Saturday, September 12, 2020

Welcome Back!

If you are seeing this page as an email, click to visit our webpage for a better experience and to access more about our meetings and classes as well as past posts.

Hello, Friends.

We are excited to be back together. Zooming creates an  opportunity for so many of us to meet each other and explore Indiana and the world beyond. It is so good to see faces and be able to talk to each other. This has become silver lining or bright side. The pandemic has taught that seeing our family and friends are important for our wellbeing. We have learned to use the technology to get face to face with each other whether we are next door or miles away. I am thankful to meet with you every week. I am thankful to our staff for hanging in here to learn new skills and keep International Friends relevant and alive.

What are people really saying when they say...

When someone says, "I'll talk to you later," or "I'll see you later" they are really saying goodbye. If you ask, "When?" 

When someone says, "Let's do lunch sometime," they usually mean that they would like to get together with you some time in the vague future and share a meal and conversation. Don't expect to pull out your calendar and set a date. In this case, your date is TBD or To Be Determined.

 Back to the Stadium

The Indianapolis Colts will begin playing in front of the fans at home games. Health and safety are paramount. To start, only 2,500 fans will be allowed to attend the September 20 home opener. 

  • Fans enter using the entrance on their ticket.
  • Everyone (fans and employees) will be COVID screened (a questionnaire and temperature check). 
  • Masks are required except when actively eating or drinking.
  • Fans are required to practice social distance inside and outside the stadium (fans will be grouped in pods).
  • Tailgating will not be permitted in Colts parking lots.
  • Ticket will be mobile and concessions and Pro Shops will be cashless.

Preschool Stories and More: Mondays, 10:30-11:30 Beginning September 22.

We are so excited to bring our preschool classes to Zoom. Have your youngster join us for a story and activities that meet Indiana teaching standards. Register or email us to add your child and join.

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

We kicked off Bible study by reviewing the context of the Bible: John 1: 1-5 tells us what god the holy book is about. John 3:16-17 provides the summary for understanding what God wants you to know about Him. These verses give us the context of understand the message when we feel uncertain about what is being communicated or want to know more.

We chose our book to read this year: Luke. The book of Luke opens with an introduction of why Luke chose to write an account of Jesus' life and to who it is specifically addressed: Theophilus. Who is Theophilus? That is the homework for next week. 

September 15: Join us as we answer who is Theophilus and talk about the first story: Luke 1: 5-25.

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

We got to know each other! It was nice to hear where everyone was from and to learn about what brings people to Indiana. We are thrilled to be able to meet new friends from all over the greater Indianapolis area who may not have been able to come to meet in Carmel. Sharing our stories are and important part of becoming a community.

September 15: Share about retirement benefits from other counties. Our resident family law attorney will share with us her findings about U.S. Federal Retirement.

Afternoon Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00

We opened sharing places to enjoy fall including the Stuckey Farm Festivals. Which led us to talk about James Whitcomb Riley: the Hoosier Poet (Click for a great PBS documentary about his life). Riley wrote the children's poem Little Orphant Annie which is chock full of Hoosier dialect and is written in the voice of a child. This poem was the inspiration for the cartoon strip Little Orphan Annie...

...which was the inspiration for the musical Annie! 



And, by the way, Riley Hospital in Indianapolis is named for James Whitcomb Riley. 

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00.

We Zoomed as a school for the first time. It is exciting to see everyone in one place! We had a few bugs in letting people into our school. Some of it was operator error on my part, for which I apologize. I will learn more and then practice on you! For future classes, I will open our school Zoom around 9:15 and you can pop in and see each other (and me) until 9:30. Then you will go away to your "classrooms". 

We still have room in our Beginning, Middle and Conversation classes. You can register and join us!

End of the Week Conversation: Fridays, 10:30-12:00

Join this unleveled conversation meeting to talk about what is on your mind. This week we talked about home life and division of labor. We found out that families all around the world handle chores differently and that roles traditional families are changing. We talked about how the pandemic has changed how we run our homes and if these changes were for the better

date: an appointment made for social purposes
fans: people who are interested in or admire someone or a team
paramount: of highest importance
pods: people belonging to a specific small group (pandemic pods or bubbles are associations of specific people to limit the spread of COVID 19)
actively: currently doing  something or engaged in something
tailgating: parties in the parking lot before a game
cashless: using a credit card
context: circumstances or information that makes an event or idea understood
Him: when talking about God, the pronouns are usually capitalized like a name out of respect
resident: a professional that is attached to or working for a particular organization 
family (law): lawyers specializing in helping families with legal issues
findings: research results
chock full: very full
dialect: regional way of talking
voice: written to sound like someone
by the way: incidentally or by the by (as Orphant Annie might say)
as a school: all together 
bugs: computer or technology errors
operator error: computer problem caused by the user
on my part: my fault
pop in: show up, arrive
division of labor: work made easier by people working together
chores: jobs around the home that are not paid
for the better: a good result

No comments:

Post a Comment