losts and founds

In an overview to my first year of living in a foreign country, I would like to end it with a look at my losts and founds.

Lost
When I missed my train from Budapest not 1 time but 2 times, on my way home from Christmas holidays.. :)

I tried to cook pizza in a pan on my stove and melted a plastic plate that I left on top of the pizza...why I did this, I am not too sure...

The first time I tried to find the school I was teaching in I got so frustrated that I couldn't find it (gave up) and called someone to only find that I was standing in front of the school.

Every time I go shopping and the person at the register happens to ask me something other than I common expressions I know in Hungarian and I get super confused and just smile and say "I speak English."

When we rode a train from Prague illegally because we thought we bought a 2 way ticket that was actually a 1 way and I proceeded to bargain with Hungarians on our train to exchange my HUF for their Czech Crowns so we could pay for the ticket.

I could have an entire series on tram stories but my favorite: when I tried to board a crowded tram and decided against it but the tram waited there while I awkwardly stared at everyone on it...then an older couple welcomes me on, makes some space for me, and the woman just puts her arms around my waist hugging me like my own personal seatbelt.

When I rode my bike for the first time in Miskolc I took a safe bike path to the fitness center where I do Zumba classes but had to cross a busy intersection where I bounced over a huge curb that I didn't notice and EVERYTHING in my basket popped out of the front of it, like water bottle, keys, wallet, and phone. The magical Nokia block phone...broke into 3 pieces and was still working perfectly.

Found
Communicating with a man on the tram about the Miskolc National Theater in Hungarian :)

Talking with a girl from the orphanage about her suicidal thoughts and seeing those thoughts subside and a beautiful, full of life girl return

Getting to see some of the most beautiful places in Europe from Poland's Christmas Market Square, Czech Republic's castles, Germany's street art, Slovakia's mountains, Belgium's architecture and food, and Hungary's sea :)

Living across an ocean but being reminded of where I am from everyday when I see Jack Daniel's signs in every pub and restaurant and on people's shirts

Finally opening the door at church all by myself (Alyssa, I did it!)

Having numerous conversations with students who are willing to confide in me about their struggles and are transparent with me about their lives...Praise God that I can influence them and give them spiritual advice.

Sitting at the dinner table(s) at the orphanage, which are filled with about 10 people including myself waiting for a hot meal and looking around and thinking, this is home :) That is what I would miss if I didn't have this family from the orphanage. This is what home is to me, a house filled with joyful, loving people just like my family in Tennessee.

Dear Hungary, I am staying.

Hey you all my beloved fans!                                             March 9, 2012

I apologize for not telling you officially until now but I made my decision to teach in Miskolc for next year. This place has truly been one of God's greatest blessings to my life, where I have not been so challenged, empowered, convicted, and grown so much in my walk with Jesus that I could not think of a better way to spend my next school year.

Not to mention how much more I can deepen and strengthen the relationships I have made here and continue my ministry with my students and at the orphanage!

I realized word got around when a fellow teacher from my organization wrote on my Wall and I felt terrible that you probably didn't hear my decision from me first.

But I am so thrilled to think of what more God can do in this city through me and the precious Hungarian people that I come into contact with, people that I can show love, the Father's joy, and real the real peace and light that comes only from knowing Him.

I am interested in starting a English Club at Frater and doing a real consistent, intentional bible study with some of my students too. 

xoxo

Happy Women's Day to all! (international holiday not celebrated by the U.S. I'm not sure why...)

Love, Baby Abs

Sarah Grace Welbourn sgwelbourn@gmail.com	Mar 9
to me

I already knew abou this! No one spoiler alerts anything for me about your life. Unless you have a boyfriend or are adopting a highway or something. I didn't know about that. Are you?

 

Well, it makes my heart heavy to have you so far away...but I am so happy for you!

You are my girl.

Love,

Sarah

Joan Welbourn joanwelbourn@gmail.com	Mar 9
to me

Dear Abs,
Everyday is women's day!  (not really).  Love you, Mom

Mark and Maria Welbourn mnm.welbourn@gmail.com	Mar 9
to me

That's great Abby. I am so happy for you. Wish we could see you this spring. Hope you can visit this summer. Love you! mark

Abigel's Name Day

Feb. 16, 2012

I wanted to share with you all about the awesome surprise I had one week ago today and that was my Hungarian name day :)

I know you all might be interested to know what the heck this is because it's a European traditional celebration of names but basically...

each day of the calendar in many European countries has a name or names connected to it and it happens that there is a Hungarian version of my name which is Abigel, so I celebrated my day, which was February 9! It is kind of like a birthday, people give small gifts and wish you happy nameday (boldog névnappot) and that's it.

But I mentioned to my roommate Alyssa that I have never had a surprise party before, (like months ago) and she remembered and planned me the best party ever. It was even better than my birthday.

It began with my friend and translator Adam picking me up at my flat for an afternoon of hot chocolate at our favorite place called the Mives (10 points for the person who can correctly pronounce that!), where Tibi makes you very personalized cups of tea and hot chocolate and decorates them with perfection. You may remember my blog post about this place, I fondly call it the "Hot Chocolate Hideaway." It is filled with odd trinkets and board games, not to mention old Hungarian books and money; and Tibi is the hippie artist owner of the place..he wears John Lennon glasses :)

Then we came home and I was completely astonished to find my flat filled with about 20 of my students from different classes and both schools I teach at, all there to celebrate with me :) Alyssa did a great job and I couldn't have been happier.

The video of my surprise is below:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150568385009748&notif_t=like

I move to Hungary and become a singer...

A funny thing about living in a foreign country is that because you are a foreigner...it is often assumed that you have a wonderful singing voice. I still haven't pinpointed the underlying reason for this, but it is a working theory of mine. I am told all the time that my accent is wonderful and that I must be a singer, which if you know me is not true and so random but I am not going to tell anyone the truth.

So when one of my coworkers approached me about singing along with the student band at their ball last Friday, I was not surprised and was also not going to pass up that opportunity. Who gets to do something like that in their life???

Now you get to experience it too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUh0vVqeUFg&feature=player_embedded&fb_source=message

Go to 23:00 is where my song begins...

You can hear him introduce me saying "and now for the star of the night, Abby Welbourn!" and yes the students are chanting my name. It was surreal. I was channeling my inner rock star for this. 

Sorry the footage looks a little early 90's and it is quite difficult to see but you can get the gist.

YouTube - Videos from this email

Sarah Grace Welbourn sgwelbourn@gmail.com	Feb 7
to me, David, Joan, Leah, Mark, Steve, George, Hannah, Weeatgood, Joan

Abby!

Hahahaa. This is my favorite thing you have ever done. Only you could go to a country where you don't know anyone and then have the whole room full of strangers chanting your name in less than a year.

You guys: SPOILER ALERT! Abby sings "Let It Be" in this video...and someone crowd surfs after it. Bwahahaha.

Love yall

Joan Welbourn joanwelbourn@gmail.com	Feb 7
to Sarah, me, David, Leah, Mark, Steve, George, Hannah, Weeatgood, Joan

This video is amazing!  Abby you are so cute and wonderful!  How brave of you to become a singer for the
evening.  I know all your sessions with Singstar on Play
Station must have really helped you prepare for this
opportunity.   I also enjoyed the dance performance at the end of the video to "Hit the Road Jack" which is a song from the 40s or 50s.  The low lighting reminded me
of watching a documentary.  I liked how everyone was
having fun, and no one was drinking, doing drugs, throwing up or dirty dancing.  Love from your fan, Mom

"Let me call you cheposh, I'm in love with you"

An e-mail in which I inform my family about a very important Hungarian word...

Hey Family,                                                                                            Jan. 27, 2012

Remember "Let me call you Cheposh, I'm in love with you," the fun bedtime song from our childhoods?

Well I learned from my students today that "Csipás" (the Hungarian spelling of our Cheposh) is a very very old Hungarian word that either means "little child" or "eye gunk" (like when you wake up and you have crusties in your eyes).

How funny is that?? Many of my students were not even familiar with this word csipás because it is so old fashioned to them. But my best and favorite student knew the meanings and we all learned something today.

Now you did too!

Love everyone and missing you alot.

Abs

A Charlie Brown Christmas...

In December, Alyssa and I had a great Christmas surprise when we were given a tiny Christmas tree from the Frater school :)

The Hungarians don't decorate their trees nor put them up until the day before Christmas (celebrated the 24th) or on the day of Christmas. Alyssa and I badly want a Christmas tree for our flat. We have been talking about it since October. I see a potted plant that has fallen over after the crazy wind we had the night before; it is outside but within the school grounds. I think, well hey that could be the perfect little tree, it looked like a Christmas tree on a smaller scale. I asked Zsuzsa about it and she told me that no she will find something better and will have some students transport it to my flat. I am sooooo excited!!

When I arrived this afternoon, I saw the most pitiful little tree (no resemblance to a Christmas tree) with only a few branches, just enough to hold several ornaments. I just laughed and thought this is the tree from Charlie Brown's Christmas!!

Christmas WAS around the corner...

Just as another way of updating you on my life in Miskolc...this was another e-mail I sent my friends and family around Christmas time. I thought it would be a nice way for you to get a glimpse at a day of my life here :)

To all of my biggest fans in the U.S.A.---                                                                         November 2011

Christmas is just around the corner and I read a statistic the 20% of people have already started their Christmas shopping (aka Joan Welbourn, the perpetual Christmas shopper). So now that it is almost Christmas and I have lived here for about 3 months, I wanted to give you a picture of my life.

What the heck am I up to???

Let's take a glimpse at my Hungarian life by reading about my typical day:

8:50: teach 12th Grade English class at Frater high school

10:30: teach 11th grade English class at Frater high school

11:45: eat lunch in the school cafeteria with my colleagues 

12:15: take the tram to Zrinyi Ilona high school

12:30: teach 9th Grade English class at Zrinyi high school

1:30: teach 10th Grade English class at Zrinyi high school

2:30: write lesson plans, grade papers, and prepare for tomorrow

4:00: meet a student for coffee or run errands with my roommate Alyssa

6:30: teach a bible study at Miskolc orphanage 

8:00 cook dinner, send some e-mails, or Skype with friends and family

***All of these activities are well and good and surely enough to keep me busy and involved in positive ways here in this city. But the point of all of this is the people that I interact with on a daily basis. From students to other teachers, to the orphanage children and other friends I have the opportunity every day to be a Light to people that don't know about Jesus. Please pray for me to be in tune with the Spirit because if it were up to me, I couldn't make any impact here, it is completely the Holy Spirit in me doing this great work. Pray that I wouldn't get caught up in the schedule or the busyness that it creates but that I would be open to the movement of the Spirit to step out of the schedule when He asks.

Thanks for your support with prayers and reading my blog!!!

Love and blessings,

Abby