The Denver Waltz

Here's a fun post we've all been waiting for!

LIfe in Austria is fun. Different, similar... but fun none the less. I really enjoy the adventure. At least, I'm learning more and more to really enjoy the adventure. Something that's been a mark of my character- thriving on change -has been seriously confronted and, I hope in the end, confirmed. I love being here. I really love being here. I can make no claim that it gets any easier with the passing days. Quite the opposite may very well be true. The longer I am here, the more I feel my heart deepening to this people and this place. Also, the longer I am here, the more I feel my heart deepening for the American people. It is interesting to see the Lord developing my heart for two very different places at the same time. I've never been such a patriot as I am now. I take that back- I'm really no more patriotic, but my heart to see the US changed and brought to life has really been established. It's a good feeling. That being said, I am still not sure yet when I will return to the States for "long term." My Visa currently allows me to stay in Austria until the end of October. At which point, I can either some how extend my Visa or return to America. I'm considering my options for grad school. I really want to attain my masters and I need to do that some time in the relatively near future (hopefully, before I forget the content from my undergrad career). This is something that weighs heavily into consideration for the next year. Of course, if I go "home" in October, I will probably spend the rest of the 2009-2010 school year working. I'd take that time frame to prepare necessary entry requirements. On the other hand, staying here is still appealing to me. I think that staying in Austria for a second year would best be accomplished through a Fulbright teaching assistantship. This would provide a higher income than I currently receive and would release me from University classes. We'll see what happens. I plan now to apply for the Fulbright position. Once I am accepted or declined, I can then make my official decision about staying. At least, that way I will have an option and by then, the Lord will give me clear direction of what I am supposed to do. Pray that I get on my game for this application process.

Now, about the events of my current life.

Christmas week was wonderful. I went to Parschlug with Julia to enjoy her family. We really had a great time. Christmas Eve was spent with a morning of relaxing. We had Fondue for dinner..mmm it was so good. Julia's dad prepared the homemade sauces for dipping and we devoured choice pork, beef, and turkey together. For sides, we had potato salad and a few other salads. After all was said and done, we all ate WAY too much. I'd do it again. :-) Christmas day was spent with Julia's extended family on her mother's side. It was a bit stressful but still good. This large family meal went much better for me than the last one I attended. Understanding the language better helps, being known by most of the relatives allows more room for a welcome, and also knowing the majority of relatives makes it easier to know what to expect. The after wore us all out. We watched Prince Caspian together when we got back to Julia's parent's house. This was the perfect way to unwind. On the 26th, we travelled to Julia's aunt and uncle on her father's side of the family. While most of the family spent the morning skiing, Julia, her mom, Joy, and I went for a nice walk.

Saturday evening, two of three American visitors arrived! Steph and Hannah came directly to Graz from the States and Jess arrived in Vienna from Barcelona. Sunday, we retrieved Jess from the train station in Bruck and then headed to the Grüner See for a walk and fresh mountain air. Julia's parents fed us a large, delicious lunch (as always) of schnitzel and rice. We returned to Graz after allowing time for Julia's parents to bless each of the three visitors. Monday we hung out in Graz. I met Julia and the girls in the early afternoon for Running Sushi (yummy) and we enjoyed a walk/mini tour of the Schlossberg and parts of the downtown area from Regine. This tour was interrupted by a coffee break at the Sky Bar. When we were nearly ice cubes, we returned home. Tuesday we went to a Thermalbad (HOT SPRINGS!) for a girls day relaxing. There were 7 of us total (4 americans, Julia, Doris, and a friend of Doris') Aside from Steph having some sort of 24-hour bug, it was an indescribable day. We were all well relaxed by the time we left. We returned to Graz and shared a nice meal together on BLAST Hill (where Julia stayed with the 3 girls) and watched the movie Luther. Wednesday, Julia dropped the girls downtown to do some shopping. I met them in mid-afternoon when we went to Stefan's apartment for warmth. We had already planned to meet at Stefan's for a nice dinner and hanging out with the house group. We had a lot of fun celebrating New Year's Eve. We made browning and chocolate chip cookies for dessert from our chili con carne. After dinner, we played a game called Activity Code. After an interrupted time of free worship, we decided to go downtown. We brought in the New Year with Glühwein and a terrible band followed by a terrible DJ. The tradition in Austria is to dance the waltz at midnight.  Of course, a waltz was played.  What was most interesting, however, was the song AFTER the waltz was John Denver's Country Roads.  I'm convinced the DJ heard rumor of a group of Americans celebrating with them.  After Country Roads, we had our toast and then moved into the thick of the crowd and had a great time dancing and just being silly. It was a great way to spend my first Austrian New Year's Eve! Today, Julia took the girls to Vienna as they fly to Barcelona tomorrow. Saying goodbye made me sad and left me feeling a bit lost, but still good. I am so glad to have been blessed with time with these girls. It was great to re-establish a relationship with Steph and to get to know the other two girls.

I am now trying to iron out plans to go to the Munich area for the weekend. I was planning to go to Zagreb but that didn't work out. Since I was already planning a weekend out of town, I thought I'd try to visit Rodrigue and Helen while I can. Hopefully, we figure out the train schedule and find me a great cheap option to travel to them. If I find it's expensive, then I'll be here for the weekend, but I really hope to be able to see them.

Here are some pictures from our day-after-Christmas-walk and from our New Year's Eve game time! Enjoy!  For more of my pictures check out the album here on facebook.  For Suky's addition pictures from New Years, check this link.

They clearly weren't very impressed by the rules.

These two were quick couch buddies!

We (plus Andi) made for the BEST team (WE WON)!!

finally worth reading

Many of you have been asking about things and I realize that my updates as of late have been scarce and really only about the logistics of my staying here. Sorry for that. I finally have some time this afternoon before church so I will see what I can do to provide a worth while update.

By category--

Work:
Teaching in Eggersdorf is going well. We had some bumps along the way with my availability. As these things have settled, my time at the school has become more enjoyable. The students are from 11-14 years old. We have a great time together. In some cases, I will teach an entire class about American culture or geography. Some lessons, I will rotate small groups thrughout the class duration and we will practice reading and speaking. Other lessons still, I meet with a small group for the entire class time and we only practice speaking. I want to teach the students to love language and to enjoy using English. I remember my first years of learning Spanish were terrible for me. I saw no real purpose and therefore, did not want to learn. I don't want that for these kids. I know that language learning is not easy, and for some, it is right-out difficult. These are the kids I like working with the most. How do I teach them to enjoy English? We talk about fun things! Yeah, sure they love learning about American sports, food, school systems, etc. but I am willing to talk with them about anything they enjoy. If the students in a small group only want to talk about their plans for the weekend, that is okay with me, so long as they use English. The kids have become pretty warm toward me and really even take good care of me. They also help me with my German in some small, fun, and important ways. All in all, we have a great time together. I am at the school for a total of 7 lessons (periods) each week.

Uni:
Learning German is not easy but is is becoming more and more fun for me. I am now able to understand very well and my speech is improving week by week. I look forward to the day I can communicate with out translation!

BLAST:
things with BLAST slowed down for the last month but they are picking up speed (QUICKLY) again. We have three schools coming up the last week of November into the first week of December. We also have a BLAST Team meeting next weekend, so Sula and I have been busy organizing and trying to keep up. All of this work is even more difficult to manage now that we both are full swing into the semester and we neither of us has a consistent way to travel to the office.

OTHER CATEGORIES--
Crossways:
Sparing you the details, as of about three weeks ago, I was adopted as the bass player for Crossways, Julia's band. Sadly, we've only had one rehearsal since I joined. We have our next performance/contest on December 12. I'm looking forward to it, though I still have a lot of practicing to do.

Culture:
I am attending my first Austrian Matura Ball next weekend. It's along the lines of a prom but a bit different. The purpose is to celebrate the graduating class. "Matura" is the name of the final exams that Austrian students have to pass. I'd explain it to you in more detail, but I'm not really sure how it is, yet.

Ministry:
Housegroup has been AWESOME these last weeks. We've been really growing as a family and learning to love each other as such. Steve Espamer, from Pennsylvania, has been with us for the last few weeks. Steve comes to Austria a few times a year for missions. This trip, he brought a friend named Ron. These two guys are great. It has been a real treasure of a blessing to have them joining our house group for these weeks. Last night, I went with them to a town called Wolfsberg to do some teens ministry. There was first a service combing the youth groups from the churches of Wolfsberg. Some people from 2 hours away even came for this service. There were for sure 8 first time salvations!! Many teens were touched in great ways, though- some healed, some encouraged, some just learning more about this God who loves them. After the service, we went back into town to do some bar ministry. We had some awesome conversations with people! All in all, it was an astonishing trip!

Now:
I am going to take my laundry out of the washing machine so it can dry. I think I might take a nap or watching something that doesn't require any thinking until it is time to leave for church.

I'll include some pictures of Graz in the fall, my drive to work, and Wolfsberg.