Back to school!

Well, this is the second week of the NILD training and I am exhausted. It has been more intensive than I ever expected. Good, but tiring!

Little Abby came this week to demonstrate for us the rhythmic writing that is the base of the NILD therapy. Abby's parents are friends of ours and live in the neighborhood.

During each of the sessions, Cheryl would give us "practice" time with our table mates. There are 5 core techniques and about 20 other techniques that level 1 educational therapists (interns) can do with their children, and we were given time each day to practice the techniques we had learned that particular day. I am a participant at this training because I wanted to learn more about learning disabilities and to become more familiar with the NILD therapy, but because I am not going to actually be working with children, and because there were 13 of us, I did not work with a partner to perfect my technique. I took the mid-term exam (made a 97!) but opted out of the final since I'm just there to learn, not to eventually become certified. It was much more fun to audit and reduce the stress!

The second to the last day Cheryl gave the ladies time to work on the last assignment and to prepare for the demonstration (fondly called "demo's") part of the final exam where they have to do an actual 40 minute therapy session with a partner.

Since I wasn't preparing for the final, I decided to provide drinks and snacks in the morning and afternoon for the ladies to munch on while studying. That was fun for me. Much more fun than practicing techniques over and over.

This is our group picture, taken toward the end of our class shortly before the demo's started. Can you tell that everyone is tired and still a little stressed about the final? Our teacher, Cheryl, is in the row behind me in the khaki pants and taupe shirt.

And Friday night when the last demo was completed, all the ladies staying at the Eden House for the training came down to our house for a mexican dinner. Lots of laughing and reminiscing of the past 10 days!!!

We had our final "wrap up" session on Saturday morning and then folks started catching their flights home. I came back to the house Saturday afternoon and started packing for our stateside assignment which begins in less than a week! We fly to Atlanta on Saturday, and will be staying in Marietta, Georgia for the next 5 months.

I'll still be doing the TCK education work long-distance, along with member care "a distance", as the French would say, during our time in America so we'll be busy, but we will find time to visit with family and friends and speak in churches. Before we know it, our time in the US will be up and we'll be heading home. Back to Budapest, that is.

Depending on how the week goes, I might update on Thursday or Friday to show you pictures of our last week here. If not, hopefully on Sunday or Monday!

Catch you later!

I have homework!

This week I began a 2 week therapy training course on learning disabilities put on by the National Institute of Learning Development (Norfolk, VA) which will help me be a better educational consultant for our families in Europe. We are very fortunate that this course is being offered here in Budapest where I can stay at home and the other ladies can stay inexpensively at the Eden House. The unfortunate thing for me is that because I am staying at home, I end up doing my other work (member care and education) in addition to all the homework! (Not housework, HOMEWORK!)

The whole idea behind the NILD therapy is stimulating weak areas of the brain through various techniques, so we are learning those techniques. We are in class from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm, and then have about 4-5 hours of homework a night! Glenn has literally taken over all household responsibilities (cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, etc.) in order for me to be able to take this class. Even with all his great help, I still have to do my emails dealing with education, and that makes it rrrrreally hard to get all my homework done each night.

The course is being led by the Director of Special Services at the local Christian school here in Budapest. We have 13 participants, of whom the largest percentage are homeschooling moms who have a child with a learning disability. There are also 3 European and 2 American ladies working in English speaking schools in Hungary, Russia, Romania and Holland who want to be trained in NILD therapy. And me, an education consultant.

One of the ladies makes necklaces as a hobby and gave each of us one as a gift. We loved them so much that we asked if we could buy extras for our daughters and daughters-in-laws, so during the break, Cathy "made market", which is an African term we love from our days in Ivory Coast.

Bless Glenn's heart. He is even helping me with photocopying that needed to be done for the course!

On top of the NILD therapy training, the Stevens had to go to the States suddenly for a family medical emergency and so the Borders and the Doyles are covering the Eden House for the month they anticipate being gone. The Eden House is FULL with NILD ladies and several folks here for medical so that adds to our plate. We love doing everything we do, but when it all needs to be done at one time, it gets hard to do it as well as we would like!!

I have one more week of the training and then, well, then I will start packing for our stateside assignment. It is hard to believe we only have 2 weeks left here before heading to the States.

Lyon? Non. France? Mais oui!

So, where are we this week? We started the week in France, but not to visit Kari and Jonathan. Rather, to visit some friends that live in a suburb just south of Paris in the village of Gentilly. Jerry and Kathy do the same kind of work we do, only in another part of the world.

It was hard on me to see the signs to Lyon where Kari and Jonathan live (for one more week) and not be able to see them. We last saw them in May, not so long ago, but the thing that made it possible was knowing that I will see them in 3 weeks in America!

Right outside Jerry and Kathy's apartment was an African grocery store! We wondered if it would have foods that we were familiar with from our days in Ivory Coast...

...and as soon as we walked in the door and saw these African toothbrushes (fiberous wooden sticks that they chew to get their teeth clean), we knew it was the REAL DEAL! We were able to buy two bottles of African hot sauce made from Scotch Bonnet peppers, the kind we ate in Ivory Coast!! What a nice surprise!

Glenn and I actually arrived a day early in Gentilly by mistake and Jerry and Kathy were not even in the country. Fortunately, someone else had a key to their apartment and could let us in. Kathy already had a fully stocked refrigerator, clean sheets on our bed, etc., so we just made ourselves at home and enjoyed a quiet night. It was wonderful! The next morning, we went for a walk about the time they were to arrive so that they could have an hour or two of peace and quiet to unwind from their trip. We loved the beautiful flowers that were in full bloom throughout their little town.

As we were walking around, we came upon this sign that indicated we were entering the city limits of Paris. Very cool!

The second day we were in town, the four of us went into Paris for a little sightseeing for about 6 hours. Glenn and I have already been there quite a few times, but hey, if you are that close to Paris, you ought to take advantage of the opportunity to go again, right???

Interesting view of Notre Dame from a tunnel.

Books, prints, watercolors, drink coasters, key rings, post cards, etc. for sale along the Seine River.

Closer view of the backside of Notre Dame.

Paris was packed with TOURISTS! We almost had one little mishap with a pickpocket, but because I was vigilant, I was able to intervene!

Our goal was to take a one-hour boat ride down the river so we walked across Paris to get to the boarding area. We were boarding just below the Eiffel Tower, so we got to see it "up close" also. I loved seeing all the Senegalese that were selling things on the ground around the Eiffel Tower.

The river boat rides were temporarily discontinued because someone had jumped off the bridge at the base of the Eiffel Tower shortly before we got there. The divers were searching for the body so river traffic was at a standstill for about 2 hours. We walked across the bridge to the other side to get this beautiful shot of the sun reflecting off the tower.

In case you need perspective on how big the Eiffel Tower really is....

We boarded the river boat at 10 pm (it was still daylight) and went under 22 of the 37 (if I recall correctly) bridges that cross the Seine River. Each bridge was different and had its own interesting story behind it. If you ever get the chance to take the river boat tour, I'd highly recommend it!!! Well worth the $15!!

On the morning of the 4th, Jerry and Kathy drove us to a metro station in town where we caught a train to London. (The train went under the English Channel.) From the train station, we caught a smaller train to Gatwick airport.

Annette, a friend who previously lived in our neighborhood in Budapest, picked us up at Gatwick to take us to the Brompton House (a B & B in Redhill, south of London).

We are here to meet with Bob (our boss) for our annual evaluations, go over our goals for next year, and for Bob, Delana and me to work on the TCK education budgets for 2011.

When Annette picked us up, it was a typical day in the UK. COLD, grey clouds, windy and rainy. I brought all summer clothes because the weather report called for temperatures in the mid-70's. More like mid-60's!

This is the Brompton House, a quaint little B & B with the most fantastic full English breakfasts! It consists of fried egg, sausage, potatoes, stewed tomatoes, and toast with butter and jelly. They also have a wide assortment of cereals and fresh fruit!

I believe there are 8 rooms for guests of varying sizes. At any given day, there have only been one or two other rooms occupied, as far as we could tell. Nice place, and the Pearse's are a very friendly couple.

In the dining room, there is a "secretary" that dates back to World War II. Glenn's dad bought one just like it, only out of cherry wood, when he was stationed here in England during WW II. It has been passed down from Glenn's dad to Glenn, and it is "on loan" to our son Chris for the time being. A family heirloom, for sure.

Our first evening in town, Annette drove us out to the village of Horsham to visit with Robert and Elaine and their two boys. They used to live down the street from us in Budapest also!

We walked around their little town for about an hour before we went for dinner in a restaurant.

This church, St. Mary's Church of England, is where their two boys attend school, and is within a short walking distance of their house.

On the sidewalk that goes around the buildings and through the grounds we found many popular Bible verses engraved into the stone walkway! I took pictures of about 10 of them, but didn't think you'd want to see all of them.

The day before our meeting with Bob started, we met Andy and Kaye, who also do member care with us, for a couple of hours in Redhill. We didn't have a lot of time with them, but it was good for us to get caught up on their news. They walked us around the "downtown" area of Redhill, which is quite lovely.

Gardens and window boxes full of flowers.

While in town, we got to experience the typical "fish and chips" meal. Truly British. It was quite delicious.

And, of course, I had to take a picture of the famous "double-decker" buses for which England is so famous.

We head back to Budapest on Monday morning, and then I start a 2 week training seminar on learning disabilities out at the local Christian school nearby. A week after that, we head to the States. Oh, but I get ahead of myself.

The couple that manage the Eden House are having to go immediately to the States for a family matter and Glenn and I, along with the Doyles, are going to be taking care of the Eden House during their absence. Well, we're going to help until we leave for the States, and then it will be left in the hands of the Doyles until the Stevens' return.

Glenn and I have a lot that needs to be done during the next three weeks. Please, please pray for us. Pray that our days start with the Lord, and end with each other. Pray that we focus on what needs to be done and not be distracted by unimportant things.

I'll try to update next week, but I can't promise it. Since I'll be sitting in a conference all week, there just may not be anything to report!

An amazing city!

Glenn and I returned on Wednesday from 10 days in the United Arab Emirates, which is located on the south eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. I was not very familiar with UAE until we went to participate in the cluster meeting of our personnel who work in that area of the world. In 1971, 7 emirates joined to become the United Arab Emirate. Emirates are much like our states in the US, and the people are called Emirati's. We visited in 2 of the emirates, Dubai and Sharjah. Four fifths of the land in UAE is desert but occasionally you will see spots of luscious green where the land is irrigated.

UAE is a very conservative Muslim country. Culturally, it is not appropriate to wear shorts or expose your arms in public but with the UAE becoming one of the top tourist destinations of the world, the dress restrictions are lessening. In the tourist spots, which is where we were, you will see all the foreigners wearing culturally inappropriate clothing, and within a week, I could tell my body went into a slight shock when I would see someone in a tank top or sleeveless shirt.

The first week we were in Sharjah, the emirate next to Dubai, we stayed in a really nice hotel (off season rates, you know!) that was on the beach. It is sooooo hot during the summer months in UAE that swimming pool water has to be COOLED in order to be refreshing. Just beyond the pool you have to walk through white hot sand to the Arabian Sea. I have never, ever been in a large body of water that was HOT! It was not warm. It was HOT!

Inside our hotel room, on the ceiling was this little arrow. It points the way to Mecca for those who need to know. Isn't that interesting?

At the end of the meeting , we moved out of the hotel into the apartment of one of our member care couples, Dave and Sara, to get to know them. When they come back from one of their long trips to visit our personnel, this is the view from their living room that helps them to unwind. In the morning the view is clear, but by noon, the haze/dust has set in for the rest of the day.

We were amazed at the number of American food places, both fast food and restaurants. We couldn't possibly eat at all of them because there weren't enough meals for the number of great places to eat, but we sure tried! (Hardees was not one of them.)

One afternoon we drove into Dubai and saw the world's tallest building. It is 161 stories high. It is about 4 times taller than the average of the taller buildings! It is called the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) and is 818 meters tall. It has businesses, apartments, stores, restaurants, and is on top of the largest mall in the world (which has 1200 stores!)

This may give you a better perspective of its' height. Also, their metro system is above ground.

For the most part, Dubai's modern development has happened in the past 10 years. These wide open spaces are becoming filled in with more concrete than you can imagine!

This city has grown so fast with commercial and residential buildings that the power supply cannot keep up with it. While we were in town, the city was having planned power outages to help conserve energy because there wasn't enough to go around.

Lots of mosques around the city.

Some are really pretty.

On a different note... What is this? The islamic women wear burka's, the black robes that cover their bodies from head to feet. So what do they wear to swim in? The burkini! The loose-fitting long sleeve top has an attached hood that covers the head completely, and then the pants go all the way down to the ankles.

I love the contrast between the conservative and the contemporary.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize you would have so much trouble reading the name on the red sign in the middle of the picture or I would have enlarged it... but it says Marrybrown. Can anyone tell me why I would think it was noteworthy??? I'm sure my kids can, and Kristin can, but probably not too many other people. Leave me a comment if you know why I took this picture. Thanks!

Glenn and I love going into grocery stores in every country we visit. We were amazed at how many American products were available!

FRITOS! I found Fritos!!! And crunchy Cheetos, and cheesey Doritos! What a selection of chips!

Thrilled to see Coke Zero there too! (By the way, I'm wearing the tank top in the privacy of Dave and Sara's apartment.

Dubai and Sharjah (and maybe the other Emirates) had lots and lots of HUGE malls that were phenomenal! Just in Dubai, there are 62 malls! Can you imagine???? Because there are so many malls, each developer has tried to include something truly unique to draw the people to their mall.

The Krispy Kreme store drew me to this mall. Each mall had large food courts with every type of food imaginable.

One mall had an ice skating rink. Another had a sports complex with several swimming pools. A third had an amusement park. One has an aquarium.

Glenn, Dave, Sara and I enjoyed a meal at a mall that advertised 1200 stores under the roof! With that many stores, there were about 50 places to eat!

One of the malls had a ski slope! A genuine ski slope! The snow area was glassed in so that you could watch the fun. If you didn't want to ski, you could pay to just go play in the snow, which would be quite an experience for these folks living in the desert!

There were also tube rides for the little ones. There were several small slopes with a large clear ball that you enter, and with you standing, the ball rolls down the slope and you roll around inside! Sounds like more fun to watch than to do!

Great ice cream at Baskin Robbins! Didn't try the Dunkin' Donuts because I prefer Krispy Kreme, and I couldn't eat it all!

Five times a day when the muslims are called to pray, they are supposed to stop what they are doing and go to pray. That includes when they are shopping in the mall. All the malls have PRAYER ROOMS for them; one for the men and one for the women. The whole time we were there in UAE, we never saw a single person saying their prayers. In Ivory Coast (when we lived there years ago) when the call to prayer came over the loud speakers in town, you would see people on the street unrolling their plastic prayer mat and kneel to pray. Not so in UAE.

One mall had this sign with its' policies of courtesy. One of the policies states, "Please wear respectful clothing. For example, shoulders and knees should be covered." Another one says, "No kissing or overt displays of affection."

Wow! This was a fun photo op! And it was soooo nice to be able to go into a bookstore and see all the books in English! I can't wait to get back to America and enjoy bookstores again!

This picture was taken near the food court in one of the malls. We thought it rather interesting that it is announced over the PA system that it is time to pray, and there are signs placed strategically around the mall letting you know when it is prayer time. We never saw anyone stop what they were doing to go pray. I thought it was kind of sad that no one paid any attention to it; in a country where Islam is so entrenched in their culture, you never saw anyone doing anything to express their faith.

It's been funny (and sometimes difficult) to be able to determine which bathrooms are for males and females, especially in countries where we don't speak the language! Sometimes we find the stick figures with a triangle for the skirt of the female and the pants for the male. In Germany, there's Herren for the men and Damen for the women. In France it's Dame (women) and Homme (men).

We liked the way they did it in UAE with the different style of headdresses!

So, that was our trip to Dubai. The pictures and descriptions don't do it justice. If you've got the time and money, I'd suggest you travel to Dubai because it is quite an experience! Very different from any country we've visited so far, and they know how to cater to tourists, that's for sure! Everything is new and clean, and English is spoken here so you won't have a language barrier. There are lots of things to do too (like snow skiing!). HOWEVER, I suggest you come in the winter when the weather is not so HOT! It was like a convection oven preheated to 175 degrees! There was always a breeze blowing, but it was hot air, and that's not particularly helpful!

As I write this, we are on the road again. Any guesses as to where we are? Non?