Because Angels Have Six Packs

This past week my students kept me on my toes! Here's a re-cap:

On Tuesday morning, one of my students arrived late to my Old Testament class. I was in the middle of telling the class to put everthing away and take out paper for a quiz when the door opened and in walked one of my students. I stopped midsentence and shot this very tardy student a look. I waited for him to apologize for being late (per Slovak custom), but he said nothing - he just started grinning. Now, I was not about to continue with class until this had been worked out, so I remained silent and began to tap my foot. My tardy student was unfazed. He simply walked in front of me to the other side of the room and took his seat - beaming the whole time. I started to address him, but he held up his hand in a gesture for me to wait. He began flipping through his notebook, and when he found the paper he was looking for, he proudly handed it to me. I snatched it from him, read it, and busted out laughing. The paper said (twenty times) "I will not be late to class. I will not be late to class. I will not be late to class." It was dated Wednesday of last week. "I wrote it ahead of time - just in case," he announced.



I meet with the third years twice a week for Life and Teachings of Jesus. We wrapped up our unit on "The Worldview of Jesus" about two weeks ago, and we have finally started studying the Gospels. On Monday we read texts pertaining to the Advent of Our Lord. The students learned about how Gabriel came to Mary to announce that she would become pregnant. I asked the students to imagine this scene: You are a twelve or thirteen year old girl who is betrothed to man named Joseph - - and one night an angel comes to you to announce that somehow you would become pregnant - even though you were a virgin. AND to top it off, this wasn't just anyone announcing this to you. Gabriel the archangel had come to pay you a visit. "There is a reason," I told my students, "that Gabriel precludes his message by saying 'Do not be afraid.' Gabriel was huge. He was a strong. He was a warrior. He probably even had a six pack. Wouldn't that terrify you?" I asked. The students laughed, and we continued to discuss Mary's response to the angel's message.

The next class we read texts pertaining to the Nativity of Our Lord. We hear about angels and heavenly hosts appearing to shepherds with their flocks in the fields, and again we learn that the people to whom the angels appear are terrified. "Students," I ask as a review from the class before, "why were the shepherds terrified?" Katka in the front row answered with a cheeky grin and without missing a beat, "Because angels have six packs."

These Boots Are Made For Walking... In BUDAPEST!

This past weekend all the American teachers traveled to Budapest, Hungary. We left school at noon (remember Friday is a half day) and hopped on the first bus we could catch to Banska Bystrica. Because EGT is a boarding school, most of our students also commute at noon on Fridays. To say our bus was full of students was an understatement. I knew that the teachers would probably end up standing the whole hour and half trip to Bystrica, so before we got on the bus I started announcing to the students I saw: "If teachers stand, students get fives." (In Slovakia, a 1 is the equivalent of an "A" and a 5 is an "F.") Most of the students laughed and rolled their eyes, but as soon as I got on the bus, students started hopping up and offering me their seats. I gave one student's seat to Heidi and another to my friend Whitney. Both of them get car sick pretty easily, and it's better for them to be sitting on such windy roads. A few other teachers took some seats as well, but I decided to stand with my students. Standing on the bus for an hour and half with a group of students can make for interesting conversation.

We made our connection from Bystrica to Nitra (Nitra is about an hour outside Bratislava), but sadly we missed our connection from Nitra to Nove Zamka. We ended up catching another train about an hour later. (We didn't know it then, but this would spell bad news for our trip!) Our last connection was flawless, and we arrived in Budapest only an hour and a half later than we originally intended. Unfortunately, we arrived at a different train station. This meant that the directions we had to our hostel were no longer applicable. We decided to hop on the metro and figure out where we needed to go, BUT the metro pass machine would only take forints (the Hungarian currency) in change - very specific change (5's, 20,'s, and 50's). So, we wandered around downtown Pest trying to find enough change for everyone to get a metro pass. After a little scrambling, we took our first metro ride in Budapest.

Standing next to me on the metro was a couple who were very obviously in lust (if not love) with each other. About the time the guy had his tongue in his significant other's each, I started coughing and said to Whitney, "I hate PDA. You know, if I knew know one around us spoke English, I think I would narrate this scene for you." I believe I showed tremendous restraint. It would have been hilarious.

Once we got off the metro, we were lost all over again. By the time we finally made it to our hostel, we had been wandering around Budapest for three hours. We were exhausted. Once we got Heidi to her friend's apartment in Pest, we fell into bed.

The next day, we were up early. We walked and walked and walked. From 8am to 11:15 at night. By the end of the day, my feet were screaming but they were happy to be walking in Budapest.

For those of you who have never been to Budapest, the city is the captial of Hungary, and it is considered an important cultural and economic hub in Central Europe. Budapest is actually a conglomeration of three separate towns: Buda, Pest and Obuda. These cities merged in 1873 and were connected by a series of bridges. The first bridge is known as the "Chain Bridge."
This bridge was considered an architecural marvel. The story is that the architect said he would jump off the bridge if anyone found a flaw in the design. Well, few things are perfect. It turns out a little boy found a flaw - the lions who guard the bridge at both sides are missing tongues. So, the architect jumped off the bridge. I am unsure as to whether he survived the fall.

This is one of the four lions.
You may not be able to see this - but they really do not have tongues.

This is the Chain Bridge. I took this picture of Pest while standing in Buda.
You can see St. Stephen's Basilica in the distance.

We spent Saturday morning in quiet and dignified Buda. This is Buda Castle.

This is St Matthias Church. Much of the building was being remodeled

but what we were able to see was goregous.

The Fisherman's Bastion surrounds parts of St. Matthias Church. The Bastion is large, stone wall that overlooks the Danube River. These are the soldiers standing guard in the wall.

This is Fisherman's Bastion. I think it was the prettiest sight to see in Budapest.

This is the view of Pest from Fisherman's Bastion.

The steepled, red building you see is Hungary's Parliament building.

This is my friend Mark and I after crossed the Chain Bridge back into Pest.

A view of St. Stephen's Basilica from the street.

This is the basilica up close.
The door of the Basilica had woodcarvings of each of Jesus' twelve disciples.


The inscription reads, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

The basilica was not well-lit, but this is a picture of the ceiling.

It seemed like the entire basilica was outlined in gold.

Budapest has a large Jewish population. This is Donahy's Synagogue.

It is the largest synagogue in Europe.

Located in the Jewish district behind the synagogue, the Holocaust Memorial is a beautiful way to honor and remember our Jewish brothers and sisters who have died. I thought the image of the weeping willow surrounding the ten commandments was powerful.

After the synagogue, Eric, Rachel, Becky, Leah and I went to the "House of Terror." This museum was similar to the Holocaust Musem in Washington, DC. We learned about and even experienced pieces of the the casulaties and consequences of nazi and communist oppression in Hungary. I had very little context in which to frame some of these exhibits. For me, one of the more powerful moments in the museum happened when I considered the word "victimizer." One of the exhibits was dedicated to the "vicimtizers" or the communist oppressers who maimed and killed many Hungarians. This word "vicimtizer" (which means "someone who creates victims") haunted me more than a little.

After the Terror Museum, we were able to meet up with the rest of our group for dinner. Budapest has outdoor cafes and restuarants everywhere! Each chair comes with a fleece blanket for patrons to wrap up in. There are also outdoor heaters for those who get too chilly.

Once we were done with dinner, we walked back to the Chain Bridge to take some pictures of Buda and Pest at night.

On Sunday morning, we woke up early, and packed up our belongings. Becky, Rachel, Leah and I hopped on the metro and headed to Hero's Square. This is a monument for important Hungarian leaders who helped Hungary gain freedom and independence.

A short distance away, we were able to see another castle.




I have absoutely no context for what this statue is. All I know is this is a right-handed man wearing a shroud who is slumped in a chair with an open book is his left hand.

The title of this statue is "Anonymous."

In case you couldn't tell from the pictures, it poured rain Sunday morning.

This is the view we passed on the way to 11:00 worship.

The coolest thing we did in Hungary was worship in a CAVE CHURCH on Sunday morning. Sopping wet and carrying everything we brought with us, we went to Gillert Hill Cave Church to attend mass. This is the entrance to the church.

This church has quite a history! In the 1920s, the cave was adopted by monks who used it for both a chapel and a monastery. Then during World War II, it was used as a field hospital by the Nazis. Later the communists boarded up the chapel and it went unused until 1989.

Today, the cave serves as a church building for the Catholics.

This is a picture of the altar.

This is the "narthex."

This is a view of the church's steeple.
This is the outside of the cave church!

By 12:30 on Sunday morning, we had finished worship. There was not a sight-seeing bone left in our bodies. Exhausted but happy (and a little hungry), we headed back to the train station for a nine hour trip back to T-town.

Snezy!

For those of you who don't speak Slovak "Snezy" (pronounced: Sssh-nyez-eee) is Slovak for: "IT IS SNOWING!"

Yes, that's right. It is SNOWING in Tisovec, Slovakia. I couldn't be happier. I told my students yesterday that snow was in the forecast for this week, and I asked them to wear their pajamas inside out last night as good luck for snow. Today, I am happy to report that I had students coming up to me all day saying variations of: "Ms. Large, we wore our pajamas outside in!"

In the last week, the weather has changed drastically: the sun rises at 7 am, and it is setting by 6:30pm. The highs this week are anywhere from -3 celcius to 2 celcius.

I am NOT embarrassed to say that I turned on some Christmas music - just for today.

A Shout Out to Jenna

My eleven year old cousin Jenna, who lives in Toledo, Ohio, has been asking for a picture of me in panty hose. I guess this is a testament of my love for her. Here ya go, Jenna:






I have learned a couple of things from this experience:

• My mother is a sneaky woman. When I went to open the panty hose package, I realized she sent me not one but TWO pairs of panty hose. She is one sick puppy.
• No matter how old you are or how much more mature you get, panty hose will always be awful. They made my legs look green.

It's looking like I'm wearing pants this winter : )

This week at school...

Last Tuesday, my second year students and I had participated in a Seder Meal during class. We had just finished talking about Moses and the Passover, and I thought it would be appropriate for them to experience what I dubbed the "Seder Snack." The students were pretty excited about it. I made a "Seder Snack" Guide and they practiced the prayers and discussion of the Seder in English for homework.

For me, the Seder was a lot of work to prepare for - especially the grocery shopping part. I wasn't sure where to find things such as: matzoh, horse radish, bitter herbs (lettuce???), etc. Luckily, I ran into three of my fifth year boys at the potraviny. I recruited them for help. When even they couldn't find some of the things I was looking for, we decided to take some creative liberties with the Seder (bitter herbs = cabbage, matzoh = a very flat cracker... you get the idea). I think the boys thought I was nuts.

Here are pictures of my second Old Testament class enjoying the Seder.

In other news, I gave my third year Life and Teachings of Jesus classes their first test and collected their journals for the first time. (Every week, the students receive a new prompt to write about in their journals. I collect their journals on test days.) I would like to share with you excerpts from a few of my students' journals.

Because we discussing the Law as it related to the Hebrews in class, the prompt for one week was something like: "What are laws? What are their purpose? Do you consider laws helpful or hurtful? Why? Do you consider yourself law-abiding?" Katarina was very honest in her journal response to the question "Do you consider yourself law-abiding?"

She wrote: "It depends if we are talking laws in the constitution or laws written by mum. Of course I respect laws in the constitution because I don’t want to get arretsed. But sometimes I break mum’s laws because I’m growing up and some of them have lost their need." Slovak teenagers are no different than American teenagers : ).

In another journal entry, students were asked to assume the role of a person living at the time of Jesus. They were supposed write a diary entry from a day in the life of that person. (In class, we had been talking about life at the time of Jesus: housing, transportation, food, government, religious practices, education and marriage.) The students could be anyone they wanted: a rabbi, a young boy, a pregnant woman, a Pharisee, someone who was unclean, an engaged man or woman, etc. My student, Zuzi, made me laugh out loud. She began her journal with these two sentences: "My name is Aylar, and I live in Jerusalem. I am one of King Herod's concubines." Needless to say her entry was entertaining but also very insightful. Another one of my students wrote from the point of view of Joshua, who was a young Jewish boy. His entry said, "Today has been a long day. As usual I went to school this morning, but before I left I ate my breakfast – some grains and milk. In our school, our teacher went on reading and repeating the second book of the Torah (may Elohim bless him) – it was boring." I guess students are picking on my southern habit of saying, "God bless him."

T-Town Q & A

Hello to everyone reading my blog! I hope this entry finds you and your family well. I have been enjoying writing to you all. Over the last few weeks I have received emails and blog comments asking different questions about life as missionary-teacher in Slovakia. I thought it would be appropriate to address these questions here.

The First Question: Bill and Cathy Bolen have asked for a pantyhose update. Here it goes: so, my mom read the blog and sent a pair of pantyhose to me in a care package. I have thanked her, and the pantyhose are sitting in my drawer. I haven’t worn them… yet. In the mean time, I’ve decided to invest in a nice pair of knee highs.

The Second Question: Meredith Brown, one of my best friends from Charlotte (although she is now living in New York City) has stated, “You know Meghan, you never talk about the weather on your blog. How am I supposed to know what’s going on over there? Tell us about the weather.” This is for you, Meredith: I would say that yesterday autumn has officially fallen in Tisovec. When I walked to school in the morning, the Mt Hradova was still green and the weather was mild. When I left school later that day, I noticed that the trees on Hradova had started to color, and there was a mild bite in the air. Today, the weather was in the lower sixties. The temperature should begin dropping into the upper fifties in the next two weeks. There’s also a huge difference in the amount of sunshine now and what we had a month ago. The sunrises around 6:30am and sets by 7pm. All in all, fall in Tisovec is beautiful.

The Third Question: Many of you have asked about the differences between life here and in America. My friends and I have talked and here’s the working list we’ve developed:

1. Like most of Europe, lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day.
2. A small grocery store is called a “potraviny.” These stores about fairly small --- probably 1000 square feet or less. In the potraviny you will find that milk is in a cardboard carton and sits out on the floor. (The milk here is homogenized so it does not need to be refigerated until opened.) You will also find that spaghetti sauce has beans in it, corn and eggs are common toppings for pizza, ketchup is NOT the same (it’s super runny), and juice syrup is offered instead of frozen juice concentrate. At the potraviny (or in the rest of Slovakia) you will not find: peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips. Almost everything comes in very small packaging. (To give you an idea: Heidi and I buy a lot of oats – and we by them by the 5-cup bag.)
3. The light to the bathroom can be found outside the bathroom – usually on the left before you walk in.
4. Trashcans do not have trashbags or liners.
5. Slovaks use the word “phooey,” but they use it differently than we do. “Phooey” means that something is “gross” or “digusting.” Perhaps it is best translated as “eeewwww!”
6. In most public places, you pay twenty or thirty cents to use the bathroom. If you did not bring your own toilet paper, you can buy some for few cents more.
7. As soon as the weather cools down (to about sixty degrees farenheit), everyone begins wearing hats and scarves. This is not necessarily because it’s cold, but because the Slovaks believe that if you aren’t properly covered, you will get sick.
8. Slovakia is a Catholic country. We get most major Catholic holidays and feast days off.
9. Much to my friend Eric’s dismay, lager is the only type of beer that is sold.
10. In Tisovec (and the parts of Slovakia I have seen), there is trash everywhere. People treat the world as if it were their own personal trashbasket.
11. Most showers in Slovakia are not the typical showers we would see in the US. Instead of having a shower head located above your head, they have a removable spray nozzle that is located at waist level. I have stopped saying, “I’m going to shower,” and I have started saying, “I’m going to go spray and wash.”
12. Like most Europeans, Slovaks walk everywhere. If they’re not walking, they are cycling. In fact, some of the teachers at EGT cycle between 30km and 40km to and from school every day.
13. According to Slovak custom, you should always take your shoes off when you walk into someone’s home. Usually, you will be offered “house shoes” which are slippers that are worn inside.
14. If you are a guest for a meal in a Slovak home, it is expected that you will have second or even third helpings. (The Slovaks serve you and determine what size your “helping" is!) When a Slovak offers you an alcoholic beverage (usually a shot), you are expected to drink it. Again, you are also expected to have second or third (sometimes fourth or fifth) “helpings” of this as well. The trick here is to sip slowly. They won’t fill up your glass until it’s empty.
    
    On a personal note, here are some other differences:

• In Slovakia, I have received a new name. The Slovaks call me “Meg-gon.”
• Because Heidi and I are missionaries, we live very simply. Whenever we have dinner with the other missionaries, everyone brings his or her own plate/bowl or cup. We have no TV and no radio. The good news though is that we just got interet in our apartment about three weeks ago. A very sweet neighbor is letting us use his connection for only 8 euros a month.
• Distance and travel times have new meaning. Because Tisovec does not sit on major rail or bus lines, it is not uncommon to have to travel for five or six hours to get anywhere. Usually my friends and I are on the bus for five to twelve hours total on any given weekend.

The Fourth Question: A while ago, my Uncle Jeff asked about the ages of my students. This has actually taken me a while to figure out! There is no standard age for school in Slovakia. Different villages and different schools will begin and end middle school at different ages. Whenever a student has completed middle school – no matter how old or young that student is – he or she is elegible to attend EGT. So, this means that I have some first year students who are 14 and I have some who are turning 16. I have some fifth year students who are 18 – but I also have first year students who are 20.

If anyone else has a question to ask, make a comment on the blog or shoot me an email at meghanlarge@gmail.com, and I’ll be happy to post it here and answer it : )

Peace and love to you.

A Lot to Think About

My fourth year students have given me a lot to think about. In our Reformation class last thursday, we finished the lesson with about five minutes to spare. I asked the students to look over their homework for the next class and ask any questions that they may have. While I was putting my notes and attendance sheets away, I heard a couple of kids start snickering. They were looking out the window at one of the main streets in Tisovec. I ignored them until one student called out, "Ms. Large! Look out the window and you can see a gypsy digging in the trash." You cannot live in Tisovec for a day without seeing the gypsies (also called Roma) pilfering through the dumpsters that line the streets. I responded to this student by saying something like, "You must not have any questions about the reading I have assigned. I hope you're going to get a good grade on the quiz next class." A few minutes later, the whole class erupted in laughter. "Miss Large," I hear. "The gyspy fell in the garbage."

I walked to the window and looked out. Sure enough, a boy between the ages of 8 to 10 had fallen into the dumpster just across the street. I really wasn't sure how to handle this. I figured when it doubt, just be honest. "Guys," I said quietly, "I don't think this is funny.  I know you have strong feelings about the gypsies, but you will never laugh at or mock someone who is hurt or in need of help in my class."

I told my students that I know only a little bit about this situation, and I shared with them that I wanted to know what they thought and felt. I listened as, one by one, each student said things like: "The gypsies are lazy - they don't come to work on time, if they come at all;" "They don't make their children go to school, and there is no law to force them;" "They abuse the welfare system by having a lot of kids just so they can get extra money from the government;" "I'm sick of the Slovak government giving them second chances;" "The gypsies are liars and thieves."
Some of what I have read has corrolated with what my students were saying. The gypsies do have trouble keeping a steady job. In some Roma boroughs, the employment rate is 100%. Many of the children are uneducated. They do depend on the welfare checks they get each month, and the Roma are notorious pickpockets. I told my students that I heard what they were saying, but now what I wanted to hear from them was why they thought that some of the Roma communities had these problems and whether or not they thought that the Slovaks could have contributed to the tension between them and the Roma. I also told my students that this was a topic I wanted to learn much more about and that I would do more reading and research and have more conversations with different people so that I might begin to understand some of the cultural dynamics at work here. Then I shared with them that I would like very much to go to a gypsy village. (The ELCA is committed to facilitating the cooperation of our Roma brothers and sisters and our Slovak brothers and sisters. There are many young adult missionaries who stationed in Roma villages across Slovakia, and I am hoping to visit one of them to learn more.)

Two days after this conversation, I was able to visit a world-famous gypsy ghetto in Kosice called Lunik 9.  The pictures I discreetly took from the safety of our car speak for themselves.

The gypsies in Lunik live without electricity and running water.  The Lunik apartment buildings contain triple their maximum capacity of three thousand occupants.  The gypsies' yards and homes appear to be extensions of the dumpsters that lined the streets of this borough.

Within minutes of our arrival, it was made clear to us that we were unwelcome visitors.  Young people made vulgar gestures at our car, and adults stared at us with open contempt.  Mistrust and hostility were as real and as tangible as the person sitting next to me in the car.  

I have been chewing on my thoughts and feelings from this trip to Lunik all week.  I don't think I know enough about the context and history of the Roma people in Slovakia to fairly and objectively discuss the Roma tensions with my students.  I am, however, willing and eager to listen to their thoughts and feelings.  It is my hope that through these conversations, my students will be inspired not only to listen to each other but to think critically and step outside of their own opinons and consider this situation from other points of view.  I guess we all have a lot to think about.

For anyone who is interested in more information about the Roma, this is an interesting article from the Slovak Specktator, the English newspaper in Slovakia.

http://www.spectator.sk/articles/view/26349/