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 ;)