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Showing posts from 2009

Who Is God?

Do you ever look back at one period of your life and still blush as you recall something you said?  I remember sitting in Sunday School as a 15 years old teenager.  Feeling very comfortable in my surroundings and confident with my Biblical knowledge I challenged our teacher: "Is there anything you can teach me about the Bible that I don't already know?" Fourteen years later I'm the one being challenged.  Recently, I've taken an interest in several books written by very different authors from different perspectives.  They share one focus though - that we, as Christians must continue our search for who God is.  The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright is a quest for the historical Jesus.  Wright shivers at the notion that we - whether Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, or Evangelical - know exactly who Jesus was.  I believe...that each generation has to wrestle afresh with the question of Jesus, not least its Biblical roo...

Let It Snow! (But Don't Ask Questions.)

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                                                                                   Orahovica December 2009 Although Croatia has a similar climate to that of New England’s, it typically receives less snow. I haven't been here during a major snowstorm so I haven't had the chance to compare snowfall (and the reaction to it) in Croatia to the hysteria I experienced in New England. So when it began snowing the other day I started asking questions. How long is it going to snow? How much will we get? What roads should I avoid? Will there be any cancellations or delays? It just goes to show...

Why is Your Car So Dirty?

Owning and driving a car in Croatia is much different than owning and driving a car in America.  I've touched on the shock of driving in Croatia, but being a car owner is just as....well, shocking.  Just yesterday I was asked why my car was so dirty (blunt honesty is also a specialty here). The thing was, my car wasn't dirty - according to my standards.  I didn't have old McDonalds bags crumpled in the back seat.  I didn't have apple cores or lollipops sticking to the floor mats.  I didn't even have any toys for Enoh or crumbs from Enoh laying where Enoh usually sits.  Granted, my dashboard was a bit dusty, my floormats had some dirt on them and I had a coffee mug in my cupholder.  But that's it.  I had vacuumed the car a week earlier, and I had washed it a few days ago.  I didn't consider it "dirty" but everyone who was riding in my car did.    People here clean their cars a lot .  They wash their car...

Meeting Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

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Today was a first for daddy and me. My parents and I were invited to meet St. Nicholas (Sveti Nikola) in one of the schools where they teach English. Being from America, daddy thought Santa and St. Nick were one in the same. Though there is much debate on the issue, St. Nick didn't look anything like the red-suited bowl full of jelly bellied fella we saw in the American malls last year. Nor did his entourage include reindeer. Instead there was a horse and carriage in front of the school as we arrived. We walked inside and saw St. Nicholas talking with the schoolchildren. We also saw his rival Krampus who managed to scare me, mommy and the whole first grade class. According to tradition, if you're naughty you receive a stick from Krampus rather than a present on St. Nicholas day. I don't know how they knew, but I got a bag full of goodies which my parents promised to help me consume. Then I got to meet them face to face - much to my dismay. All's well tha...

Hungry in Hungary

I have a thing for Chinese food. Not the fancy Chinese restaraunts with the nicely folded napkins and wine glasses. For me, the smaller the restaraunt, the better. You've seen the ones with only one table and a chair inside. Or the ones in the food court with the nice lady handing out sesame chicken samples. That's what I'm talking about. So a few weeks ago, when we made the short trip over the border to Hungary and went to an American looking shopping mall, I was ecstatic to find a "Chinese Bufe" restaraunt. And the funny thing is, I half expected them to speak English. 99% of Croatia is made up of Croats, Serbs or Slovenians. They all have generally the same skin color. So when I see anyone from somewhere outside the Balkans my brain immediately reverts back to melting-pot America. Well these Chinese cooks and food-hander-outers still had their Chinese accents, but here they were accompanied by the Hungarian language of which I know only one word. Thankfully whe...

One Thought on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day in Croatia is nonexistent. Unfortunately the practice of giving thanks is almost just as foreign. If there's ever a time when an American misses - even longs for their tradition, today is the day. Last evening I joined a small informal house group gathering in a nearby town. I was invited to share something from a spiritual nature so I talked about thankfulness. We wrote down at least five things we were thankful for and then openly shared our lists with one another. Sadly, some of those lists quickly turned into stories. Stories of abusive husbands. Stories of death. Stories that turned into tears. Stories that would continue as soon as the meeting was over. An activity meant to fill our hearts with joy left me wondering if I should have picked another theme. This is just one example. But hopelessness, loneliness and depression fill many lives in this part of the world. And as I write I realize it's this way everywhere. Fear is just around the corner, ...

What Do You Do?

Strangers have probably happened upon this site, read a post or two and wondered, what in the world do you actually do in Croatia. In the past I offered a few posts explaining our "job", but now we have created a new site that will explain what we do to a much greater extent. The main purpose will be to offer our supporters a clearer glimpse of what our ministry is, what God is doing in Croatia, and how they can support our efforts. If you're interested I invite you to go here .

I (don't?) Know Where You Live!

Chances are, if you're an American, you will have moved to another house, city or country by the time you're finished reading this post. And don't think I'm just pointing fingers. My family moved every 5 or 6 years from the time I was born until I moved out of the house. And I followed in my parent's footsteps by making my own - right out of the country. Petra and I have lived in 5 different cities, 6 different apartments or houses and on 2 continents in our 4 years of marriage. But what made me notice the trend was our address book. We have crossed out and written in so many addresses of our American friends that we need a new address book. The gracious 2 address slots that were provided for any individual or family have been used up in many cases. Croatians on the other hand don't move. The dependency on family, the current financial situation and traditional values that exist here in Eastern Europe keep most in the village, town or city they were born in. Eve...

Learning the Hard Way

It is no secret - learning Croatian has been extremely difficult for me. As I mentioned earlier, being shy hasn't helped, nor has the eagerness of many Croatians to practice their English with me. But in my struggle to learn how to learn Croatian, I've realized the best way is to act like I know Croatian. Crazy, but true. Before I realized this concept, I often acted as if I had to humbly apologize for my bumbling tongue before beginning whatever it was I had to say. Whether I was talking to a cashier, an acquaintance or a drunk man at the cemetary, I was constantly self-conscious of my grammatical ineptitude. And everyone could tell. But the other day, I confidently walked into the book store, asked for 60 envelopes, a poster board and several copies. I probably made 5 grammatical errors in the process. But I received everything I asked for along with a compliment "Dobro ide!" ('it's going well' - referring to my progress in language learning) and a smile...

Learning the Easy Way

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It's been 3 months since I updated daddy's blog and though I sleep 12 hours a night (and 3 during the day) when I'm awake I'm a bustle of activity. One Croatian friend even called me a "mala vatra" (little fire). I've been using my time wisely though: I've been learning how to eat: And how not to: How to walk: And how to fall: How to clean: And how to make a mess: I've also been learning how to become a real Eastern European: How to read: And how to pose for pictures:

McShock

I may have touched on this in an earlier post, but it is worth repeating. If you are looking for a fine family restaraunt in the country of Croatia; if you want a place where you know the food is fresh, the kitchen is clean and the servers are sweet - then McDonalds is your place. The first time I stepped into a McDonalds in Croatia I was shocked by the size of a "large" Coke. But after I slurped it down I noticed that families were sitting and eating together. I saw clean floors. I witnessed friendly cashiers. I saw expensive looking chairs. And apparently that wasn't good enough for them. That particular McDonalds has recently been refurbished with 2 flatscreen televisions and a brand new play area. Why all of this? A friend of ours, who was fired from McDonalds for using the wrong kind of cleaning sponge on the floor answered that question: "They told us this place has to be perfect in order to protect the American reputation. We have to be nicer than anyone else....

Good Leadership

I came across this post on my friend Milo's blog the other day. Whether you're Croatian or American, good leadership can be refreshingly shocking. Milo's observations are valuable to anyone serving as a leader in any capacity: I have spent the last 5 months in the Intensive care unit with my little boy Josiah Nathaniel. During this time, I have witnessed some things that can learned about leadership, and a working environment that may be helpful to your organization. 1. Everyone understands the chain of command, and the appropriate relationships within that chain. 2. The collective opinion of the leadership group is of great worth and value to those who answer to them. 3. Disagreements of opinions by those in leadership are resolved behind closed doors, then presented as a unified decision. 4. The opinion of those involved in the day to day work/care (i.e.. parents and bedside nurses) is regularly evaluated and listened to. 5. Every doctor and nurse has a training time when...

Hooked on Phonics

There's nothing better in language learning than a nice phonetic alphabet to get you started. Just ask anyone learning Croatian. As soon as you know the alphabet, theoretically you know how to pronounce every word in the dictionary. So before I even moved to Croatia I was pronouncing Croatian words. After we moved, when I attended church, I was singing along to all the worship songs. I didn't have the slightest clue what they were singing about (unless it was a translated song) but I sang nonetheless. But if you've grown up on a steady diet of phonetic letters, the English alphabet will feel like a punch in the gut. The first English class I ever taught here was a lesson in this fact. I was going through the alphabet with some adult beginners. After I had shattered everything they knew about the letter A, there was one lady who became increasingly frustrated. Finally at "W" she lost it. At the time I had no idea what she was saying, but later one of the stud...

ID Please

Petra and I have had the opportunity to guest-teach English in the local High School here in Orahovica this fall. One of the topics we used to get students talking was "culture shock". What does it mean? We followed that conversation with an activity where the students had to come up with 3 things Americans would be shocked at here in Croatia. Just about every class brought up alchohol. Some mentioned that Americans would be blown away by the strength of Croatian "rakija". Others noted how many people drink in Croatia. One person mentioned the legal drinking age (18) which is not strictly enforced. And that's true. If I know where I could find underage drinkers on any given Saturday night, I'm sure the police do too. But it got me thinking about the "legal age" a person has to be in order to do something. For example, in Iowa, a 15 year old can get their permit to drive. Here you have to be at least 18 and pay an arm and a leg for that privelege. I...

Signs Part II

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And then there's this one, which is not too hard to figure out, but probably has a good story behind it.

Signs - Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

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One thing I love about Europe is the signs . In America , we're so boring . We just write whatever it is that needs to be said , attach it to a post and put it up . But in Europe, where practically every country has a different language , they need to accomodate foreigners and create signs with pictures . As one of those foreigners , I've found many of the signs quite interesting . Like this one for example :

Who's Got the Floor?

As I was flipping through a book of suggestions for English teaching activities the other day I came across one that included the students sitting on the ground. With hardly a thought I turned to the next page. "That one wouldn't work here" I said to myself. Let me tell you a little bit about the death trap known as the "floor" here in Croatia. It's a place that must be quarantined. Whether it's slippers, rugs, chairs or shoes there has to be at least one degree of separation between your body and the floor - very often two or three. I even heard from a reliable source that back in the day, Yugoslav babies didn't learn how to crawl. They went from laying down to practically running - a walker being their one mode of transition and transportation so as not to be overly exposed to the floor. And what do I say about this crazy mindset? Bravo Croatians! At least we have some sensible human beings among us on this planet! I can remember being in 2nd or 3r...

Enoh and Copland Playing "Fetch"

I Heart Croatia

A handful of recent posts may have given my readers the impression that there's a lot to complain about in Croatia. " Very little baseball ", " difficulty with paperwork ", " the language is so difficult ", so on and so on. Jeremy, quit whining! But the fact is, I love it here. And I'm not just saying that. Here are the top 10 reasons I love Croatia. 10. The beauty of the land . It is no coincidence that Creation and Croatian sound so similar. 9. The food. 8. The relative safety. A stranger came up to Enoh the other day and gave him a cookie after Enoh flashed a smile. We realized later, had we been in America we would have had some skepticism. Not here. 7. The climate. All four seasons like New England but a longer summer and less snow make it ideal for the Sensors among us. 6. The generosity of the people . 5. The education. This is a long story that many Americans living in Croatia (not to mention Croatians living in Croatia) wouldn't agree...

Personality Disorder?

One of the first things I ever learned about myself was that I am an introvert. My dad was really into the Myers-Briggs type indicator tests when I was a kid/teenager and he often told my mom and I how introverted we were. So last week when Petra and I visited some friends in Zagreb and they had us sit down to take the Myers-Briggs test, I knew what the I vs. E result would be. What I soon realized was that the fact that I am introverted has some influence on my ability to learn a language. Here's why: 1. "I am a very private person and I don't like a lot of attention...I really like solitude" That's what the M/B evaluation says. And I agree. Usually in solitude, I don't do a lot of talking - especially in another language. 2. I value deep relationships with few people more than surface-level relationships with a lot of people. I don't do well in groups. Here's the problem. For example, I began a conversation with a good friend of mine like this a few ...

Ride With Those Who Ride

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In Romans Paul tells us to "rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep". Lately the Wilsons and Josiah have been riding a roller coaster through major improvements and discouraging setbacks. While it's impossible to join them, we do have the privilege of bringing them before the Lord. Please remember to pray and stay updated on Josiah's progress!

The Most Important Verse in the Bible

In a more focused endeavor to learn Croatian I've set out to memorize several verses in Croatian during the week. So yesterday, wondering which verse I would memorize today and partly out of curiousity, partly out of laziness I did a quick google search: "The Most Important Verse in the Bible." I soon realized I had opened a can of worms. I was expecting John 3:16 to come up at least 5 times out of 10. But what I found was that most sites I clicked on often had long, very opinionated explanations or testimonies about a certain verse that people centered their lives around. The author of one site explained that "if a person really believes Genesis 1:1 , they would not find it difficult to believe anything else recorded in the Bible." Someone else feels the key is in Matthew 7:21. "Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven..." They go on to exhort everyone to actually do the will of the Lord rather than merely calling on his...

Labor Pains

"The thing I dread most about having another baby is not the labor - it's the paperwork!" My wife announced the other day. And for a woman who had contractions for 59 hours last summer that's saying something. Take, for example, a few years ago when Petra had to figure out why some of her paper work had "Kuzmič while others had Kuzmić". The difference in the last letter is the difference between a Slovenian last name and a Croatian last name although both letters are in the Croatian alphabet. Still other American documents had a plain "c" that complicted the matter even more. We spent a month gathering birth certificates, passports, high school and college transcripts and identification cards, while visiting police stations, health insurance offices and city halls in several different towns. Why all the fuss? Because Petra had to change her name to Bohall. When we first moved to Croatia my mom had to drive to Albany NY from Worcester MA to get my b...

Baseball World Cup Comes to Croatia

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Apparently telling your average Croatian citizen that the Baseball World Cup is coming to their country is like announcing that your Grandpa's croquet league is holding their championship in your backyard. They think it's nice, but then they continue their conversation. Yesterday we had the chance to see Croatia and Great Britain play the last game of the opening round of the Baseball World Cup in Zagreb. I knew Stuart Scott wouldn't be called in to cover the game for ESPN or that the fans wouldn't be calling their local radio station talking about Ivan Racic's lack of production the previous day. But I was plesantly surprised. Despite a low turnout for Batting Practice, the stands eventually filled to standing-room-only making the announced attendance of 600 seem low. Even among all the Croatian spoken during the game I ingested a steady diet of "line-drive" "strike-out" and even "DH" baseball lingo. The guy next to me was able to ...

No Smoking - A Thing of the Past

I walked into a Croatian restaraunt the other day. With hardly a sniff, I felt like I was transported all the way back to...4 months ago . Bravo Croatia! You were the only Balkan country to ban indoor smoking . Who cares if it only lasted through the summer? With hardly a thought to how it would affect local bars and restaraunts you pioneered an effort to lower the number of smokers in your country. You made a statement to the nonsmokers (the majority of the country) by showing respect for their desire for clean air. You even distinguished yourself as a country who would comply with this EU standard even if you weren't completely on board with other European Union requirements. I applaud your efforts Croatia. Too bad the temperature dip, the subsequent move inside and the drop in sales forced your efforts to go up in smoke. Can't say I'm surprised.

Enoh "Walks" Copland

Summer of Winter

Isn't it funny how sometimes you hear music and it takes you right back to another period in your life? Whenever I hear "All-Star" by Smashmouth I go back to 1999 where we had the pop music station on in our changing room in the Corps. One of the Marines even incorporated the song into a running cadence. But last summer I rediscovered the beauty of Vivaldi's Four Seasons - specifically the first movement of Winter. Whenever I hear that piece it will remind me of the summer of 2008. And a few weeks ago I heard it - but in a new way. Petra and I were in Dubrovnik when we encountered an ensemble made up of a violinist, guitarist, floutist and a bottlist (see percussionist) performing the Allegro non molto masterfully. The video doesn't do them justice, but you get the idea.

Another World

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If you're a fan of bridges to Terabithia or rings that take you from one pool to another, you might be interested in experiencing this other world. We were able to visit with relatives from both sides of Petra's family last week when they came to Croatia. One of her cousins (not pictured) from Slovenia offered to build a tree house for two of her American cousins (pictured below) who are 11 and 7. Here are the results: Pictures never do fantasy justice. Neither do blogs, but if you are interested in another site about another world, check out my father's site: http://www.questmin.org/

Sunglasses and The Sermon

As I began preparing for my daily walk with Copland along the shoreline of the Adriatic I thought about taking my sunglasses. They're the cheap kind, the ones the vendors sell on the street that look like the latest name brand shades everyone's wearing. And even though they'll break if you sniff, they're stylish. The problem is I don't have contacts - a luxury I had back when I bought the glasses, but one we've decided not to renew. So in order to put on my stylin' shades, I'd have to take off my government issued 3rd and 4th eyes. And I actually thought about doing it. I wouldn't be able to see the sea. The rocks that give the shoreline its uniqueness would be invisible, my path blurred. All told, the sunglasses would be worn solely for the sake of vanity. But as I was going through the decision-making process it occurred to me that this is the general principle Jesus was getting at in so much of his Sermon on the Mount. It's the differe...

I Like Birthdays!

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I haven't been around too long so this birthday thing is still rather new. They tell me yesterday was my first. I'm not quite sure how long until the next one, but I'm ready for number two! Take a look:

Oh Bee Gee Why? En.

OBGYN. Gynecologist. Whatever you want to call them - I'm not uncomfortable anymore. We've visited our friendly gynecologist quite a bit the last couple years. He's kind. He loves watching our kids wiggle around on his TV screen. And, he's getting up there in years. Funny story: We were headed back to the States for Christmas 2008 in 24 hours. Petra had taken a couple pregnancy tests that indicated she was pregnant, but had to see an OBGYN in order to make sure she and the baby were healthy and it was ok to travel. We ended up going to the only one who had time to see her. The office looked more American than Croatian with a nice waiting room, pop music playing and the latest issue of Elle. We thought we were going to have to pay an arm and a leg to keep seeing this guy. But after 5 minutes of getting to know Dr. Lederer, Petra realized he had met her before. 23 years ago, Petra's mom had been pregnant and had to get permission to travel to the States. While it was...

Everything I Need to Know About Potty-Training I Learned From Baseball

After two weeks of not seeing my son, I've got him all to myself while Petra works time–and-a-half at camp. Even while I was in the States I began to create a gameplan of moving Enoh from diapers to underwear before he turned one. (That was of course before my wife brought me down to earth and told me it was impossible.) Regardless, I figured this two-week period was the time to teach my son everything I know. So perhaps you think I'm crazy for putting my 11 month old son on the potty. Maybe I am. But the guy's batting .800. That's right - 8 times in the last 10 days he's found a way to get it done. Yesterday it was more like a bunt. But give the little guy credit – he put the ball in play. We've had a few hit and runs (crawls) and the first day we tried, he hit it out of the park – and the potty. But that one's my fault – I had it turned the wrong way. What's the secret? Good timing I guess. He usually steps up to the plate right after a nap...

What I Learned in America

For some reason culture shock has hit me harder the longer I experience it. Not that it gets any more difficult, but for some reason the differences between Croatia and America seem even more pronounced now than they used to. So with my latest trip to America a few days behind me, here are some things (related and unrelated to culture shock) that I noticed. In no particular order: 1. How much I love my wife and son. Does distance make the heart grow fonder? In our case yes! 2. How much I will miss my parents and newly-married brother. Spending time with them was more valuable than I imagined - especially now that we probably won't be back for another year-and-a-half. 3. How big Americans are. One article I read said that 26% of Americans are obese...that's more than Croatia. 4. How convenient many things are in America. Need directions? Mapquest . Want a book? Amazon.com has a wide selection and delivers quickly. Coffee and WIFI? Dunkin Donuts , Brueggers , the local coffee sh...

Skype's the Limit!

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Technology at it's best. Thank you Skype!

Separation Anxiety

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Separation anxiety refers to the horror your child exhibits when you put them in someone elses arms and leave the room. It usually happens around 1 year old. Enoh still may have another month or so to go before he gets there, but I'm feeling a tinge of separation anxiety myself. Back in January we decided that I would come to the States alone for my brother's wedding. There were a few reasons Petra wasn't able to come, but I still thought about bringing Enoh along myself. Better sense kicked in and I'm here in America alone. Don't get me wrong. Being with my family, attending my brother's wedding, and seeing two ballgames (a cubs included!) makes the trip well worth it. And thank goodness for Skype without which I wouldn't be able to see Petra and Enoh at all during my two week stay. But still...

No Smoking (For Now)

First time I walked into a Croatian police station I felt like I was on the set of the original Mission: Impossible . You know how they used to portray the communist characters – thick accents, hard as nails dictators and smoke. Commies always smoked. So I half expected Mr. Phelps to walk in the door as I waited to get permission to stay in Croatia. The small room had it all: posters that dated back to the Pioneers, 70's style unis, flakey paint and a little square of cardboard to cover the hole at the bottom of the reception window. And smoke. All four policemen were smoking as if their jobs depended on it. That was only 3 years ago but it seems a generation ago now that the no smoking signs have gone up in every public indoor location in the country. Another government building – the post office – has been transformed into an up-to-date European service station simply by eliminating the smoke. But it doesn't come naturally here. Telling your average Croatian bar-frequenter t...

BOK

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'Bok' - an informal way of saying hello in Croatian. 'BOK' is also the name of our baseball team in Orahovica - 'Baseball Orahovica Klub'. I began teaching baseball three years ago in Orahovica. They didn't know a thing. Right handers would swing with their left hand on top. Batters would run to third base after hitting the ball. The second baseman would throw the ball to the center-fielder hoping to get an out. They've never watched a baseball game, played catch or collected baseball cards. Needless to say strategies like a suicide squeeze or double switch haven't been covered yet. But I'm proud of our team. They've really come along this year. One of our supporters sponsored t-shirts for the team - something each player had to earn with 6 attendences. I forgot to order any extra small t-shirts so the poor guys in the front have to wait until I return from America to get theirs even though they're some of the most faithful and energetic ...

A Foreign Land

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Croatia has been a peaceful country to live in for over 15 years now. Yet, there remain quite a few scars from the war. 20 minutes from our house there's a Serbian village (in Croatia) that was destroyed by the war. Rumor has it that the Croatian government is offering to pay people to rebuild and live in towns like this one. So far it seems not many have taken them up on their offer. Here are some pictures of Pusina.

It's About Time

If you are a regular reader of the Culture Shock weblog you must have been waiting breathlessly on the edge of your seat for my return to the blogsphere . I'm back. And not a minute too early. During my time in the high school marching band we had the following mantra pounded into our heads: To be early is to be on time To be on time is to be late To be late is to be dead Let's just say much of Eastern Europe wouldn't be populated if the phrase were true here. A couple nights ago a friend was telling me that she needed something done by 4:00 so she told the person it had to be done by 2:00. It's not that they're incompetent . It's just that they're not concerned about schedule. Certainly there are exceptions to the rule, but that's the way many Eastern Europeans operate. A meeting that 'starts' at 6:00 will actually start at 6:15, or 6:30 or maybe possibly be delayed until the next day. The person might not even show up. Who knows? And the reason...

Piano Man

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Sure, we'd love for Enoh to become a trombone player, but if that doesn't work, it's good to know he's got another viable option.

The Fine Line Between Cheating and Helping

If American individualism can be symbolized by a mother bird pushing her tweety out of the nest when it's time to learn how to fly the Croatian equivalent could be the mother bird finding extra twigs, straw and grass to enlarge the nest until tweety either learns to fly or stays in the nest. Is that a harsh representation? Depends on where you live. Croatians can't believe there are parents who would push their kids out of the nest at 18. Americans can't believe there are 45 year old sons (with jobs) who still live with their parents. And it's this dependence (or lack thereof) that is one of the biggest cultural shocks a citizen of either country would face if they traveled to the other. That brings us to today. I was teaching my last English class of the spring. In order to finish on a cheerful note, I gave them a simple test that reviewed everything we learned in the last semester. I had noticed in previous classes that a couple students tended to glance at each ot...

Who's in the Driver's Seat Now?

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After the last post on this blog, and the subsequent response, Daddy thought it might be good to take a break. "Maybe I'm taking this blogging thing too seriously", he commented. And I agree. So it's my turn now. But what do I talk about? I have neither started crawling, nor walking. If I'm going to be bilingual you certainly wouldn't know it yet. There is one thing that's bugging me though. The first thing most people say about me is that I look just like my dad - 'isti tata'. Come on. Take this picture for example. I have so much more hair than he does! Or this one. At least we don't root for the same team! Whether I'll be more like my mom or my dad, I don't know. But I do know that I am dearly loved by both!

Make Twitterers of All Nations

The first idea I read about wasn't so bad. In fact, I thought about giving it a try. The 9Marks blog challenged its readers to express the gospel in 140 characters or less - as a twitter message.If nothing else, it would give twitterers a chance to articulate the gospel concisely while possibly solidifying its truth in their minds. But what followed was something I wasn't ready for. Time Magazine ran a piece last week about how some churches are allowing - no - encouraging congregants to tweet during the morning worship service. Several churches around the country have upped the band-width in the auditorium, tweaked the projector and displayed anyone and everyone's tweets throughout the announcements, music and message. "Why tempt people with short attention spans with such distractions?", the article wondered. "Because Twitter is hot." What? Maybe Pastor John Voelz from Westwinds Community Church in MI expressed it better: We're looking to "m...

"Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice"

"Reserved optimism" is how Milo and Erin Wilson have described their feelings five days after giving birth to a son with a difficult heart condition. Earlier, Erin expressed that it felt like a roller coaster. Nontheless we rejoice with the Wilsons in the birth of Josiah and continue to pray with them as he has several serious surgeries ahead of him. Stay up to date on http://thewilsonheart.blogspot.com/ .

What are you trying to say?

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I encountered this warning on our new inflatable kiddie pool: Americans, you might not be used to looking for your language, but if you look at the US warning, you'll notice it's considerably more detailed than the Great Britain equivalent (not to mention the Australian ). Why is this? What are they trying to say? Regardless, you do have to wonder why Aussies, Brits and Americans all need different warnings on their kiddie pools. In related news, Enoh loves the pool. Laci , have the girls bring their swimsuits this weekend - he needs company!