Surprises

Sunday Surprise

This week has been full of surprises.  Last Saturday, as I walked to the market, I rehearsed what I wanted to say to the pastor about joining the church.  He is a teacher at heart, explaining from Scripture the reason behind decisions and rituals that we engage in. I figured I would ask if I might give my testimony when I joined the church.  I planned to give a couple of weeks because I thought the translator might need the time to prepare for translation.  I went to the church early so that I could listen to the rehearsal of the worship team and perhaps identify some of the songs that they sang so I could find the English translation.  I discovered that many people had arrived early and the worship team was not rehearsing. There was a prayer time.  One of the first ladies that I met at the church split us into different groups and gave us different topics to pray for: the worship service, the university ministry, and those who were absent because of sickness.  She asked us to continue praying for ourselves, our families, and those in our small prayer circles. After the prayer time, the pastor asked the translator to talk to him. When they came back, the translator asked if I would tell my testimony before the communion service. The pastor's teaching point was about communion and that those who participate must be baptized believers and, I think, members of the congregation. They wanted to hear my testimony before the communion service. The pastor said a couple of sentences, but after I gave my couple of sentences about my profession of faith and baptism, he asked me to tell more about why I was here.  He asked me to step outside with the translator for a few minutes while the congregation conferred about whether I should join. When I came back, it was a unanimous decision.  The members welcomed me warmly with smiles, handshakes, and hugs.

Monday Surprise

The classrooms at the university are well-equipped with smartboards, projectors, and speakers. For the last month, I have been preparing slide presentations and organizing my lessons to take advantage of the technology. I know that I should also have a Plan B (and possibly C) for technological problems, and I did, though it was not so clearly organized. I arrived in the classroom a half hour early to acquaint myself with the technology.  I had to go low tech. I could not figure out how to get the projector to work. Fortunately, there was a whiteboard marker available, so I was able to write down some of the important information.  I also had a "Chat Box" with hundreds of interesting questions, which I had planned to play. After class, my culture coach showed me the setting on the computer to use to make the projector work.  For the rest of the week, I was able to project the slide presentations.

Wednesday Surprises

Not only are the classrooms equipped with technology, but our administrative tasks are also governed by technology.  The syllabus, materials for the class (including tests), assignment submission, and communication between students all happens in a learning management system.  To get into the system, one needs a username and password. On Tuesday, I figured out my username from an email that the system sent to me about changes made to my class.  Unfortunately, I did not have a password, so I could not see what these changes were. The password was to be sent to the department office in a sealed envelop. Supposedly, the envelop was entered into the campus mail system the previous week. It arrived on Wednesday morning. 

I don't have any classes scheduled for Wednesdays, but during briefing was advised to keep it open for meetings from 2pm to 3pm.  The director had sent out several emails during the week; one of them had a schedule of curriculum meetings and departmental meetings.  This week was a curriculum meeting. I didn't know whether I needed to be there.  When I went to pick up my sealed envelop, I sent my culture coach an invitation for lunch. She had classes most of the day and had brought her lunch with her. She said she would see me at 1:45 for the meeting. It would be a short one, she said. I arrived a little late because I had decided to go home to do laundry and eat lunch. It was simply a meeting to introduce the new instructors. It was over before 2:00. 

After the meeting, I stood in line to talk to the secretary. I could login to the system, but could only access one of my classes.  While waiting in line for my turn, the head of department invited me to a party they were having after the curriculum meeting.  The evening before, the head had sent an email about the status of classes. My six o' clock classes have light enrollment (two on Monday, five on Tuesday, six on Thursday) and are in danger of being cancelled. The email said that there were some foreign students who could not get visas and had not signed up for classes yet; she was sure that we could fill the classes.  She would need the teacher to be flexible and to consult with the students online about their classes.  Because my classes have low enrollment, the foreign students were being advised to sign up for my classes.  One of the students emailed me on Wednesday and we arranged to meet on Thursday during my office hour. She has signed up for three classes--all with me.  She is a delightful lady. 

Colors of Autumn

Saturday Surprise

For the last couple of days, I've been holing up in my apartment, uploading materials to the learning management system and preparing lessons for this week. On Saturday mornings, there is a farmer's market near the water tower, so I left the house around ten o' clock to do my marketing and practice my numbers in Hungarian.  I got two right without the vendors having to resort to writing the price anywhere. The lady who sold the baby spinach was very clear and understandable and she only told me the price, which only needed three words.  The man who sold the grapes and tomato was also fairly clear, but the price was five hundred ninety five. Honestly, I didn't hear the ninety five; I just gave him 600 and let him give me the change.

On my walk this evening, I noticed the trees are beginning to take on the colors of autumn. I thought these leaves were quite interesting. The reds and oranges are on the edges, but the parts of the leaf near the stem are still green.