Hello Friends,

It looks like spring is finally here. We have has some really nice days and the trees are bursting with buds, daffodils are blooming and lilies are up. Many people begin to clean out their beds and plant their gardens, but old time wisdom cautions not to put in plants until Mother's Day in this zone.

Spring racing has started. You can follow NASCAR and IndyCar throughout the spring and summer. Look forward to the Indy 500 in May. 

This coming week is known as Holy Week in the Christian church. This is when the key events leading to Jesus' death are remembered. This is a great week to go and see a Christian church service.

• Palm Sunday: Christians remember when Jesus was celebrated by the people. 
  
• Maundy Thursday: Christians remember the night when Jesus was betrayed. He instituted Holy Communion or the Eucharist which is the eating of bread (take and eat, this is my body) and drinking wine (take and drink, this is my blood) to remember Jesus' sacrifice and saving of all.
  
• Good Friday: Christians remember the day Jesus died on the cross. They believe that Jesus' death saves them from eternal separation from God.
• Easter Sunday: Christians celebrate the day Jesus' rose from the dead and lives. Jesus came out from the tomb and showed himself to his immediate followers and many other people. Because Jesus lives, all people who believe that he is God's Son also live-forever.
  

Secular Easter celebrations can be found everywhere: many communities host egg hunts for children. I have been to adult Easter egg hunts in the past. Check out this link to the Indy Star with a list of egg hunts and Easter brunch ideas. There are wonderful videos attached to this article that explain the significance of eggs, bunnies and more.


International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00, room 100
This week we read about the crucifixion of Jesus in the nineteenth chapter of John. John is the disciple who was an eyewitness to many of these events.  Although many of his disciples deserted Jesus when the soldiers arrested him, Peter and John followed at a distance and observed as Jesus was questioned by the Jewish religious authorities. 

There is a very diverse and interesting cast of characters in this story of Jesus’ passion. In addition to the Jewish leaders, Annas and Caiaphas, there is the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. He was in a very precarious position. His job was to keep the peace, and the people in Jerusalem were very riled up about Jesus. Some loved him and believed he was the promised Messiah. Others hated him and feared he would bring about problems with the Romans. 

How would Pilate handle this issue? In the end he ordered that Jesus be put to death.
John stood at the foot of Jesus’s cross, along with Mary, Jesus’s mother, and several other women. He watched and listened as Jesus spoke his final words on the cross and died. When the soldiers came to make sure Jesus was dead, John saw them pierce Jesus’s side, which brought about a sudden flow of blood and water. 

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two more interesting characters, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. They wrapped it, along with 75 pounds of spices and aloes, in strips of linen and laid  the body in a new tomb not far from Golgotha, the hill where Jesus had died. 

But this is NOT the end of the story! Join us April 16 as we discuss John 20 and find out the REST OF THE STORY. ~Jan Heimann

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:00-12:00, room 100
We played with the on line translators. The two commonly used translators in the United States are Google Translate and Bing Translate. We found that Google does not have Cantonese. We found that translations to and from the Chinese languages often left something to be desired. We found that when we entered a phrase that had a slangy slant to it, the translator didn't quite interpret.

April 16: Let's color Easter Eggs. Bring as many hard boiled eggs as you would like to dye! We will also taste tea eggs two styles: Traditional Shanghai style and "cheater" Carolyn style...

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:00-11:30 (or so), upstairs classrooms.
I had a nice time visiting some of the classrooms this week. Of track conversations included "going gray" as a fashion trend. It also is a choice some women make to spend less time and money coloring their hair. I learned about some great alternatives including using colored henna from World Market!

April 18: Join us for classes. The year isn't over, yet. It is tempting to give up after break, but hang in there!

Parents with Children: Thursdays, 9:00-11:30 (or so), upstairs classrooms.We are learning Nursery Rhymes this month and started with Little Miss Muffett and the Itsy Bitsy Spider. We had a great side conversation about Ring Around the Rosie. Urban legend has it that this rhyme and game as created about the black death (a pandemic peaking 1347 to 1351 when 75 to 200 million people died worldwide). Folklorists reject this explanation of the game. Here are various versions according to country of origin:

British version: 
Ring around the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
A-Tishoo! A-tishoo!


We all fall down.

Cows in the meadows
Eating buttercups
A-Tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all jump up.

Indian version:

Ringa ringa roses,
Pocket full of posies

Husha busha!

We all fall down 

American version:
Ring a ring a roses,
Pocket full of posies.
Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush!
We're all tumbled down.

There are many versions of the song in English as well as other languages. All include children joining hands and dancing in a circle then "falling" down. It's fun to see how the different versions include sneezing sounds and how that sound was "translated" into "ashes". Anyway, Snopes (and a number of other articles tell us that that there is no evidence that nursery rhymes have any more meaning than they are words that are nonsense and just fun to say and play. This gives greater strength to the power of nursery rhymes in building language skills because of the nonsensical nature of them. Instead of focusing on meaning, there is a focus on the sounds and cadence of the language.

April 18: Join us for Easter fun! We will match, sort and count colored plastic eggs. We learn the Bunny Hop, read stories and more!



bursting with buds: beginning to grow leaves
lilies are up: the lily plants are starting to grow out of the ground
clean out their beds: get gardens ready to grow by picking up the dead 
old time wisdom cautions: warning from people who know things
put in plants: plant growing plants
zone: geographic area
follow: pay attention to something

crucifixion: the act of putting to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross
eyewitness: a person who actually sees some act and can give a firsthand account of it
deserted: left or ran away from
passion: Christ’s suffering on the cross
precarious: uncertain; unstable; insecure
riled up: stirred up; irritated

often left something to be desired: not perfect or useful

slangy slant: something that is commonly said but not quite slang

coloring: dying
side conversation: a conversation separate from the main discussion
a number of: an unnamed number; more than a few; many

nonsense: something that has no meaning
cadence: rhythm