop and she was so sad so she got off to talk some more.

So, we stood, amidst the hustle and bustle of rush hour traffic at Batthany Ter metro platform. We had a conversation. I had things to do, people to see, but knew that this woman at this moment was much more important. She was around 60 years old and about 5 feet tall. She had soft eyes. We kept talking and she asked me to guess her occupation. I said writer and she said exactly. We then talked about her books and she said a bunch of words I wasn't positive about but I know that she writes about Philosophy and the Spiritual realm. We talked about this not being just a "chance" meeting. She gave me her name card and asked me to keep in touch, that perhaps we could meet for coffee someday.

As she re-boarded the metro (after watching 3 go by) she said, Isten aldod! (God bless you) and I went up a second escalator to take the commuter train. Thinking, Praying for my new friend Katalin.

This is what its all about right? Talking to people, taking advantage of divine opportunities and for me... learning that I MUST work on my Hungarian.

the 28th..already

It is hard to believe that it is already the 28th of October..
... I get a daily e-mail that counts down the wedding.. courtsey of Project Wedding.. and it is crazy to think that it is in 269 days.. so few compared to the 400 something when we first got engaged.
... I went to Vienna last week for some much needed girl time with my friends and it was refreshing and lots of fun.
... Will, Johanna and I leave for Prague tomorrow at 430pm to hang out with the Stewarts for a long weekend as Monday is a holiday in Europe. I'm looking foward to time with them and hopefully some sweet Prague city Engagement Shots ;)
... I'm getting excited for the next two months as some neat opportunities have presented themselves and hopefully Will and I can take advantage of them!
... I need to read more, exercise more and pray more....

Will is thinking of doing a fast for a few weeks.. maybe I'll start contemplating that too..its always good to do without in this soceity and media focused world.

october update

I can't believe it's half way through October. Time is flying by here and it seems that every day is amazing and enjoyable. We've been up to a lot but some of it is just resting and nesting for me. I'm still trying to put pieces of the house together and decorate here and there. I got a pumpkin for Fall and a Mum and I brought out a few Haloween decorations and even bought some festive color candles.

School has been an incredible blessing. I love teaching my students and it is a lot of fun to meet with them twice a week. I only teach at the University twice per week but let me tell you, the prep and grading that goes into is a lot of work. My students require high level English and they ask great questions about the perfect tenses!

I have two private students whom I've really grown to love teaching. One is Korean and the other is Vietnamese. We are prepping for the TOEFL for both of them so that requires a lot of prep.

Will and I started going to a house church. We had our first meeting on Tuesday and it was incredible. Will and I are both very excited about this community. I'm meeting with Susan today for some lunch (we are both educators so that is always great). We are excited to be involved and hopefully a more permanent fixture in this meeting.

We got all of the residency papers submitted. It was nowhere near the process that I had endured before and I'm so grateful for that. I think it helps that I speak Hungarian and that I know where to get things. Next year will be a breeze.

Thursday Nights have been an English Club that we are heading up. That has been great too. I'm hoping for more students and luring them in with Brownies. This is a great time for college students to meet from all around the world and hang out. I'm planning a few excursions and hopefully some guest speakers!

I hope all is well with those out there. I'll try to blog more ;)

Here's what I've cooked in the past month..
apple pie, pumpkin bars, butternut squash soup, cheddar meat loaf, curry, brownies

First Week of School

Wow! What a busy week! Between starting off my week, meeting with private students, lesson planning,shooting a wedding, hanging with the team and continuing to love on my fiance has made for a busy and fun week!

My university classes are amazing. I love teaching these students who are motivated, smiles and willing. Now, I have to remember that it is still the beginning of the school year but I will keep a positive attitude and try my hardest to always look at these students with joy! I have about 60 students. I teach on Mondays and Wednesday for most of the afternoon. I have three groups of about 20 and they are all around 18-23. They come from all over the country so that gives me the opportunity to reach out to the ends of this country!

I am thankful for a quiet weekend of good food, friends and solitude. I enjoyed making some delicious new recipes and watching probably too many movies but it was a great way to end the long week. Here is a picture of Will and I grading while watching TV.


Throughout the next few weeks I'd like to begin to tell some stories of some connections I've been making while here for only one month. It has been incredible to see God's hand moving and opening doors everywhere!

This coming Thursday is the beginning of English Club which I have partnered with Mark Newell and we are gearing up for a new year of meetings. It will include Thursday night group times, group trips and the occasional service project. Please keep this project in mind! So many things happening!!

little things that make me happy

I went to IKEA today with Lea and Kirsten. It was a blast looking at things and finding little things to continue to make our flat a home. 3 years ago, I bought this picture of the Eifel Tower at Ikea but I never got a frame for it. Today, this beautiful white frame was on sale so I got it and carried it home!

We put it up on the wall and we have my favorite Tower in my 2nd favorite City so I can look at it all the time! It makes me very very happy ;) Sometimes, it is worth the wait!

Gourmet Cooking Club #1

Six ladies gathered at my home for my Gourmet Cooking Club's first dinner. I decided that I wanted some dear friends to get together once a month and why not schedule a dinner for all to come to and just ladies :) I made everything from scratch and mostly from my Julia Child's Cook Book. It was a wonderful evening where the wine flowed and we got full on some amazing food.

This was the menu:

Appetizer
Zucchini Dip
Soup
Butter-Nut Squash Soup
Main Course
Suprêmes de Volaille Archiduc
[Chicken Breasts with Paprika, Onions, and Cream]
Risotto
Carottes Étuvees Au Beurre
[Carrots Braised in Butter]
Dessert
Mousseline au chocolat
[Chocolate Mousse]

I enjoyed cooking everything.. I was a bit worried that some of it would not be so delicious becuase I had never made it but it was great! I'm looking forward to October's edition and will make it even more Fall infused ;)

in memory

Three years ago, when I first lived in Budapest on my own I met a wonderful couple, Andy and Phyllis Anderson. On so many levels this couple is an inspiration to me. They moved to Budapest, Hungary at the age of 70 to establish a Christian English and Hungarian Library. She was a life long educator and a book lover. Nothing could stop this couple except for cancer.

I visited them about once a week getting new books, hanging out with them at coffeehouse and they offered to host a Ladies Tea at the library for a women's Bible Study that so many of my friends benefited from. I was blessed to have this couple in my life and we would always keep in touch.

Phyllis passed away of cancer on Monday morning early. She leaves behind a huge family but she is in heaven and I"m sure she got a huge crown with jewels :)

Just yesterday, I was wrestling with God about healing and the faith that we must have. I know so many people right now who are struggling with loved ones who are dying of cancer. The crazy thing is that all of these people who have cancer are people of God. This world is dark and scary and every morning I am reminded that God is the only light and goodness in the midst of the darkness.

So, I'm praying for the Alvarados, the Hunters, the Andersons, the Youngs and I'm sure so many more who are currently dealing with one with cancer or one who has just left them.

"Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face! Your face, Lord, I will seek." Psalm 27:7-8

something new

my sister said that I should blog once in awhile on wedding things..

I found this cake on one of my favorite wedding blogs. I would to have this as the cake we cut. So cute ;) In yellow....yum.

a Sabbath to Vac

The past few days have been rainy and cloudy and it sure was nice to wake up to a blue but still cloudy sky. Will and Kirsten are sick and everyone is sleeping in this morning. We are all trying to really take the Sabbath and keep it that way. No working an things like that. My Sabbath was yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I met Will at the bus stop and we took it down to the train station. Then we bought our tickets and indulged in some Starbucks. Why indulging? Well, it is not often I am on that side of town. So will got tea so that his throat wouldn't be so sore and I of course got a Cafe Americano (perfection) we boarded the train and sat there and chatted or the 25 minute ride north of Budapest.

We got off the train and were met by all three Coppages ;) Yaya! We walked to the main square and got to enjoy the sites of Vac a bit. Since it was rainy we couldn't take Will on the grand tour of this quaint town but that's okay we introduced him to the Csokizo (chocolate shop).

We had lunch, played Dutch Blitz and enjoyed chocolate then naps. I love going to the Coppages because I really get away, enjoy friends and eat well ;) We finished off with a warm meal then we headed home on the last fast train.

It amazes me whenever I come home from any kind of trip how "at home" I feel in Budapest. The smells, the sounds, the noise, the busyness brings great joy to my heart and soul. I love this city. Its where I feel at home.

Now that Will is here its even more exciting and I love it :)

100th Anniversary of Korosi School and My office

Today was a great day! I went to the 100th Anniversary celebration of Korosi's Opening. It was so much fun to see all of my old colleagues and students and it was fun being there as a guest!

I also went to my office for a few hours today to work on my lesson plans. I enjoyed the quiet of the office and even took pictures ;)

Funny story:

I'm sitting at my desk and on the wall are a bunch of eathernet cords. So, I think to myself, Oh! I'll just plug one in and see if I can get internet since there is no wireless in my office. So, I plugged it in and saw that it would not work. All of a sudden there is a knock on my door and a man in a suit with a walkie talkie enters in speaking Hungarian to me. In follows another man in a suit and a handy man. I look at him and say, I speak English! I'm a new teacher. He points at my computer and says, "yours?" and I say yes. He then tells the walkie talkie that everything is okay and that its a teacher. So I guess I messed with the Corvinus eathernet system and the place went to chaos..well the IT place. It was like the IT FBI. I was super nervous and even if he said it was okay for me to use I definitely did not plug that eathernet cable into my computer again ;)

Red Tape

When I lived in Hungary last time, I had lots of red carpet, red countertops and red everything. Well, this go round, I have a beautiful flat (i'll post pics soon) and have to deal with Red Tape at my University!

It really wasn't too hard of a process but it was all in Hungarian and I definitely had a headache afterwards. But, I can't complain! I will get paid starting in October after working one full month! Praise the Lord ;)

I sat in an office and different people from the office of Human Resources came in and checked my papers and got information from me! I snuck some pics of the paperwork ;)

Also, tomorrow is the 100th Anniversary of my former school that I taught in. I will be attending the ceremony!

I also threw in a picture of Will and I on a grocery store run!

Whitney's visit

I am always amazed at people that God brings in my life. 2 years ago, I met Whitney and she has been a soul sister ever since. We are on the same page in pretty much everything even down to our shoe size ;)

I was thankful for her visit this weekend even if it was just for one night. It was great to have her get to know Will but she and I of course had amazing talks and of course loads of laughs.

I love visitors and yesterday I realized that I had not bought any guest towels...so I bought guest towels.. now I just a blanket for when someone visits ;)

Hope you can come visit!! I do love hosting!

in Hungary

I went to my new University today to meet my Director and other colleagues, check out my new office, see the building and submit papers.

It was nice to be able to just feel comfortable and know what I'm doing.

I got my schedule for next semester which is teaching only on Mondays and Wednesdays but that means it makes for a long day. I'm a morning person and my classes are Mondays from 1320-1750 and on Wednesdays 1120-1750. WHEW!

I am looking forward to getting in the classroom again. All of my classes are general English classes which excites me because I know these things very well!

It is so great to be back. I had date night with Will tonight and he looked at me and said, you just slid back into the culture and everything here. You had no adjusting to do.

I'm home. It feels amazing.

all packed

i moved out of my house and into a house where I'm house sitting. This week is going to be a busy week of teaching, exam giving and saying good-bye to all my lynchburg people ;(.

Its amazing to see how the Lord has blessed me over this last year! I'm excited to move to Hungary and I feel like it won't come any faster!!!

4 weeks today

I will be getting on an airplane to head to Budapest...

...let the good times roll

Cabo ;)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2309771&id=55702898&l=b799ebb88a

For CABO pictures

new blog

I will be mostly blogging now on ...

http://www.willandjoanna.wordpress.com

check it out ;)

Our Engagement Story Video

here is the video story of our engagement!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo92Z15vD5c

I'm engaged

Yesterday, my wonderful then boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed to me and asked me to be his wife!! Of course I said yes! More pictures to follow!! And the story

Graduation

It was a beautiful day and after not very much sleep I was able to get up, get ready and face the mayhem of Liberty's Graduation. The speaker was Glenn Beck.. I wasn't so impressed..and was more moved and motivated by Jerry Falwell Sr. when they showed a clip of him giving us the encouragement he would always give..

1. Never ever give up, do not throw in the towel.

2. Nothing EVER happens apart from prayer

As I am almost finished with grad school (minus a practicum and one methods class) I am so thankful to the Lord for all of the energy, motivation and grace he gave me. They ended with my favorite song.. I'm going to post the lyrics. It brings tears to my eyes and as I stood with my arms stretched to God I was so so grateful for everything in my life.

when i think about the Lord
how He saved, how He raised me
how He filled me with the Holy Ghost
how He healed me to the uttermost
when i think about the Lord
how he picked me up
turned me around
how He set my feet
on solid ground

it makes me want to shout
hallelujah! thank you, Jesus!
Lord, you're worthy
of all the glory, and all the honor
and all the praise!
Hallelujah! thank you, Jesus!
Lord, you're worthy
of all the glory, and all the honor
and all the praise!

(ephesians 2:4-7, 2 corinthians 5:17)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdTT6rmkk9M&feature=related

missing Europe

I could use a little Europe in my life right now ;)

Please keep me in mind as I battle the next four days ..

What's Happening

It's almost time to go... well... in a few months ;) I'm ready though.

Where am I in life??....
I have one week left of this term's classes then I just have one class plus a practicum
I have an adoring boyfriend who supports and loves me through my impatience and tiredness.
The spring semester has ended and I begin summer school on June 1 (teaching)
I walk across the stage at LU next Saturday to get my M.ed. WOW. Can't believe it.
I am starting to say goodbye to people already.
On Friday, I accepted a job at Corvinus University that is full-time and in the Langauge Center. This is different than the part time job that I accepted in Decemember. This job will provide me with full time status and other great benefits! Professor Foley.. weird.
I am looking for a fully furnished apartment for Kirsten, Jo and I to live in..that is somewhat modern ;) Might have found one!
Okay, back to this huge project ;)

Oh and Will moves home in 15 days!!!!

baby shower

My friend May is having her baby at the end of May.. I made a wonderful spread of delicious brunch foods. Here was the menu:

Veggie dill Dip with fresh veggies

mini quiche

Baked brie inside of Crescent Dough

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Chicken Salad Croissants

Banana Pudding

The decorations:

Fresh Flowers everywhere

I used white card stock and stamped a mason jar on it and in each mason jar it had a letter which spelled It's a Girl ;)

So fun!

perserverance

I am at the end of my rope... the end of my classes..the end of the half of the semester of teaching. The end never looked so good and hopefully by 8am Saturday morning I will have finished 2 grad classes in 8 weeks while training for my 10-miler and working my full time job. What was I thinking???

Regardless.. I was doing my Bible Study that I am doing with Kiristen who is coming to Hungary with me this summer.. God told me to expose myself to him, to get ready to be burned, open, destroyed so that my flesh can see God. What a great thing it is that he wants me. I've learned in the last 8 weeks that I have to prioritize all of my things so that I can spend time with God because it is the most important over all my activities.

Next week, after my 4-day excursion to Baltimore, Philly and DC with my students I am going to have a 5 day Sabbath of God, Will, friends and quiet. I'm looking forward to it more than you know. I just need to push through these next 24 hours and get all of my work done.

Krispy Kreme

I didn't take many pics this weekend but I did take pics of Krispy Kreme. YUM. The hot sign was on so to Will, it is inevitable that I was going to want to stop.. oh we did and it was an utter delight.

What a wonderful weekend with Will .. just hanging out and eating, watching movies and cooking together. It was so fun and I was sad to drive back to Lynchburg. But alas, there are reasons God has us do things to be uncomfortable and calls us to sacrifice. Will is growing spiritually and seeking God and right now that is one of my sacrifices..not having him around every day ;)

snowwwww

We have had so much snow this year! It is really quite unbelieveable!

Here are some pictures from the madness...

Valentine's Day

Will and I went to an amazing resatuarnt for v-day and enjoyed exchanging nice presents ;)

He surprised me with a great new Dooney and Bourke bag which I've been eyeing for ummm 4 months. He's great.

Here are some pics from the day and this is where we ate... http://www.mangiaontheavenue.com/ yummmm

another favorite restaurant

One thing I love to do is eat ;) Check out that amazingness ;)

Surprisingly, there are some great restaurants in Lynchburg.

We went to Waterstone Pizza where they have brick oven pizzas and a micro brewery. We got to meet Nicole's boyfriend who lives and works in Seattle!

What a fun evening ;)

Rebecca and Lee

I got to meet Lee, my old college roomate's finacee! He is wonderful and they are getting married on May 31st! 5 months from today!

First NHL Game

I went to my first NHL game with Will last weekend. It was a lot of fun and got to see one of Will's favorite things!

pics of budapest trip