Meet up at Pendleton Falls Park

Hello, Friends.

Meet Up: June 21, 11:00, Pendleton Falls Park shelter, 299 Falls Park Drive, Pendleton, IN
We'll start in the picnic shelter. Our host, Jeremy, is looking forward to introducing us to his stomping grounds. What a great opportunity for a nice summer road trip! The forecast is for a good possibility of thunder showers, but we have the shelter, so we can meet rain or shine.

Another great road trip option is to go to the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering in Battleground, Indiana beginning on Friday and running through Sunday. Bring your lawn chairs and a cooler and enjoy a festival day of music. When you click on the link, you will get to enjoy streaming from previous years. Fiddling encompasses all music genres, so you will have a chance to hear many different styles from old time to bluegrass to rock to ragtime to Celtic (Irish and Scottish) and even Cape Briton style of music. Who knew that violins were such a versatile instrument when you change their name to fiddle! Ticket prices vary with from $40 for three days in advance to $15 per day in advance with a $5 increase at the gate.

The Dayton Air Show is a little farther out and is Saturday and Sunday the 23rd and 24th. Be prepared for a spectacular day. The Blue Angels (US Navy flight team that demonstrates amazing maneuvers) will be flying (for the first time at the Dayton Airshow since 2014. General Admission Tickets are available at Kroger for $18 and a fee or at the gate for $25. Be sure to check the restrictions: particularly no coolers, no loose ice,  and all food must be wrapped in clear wrap. Food and drinks are available on the grounds and water is available for free. Plan for traffic and parking.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, CLC Room 100.
We drank delicious tea while we discussed 1 John 3. We began with the overview video of 1-3 John from the Bible Project that led us to interesting conversations about how we cope with people who are unpleasant in our church, family and the world. We talked about how eternal life begins immediately when people believe God. Eternal death (rejecting God and his gifts) begins when people die, so there is hope. We talked about how when we are in loving groups (family, church, etc,) we can "practice" our skills of love and caring before using them on people you don't know. There was so much to talk about, so much advice to give, so much philosophy to share.

June 26: We are meeting back at CLC Tuesday to discuss 1 John 4: how to identify people who want to mislead people about the truth about God and His love.

Summer Games: June 28, 9:30-10:30, rooms 205/207
Bring your kids and play some fun games guaranteed to improve your English and to break the ice or monotony of a long vacation trip.

stomping grounds: slang or idiom for someone's favorite place to hang out (International Friends events are my stomping grounds)
rain or shine: no matter what the weather is like
streaming: playing over the internet
genre: a classification or type of music or literature; pronounced zhan rah
at the gate: you can buy tickets in advance or you can buy them on site or at the entry of and event which is called the gate
maneuvers: moves that require skill as well as military exercises
restrictions: limits and prohibited or banned items
general admission tickets: these give you entry into an event and you find your own seats; this is typical for fairs and summer concerts
cope: deal with something difficult
eternal: never ending
tea while we discussed: Bible Study in Chinese is written as drinking tea. We did both!
break the ice: open conversations
monotony: long and boring events

Communication tip

Hello, Friends.

My apologies. The communication tip didn’t post in its entirety, so here it is.

Why is it that people don’t understand one word and you know you are pronouncing it in perfect broadcaster English?

This is an interesting conundrum. You work to have good pronunciation and then you are misunderstood or not understood. What is both irritating and amusing is that the more you repeat your perfect word (as a vocabulary word and as a pronounced word), the less confident you feel about it and your language skills in general. The good news is that this happens no matter what language you speak. This happens in your home language or if you only speak one language and no one expects another language from you (like when kids don’t understand what you are telling them and you taught them the language and they have been listening to you all their lives! Really, guys?)

There are two reasons why this can happens and both come from the expectation of the listener and not your ability. One is that is that you have an accent surrounding your word and when you say a word with perfect broadcaster pronunciation people don’t expect to hear that word pronounced that way.  The second is that the listener didn’t expect you to say that word to begin with and has to take some time to process and recognize the word. An easy fix is to spell the word and then triumphantly pronounce it perfectly once again. An alternative is to come up with a synonym (word that means the same thing) and then repeat your perfect word. Finally, give your listener a little time to hear and process what you said.

Remember that language is a communication tool and it takes a good speaker and a good listener to make it work perfectly every time.

My apologies: you can say this instead of I’m sorry. Often people will continue with an explanation.
entirety: completely, the whole thing
conundrum: a problem that doesn’t make sense
irritating: annoying
amusing: humorous
In general: not specifically, typically
Really , guys? an expression of disbelief
triumphantly: for the win!
to begin with: a midwestern add on statement that emphasizes the previous idea

Meet Up with us over the summer and keep practicing

Hello, Friends.

As you enjoy your summer vacation, remember to practice what you have learned and continue to learn.

Gabriel Wyner (author of Fluent Forever) talks about having habits that encourage your language learning and retention and that learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. Drivers of any learning or change process include motivation and ability. Motivation is the internal or external reason to do something. Ability is the means or capability to get something done. There are three aspects that help you:

• Personal: do you want to do it and can you do it (time, energy, opportunity)? Yes! You are reading this and coming to our meetings (we hope, otherwise we miss you).
• Social: do you have other people who help you do it? Yes! Join us over the summer.
• Structural: Are there rewards and an environment to help you succeed? Yes. Join us and join other groups. We are a social species and create excuses to get together and practice communicating.

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

We continued our discussion of 1 John with chapter 2. The Bible Project offers concise and interesting overview videos about the literary styles and history and how these components enhance the message. 1-3 John gives an excellent background/overview of these three books and their message.

June 19 at Carolyn's house: CLC has and event, so we will meet at Carolyn's house and discuss 1 John 3. And here is Matthew Henry's discussion of 1 John 3. Matthew Henry writes in old English so be ready to expand your vocabulary exponentially. 

Summer Games: next meeting June 28, 9:30-10:30, CLC room 205-207

We met to play "Password." This game is a fun way to pass the time (especially on road trips). Game playing leads to conversation, and that is perfectly fine since the purpose of games is to give us a reason to get together.  

Meet Up in the Park: June 21. 11:00 Pendleton Falls Park, 299 Falls Park Drive, Pendleton, IN

Join us at this highly rated on Yelp and Trip Advisor beautiful park that has walking trails and a museum as well as many other attraction nearby. Follow the brown Historic Pendleton signs to downtown Pendleton. You will pass through the downtown area to get to the park. Meet at the picnic shelter and bring a snack or dish to share. Plan to walk the trails and get wet in the creek.

Our host, Jeremy recommends some fun restaurants: 

the Bank

Quack Daddy Donuts

Catello's Mozzarella Bar

The Wine and Stable Brew Company

Falls Perk Coffee House

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retention: keep, remember

vacuum: apart from any other influence

isolation: alone

enhance: increase the quality or value of something

exponentially: increase rapidly

road trips: car rides for social and recreational purposes

leads to: causes to happen

Summertime and the living is easy! Join us for some easy fun.

Hello, Friends.

Summer is finally here. I hope you enjoyed wrapping up the school year and have great plans for the summer months. Do you plan to travel? Do you plan to have a staycation? Did you enroll your children in camp or are you going to have fun family visits and events? There are so many ways to spend the summer. Whether you stay or go, don't forget us! We will be meeting quite a bit this summer for fun and fellowship. Check our 

• Summertime 2018 schedule.
• Facebook page for scheduled and pop-up opportunities.

Feel free to share ideas for fun and invite your International Friends through the comments on these pages or on our Facebook page. You can also send them to me (Carolyn) and we can get a group together.

We had some great meetings this week. I am so glad to see everyone once again and look forward to our fun off and on this summer. 

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30 at CLC in room 100.
We picked our study for the summer. No one had an opinion, so I opened the Bible and put my finger down: 1 John. (Click and go to the first chapter of this book (which is actually a letter). Click on the 🕩 at the top of the page and read along). This summer Bible book club choice is short (only five chapters) but is chock full of information and opportunities for discussion.

About 1 John (pronounced First John not One John): 

• Written by John, an apostle of Jesus. John also wrote John (a biography of Jesus), 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John (letters to different people or churches), and Revelation (a vision John had about how things end up). You can read about John's life story in Acts. John was responsible for communicating to the people of Asia (Revelation 1: 11). He was a bold follower and primary witness to Jesus' life and mission.
• Was a letter written to people who believe in Jesus as God and is a great letter to anyone who wants to know more about God and believers in God.
• Written so people can be clear about what to expect from God. Written so people can be clear about what to expect from people who say they follow Jesus.

We discovered John to be a succinct and articulate communicator. His clear statements led us to ponder philosophical and ethical questions. This first chapter contains so much: 

• John writes from experience (1 John 1:1-2)
• The outcome is eternal life and fellowship with God and other people that believe (1 John 1: 2) which is what "makes our (and/or your) joy complete."
• God is love (other adjectives John includes here: light, life, truth, faithful, just). When "we" confess that we fall short of perfection (sin), God forgives and "purifies us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1: 9) for no other reason than He loves all people.

June 12: Please read 1 John 2. Be ready for some great discussions and conversation. John answers many of our questions we raised in chapter one, but I am sure that there will be plenty more questions raised in chapter two!

Summer Games: Select Thursdays 9:30-10:30, room 205-207.
We played "20 Questions." You are given a word and everyone asks questions to discover what your word is. I know I laughed a lot. What a fun way to talk and improve our language skills with quick thinking. What a great way to get to know each other. When you play games are  you a "cheater pants"? 

June 14: Let's play Password. This time instead answering questions, you will be giving the clues and your team has to come up with the word. This is a fun party game for all ages. Bring your kids and let's take them on!

Meet Up at Inlow Park
We had so much fun on the splash pad and playing Frisbee golf. Delicious food. Great conversations. Check our Facebook Group to see pictures. Friend me (I am the red Carolyn Willard). I am glad that many of you got to meet my husband today. We also met a baby ball python out for a walk. We planned some of our future Meet Ups. If you have a suggestion, let us know.

June 21: Pendleton Falls Park, 299 Falls Park Drive, Pendleton, IN 46064
Plan to spend a great day at this Yelp, Google and Trip Advisor top rated park. We will visit with each other and hike the trails of this beautiful park with our local guide Jeremy. Join us as he shares his home park with us. Bring snacks to share. Bring water bottles for the hike. Plan to get wet in the creek! Our host: Jeremy Dishman.

July 5: Holliday Park, 6363 Springmill Road, Indianapolis
We have all been past this park on the way to Indianapolis and the Japanese school. I know that you may not have time. Check out all the fun opportunities and the play area at this great park with us.

July 19: Lawrence W. Inlow Park, 6310 East Main Street
By popular request, we will meet back at Inlow Park. This is convenient since we have a Summer Games that day! You can meet for games and then adjourn to the park to rest and have a round or two of Frisbee golf.

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off and on: at different times
🕩: speaker icon
chock full of: very full
how things end up: the result
primary witness: see something first hand
succinct: direct and to the point; short and sweet (slang)
articulate: able to speak/write clearly and knowledgably
ponder: think about; consider

complete: finished and in this case perfect

fellowship: friendly association of people with the same interest
confess: admit
fall short: miss a goal

purify: refine, filter, decontaminate
top rated: judged by people to be great
come up with: figure out
take them on: challenge them
visit with each other: have casual conversation