October

Hello, Friends.

October is a great month in the United States. If this is your first year here, you are in for a treat. If you have lived her for a while, then you know that there is no end to the opportunities for fun. The autumnal season becomes spectacular. Our weather is starting to turn chilly (don't worry, Indy likes to ease into winter weather). 

Many people new to the States wonder that we love to help each other out. There are so many small ways that can make a great impact in the lives of the people around us. Carmel Clay Schools are collecting winter coats to help others October 2-6. You can send clean, gently used coats to school with your children or bring them to the church and I will take them over. The coats go to Hamilton County Kids Coats to help out our local kids. I am sure that your schools will also be donating, or you can take your donations as described on the webpages.

And speaking of local, you can go to Hamilton Town Center and support our local businesses. The Hamilton Town Center Fall Festival is teaming up with Indiana Originals to showcase some of our amazing local businesses. The Expo and Marketplace is Saturday, September 30 at Hamilton Town Center in front of Dick's Sporting Goods, 13901 Town Center Blvd, Noblesville from 3:00-8:00 PM.

I hope you have a spectacular weekend.


International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100
Psalm 19 was the first topic of our discussion, as we studied another of David's psalms. The opening verses explain that nature declares the glory of God in a way that speakers of any language can understand. The middle verses talk about how perfect God's laws are, and that rather than being restrictive to us, they show us the best (although not always the easiest) path for our lives.

Our second topic was the story of the birth of Jesus from the first chapter of Matthew. Unlike the Christmas story from Luke 2, this story is told from Joseph's point of view. It was interesting to share differences in engagement and wedding customs past and present in several Asian cultures, Brazilian culture, and in the U.S.

The first chapter of Matthew connects the birth of Jesus with the prophecies of Isaiah in the Old Testament. We admired Joseph's obedience to God as he became a husband to Mary and a father to Jesus.

October 3: Please join our discussion led by Jan Hermann! We will discuss Psalm 121 and begin to read the second chapter of Matthew, which tells about the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100
What a beautiful day for apple picking and playing down on the farm. If you haven't been to Tuttle Orchards, it is worth the trip. What is really fun about Tuttle Orchards is that they have a nice variety of you pick options. They have a really nice farm market (I bought apple butter, honey and cider). We had to be back at the church, so I missed getting a cider slushy. That would have been the perfect cooler for the hot day. While many of the farms close on the off season, Tuttle Orchards and the farm store are open year 'round.

There are a good number of farms in the area where you can enjoy picking your own produce. Check out our Things to Do for links to the farms and see what is happening.

October 3: Let's tailgate! A great fall sport tradition is to meet in the parking lot before the game to eat, drink and be merry! Meet in the back parking lot. Bring your chair, a snack or dish to share, your beverage of choice and wear your team spirit wear!

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 208/210
We met and looked through the Current in Carmel to see what is of interest. We enjoyed the section that highlighted road construction. There were several other interesting articles. 

John Happersberg brought some lists that identified common homophones (words that are pronounced the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings). If you would like these lists, talk to me (yes, this is a test to see if you have read this article)

October 4: Join us for some lively conversation.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms
I had a great day visiting around the classes. I am happy to welcome back to our staff Dona Taylor. She has taught English many years and is returning to us after a break. Gloria Kellogg was back from a visit to her sister in Texas. We are glad to have us home in Indiana. This week our Accent team of Kathy Petrovic and Gene Bruns were coincidentally on vacation. Yeon Sun Lim did a great job of helping our Accent class join Wendy Milejczak and our Conversation class for great discussions that combined slang and professional language. Whew! You were working hard in there! Don Hawes (of our Conversation class) was also out on a cruise (what is it with our staff?! They better bring me something back!). Bibi Weprich is back with us and is teamed up with Gaga Liu to lead our Level 2 class. Barb Percy and her sister Pam Kiley are working with our Level 1 and Introduction to English groups. Level 3 is being manned by Kris Roach and Jackie Song. Fukuko Phan and Elizabeth Spiller have been great all hands on deck to help out where ever necessary. I am so thankful for our fabulous volunteer staff that are eager and on hand to help all of us grow. I am so grateful to all of you students that put in your time and bring your considerable talents to our program to make it so interesting. English is just a language. It is what you have to communicate to each other that makes the words relevant and worthwhile.

If you are using the Interchange textbooks for your class, here is the link to load the audio files on your smart devices or computer. I don't know why some of you have DVDs and others have CDs. They seem to have changed their format and/or the delivery. 

October 5: I am happy to announce that we still have plenty of room in our classes. Please jump right in and join us! 

turn chilly: get cold
over: yes, I ended in a preposition! I am a Hooser.
local: from the area

to declare: to make known or state clearly; to announce or proclaim
restrictive: tending to confine or keep within limits, as of space, action, choice, intensity, or quantity
point of view: perspective
Magi: the wise men who paid homage to the infant Jesus
down on the farm: when you are at a farm; you never go down on the zoo or down on the museum

worth the trip: worth while, of value
you pick: places where you can choose or pick your own produce from the tree or plant
slushy: a frozen, juice drink. You will see this spelled as slushie. In some parts of the country this type of beverage is called a slush.

off season: when production is low
produce: pronounced PRO-duce; fruit and vegetables
open year 'round: is not open seasonally; 'round is casual for around
the game: a specific sporting event vs. any old game

Let's Go Apple Picking September 26

Hello, Friends:

The weather will be perfect for a trip to Tuttle Orchard tomorrow.

International Bible Study: 9:30-10:30 CLC Room 100

International Friends Tuttle Orchard Field Trip Information

Meet at CLC to carpool/caravan leaving by 10:35.

Meet us at the Orchard
Click for Directions and a Map

This is a family friendly event. Everyone is welcome!

Thank you Janae for organizing this event.

A great second week!

Hello, Friends.

Friday marked the first day of fall and the autumal equinox. With diminishing daylight hours you may be tempted to diminish your outdoor activities. Actually, the opposite is true. This is a beautiful time of year to be in Indiana. If you are new to the Midwest, you are in for a treat. There are many opportunities to celebrate outdoors at festivals: this weekend there are quite a few. The weather is usually cooperates with our festivities with not so hot days and cool nights. You may have noticed the trees are beginning to change...Brown County is a great place to go for a day trip. Judge the best time by keeping an eye on the Leaf Cam! 

We had a nice Meet Up at the CLC Oktoberfest. Thank you Kathy and Bill for holding court and holding tables! 

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.

As we read Psalm 31 in our native languages, we marveled at the beautiful and poetic structure of David's lament. David begins by declaring his trust in God, but in the middle his words turn into a rant to God about the people and circumstances that threaten him. Then in the final verses David, in essence, says, "But I know you will fix this, God!" We discussed cultural norms that warn children not to cry in public, but to do their crying at home. Most of us could easily relate to this advice, and it helped us to understand David's crying out to God in this Psalm. And who doesn't feel better after a good cry once in a while? 

We also started the book of Matthew at the beginning of the New Testament. We talked about the genealogy of Jesus.

September 26: Join us! We will read about His birth in Matthew 1: 18-25. We will begin by reading Psalm 19

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100.

Thank you Sayuri for the amazing and delicious dessert. The pictures and recipe are posted on our Facebook page. Yes...I had trouble trying to paste the pictures into our update. The good news is that you can take a little virtual trip to our public page. We also have a private page. Ask me about it!

September 26: Let's go to Tuttle Orchards 5717 N 300 W, Greenfield, IN 46140 · ~16.3 m
There is apple picking, a pumpkin patch, a corn maze and kids farm, a farm store and a sweet shop. Meet at the church to carpool/caravan OR meet at the farm. Bring your children! This is a fun family event!

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 210.

Wow! We had a great turn out for our Conversation class. This meeting is unleveled (anyone can come to chat. We talked about what we wanted to get out of our meetings this year: 

• accent and pronunciation correction

• sentence structure

• smooth speaking

• vocabulary building

• practice listening and speaking English

We found the tricky part is practicing English and not our home languages.  We talked about strategies for remembering words. When learning a language and vocabulary it is normal and necessary to "forget" words. When you review and remember you are replacing that information in your brain. You have to "forget" a number of times before something is easily accessed and remembered.

September 27: Bring your Current in (Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, ASF); bring a word or phrase you found interesting or difficult; immerse yourself in English media as you drive or at home.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms
Everyone settling into their classrooms. It was nice to drop in with your text books and see what is going on. There were many interesting conversations and activities happening in each class. In the conversation class they were talking about not ending a sentence with a preposition. You can see an example of that in the second sentence above (and right here). Or you could say: You can see and example of that above in the second sentence. Can you come up with a better way to rephrase that second sentence? Learn more about using prepositions.

September 28: It is never too late to join us! Also, Accent Training and Conversation will join forces after a brief review.

marked: set aside
[;]: a semicolon is used to separate two complete sentences that are joined as one idea
not so hot: cooler (for example: "How do you like your soup?" "Not so hot; I am waiting for it to cool off before I can taste it?"); someone may say that something is "not so hot" meaning not very good (for example: "How are you feeling?" "Not so hot; I have a cold."  or "How was the movie?" "Not so hot; the special effects were lame." 
holding court: 

lament: a formal expression of sorrow or mourning, especially in verse or song
to rant: to speak or declaim extravagantly or violently; talk in a wild or vehement way; rave
cultural norms: basic customs
a good cry: when your situation overwhelms and you cry hard; this is 
take a little virtual trip: click on a link and go to another place on line
ASF: and so forth, etc., 
media: radio, television
drop in: stop by
going on: happening
rephrase: say in another way
join forces: meet together to work together

One more first!

Dear Friends,

I had such a great week seeing everyone and meeting all of you! We have such a spectacular year ahead of us that is full of fun and surprises. Take some time to see what we are offering and be sure to take advantage of all that we have to offer. 

There is so much to do in Carmel. Check out our Things to Do Page.


International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100.

This week we read (in four different languages!) and discussed Psalm 91. The use of pronouns as the poetic device emphasizes the message of the psalm. This psalmist says that he trusts in the Lord. He says, "Surely he will save you (verse 3)" and goes on to explain that God promises to protect you from danger. Whether it's an unknown temptation that could entangle or disease or conflicts that could hurt you. In the last verse, God speaks in first person, "I will [keep him safe] and [satisfy him with long life] and grant him salvation". We listened to Josh Groban's beautiful song On Eagle's Wings, which takes its lyrics from Psalm 91 and puts a modern spin on this hymn.

September 19: We decided to start each of our Bible studies this year with a Psalm and to read and discuss the Gospel of Matthew. Join us next week when we will read Psalm 31 and begin Matthew 1! 

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, Room 100.
We talked about living in Indiana and answered questions about schools. We talked about ice cream socials and all of the options that are available to our children in our communities.  

September 19: Join us as Sayuri teaches us how to make Oreo brownies. This is your last chance for a cooking lesson from her before she moves to Japan (and we have to take a field trip to get a lesson!).


Open Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs classrooms.
Our classes begin begins September 20. Join us as we gather together to practice our conversational English. All levels are welcome. This meeting costs $30 for the year. This cost covers the costs for materials.


English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms.
We kicked off our first classes this past week. We have some fantastic teachers this year who have come together to help you improve your English skills. Each teacher is beginning with some specific strategies to help you improve your casual English and build your vocabulary.

Level one is concentrating on basic vocabulary and grammar and conversation.
Level two is focusing on listening and mimicking speech patterns as well as sentence structures.
Level three is working on using writing as a medium for develop and expand grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary as well as enhancing their conversational English.
Level four is expanding their understanding of American slang and colorful language as well as concentrating on how to clearly communicate in their professional fields.
American Accent Training is working on tweaking and refining their individual pronunciation to improve their ability to smoothly communicate and be easily understood.

Don't hesitate to bring your specific questions and problems. We are here to help you with your daily living here in Indiana.

the Lord: God (with a capital G because that is His name); Lord with a capital because that is His name. In the Bible, whenever a word names God it is capitalized.
Surely: when someone strongly believes something they use "surely" to emphasize what they are saying
you: this psalm uses repetition of the pronouns of I, you and him to convey the ideas within the poem; notice how the pronouns focus the attention and ideas
verse: sentences or phrases that form a unit that is repetitive or rhymes; this style of poetry uses repetition (and remember this is translated from Hebrew)
takes its: comes from, is derived from
puts a modern spin: takes a tradition and puts it in a current context
first person: using the pronoun I 
[words]: brackets are used when a writer paraphrases or adds to something that is within a quote
* When writing and citing or using and referencing song using MLA (Modern Language Association) style (which is the preferred academic style) Groban, Josh. "On Eagle's Wings"

Welcome Back!

Hello, Friends.

It is so nice to see everyone back again. I miss our Friends who have moved and/or moved on over the past year. I am so glad that we have a great number of new Friends joining us. I know that everyone would be great friends and many of you will become Facebook Friends. We are welcoming new staff and welcoming back staff and welcoming back alumni staff in our English classes.

Be sure to look around our pages and take full advantage of all the fun and delicious opportunities that this upcoming year has to offer. To get to our full site click on our address:

http://indyinternationalfriends.blogspot.com/

You can see our history and what we did in the past and how we talked about it. Look at our International Friends calendar and jump in for the fun. What else is happening in the community? Check out our things to do page: add comments to add to our or shoot me an e-mail at indyintlfriends@gmail.com. Don't forget our recipes page or our information pages.

Let me know if we are missing anything. If you need to know something, then there are certainly others who do also!

See you next week!
Carolyn

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100
We had a nice meeting and read Psalm 36*. The book of  Psalms in the Bible is Hebrew poetry written by people to celebrate and pray to God. This book is the hymnal of the Old Testament. Hebrew poetry does not rhyme (as English poetry and music typically does), but instead it uses word repetition. We read in Korean, Mandarin, English and Japanese. The first four verses of this poem describe evil people who plan hurt without a care or thought of others. The second part describes the love of God. The final three verses are a request that God's love be with the psalmist and that He protect and overcome evil.

September 12: Join us as we read and talk about Psalm 91. Come and weigh in on what we should read this coming year.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, Room 100
We had a great time getting to know each other today. I am so glad to make so many new Friends. Thank you for your initial ideas for our meetings. I have added to the calendar.

September 12: Join us as we talk about school expectations and customs in Indiana. What are usual holidays? How do you talk to teachers? What does your school require?

Open Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, Upstairs Classrooms
Our meetings begin September 20. Please register on-line:
https://cornerstonelutheran.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=416

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, Upstairs Classrooms

What a great day for registration. We have an exciting year ahead of us. A few notes as we begin:

• Please enter Door 6. This door is the first door as you enter the parking lot off of Gray Road. CLC has a preschool and for the children's safety and security they ask that we only use this entry.
• We only accept cash or personal checks. Please make your checks out to CLC.

September 14: Welcome back! come and meet your teacher and classmates. Join us for our first meeting. Please register online before coming:

https://cornerstonelutheran.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=416

moved; moved on: relocated or moved; advanced or moved on (congratulations on your jobs and new adventures)
and/or: when a / is between two words either one of the words or both of the words could apply to the situation
over the past year: during the year that has passed
great: a great number is many; great friends are people who are best friends!
*Psalm 36: Click on the link to read the passages for your self. You can read in your home language (I set this one as NIV, or New International Version and Korean. Scroll through to find your home language) or you can do a side-by-side comparison: click on the parallel icon and choose two languages to read and compare. Notice that you can click on the "speaker" icon and follow along in English.
read/read: in the first paragraph it is read (red) meaning we did it; in the second paragraph we read (reed) meaning we will read it
Psalms: pronounced s-all-ms (no p)
hymnal: book of music and songs used in worship to God
weigh in on: share your opinion or your vote to make a decision

Summer is over.

Good bye summer.

Hello, Friends.

Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer here in the United States. It is your last chance (usually) to head to the neighborhood pool. We celebrate this last, long weekend with picnics and bar-be-ques and trips to the lake.

And every good bye leads to a hello...Hello International Friends year! Meetings start this week. If you haven't registered yet, please take the time to do so by completing our registration form.

Tuesday, September 5

International Bible Study: 9:30-10:30, Room 100
Join Jan and choose the book of the Bible to read and talk about this year. Read in your home language or in English. Join our discussions in English. Everyone is welcome and you don't have be Christian to attend.

International Friends: 10:30-12:00, Room 100
Meet new and old friends and share summer stories as we kick off our year of friendship, fun, field trips and food. Let's fill in our calendar with ideas and wishes. Do you have something you want to do? Do you have something you want to show or teach? Let's get it on the calendar!

Thursday, September 7

English Class Registration and Screening: 9:30-12:00, Upstairs classrooms
You can preregister on line. Returning students can come and pay for your classes and catch up with old friends. If you are a new student, come to get screened for upcoming year to find the best class for you. We have some new class leaders this year and some new class offerings. We are very excited to have you join us! Formal classes begin September 14.

to do so: do a specific thing