So I fell off the face of the earth....

My sincere apologizes for not updating for a millenia. I've had a lot to say, but at the end of the day, I'm so tired it's hard to organize my thoughts. So this will not be too big, just an overview with some flashbacks to come as I fill in the blanks of the last few weeks.
To be perfectly honest, updating this blog hasn't been the only thing I dropped in discipline. It's funny how sometimes we forget how important an intimate relationship with Christ is when we need him most. That pretty much describes the last few weeks, but I'm back on track now. I decided to start James and see what God has to say there, for no other reason than divine inspiration. In an example of God's omnipotence, when visiting friends in Bratislava, their pastor spoke on the first chapter of James. the passage I was set to read the next day. James 1:19 says we should be "quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry". The pastor mentioned that Slovak translates the word "humbly" in verse 20 as silently. He talked about spending 4 days at a monastery and following their vow of silence. He said be silent outwardly happened much faster than inward silence. That inward silence is shown in so much of ourselves when we are quick to hear and slow to speak. His message went on to continue being amazing and I really appreciated that time with friends out of town.

In generalized hilarity I am a triumphant teacher. Or at least I was two weeks ago. I have a particularly rowdy group of 10th graders who make flatulence noises and are generally disruptive. Deciding, on my second day of teaching them, that I could take no more I went completely teacher face. You know that face a person of authority can make that immediately makes you sorry for anything you have ever done whether they know about it or not. You become oddly sorry for being disruptive, causing global warming and the murder of Abel though you never met the man. (Explanation: In Hungary, students carry a small blue book called the "Ellenorzo". In it are their grades, announcements and any comments teachers may leave for parents to see. To have your ellenorzo written in means that your parents must read it, sign it and then you must meet with your class teacher-a sort of mother hen to the class that freaks out about ellenorzos.) I told them while we were doing this writing activity, we would also play a game. "I want your ellenorzo on the table in front of you now." I said this several times in my most menacing voice possible. They were silent and terrified. The rules of the game were simple. The next person to speak in Hungarian or be disruptive in any way, I was taking their ellenorzo and writing in it. Silence. So they get back to the task. A quieter kid made some smart-aleck remark to his friend. I strode calmly to his table and said "If you can tell me what you said in English, you can keep the ellenorzo." He sighed and shook his head. Note that this was not one of the kids causing trouble earlier, but rules are rules. I took the book and put it in my planner and carried on with the lesson. I looked back over a few minutes later at this kid. Tears welled in his eyes and drifted sadly down his cheeks. I. felt. so. bad. I could tell he was very sorry and gave him the book back at the end of class. It's amazing what you will do when backed into a corner.

Final note: Learning Hungarian is like trying to explain astro-physics to a mosquito. The language has no rules, no order and no logical pattern to follow. Yikes. I never thought I would miss French, but here I am. Wishing I could follow a pattern of verb endings and conjugates. Stupid King Arpad and his stupid new language. 44 letters in the alphabet. really? That's necessary?

Hungarian phrase of the day: Nincs hazi! = No homework!