5.27.2006
I'm home!
Alright. I'm back in Sioux Center as of Tuesday night. And I still don't have internet in my room, hence making my excuse for not blogging until now valid. With that said...It's been a great two weeks! (Although I am still waking up at 6AM every morning - today being no exception). I'm trying to figure out how to sum up all the things that we did and experienced. The last week we went back into Hungary and then to Vienna, Austria. Austria was more of sightseeing and attempted relaxation...it's amazing to see the difference in Western and Eastern European countries. As our tour guide, Marta, told us, Austria is the Eastern-most Western country and Hungary is the Western-most Eastern country. And you can tell. Austria was so much like America. The big cities, the fast pace of life, everything. And Hungary, well, wasn't.
One thing that sticks out in my mind when we were still in Eastern Europe was the gypsy village that we visited. It actually was a combination of two gypsy groups, we were told that we could take pictures and stuff with the first group, but not the second because the second would try to get money for any picture that was taken, so we didn't want to even mess with that. I have mixed feelings about going to this village. When we got there I felt as if we were on parade. We saw so many run-down houses, poor clothing, and a lot of kids. Many of the gypsies use their children to gain pity from those around them and so people give the kids money. One little boy I saw had only a shirt on, no pants at all. And there was the mother standing over him, pointing at him, as if to say, "Look at him! Give me money so I can put pants on my child!" But seeing that made me feel like a complete cynic. I just pictured the mom pulling the pants off her boy so that someone might give her money. So we kept walking. By the time we were almost to the bus, the kids and other people were following and swarming us. There were some people that had to pull hard to get away from some of the tugging kids and even adults that were trying to get us to come into their homes or give them our stuff. After that trip, I felt rich, cynical, and overwhelmed with not knowing how to deal with the feelings and thoughts that arose out of this experience. I still don't. But it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that there's a lot of people in the world that have much less than me -- the self-declared "poor college student." Poor. Not even close.
So if you want to hear more about the trip, talk to me. I've got pictures...and I'll try to get them up sometime in the future. For a little bit of a topic change...my week since I've returned:
One thing that sticks out in my mind when we were still in Eastern Europe was the gypsy village that we visited. It actually was a combination of two gypsy groups, we were told that we could take pictures and stuff with the first group, but not the second because the second would try to get money for any picture that was taken, so we didn't want to even mess with that. I have mixed feelings about going to this village. When we got there I felt as if we were on parade. We saw so many run-down houses, poor clothing, and a lot of kids. Many of the gypsies use their children to gain pity from those around them and so people give the kids money. One little boy I saw had only a shirt on, no pants at all. And there was the mother standing over him, pointing at him, as if to say, "Look at him! Give me money so I can put pants on my child!" But seeing that made me feel like a complete cynic. I just pictured the mom pulling the pants off her boy so that someone might give her money. So we kept walking. By the time we were almost to the bus, the kids and other people were following and swarming us. There were some people that had to pull hard to get away from some of the tugging kids and even adults that were trying to get us to come into their homes or give them our stuff. After that trip, I felt rich, cynical, and overwhelmed with not knowing how to deal with the feelings and thoughts that arose out of this experience. I still don't. But it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that there's a lot of people in the world that have much less than me -- the self-declared "poor college student." Poor. Not even close.
So if you want to hear more about the trip, talk to me. I've got pictures...and I'll try to get them up sometime in the future. For a little bit of a topic change...my week since I've returned:
- Got home Tuesday night - got sheets out of the car. Mooched eggs and fajitas from Mason. Slept.
- Wednesday: Unpacked my car. Officially moved into my summer apartment (D6). Hung out with roommates.
- Thursday: First day at work in the music building. Sorting music, filing it away.
- Friday: Second day at work. Eyes went buggy. Too much music filing at one time.
- More Friday: Ate supper at David and Rita's. Went to X-men III. Well worth it.
- End of Friday: Went back to David and Rita's with many people (Ephron, Karen, Jariel, Becca, Mason, Ruth, Jon, and Matt). Hung out til about midnight.
- Went home, played some Starcraft. Went to bed.
- Today: Going home. Yeah.
5.15.2006
Jo reggelt!
That means good morning.
So i'm sitting in a little Romanian Internet Catacombs right now...typing this update from my first week in Eastern Europe. I don't even know where to begin. I am writing this from Segesvar, Romania, right now. We have had a wonderful time so far. It' s been amazing to be able to play for the people here in Europe and to see the obvious joy that they all receive from our being here. They are all very hospitable and I know that God is here when I look at the love in the people around here and how they go out of their way for us.
We've had our share of adventures while we've been here, too. We had a long drive from Gyula, Hungary to Sepsiszentgyorgy, Hungary, 2 days ago, and it was even longer when the trailer we were bringing with us on the bus started losing the hitch. So Gaspar, our bus driver, pulled over and realized that we needed to weld some stuff together so that we didn't lose the trailer as we traveled through the countryside. He started calling people, but across the road from where we pulled off was a house where a couple was vacationing about 120 km away from their home. And the father was a welder. How's that for God watching out for us, eh? :) I love seeing Him work, but it definitely made for a long day - we didn't get in until about midnight, then had supper, then went to bed.
We've only had a couple concerts, but the ones we've had have been fabulous. I love seeing how the people react to the music, with smiles, cheers, laughter, tears, and clapping. The interesting thing about the clapping is that if they really like it, they will not applaud wildly like we're used to, but they will keep a slower, steady clapping beat that continues for quite a while. That was cool to see, as well. We end our concerts with the Hungarian National Anthem because we are playing at Hungarian Reformed Churches in Hungary and Romania (parts of Romania used to be Hungary before World War I) - and they all stand and many of them cry as they sing along because of all the struggles and strife that they remember from before communism fell. Before 1990, there was so much oppression, and they weren't even allowed to sing the National Anthem, so it really means a lot to them. It makes you really appreciate the words to our anthem and what people went through to give us the freedom of America. While it's not perfect, we can worship God freely, which is something they couldn't do before 1990... There is so much history we've seen here - churches, old towns and villages, castles, and all kinds of other stuff. I can't tell it all here. But it's amazing to see some of this stuff.
Alright, I think that's it for now. My time's almost up. So I hope all are doing well, and I will write more if i get a chance later this week. God bless all, and keep the prayers coming. I appreciate it!
Szervusz! (that means goodbye)
So i'm sitting in a little Romanian Internet Catacombs right now...typing this update from my first week in Eastern Europe. I don't even know where to begin. I am writing this from Segesvar, Romania, right now. We have had a wonderful time so far. It' s been amazing to be able to play for the people here in Europe and to see the obvious joy that they all receive from our being here. They are all very hospitable and I know that God is here when I look at the love in the people around here and how they go out of their way for us.
We've had our share of adventures while we've been here, too. We had a long drive from Gyula, Hungary to Sepsiszentgyorgy, Hungary, 2 days ago, and it was even longer when the trailer we were bringing with us on the bus started losing the hitch. So Gaspar, our bus driver, pulled over and realized that we needed to weld some stuff together so that we didn't lose the trailer as we traveled through the countryside. He started calling people, but across the road from where we pulled off was a house where a couple was vacationing about 120 km away from their home. And the father was a welder. How's that for God watching out for us, eh? :) I love seeing Him work, but it definitely made for a long day - we didn't get in until about midnight, then had supper, then went to bed.
We've only had a couple concerts, but the ones we've had have been fabulous. I love seeing how the people react to the music, with smiles, cheers, laughter, tears, and clapping. The interesting thing about the clapping is that if they really like it, they will not applaud wildly like we're used to, but they will keep a slower, steady clapping beat that continues for quite a while. That was cool to see, as well. We end our concerts with the Hungarian National Anthem because we are playing at Hungarian Reformed Churches in Hungary and Romania (parts of Romania used to be Hungary before World War I) - and they all stand and many of them cry as they sing along because of all the struggles and strife that they remember from before communism fell. Before 1990, there was so much oppression, and they weren't even allowed to sing the National Anthem, so it really means a lot to them. It makes you really appreciate the words to our anthem and what people went through to give us the freedom of America. While it's not perfect, we can worship God freely, which is something they couldn't do before 1990... There is so much history we've seen here - churches, old towns and villages, castles, and all kinds of other stuff. I can't tell it all here. But it's amazing to see some of this stuff.
Alright, I think that's it for now. My time's almost up. So I hope all are doing well, and I will write more if i get a chance later this week. God bless all, and keep the prayers coming. I appreciate it!
Szervusz! (that means goodbye)
5.06.2006
Graduation and Europe
So most of the people are gone. Dordt is emptying out...fast. It will soon be a ghost town. Grad is done, I am now unofficially graduated (I still have one semester left), but I've done the whole ceremony thing, and everyone's leaving. Kinda sad. But it's cool to think of all the different places that people are going around the country and even around the world. Here's some pictures of grad...
Speaking of around the world...we leave for Europe in 3 days!! The Dordt Concert Band is going on a tour to Romania, Austria, and Hungary for 15 days. We'll be playing in Hungarian Reformed Churches and orphanages along the way. Also, we'll be living with different host families (most of which will not speak English). So that'll definitely be a challenge. But I'm really excited for it. Especially now that it's all paid for. God is awesome at providing money when it's needed. :) So we leave after church on Sunday for Prinsburg, then we stay there that night and go on to Minneapolis the next morning so that we can begin the long flight. I don't even know how long it's gonna be, but I think it's somewhere between 10 and 20 hours. That's a long trip. But to see the faces of the people as we go there, and to communicate with them...wow. I'm so excited to experience all this and to see what God's got in store for me on this trip. I know there's a reason I'm going on this trip. I just don't know exactly what that is yet. I will try to keep posting while I'm over there, but I don't know how much internet access I'll have. We'll see.5.05.2006
Weird...
So I graduate in about two hours. Weird. I've been here a LONG time...got a lot of memories. And we're done. Yep. Very cool. but very weird.
