Thursday afternoon, my flight landed and my luggage arrived with no problems. Our team leader picked me up and took me straight to SCA, where the other teachers helped me unload the books. CJ (right) teaches our science, history, and math classes. This is her second year at SCA and she is wonderful! I was able to pick up some non-fiction science books (Yay, Magic School Bus!) and she was so excited to have books the kids would like that also teach science in a fun way! Lydia (left) is the chairwoman of the school board and our principal, as well as helping fill in while we wait and pray for our second full-time teacher to arrive. She and I will be teaching the English classes on Fridays and we were both so excited to have new books for our kids! As I was organizing the books before packing them in the US, I sent some pictures to the parents at the school. There was great rejoicing as they saw not only the provision of reading material, but the obvious love of Jesus shown through these simple gifts. To those of you who gave, we all are so thankful for your generosity! While I've only had 10.5 months of life in Bulgaria, there are several ways that I've adapted to survive in my new home. It's amazing to me how quickly those survival strategies became my way of life and I had to consciously turn them off when I returned to the US for a visit. And, of course, there were several times when I forgot to turn off my survival strategies and made my life more complicated than was necessary!
~ I was meeting a friend in England last month and was wondering if I would easily recognize him (of course I did and shouldn't have worried about it!) and I caught myself thinking, Well, Simon will obviously be the one speaking English. Of course, everyone who was hanging out in front of Bristol Cathedral was speaking English. ~ I accidentally left my jacket on my seat on my last flight before getting to Dayton, Ohio. I remembered when I was only a few rows away from my seat, so I could easily ask the people behind me to help me out. But my first thought was How do I say that I left my jacket on my seat in Bulgarian? Is it Moi yake e tam. Moja li tova, molya? maybe? After a few seconds of panic and looking totally confused the question popped out in English and I was amazed that it made sense. Then remembered that English was our shared heart language. ~ I was at Wal*Mart, where a lot of reverse culture shock hits expats, attempting to find an item in a sea of different brands, sizes, shapes and colors. The display was the size of Texas, and I am so used to 2 or 3 options that it was overwhelming. As I attempted to decide what to do, a lady walked by, looked me in the eyes and said, "Oh, I love your earrings!" I was able to say a polite thank you, but was shocked. Not only was I having trouble making a choice in the face of overwhelming options but strangers were speaking to me! I suddenly understood what my Bulgarian friends say of the times they've visited America--"The people there are so friendly! They smile and say hello even if they don't know you!"
North Carolina Deadline: Sunday, September 27, 2015
Ohio Deadline: Sunday, October 11, 2015 |
Elisabeth CarySharing the love of Christ to make known the hope of Christ in Bulgaria. Archives
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