12.30.2006

the really important news from Svarin

I just staved off a friendly attack of balloon wielding preschoolers. you know the long skinny balloons that clowns make into swords and flowers and flying mice. well these were just blown up and handed to the darling little hoodlums.
Subsequently 5 or 6 of them decided i would make a good target. At first, i played along and laughed a bit. when it got annoying i ignored. then i threatened, then i sucked up my language self-consciousness and i asked them to stop. then i told them to stop (at least i think that's what i said). i finally ran into the other room and hid behind Iveta. Thus getting the attention of the parents and a bit more fluent and authoritative order to stop the attack. A bit underhanded i know, i'm nothing but a grown up tattletale running to tell their mommys :)
At any rate, they are mostly leaving me be now and i am threatening any comers with my knitting needle. it is of course not sharp enough to be a real threat. but the popping noises i make when i poke at the balloons has them convinced for now. but when the munchkins figure out that I'm bluffing....I'm in big trouble

12.22.2006

weeks and weeks and weeks

I’m not even going to try and catch you all up on what has happened the past weeks. Partly because it’s been so long and partly because after I finish writing this, I’m leaving the office for Christmas vacation time!!

The past few weeks were a really mixed bag. There were a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes I was very busy and some days all there was to do was wait. We captured the video from CampFest to a new hard drive, the attic will be new offices and a conference room by the new year, and the recording studio downstairs is still moving along. The video of the CampFest Hymn is officially finished and sent to the Slovak TV station. The Worship Festival here in Presov the beginning of the month was a huge success. There were about 2,000 people and the atmosphere was very worshipful.

It’s only in the past week I have finally started really feeling like Christmas. I finally stopped coughing (mostly) and feeling worn out from the cold I had while Micah was here last month. The temperatures finally dropped below 45 and we had a little snow. This Sunday was the children’s program at church and I helped Paly and Klara decorate their tree. I don’t have a tree per say but I got some lights to hang in the rubber tree plant in my room, and I have been burning the pumpkin spice candle that Micah’s mom sent so my room has gotten festive.

Last night we made and decorated sugar cookies. Trees, shooting stars, candles, and fish! Fish is the Christmas meal here. My mom sent a tree cookie cutter and the others were Ivetka’s. It was a very fun and messy time. Just like decorating cookies should be!

I will celebrate Christmas with Paly and Iveta and their family. And the end of the week I’m going with them and some others from church to Svarin. Paly is horrified that I have never cross country skied so I think that will be in the plans for my new year celebration (that and a bottle of ale-8!! :))

My holiday is going to look very different this year. I am excited to experience it, I may never have the chance again, but at the same time, there are a million things that will be different. Some are inconsequential like fish for Christmas dinner. And some will be harder to deal with, like not watchign “The Muppet Christmas Carol” with my family, not having sticky buns for breakfast and missing the candlelight service at church. But I know that Christmas is more than the Muppets, sticky buns and singing silent night at the candlelight service. In fact it’s not about any of that. I just have to keep reminding myself to put it all in perspective. I will be fine, but it will be hard and I’ll be counting on your prayers.

I hope you all have a great Christmas.
:)Stasi!!

12.13.2006

conversations you wont find in a textbook

Exercize 1:

R: "Stasi crazy lazy daisy"
Me: "co"
R: "nic"
Me:"preco"
R: "preto"
Me:"dobre"'

R: "Stasi crazy lazy daisy"
Me:"what"
R: "nothing"
Me:"why"
R: "because"
Me:"ok"


exercize 2:

"co? mas problem?"
"ano ty si moj problem"
"nie som problemm ty si problem"
"nie som ty si crazy"
"nie ty si crazy"

"what? you have a problem?"
"yes you are my problem"
"i'm not the problem you're the problem"
"I am not youre crazy"
"no you are crazy"