Are you thinking of spring? It's only the end of January, but many of us are becoming weary of the cold. The remaining Snowbirds are heading South to escape the cold for a few months. Have you noticed the geese are flying in large groups? The ducks back on the creek and socializing in groups. What do they know? February 2 is Groundhog Day. We will have insight into the animal world winter prediction for spring. Groundhogs usually hibernate, but on February 2, groundhogs around the country peek out predict whether we will have six more weeks of winter or whether spring is around the corner.
*We read three versions of the story where Jesus walks on the water about three miles to catch up with the disciples after He goes into the mountains to pray and be by Himself after feeding the crowd of more than 5000 people in International Bible Study.* This story can be found in John 6:16-21, and Mark 6:47-52, Matthew 14:24-33. Each of these accounts were written by different authors for different audiences at different times. Interestingly enough, the symbolic number for God is the number three; this story is only told in three of the Gospels and shows Jesus as God. Try reading them in the order listed. John simply tells the story. Mark adds that the disciples had been angry and hurt that Jesus had fed all of the people through a miracle, but then they understand that Jesus is God in this moment and they are glad for Him to join them once again. Matthew tells the story and adds that Peter asks to join Jesus in walking on the water. We discovered that we are stronger and can accomplish unusual things when we have the faith to do the things. God invites us to participate. We also discovered that when we have doubts we can ask Him for help. He will immediately reach out His hand and rescue us.
Thank you, Yaying, for teaching us to make Taiwanese bubble tea and tea eggs on Tuesday at our International Friends meeting. Fresh, homemade tea is so much better than any of the bubble teas I have had at any of our shops here. I am glad to know the secrets of tea eggs. They are marvelous tasting and beautiful.
We made our Valentines at our Conversation class Wednesday evening. There were many beautiful ideas. We talked a bit about American Valentine customs. Wednesday, February 4 Conversation class's topic will be a surprise! Bring questions you want answered.
International Friends (Tuesdays, room 100, 10:30-12:00) Planning Ahead:
February 3, 2015: Let's celebrate setsubun!
Join us as we get ready for spring and celebrate setsubun. We will also talk about whether spring is really coming from our Groundhog Day predictions.
February 10, 2015: Let's get ready for Valentine's Day!
Join us as we enjoy Fondue and talk about our romantic plans for the holiday.
February 17, 2015: Let's celebrate Mardi Gras!
Join us as we celebrate Fat Tuesday. Should we cook in? Should we enjoy a delicious Cajun lunch out? Tune in!
February is a short month. From our schedule, it looks like we are going to eat our way through the winter to look forward to spring.
Have a nice weekend!
Carolyn
weary: tired
Snowbirds: people from the North who spend the winter in the warm south; our teacher Janey is snowbirding in Florida this month
hibernate: sleep through the winter months
whether: if (this is a great pun: predict whether/predict whether hahahah!)
around the corner: coming soon
XLIX: Super Bowl is counted using Roman numerals
epitome: perfect example; definition
rollout: introduce something new; roll out (two words) is what you do with dough when you make cut out cookies
Pinterest: an addictive web spot to collect and save ideas off of the internet. Create your own "boards" to collect ideas
prime spots: a good place, you can go early to get a prime spot at fireworks or a parade
tainted: contaminated, spoiled
*: This is a really long sentence. How many ideas are there? Where would you break this sentence into multiple sentences? What part of the sentence would you need to add?
versions: a stories that are told by different people
accounts: versions of a story
interestingly enough: a conversational mark to highlight the next phrase as interesting
rescue: save
marvelous: fantastic, wonderful
setsubun: when a word is written in another language, often you will find it underlined or written in italic font or print styleFat Tuesday: The day of feasting (also known as Mardi Gras) before the fasting of the Christian Lenten season.
Tune in: this saying comes from the old days when people listened to the radio and would tune in or choose a station/story to follow.
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