Good bye October. Hello November!

 Hello Friends,

We are leaving October behind. November comes with some spectacular American-style of celebrating. We will gain some time when we "fall back" and we will celebrate the harvest with Thanksgiving. As we get ready for sweater weather (and they say we might have some wintery mix on Tuesday), we are thankful that the weather did not get colder faster. While we are tired of hunkering down as Hoosiers, having the excuse to stay home and enjoy a warm home and our Friends is a nice option. Are you ready for a driveway movie? Let's plan one or two!

Let's Get Together

We are easing getting back together in person and as a hybrid. For those of you that are not close enough to come to class, still log on to Zoom. We are working out the kinks to get close to wifi! Cornerstone Lutheran Church offers the space and ventilation to safely meet in person. Are you ready? 

We are watching

El Secreto de Feriha on YouTube

COVID 19

Cases of COVID 19 are dwindling in Indiana. Overall, the CDC advises that if you are fully vaccinated you can return to your normal life.

Allergic Reactions to the Vaccination: The CDC recommendations for COVID vaccinations updated as of October 7. The CDC recommends you do not get another vaccination or booster if you have had a severe reaction.

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM, Zoom

We learned to sign time and we learned spooky Halloween signs. There are costumes and treats to sign about, too. We learned that actual "words" become actions when telling stories or carrying on conversations.

November 1: There is so much to talk about...talk with us and compare this new language.

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM, hybrid

Paul speaks the Gospel of Jesus in this first chapter of Ephesians. He sheds light on God's gifts of wisdom understanding. Through his enlightenment: we receive wisdom and light. It is God's pleasure and will to  Paul writes that we are all part of God's plan and that he predestined us to know his love. Paul uses the word "lavish" to explain how richly God shows us his love and care. 1 John 4: 7-19 teaches, "We love because he first loved us." Read these together as companions go get a full picture of God's great love and freedom.

November 2: Join us to talk about Ephesians 2 on Zoom only.

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30-12:00 PM, Zoom

We met in the parking lot at CLC to have a minitailgate and to carve Jack-o-Lanterns. A picture is worth 1000 words!

 We have decided to continue to meet in person on occasion as weather and COVID permits. 

November 2: Zoom. Let's plan the next weeks...Do you want to get together in person? Where should we meet? And what is your prep shopping list for a traditional Indiana Thanksgiving?

November 9: Zoom Demonstration of traditional American dishes. We will talk mashed potatoes, casseroles, cranberries, and turkey.

November 16: Feast at CLC bring a dish to share. Come and devour some traditional American Thanksgiving dishes along with your favorites.

November 23: No Class Thanksgiving Break 

November 30: Getting ready for December holidays. What is ahead? How do we celebrate in Indiana. 

Afternoon Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00 PM, Zoom

We met to chat. How do we best listen to each other and practice anything we want to talk about and get correction? Join Afternoon Conversation. This is a very, very small Zoom gathering (yes, it is tutoring).

November 3: Zoom over to practice English, free flowing conversation.

English Classes: Thursday, 9:30-12:00, Zoom

We met as a large group to review our "F" and "G" 1000 Common Words. We practiced critical listening to each other and corrected our pronunciation. We also talked about the cadence or the music of the American English. Keep your mouth closed and "talk" in your home language. How does it sound? You can tell a language by it's cadence or the musical intonations without hearing the words. This is one reason that Nursery Rhymes are so important for very small children learning language. The silly rhymes teach the song of the language they are learning. What are your home language nursery rhymes? Mother Goose is given author credit, and in America this is a collection coming from Boston! The Poetry Foundation provides lists of common Nursery Rhyme poems to sharpen your pronunciation and cadence. 

We added the YouTube links from our American Accent Training book to Our Meetings and Classes page. Learn more about how to pronounce American English Sounds.

November 4: Bring sentences using "H" and "I" Common Words. Combine as many words as possible in one sentence to spark learning, application and memory. Be ready to read a few Nursery Rhymes!

Kids' Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00, Zoom

Wow, wow, wow! We had a great international concert from two of our Friends! Amazing to know that they played ukulele and cajon and sang internationally! We got to know each other, again because we are adding new Friends and practicing our English conversation. Listening first and then trying will get you there!

November 5: Work on writing five sentences that tell about you. Be ready to share them with the group. We have told about ourselves, now let's share it in writing. Also, we will talk about Nursery Rhymes. Do you remember any from when you were little?

working out the kinks: solving procedural problems

Halloween is Coming!

Boo, Friends!

Halloween is coming! 

Halloween is a fabulous community party. Rain, wind, snow, pleasant weather...Any of these could be on tap for Sunday.

Trunk or Treat: go to a parking lot to "trick or treat". This is a new tradition and a great way for a community to get together and to have fun: wear costumes, decorate their cars, hand out candy. 

Cornerstone Lutheran Church (our sponsor) has Trunk or Treat events Friday and Saturday at the different locations in Carmel, Fishers and Indianapolis for children through 4th grade. If you live in an apartment and want to host a trunk, you and join in the fun (Trunk or Treat at CLC). If you have children to Trunk or Treat, please join!

Trick or Treat: Sunday is Halloween. 

Kids dress up in beautiful, fun and scary costumes and go door to door. They ring your doorbell or knock on the door and say, "Trick or Treat." Hand each child a piece of candy or drop it in their bag or basket (many kids use pillowcases for this). The kids say, "Thank you."

Turn your porch lights on and decorate if you want to host Trick or Treaters.

Turn your porch lights off if you don't want to host or when you run out of candy (And yes, sometimes we have over 100 kids trick or treat in our neighborhood.)

Kids through high school trick or treat. Older kids come out later. Younger kids make the rounds earlier.

No candy is better than any other...Some kids like chocolate, others like Nerds, others like gum. Just make sure it is wrapped. Check through your kids' candy and throw away unwrapped pieces. If you are concerned you can take your candy to the local fire station or police station and they will look through it for you.

Be safe! If you are driving, watch for children running across the street. It is a very exciting time and people forget to look both ways.

Be safe! Stay together with your friends. Stay with your parents. Stay with your kids.  

Parents: some neighbors have adult treats (Because what dad doesn't need a can of beer when he is taking his children through the neighborhood?). Some neighbors have hot dogs or other treats.

 Enjoy this fun holiday, rain or shine!

 Your community sets official times. Please honor them. Here are the official times in the greater Indianapolis area

Each community hosts different events: parades, picnics, and so much more. Check out other fun events in your city and in the surrounding area: Central Indiana Halloween 2021 Events

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30, Zoom

We met and practiced our conversation. We discovered that there are four different uses of the word "use" in English! 

• use: Don't use your phone while you are driving.
• used to: We used to go trick or treating two nights when I was young.
• get used to: In the winter we get used to colder weather, so the 55 degrees feels pretty warm.
• use up: Did you use up all the eggs?

This great CNN article talks about Hawaiian Sign Language or HSL and the woman that is teaching and keeping this language alive. Be sure to watch the video at the end about the Demigod Maui and the story of the creation of the Hawaiian islands.

October 25: Continue to learn continue conversation.

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30, Zoom

We wrapped up Galatians. In this final book, Paul tells the Christians of Galatia the true "mark" of is to be kind and loving, not a physical "look".

We talked about sacraments or physical acts that are sacred. Theopia has a nice discussion about how Christians in different denominations view sacraments.

October 26: Join us in person at CLC or on Zoom. We begin the letter to the Ephesians.

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30AM-12:00 PM, in person and on Zoom

We made pumpkin pie. This was a great recipe! It was simple and you don’t need more than a bowl to mix in a  pie pan to bake it in!*

October 26

Tailgate at Cornerstone Lutheran In Carmel

4850 East Main Street

or join on Zoom

10:30-12:00

Park in the rear lot…look for the yellow Jeep

Bring a snack to share. 
Bring a beverage for yourself.
Bring your pumpkin to carve (don’t forget a knife and large spoon)

Afternoon Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00 PM, Zoom

It was nice to meet on Zoom this week. We talked about this exciting time of the year. One holiday rolls into the next:

• October: Halloween-kids dress up and go door to door and ask for candy 
• November: Thanksgiving-a harvest feast.
• December: Christmas-a secular and religious holiday

We talked about how in the United States we have many cultures and customs that meld together. While we all may have different celebrations, our Friends have observed that in the United States we all come together as a community.

October 27: Meet and practice your conversational English. Bring your questions about English or life in the U.S.

*notice this sentence ends with a preposition. Some people say a sentence should never end in a preposition, but the sentence and instructions would be too convoluted in a different order.

English Classes: Thursday, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM, Zoom

We stayed together and shared our D and E sentences as well as practiced saying each of the words. We also talked about those illusive prepositions "in, on, at". 

October 28: Review letters F and G and combine as many of these words as you can in sensible or nonsensical sentences. USE YOUR WORDS!

Kids' Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:30 PM, Zoom

We all got acquainted with each other. Friends that have not had the chance to meet each other before met. 

We discovered musical talents of two of our friends: Ukulele and cajon. They will play a piece for us next week! We are excited for the concert.

October 29:

• Bring a short story (about five sentences) about yourself to share (we may not get to them all).
• Decorate a cookie for Halloween to share.

be on tap: options, possibilities, choice

convoluted: twisted and confusing 

denominations: a group or branch within a religion

honor: follow, pay attention to 

meld: blend, combine

nonsensical: silly, not making sense but funny

piece: a song or piece of music

Welcome Back!

 Hello Friends

I hope you had a productive break  now let’s get back to work! Check out our last Update on line to refresh yourself for where we left off.

The Headless Horseman

The scary story behind this icon of the season is the story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. This story is written in English that challenge you, but overall the language has not changed that much. Enjoy The Legend of Sleepy Hollow movie from the 1980s starring Jeff Goldblum.

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM EST, Zoom

We practiced conversation. We observed that in American English we use the word "find" in a variety of ways that are translated into three distinct signs:

• find: as in "to look for something that is lost" (Help me find my car keys, please.)
• find: as in "to look for something" (I am trying to find pink Nike shoes.)
• find: as in "to choose" (This is a great find! Buy it!)

October 18: Join us as we continue our conversation!

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM EST, Zoom

Galatians 5 is another great chapter. In this chapter, Paul discusses freedom in Christ: He came to set all people free. Paul warns people to follow the teaching of the Holy Spirit and the outward expressions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness  (v 22) .

October 19: Galatians 6 is the last chapter. How will Paul end his letter? 

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30-12:00 PM EST, Zoom

Apple Day! Prepandemic we would meet at an apple farm. The next week would be wonderful cooking and crafts with apples, apples, apples. Not to wax nostalgic, but these are some of the nicest days! We Zoomed Apple Day and made baked apples, apple fritters (or apple rings) and apple shrunken heads. Wow and whew! That's a lot!

Our baked apples can be doctored up to taste. Core an apple (or slice it in half and scoop out the "star" or core. Fill the center with a mixture of spices (ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg), a sweet (brown sugar, honey, chopped dates), a smidge of fat (butter or coconut oil), chopped nuts, oats. Bake your filled apples at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes to an hour depending on the size of your apples (and whether they are sliced in half or whole). Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. If you want a formal recipe, try this one for Stuffed Apple Crisp.

Our fritters or apple rings are super simple. Slice apples thinly. Cut out the seeds as necessary. Dip in a light batter (I like to use thinned pancake batter). Deep fry or fry on a griddle (or try out your air fryer and let us know how it works).

Carving an apple into a shrunken head is a great Halloween craft. Try it!

Lagniappe: More Fall Sweet and Savory Apple Recipes from Food and Wine

October 19: Let's bake a pumpkin pie. Betty Crocker recipes are always reliable  Let’s try this one has a crust and filling from scratch  

October 29: Let's Tailgate! Meet in the parking lot at CLC or zoom over. Get a pumpkin and bring a sharp knife and we will carve pumpkins.

Open Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00 PM, Zoom

This room opens at 4:30 and will close at 5:00 if no one appears. Please e-mail me if you will not be able to attend until later and we will adjust the time.

doctored up: add extra 

icon: a cultural representation, emblem, symbol

lagniappe: a little something extra

left off: where we ended

refresh: rest and renew

super simple: really, really easy

smidge: a little bit

to taste: how you like it

wax nostalgic: reminisce longingly

Fall Break October 14 and 15. No classes or meetings.

Hello, Friends.

October is underway. It is nice to hear about your "field trips" and explorations around Indiana. If you don't live in the Heartland, you can learn more about American life and celebrations. Many schools are taking their fall breaks. Carmel Clay Schools is breaking this coming week. We continue to follow the local school calendar, so we will not hold classes on Thursday or Friday.

Fall Break 

October 14 and 15

No Classes or Meetings 

Get Out and About

• Indiana Fall Festivals
• Zionsville Halloween Events
• Hamilton County Fall Bucket List
• Newfields Lume Exhibit
• Newfields Harvest Nights

Amber Alert and Silver Alert and Blue Alert

National and local alert system operated by the State Police for raising public awareness and soliciting public help in finding someone or if there is a threat to the community:

• Amber Alert: a child is missing
• Silver Alert: an impaired adult is missing
• Blue Alert: a law enforcement officer is missing, seriously injured or killed and the police are looking for someone or they pose a threat to the community

You can learn more:

• Here is a great article on how Amber Alerts began and how they work from Moms.com. 
• Here is a link to the U.S. Department of Justice that explains the national programs and processes.
• Here is the link to the Indiana Standard Operating Procedure for how and when these alerts are issued. 

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM, Zoom

We cranked on our conversational language skills. As we build our vocabulary, we are becoming more and more efficient. We challenged our skills by sharing our mutual interest in cultural

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM, Zoom

Galatians 4 is a wonderful chapter. Paul tells the people of Galatia (and us) that we are Children of God! Heritage does not matter. Galatians were being told they had to act and follow particular practices, but Paul points out that they know and understand the Gospel. Paul uses the story in Genesis 21:1-21 as the example to explain how all children receive an inheritance from the father: through God's promise both Isaac and Ishmael became the founders of nations. God sent his Son to live under the authority law to set us free from the authority of the law (verses 5 and 6).  

October 12: Galatians 5 talks about freedom and faith as well as the balance that comes through and from the Holy Spirit. 

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30-12:00 AM, Zoom

We didn't meet this week. That doesn't mean I didn't miss you and our conversations. 

October 12: Fall kitchen craft time! Let's bake stuffed apples and carve an apple to make a fun and scary Halloween decoration. You need apples, a knife, brown sugar, oatmeal, nuts, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, etc. and butter. 

Open Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00 PM, Zoom

We had no takers for this class this week. For future reference, the room will remain open for a half an hour. If no Friends join the Zoom, the room will be closed.

October 13: Join us for a free flowing conversation group with feedback to improve your pronunciation, grammar, etc. on the fly.

English Classes: Thursday, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM, Zoom

We are continuing to study the most common 1000 English words. This week we reviewed words with the letter C. Students shared sentences created from the words. We were curious: could our complicated and convoluted constructions contain cohesive concepts. 

Prepositions of time always give people trouble. This chart from All Things Grammar shows you how to use them. Notice that in the U.S. we say "on the weekend" not "at the weekend" if you were in London.

 

 October 14: No Class. Fall Break

October 21: Study the "D" and "E" lists. You have free rein. Sentences can combine "D" and "E" or they can keep them separate. Try for six sentences, though.

 Kids' Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM, Zoom

It was so fun to see the animal creations! They were amazing an so creative. It was fun to meet two new friends! Here is our plan for the rest of October. 

October 15: No Class. Fall Break.

October 22: Write a story about yourself. You have to include at least five sentences. Email me the story.

October 29: Decorate a cookie for Halloween. 

on: moved forward working hard

free from: released

free rein: you decide and act

no takers: no participants

on the fly: while in progress; while moving

raising awareness: a processes or informing or 

soliciting: asking for something specific

under: be subject to

underway: moving forward

Hello October!

Hello, Friends.

What's all the fuss about pumpkin spice? People are obsessed! There are pumpkin spice lattes, frappuccinos, shakes, breads, muffins, candles, air fresheners and the list goes on... This flavor and scent goes with fall like sweater weather! While there is no pumpkin in pumpkin spice, it reminds people of the smell and flavors of pumpkin pie. The ingredients are cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice. You can buy pumpkin spice premixed or in individual ingredients. Carmel apple is another popular fall scent and taste....

Football Favorites

Fall fun means football. We are talking about the American game that is played with a ball that looks like this: 🏈.

Monday Night Football has had its ups and downs in ratings. Former Indiana Colts quarterback Payton Manning and his brother Eli are hosting the game on ESPN2. It is a Zoom-style show and you feel like your sitting around with Friends watching the game. Different guests appear and watch the game and comment. Here is a You Tube of the "best of". Don't worry if you can't follow all of the vocabulary...It's football vocabulary. Really, no one understands all these words! It is still fun.

Favorite Hamilton County Eats and Drinks

• Sushi Club
• Rose and Lois

Amazing Mazes

You can laugh along as you find your way through a maize maze! Corn mazes are a Midwest thing. They are fun for the whole family and you can enjoy them at any age. Some mazes transition from fall fun to haunted fun as October wears on.

• Indy With Kids: Corn Mazes in Indianapolis
• Hogan Farms Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze in Brownsburg

Virtual Indiana

• Haunted Indiana Live: Join this "scary" library event virtually!

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM EST, Zoom

We studied and talked Galatians 3. Paul dives into the weighty questions surrounding law, customs and behavior. We see people obsessed with following the word of law in a social sense and attaching attributes of good or bad to people based on how they adhere to the law according to how they judge people should act and behave. Ridged application of customs and even edicts are not 

October 5: Join us as we discuss Galatians 4 where Paul addresses specific issues facing the church in Galatia. Do we have similar issues in our culture today?

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM EST, Zoom

Our conversations this week covered corn mazes, pumpkin spice and other fall fun in Indiana and the Midwest. 

October 5: No class or meeting. 

Casual Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30 PM-6:00 PM EST, Zoom.

We talked about different strategies for learning English as well as had great conversations about pizzas and working in Indiana and in Mexico. We talked about our accents and how to be better understood by the people listening to us. And then there is Halloween. Here is a recipe for Banbanji for dinner.

October 6: Join the free flowing conversations. 

English Classes: Thursday, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM EST, Zoom. 

Our meetings are always interesting. We drilled on listening and adjusting our pronunciation. Critical listening to each other and to ourselves is not always easy. Everyone was able to apply their new pronunciation to the rest of our conversation. 

We also debated the pronunciation of the word "often". This led to the discovery that you may or may not pronounce the "t". You may hear "off-in" of "awff-in" or "off-ten" of "off-den". Any one of these is fine.

October 7: We will go over the "C" vocabulary list. Make sentences using as many of the "C" words as you can. Notice the different pronunciations of "C" and C blends. Most of you commented that C sounds are influenced by the vowel following: cu, ca, ce, ci, cu, co. Phonetically, the "C" sounds are taught in schools as s stand alone. Don't worry about this!

Kids' Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM EST, Zoom

Wow! I can't tell you how much our kids are growing in their English listening and speaking. I am  really impressed! We met new Friends Zooming in from Brazil. We also met Mrs. Willard's newest "pet". We haven't decided on a name for him, yet. But tonight he is sitting in his water dish! I never knew a rat that loved to soak in a bathtub before!

We talked about the tooth fairy. We found out that the customs of tooth fairies are similar in Brazil and in the U.S. Cool Tooth Fairy Facts explains a lot more about tooth fairy around the world and here in the U.S.

We also found out that in the U.S., kids take tae kwon do, and that in Brazil they take muay thai. Both are marshal arts.

October 8: Draw an animal that includes parts from at least three different animals...Be ready to tell us all about your mythical creature.

adhere: follow strictly

customs: habits or behaviors

drilled: practice over and over

edict: declaration by person in power or ruling

free flowing: 

goes with: happens at the same time

mythical: not real

notice: pay attention

obsessed: (slang) happy to see, smell, do, participate in something, having that at the top of your priorities (a little the original meaning of obsessed)

scent: aroma

sweater weather: cooler temperatures that make us happy to snuggle into sweaters

take: attend classes

ups and downs: 

what's all the fuss: an exclamation that asks why are people so excited