No, I'm not referring to the band, though they are pretty fantastic. I'm simply trying to come up with the simplest description of the past few weeks. On August 14th, I said goodbye to my parents and flew solo for the first time out to California, where I was blessed with the opportunity to stay with some family friends in Corona before heading up to Pasadena for training on the 17th.
*Side note: I truly meant to do a post before leaving Indianaland and never got around to it. My sincerest apologies for making you wait in anticipation.*
Since then, two weeks of training have passed. The first week drug on like no other. Seriously, it felt like the longest week of my life. Am I complaining? Not really. It was a great time, but also very overwhelming. We've received so much information that I think my brain (and my binder) are nearing max capacity. Our time is very structured, with little free time, which is one of the main reasons why this blog post is so belated. There are so many things that I could tell you about training, but I don't want to overload you with information, so I'll just give you some of the big ideas.
-I LOVE my team. We've had to do a ton of team formation work (AKA discuss our hopes, dreams, fears, goals, insecurities, etc.) and while that's been very emotionally draining, it's helped us to understand each other better and really bond as teammates.
-Training is composed of all the TeachOverseas teams around the World, including 7 countries besides the Czech Republic, so there are quite a few people to meet. Most of the sessions that I have to attend are for the Central Europe group, which is composed of Hungary, Slovakia, and Czech, so it's sad to bond with people that won't be in Czech with me and my team. But hey, it gives us more reasons to visit the surrounding countries :)
-On week nights, we have something called Practicum, which is basically time that we practice teaching English at local churches. We really are teaching though, so in a way, it doesn't feel like practice. Each teacher has to teach a 40-minute lesson twice a week, and yes, lesson planning is involved. Since I did not go to school for teaching, this is a very new concept, and one that I have not yet fully embraced. It's getting easier, but this is definitely an area where I could use prayer.
Gah, there is so much more that I could say. This past week has flown by, so I can only imagine what the next two weeks of training will be like. Here are some highlights from this past week:
*I killed my first cockroach. It was in our bathroom and I was the first one up, so I was the lucky one who stumbled across it. What an experience, and quite messy I might add.
*I tried tofu for the first time. It was in a noodle stir-fry, and surprisingly, it wasn't terrible.
*I took public transportation for the first time. Oh Pasadena Metro-bus, how fun you are when packed with every single person from training.
*I've started a new devotional/journal experience that I am desperately trying to do daily. So far, so good. More details and musings to come :)
On August 19th, I'll be flying overseas with the rest of the Czech group (there are about 20 of us, 12 being brand new TeachOverseas teachers like me). Of the 20, my team includes two other girls: Shelly and Chelsea. However, there are also two other girls in the same city of Ostrava, so it's like one big team that's composed of two two families.
So there you have it. Hellogoodbye. Goodbye parents and friends in Indiana, Hello everyone at training. Soon to come: Goodbye new friends from training, Goodbye USA, and Hello Ostrava.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
time keeps on slipping...
it's june 22nd. i leave for training on july 14th. that's about 3 weeks. WOW. and time keeps on slipping...
soon i will be on the plane to pasadena for four weeks of training. by then, i think the feelings of nervousness and excitement will have hit me like a ton of bricks. but for now, even with the uncertainty of this next year, i simply have a peace. it's hard to explain, and so i know without a doubt that this peace is from the Lord.
a good friend of mine recently spoke in her update letter about how God uses the "flashlight method." He only lets us see so far in front of our feet, and it gets frustrating at times. we think, "well thanks, God. but could you just turn the overhead light on for a moment so that i could feel like i know where i'm going?" of course, if He let us use the overhead light even for a second, we would totally freak out. instead, we have to trust Him. therefore, this verse will be on my heart not only as i prepare to go, but all throughout this next year overseas:
thank you, lisa, for putting this verse in your last update letter. it's a great encouragement to me as God uses the flashlight method to direct my steps :)
all my visa paperwork is completed, my flight to pasadena purchased, and every support letter sent out. however, there is still much to do. i won't bore you with the details, but here are some specific prayer requests/praises:
- i am about halfway to my goal of $12,000! that itself is a huge accomplishment, but please pray for more support to come in as God provides.
- i get to stay with some dear friends in corona (where i grew up!) for a few days prior to training! this is a huge praise :)
- please pray for my parents as they adjust to the idea of me being gone for a year. even during college, i've always been close to home, and this is going to be a big change for them (and the dog!).
- pray for this sense of peace to continue, as it would be so easy to be overcome with worry regarding the uncertainty of this next year.
that's all for now. i'm not feeling too literary, but it's been awhile since my last post, and the date of my sendoff is quickly approaching. thanks for reading, and thanks especially for your prayers!
soon i will be on the plane to pasadena for four weeks of training. by then, i think the feelings of nervousness and excitement will have hit me like a ton of bricks. but for now, even with the uncertainty of this next year, i simply have a peace. it's hard to explain, and so i know without a doubt that this peace is from the Lord.
a good friend of mine recently spoke in her update letter about how God uses the "flashlight method." He only lets us see so far in front of our feet, and it gets frustrating at times. we think, "well thanks, God. but could you just turn the overhead light on for a moment so that i could feel like i know where i'm going?" of course, if He let us use the overhead light even for a second, we would totally freak out. instead, we have to trust Him. therefore, this verse will be on my heart not only as i prepare to go, but all throughout this next year overseas:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9
thank you, lisa, for putting this verse in your last update letter. it's a great encouragement to me as God uses the flashlight method to direct my steps :)
all my visa paperwork is completed, my flight to pasadena purchased, and every support letter sent out. however, there is still much to do. i won't bore you with the details, but here are some specific prayer requests/praises:
- i am about halfway to my goal of $12,000! that itself is a huge accomplishment, but please pray for more support to come in as God provides.
- i get to stay with some dear friends in corona (where i grew up!) for a few days prior to training! this is a huge praise :)
- please pray for my parents as they adjust to the idea of me being gone for a year. even during college, i've always been close to home, and this is going to be a big change for them (and the dog!).
- pray for this sense of peace to continue, as it would be so easy to be overcome with worry regarding the uncertainty of this next year.
that's all for now. i'm not feeling too literary, but it's been awhile since my last post, and the date of my sendoff is quickly approaching. thanks for reading, and thanks especially for your prayers!
Monday, May 17, 2010
and this is how it feels...
i graduated from college on saturday, and the classic "graduation song" by vitamin c was on repeat in my head no matter how many times i tried to shut it off. sure, it's a bit ridiculous, but it was relevant. if you're unfamiliar with the song, or simply need a refresher, visit youtube.
being done with college is such a strange feeling. four years just doesn't quite seem long enough. i'd be perfectly happy if we had four years of normal classes and then one year to relax, play with friends, and simply figure things out. unfortunately, the piece of paper (aka diploma) i received on saturday was expensive enough with just four years on my tab.
now it's time to move on. am i ready? in some ways, yes. but in other ways, no. by all means, i'm glad to be done with papers, exams, and presentations. that part of the college experience wasn't exactly the most entertaining aspect. it's nice to be able to read books for fun now, instead of studying textbooks and wishing that i could learn via osmosis. however, it was unnerving to pack up all my stuff and know that i wouldn't be moving it all back in after the summer. side note: isn't it crazy how much junk one can accumulate over the course of four years? i'm attempting to break my bad habit of keeping everything "just in case."
currently, i'm sitting in my room with boxes and bags littering the floor, and i'm wondering what to do with all of it. what do i keep? what needs to go? each item has at least one memory attached to it, which is why it's so hard to just throw something away, even though i know deep down that i'll never need to use it again. if i hold onto everything, it makes it that much harder to move on with life. i'm learning that i can't keep everything from the past. not only does it weigh me down, but it makes it difficult to press forward. God gave our human minds a great capacity for filing memories. for example, just because i finally throw away those notes from high school (yes, i still have some...don't judge me) doesn't mean that i'll forget the experiences i had in those classes. perhaps if i take the time to de-clutter my life at least a little bit, focusing on the present and the future will be easier. plus, it will make navigating my room much less dangerous :)
being done with college is such a strange feeling. four years just doesn't quite seem long enough. i'd be perfectly happy if we had four years of normal classes and then one year to relax, play with friends, and simply figure things out. unfortunately, the piece of paper (aka diploma) i received on saturday was expensive enough with just four years on my tab.
now it's time to move on. am i ready? in some ways, yes. but in other ways, no. by all means, i'm glad to be done with papers, exams, and presentations. that part of the college experience wasn't exactly the most entertaining aspect. it's nice to be able to read books for fun now, instead of studying textbooks and wishing that i could learn via osmosis. however, it was unnerving to pack up all my stuff and know that i wouldn't be moving it all back in after the summer. side note: isn't it crazy how much junk one can accumulate over the course of four years? i'm attempting to break my bad habit of keeping everything "just in case."
currently, i'm sitting in my room with boxes and bags littering the floor, and i'm wondering what to do with all of it. what do i keep? what needs to go? each item has at least one memory attached to it, which is why it's so hard to just throw something away, even though i know deep down that i'll never need to use it again. if i hold onto everything, it makes it that much harder to move on with life. i'm learning that i can't keep everything from the past. not only does it weigh me down, but it makes it difficult to press forward. God gave our human minds a great capacity for filing memories. for example, just because i finally throw away those notes from high school (yes, i still have some...don't judge me) doesn't mean that i'll forget the experiences i had in those classes. perhaps if i take the time to de-clutter my life at least a little bit, focusing on the present and the future will be easier. plus, it will make navigating my room much less dangerous :)
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
it's the end of the world as we know it...
okay...so it's not the end of the world, but it's the end of life as i know it. school has been my life for as long as i can remember, but this saturday, i will graduate from huntington university, and a new chapter of my life will begin.
as i sit here at my computer and sip delicious macadamia nut coffee from my rainbow & unicorn mug, i can't help but think about how my life is about to change. i'm not going down the "normal" post-graduate path of finding a job and looking for a place to live. instead, i'm moving back home for a couple months before heading to the czech republic for a year to teach conversational english.
yeah. i'm totally excited, but it's funny how God works. if you would have asked me a few months ago what i was planning to do after graduation, teaching conversational english in a foreign country would not have been any of the options. don't get me wrong, it's a swell opportunity. it's just that swell opportunities tend to evade me. either that, or i don't think that i'm qualified to look into said opportunity. but this time, God dropped this opportunity of a lifetime right into my lap. wow, i've said "opportunity" way too many times. forgive me.
anyway, what i'm trying to say is this: i have so many emotions swirling inside me right now. i'm excited for this new adventure, i'm nervous about trying to fund-raise over $10,000, and i'm blessed to be able to move back home and have the support of my parents before leaving the country. at the same time that i'm ready to be done with school, actually leaving is another story. it's a very bittersweet feeling. i'm moving on with my life, but there are beautiful people here on campus that not only will i not see for a year, but i may never see again. that fact simply breaks my heart. i don't care if we are acquaintances that only chatted in class or on the mall, or if we are good friends...you all hold a special place in my heart.
as i sit here at my computer and sip delicious macadamia nut coffee from my rainbow & unicorn mug, i can't help but think about how my life is about to change. i'm not going down the "normal" post-graduate path of finding a job and looking for a place to live. instead, i'm moving back home for a couple months before heading to the czech republic for a year to teach conversational english.
yeah. i'm totally excited, but it's funny how God works. if you would have asked me a few months ago what i was planning to do after graduation, teaching conversational english in a foreign country would not have been any of the options. don't get me wrong, it's a swell opportunity. it's just that swell opportunities tend to evade me. either that, or i don't think that i'm qualified to look into said opportunity. but this time, God dropped this opportunity of a lifetime right into my lap. wow, i've said "opportunity" way too many times. forgive me.
anyway, what i'm trying to say is this: i have so many emotions swirling inside me right now. i'm excited for this new adventure, i'm nervous about trying to fund-raise over $10,000, and i'm blessed to be able to move back home and have the support of my parents before leaving the country. at the same time that i'm ready to be done with school, actually leaving is another story. it's a very bittersweet feeling. i'm moving on with my life, but there are beautiful people here on campus that not only will i not see for a year, but i may never see again. that fact simply breaks my heart. i don't care if we are acquaintances that only chatted in class or on the mall, or if we are good friends...you all hold a special place in my heart.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
