Whoa!

Sorry it has taken me so long to update you on the happenings in my life. Training has been going on full force and any available time is spent with truly amazing friends and seeing the sights of LA.

One of the biggest things I have learned in training is how to teach English as a foreign language. This is not your regular English class! Think about how you learned a foreign language in high school or college. That is how I will be teaching English this next year. Lots of rules, conjugations, and grammar! (MY FORTE!)

I am SO excited about meeting my students and getting to know them better! As a part of training we have practice teaching (Practicum). Where we go to a local church's community center and teach ESL students English. It has been so much fun building relationships with these students. It makes it hard to leave.

Another thing that will be hard to leave is all the friends I have made here. We sent off our first group of teachers this week. It was definitely a reality check for me that my time here in California surrounded by amazing people is short. Definitely soaking up the relationships I have built! Of course the Central Europe people will not be far away, so I can take a train to see them.

Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement! I can't get them enough as I embark on this amazing adventure of teaching in another country, continent, and culture! Pray as I prepare this week to make the BIG MOVE! We leave one week from Thursday (tomorrow)!! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

I will try to keep you updated more regularly. Keep reminding me! :)

Love you all! I'll leave you with some pictures from training thus far!

Oh, wait...I need to tell you about the cinnamon challenge. One heaping table spoon of cinnamon in your mouth at one time! I TOTALLY FINISHED IT! It was just a fun challenge some of the teachers did. It was not a race to see who could finish first, it was just a challenge to do it. The first thing that happens is your mouth suddenly looses all moisture. Then the spice and pain start kicking in. It is extremely painful (bring you to tears) for about 30 - 40 seconds. If you can make it past that phase, the rest is nothing. Just chew it up and swallow. I'll try to get a video of it posted.

Highlights of training so far:

A quick trip to Hollywood on the weekend.

A night hike up a nearby mountain with an AWESOME view of LA.

AWESOME Central Europe Team!

Making New Friends

PS. I tried really hard not to dissect the verb tenses that I used in this post.