Happy

New 

Year

All the best for a fabulous 2021!

Nutcracker Ballet

 Another great opportunity to enjoy the fabulous arts in your own home. Enjoy the Butler Ballet perform the classic Nutcracker.

Butler Ballet Presents the Nurcracker

Recipe and Reminder

 Happy Holidays, Friends!

We are on break this week and next week, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t talking and sharing recipes! How about this dish from Yuri for your holiday dinner table? 

how about is a phrase meaning a suggestion follows

See you on Zoom in January!

グラタン, Japanese Casserole

Ingredients:

1/2 thin sliced onion

1/2lb small piece of chicken

5 sliced mushrooms

1 potato cut into small pieces

Corn as much as you like

a handful of green vegetables like spinach, asparagus, or Broccoli

butter

100g penne

1 box of cream sauce powder

500ml milk

Salt

Shredded mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cut chicken and vegetables.
2. Boil penne for 7 minutes. Microwave cut potato for 1.5 minutes.
3. Sauté onion with butter. Then, add chicken and mushrooms and sauté until they turn brown.
4. Add the creamy sauce powder and milk, and cook them well. After the sauce starts to boil, add green vegetables, corn and penne. Add a little bit salt.
5. Rub butter in the casserole and pour the batter in it. Put some shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on it.
6. Bake it at 420F for 15 minutes. When the cheese is slightly burnt and crispy, it is ready to eat.

Preparing for Christmas and Wrapping Up the Year

 Merry Christmas and happy new year, Friends!

There is so much hope and joy in the Christmas season. Usually people attend parties, give gifts and share happy greetings. Friends and families travel to get together and celebrate. Here in our community, many of our Friends would take this long break to return to their home countries to spend quality time with family. Individually, we have watched our children grow and move away and have lost family members and that changes how we celebrate from year to year. This year we are all in the same boat. We are all facing some of the same life changes and we all remain apart, physically. Things happen fast, and one of our biggest take aways is to enjoy the moments with family and friends and make loving memories that last. 

The very best wishes for happy holidays and a wonderful 2021!

Wrapping Up 2020 and Looking Forward to 2021

We wrapped our 2020 year of classes. Thanks to you International Friends meetings are still happening through the pandemic and into the new year. We maintained over the summer and grew our offerings in the fall. While we lost students and a few teachers, we gained students and teachers near and beyond the boundaries of the greater Indianapolis area, Indiana and the United States. As International Friends looks to 2021, we look at how we can break the time zone barrier and become a school that offers fun, friendship, food (and maybe even more than virtual field trips) beyond physical borders!

Are you interested in joining our meetings or classes in the new year? 

1. Look at what we offer: Our Meetings and Classes
2. Check the day and time of the class.
3. Sign up and to get our Zoom links: Register for Our Meetings
4. I will send you the Zoom links.**

Do you have questions? Email Carolyn directly: indyintlfriends@gmail.com.

* Our classes are all scheduled at Eastern Standard Time. Be careful of day changes.

**Note: our preschool class link is separate to preserve our little ones' privacy and safety.

Words This Week:

Quarantine This year life really took a turn for the whole world all at the same time. Pandemics and quarantines are not new to the world. The Current tells that the word quarantine comes from the Italian language when ships arriving in Venice, Italy would have to sit for 40 days before docking in port in the 1400s to avoid spreading the bubonic plague.

Isolate Remain apart from others. Examples of isolating during this pandemic included people getting hotel rooms to be separated from infected family members, college students being restricted to bedrooms or dorm rooms, senior living facilities restricted people to their apartments and delivered meals to their doors. 

Candy Canes Candy canes are a traditional holiday treat. Folklore tells us that stick candy was given out to the children to keep them quiet during the long Christmas church services in Germany. The crook or bend on top made the candy more relevant for the season. How many times do practical solutions become traditions that warm our hearts and help us to tell our stories?

Companion, Partner, Couple: These words are often interchanged, but there are some significant differences in their social meaning. Companions keeps you company or hang out with you. Partners imply people who work and conduct business as a team (your spouse is your partner in life). Couples usually mean people in a sweetheart situation.

Searching for Lights and Other Fun

Have you gone for a drive through neighborhoods to see Christmas lights? Have you noticed that Christmas decorations tend to be contagious? Once one house on the block decorates and next thing you know, the neighbor decorates, and next thing you know the whole street is decorated.

• The Original Christmas Light Finder
• Bundle Up for 20 For Fun With These 20 Indiana Traditions

See You Next Year!

And, that reminds me....

If it is Tuesday, December 15:

LAST Saturday means December 12

THIS Saturday means December 19

NEXT Saturday means December 26

COVID-19 News

We can have protection, but it is only as good as the action people take to get vaccinated.

• Walgreens is one of the vaccine distributors. Find out more and be informed from this great site. One key take away is that having a vaccine is not the same as vaccinations. 
• CVS is another distributor. Visit this webpage to understand more about COVID tests and vaccine distribution.

Stories and More: Monday, 10:30-11:30. Next meeting January 4, 2021.

We learned about the meaning behind traditional Christmas decorations with the book My Christmas Story Tree by Dr. Mary Manz Simon. Cornerstone Lutheran Church gave the gift of this book to our children so they could learn the meaning behind decorations in celebration. We decorated trees with the traditional ornament, shapes and talked about our colors.

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30. Next meeting January 4, 2021.

We packed in a bunch of holiday vocabulary and tested our skills with a little conversation. Here are two more stories from our class for you to enjoy. 

• Polar Express
• The Snowy Day

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30. Next meeting January 5, 2021.

Luke 5:1-11 is the ultimate interview. Jesus is preaching to the crowds and then recruits Peter, James and John all fishermen to become his disciples (followers) and then leaders and teachers. Jesus chose patient men who would work tirelessly. 

We read the Christmas story as it is told across all the Gospels:

Mary is told about her son in Luke 1: 26-38 and sings her joy in Luke 1:46-55

Joseph is told about his son in Matthew 1: 18-24

We marveled that these people were called to a job of raising God's Son. The circumstances are very unusual! Mary isn't married to Joseph. Joseph accepts Mary as his wife. Jesus is not going to be the firstborn son that a father would expect

Jesus is born and angels announce his birth to shepherds: Luke 2: 1-20

Angels announce. Shepherds go and see for themselves. The shepherds rushed to tell others.

Jesus is visited by Maji: Matthew 2: 1-12

Kings follow the signs in the sky and travel to see for themselves. This is a very interesting story of worship and politics.  

This Christmas lesson we read that people follow or lead according to their calling. Jesus declares the true meaning of life with God and makes people's lives better. People He was raised by Mary and Joseph, who accepted parenting him and caring for him. Angels announce. Shepherds keep watch but then become messengers. Kings worship. Whatever our calling.

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30-12:00. Next meeting January 5, 2021.

Virtual cookie day was fun! We were able to create some beautiful cookies and share the experience. It was surprising how fast the morning flew by!

We talked about recipes from past International Friends Cookie Days and reminisced about Friends who baked with us. Check out all our Cookie Recipes from Christmas Past and Present 

Afternoon Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00. Next meeting January 6, 2021.

We talked about hot drinks that are popular in the winter season in our home countries. 

• In Japan, amazake (made with sake kasu, water, sugar and ginger) and this year Milo is popular.
• In Taiwan a hot alcohol soup warmed over charcoal burners and shared street side and hot chocolate.
• In Mexico, atole made from ground corn (masa) and Abulita hot chocolate is popular. Champurrado is atole made with chocolate, the best of both.

We talked about celebrating this season in our home countries and compared with our American experiences. While Christmas is a religious co, people will celebrate in many countries in a secular way. To be clear...as a Christian, the actual religious time spent on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day is about one hour in church worship (except for the pastors, priests, choirs, musicians, who prepare and practice).

In Japan, people send out new year cards with family pictures and greetings. Each card has personal statement handwritten. Christmas is a secular holiday

English Classes: Thursday, 9:30-12:00. Next meeting January 6, 2021.

It was great to wrap up the year with you. Have a great break!

End of the Week Conversation: Friday, 10:30-12:00. Next meeting January 7, 2021.

We wrapped up the year talking about many things including our names. We observed that our neighbors and acquaintances attempt to say our names as we pronounce them and want to call us what we want to be called. People insist on calling us by our "preferred" name even if they mispronounce it (or pronounce it with an American English accent). And when we want them to call us what we think is a common American name, they still want to use our given name. We wondered why people try so hard when we are perfectly happy to use a name that is more common (we think) and American?

• Americans have nicknames. These can be shorted versions of their longer name (MJ for Mary Jane or AJ for Andrew James or Andrew Junior), Sam for Samuel, Amy for Manami. Or they could be a name they picked up from life that have nothing to do with their original name (Seven, Gaga, Babe-pronounced BAYB).
• Americans love to create new names or spell usual names creatively: Abcde (ab-seh-dee), Karye (Kair-ee), or use names from other countries. Your name may be unusual, but everyone's are.
• People may say your name with a different accent than yours. Expect your name to be pronounced with an American accent, a Spanish accent, a Chinese accent, etc. 
• Most Americans are not originally from this country. It is fun to compare first and last names. They are from all over!

So much to say!

Click here for your best experience with this Update directly from our website!

Merry Christmas, Friends.

Most of us are going to sit tight (as usual of late). Meanwhile, I hope that you are having a great time preparing for the holidays. It is exciting and relaxing waiting for boxes and boxes of deliveries: "Is it food? Is it Amazon? When did I order this? OOPS! That was FROM "Santa" TO me!" Frankly, I may never go into a store again because this is too easy and fun!

We had many great discussions this week about how different this year is from the past. But some traditions and treats must happen: drive through Steak n Shake for an Egg Nog or Peppermint shake (both are great to spike!).  Take time to go for a drive and see Christmas lights. Try some on line grocery ordering and delivery or curbside pickup and give some work to a private shopper (oohhh, so fancy!).

Go Out and Get Wild

Great field trips to see wildlife in Indiana include:

• The Sandhill Cranes at Jasper Pulaski Park. The cranes continue to meet and feed here since the weather has been so night. Plan your road trip for the early morning launch or evening landing which are the best time to see these amazing birds.
• Wolf Park near Lafayette, Indiana provides the opportunity to see and learn about these amazing animals. Tickets run about $12.00. 4044 E 800 N, Battleground, IN 47920
• The Exotic Feline Rescue Center is closed due to the pandemic, but put it on your list for a visit.
• Wolf Creek Habitat and Rescue in Brookville is open Saturday and Sunday 11:00-4:00.
• Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve has high ratings. They are open for tours Saturdays 10:00-4:00

Up in the Skies

While the weather in Indiana continues to be very warm, we have a chance to see the Northern Lights here in the Midwest (a very rare occasion in Indiana...not since 2001!). Peak viewing was on Thursday, but light pollution and cloud cover may hinder viewing. Listen and watch on Fox 59.

A Christmas Star is a symbol of hope and joy. Jupiter and Saturn will be the closest together since 1226. Their proximity The next time will be in 2080. From December 16-25 the planets will be closer together than the moon. On December 21, which is the Winter Solstice, the planets will be the closest together.

What makes this alignment even more special is that it is occurring around Christmas. In the story of the birth of Jesus, a star led the wise men to see Jesus during a time fraught with political strife. Here is a nice article about With Three Reasons the "Christmas Star "of 2020 is Bringing So Much Hope. the story in Matthew 2. And here is Ella Fitzgerald singing this traditional carol. You can sing along!

COVID-19

Woo Hoo! The vaccines are on their way! The COVID headline dashboard has been replaced with COVID-19 Information! Indiana received our first shipment of more that 55,000 vaccines. They will be distributed soon to "at risk" populations. As vaccines continue to come into Indiana on an ongoing basis, they will continue to be given out to people. Read all about it!

• Indiana Vaccination Information and Planning
• Indiana Vaccination Fact Sheet from the Department of Health
• Vaccine Safety
• Contact Tracing Phone Number:  Answer your phone if you get a call from 833-670-0067. This number may be an unknown contact and they won't leave a message.

Meanwhile, our cases keep going up so, keep up your guard and practice all your COVID-19 safety measures. Enjoy this Mikey Bustos reminder spoof video made way back in March!

Volunteering and Self Building

You may not have a work permit, but you can volunteer and build your knowledge and experience while helping in our community. COVID-19 has put a strain on our schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities and so much more. You can help! Sign up for opportunities here.

Check out Saylor Academy for online classes and materials are free of charge (if you want to take the test with a proctor the charge is $25). The coursework credits may be accepted by other Universities and. But regardless, it is documentable work to add to your resume. 

Stories and More: Monday, 10:30-11:30

In addition to reading the excellent story Snow by Uri Shulevitz,

we did some great crafts: cutting out and sorting snowflakes by color then counting them and making a snowflake out of cotton balls. Cotton balls are also fun for a snowball fight! 

We talked about how to get our preschoolers ready for Kindergarten. Reading aloud with your children is a number one activity for readiness or being prepared for school. Older children can read aloud to you and to youngsters.  Best Children's Picture Books About Winter and Snow

Indiana Kindergarten Readiness Assessment: these matrices may look complicated at first glance. Take time to look at what targets are set. These expectations help you to anticipate how your children will adapt.

• English and Language
• Mathematics
• Personal Care
• Physical
• Social Emotional

December 14: We will wrap up the year making traditional ornaments and read a book that tells why these ornaments are decorations for the season.

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

Risking is the toughest part of learning a new language. Risking signs is pretty tough because general understanding is easily lost. Risking with sign language is pretty easy because all you need are a couple key words to communicate your content. In the spirit of Christmas: here is the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas signed by Shaylee who is five years old. 

December 14: Join us to wrap up this year of signing! Signing and singing on Zoom works very well! Here is a great article about Sign Language Christmas Songs and Carols. These are perfect way to express your self during the pandemic and for the season!

Let's sing Silent Night.

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

We wrapped up talking about Luke 4 with verses 38-44. The Bible editors headline this story "Jesus Heals Many". In our discussion, we noticed that a good headline might be "Jesus Rebukes Many". Luke tells three stories:

• Luke 4:38-39: Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law by rebuking the fever (she gets up and serves him). Who can call out an infection? 
• 40-41: Jesus heals many people of diseases (and diseases are dirty, messy) and demons by laying his hands on them. The demons call him "Messiah" and he rebukes them. Does he need them to shout his credentials? 
• 42-44: Jesus goes to a solitary place and the people follow him to make him stay with them. He rebukes the people and tells them that his job is to proclaim the good news to other people so they can benefit, too.

We talked about how as professionals, the right cure or solution depends on the nature of the problem or disease. Such great discussions!

Luke 5: 1-11 tells the story of how Jesus recruited the 12 disciples. 

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

We talked about "cookie day". This is one of our most popular days when we could meet together. We make coveted cut out Christmas favorites. We mentioned some favorites from the past. Americans LOVE chocolate chip cookies, but every cookie exchange has a prohibition on this cookie! Here is a recipe to get around that unfair rule! 

Our Christmas Cookie recipes are posted on our pages. We talked about other sweets: check out the Lagnappe at the bottom of our list. I am looking forward to trying these suggestions with our Friends' help.

December 15: Prepare your cut out doughs in advance (so you can cut, bake and decorate together). I will also demonstrate Spritz cookies.

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

We had a really fun time talking about the things we love. 

And we enjoyed classical music with a modern flair. Fur Elise video.

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

Our classes are so interesting! It was nice to visit around a bit. We always seem to have the same things on our minds. Here is Bill's Tip for the week. This word came up in conversation within our school in a number of conversations and contexts. 

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

We all enjoy our meeting together at the end of the week. It is nice to welcome daughters to our meeting! We talked about our pleasures and past times. We talked about trying new hobbies and exploring new interests. We found out that we all enjoy trying new things but always gravitate to the things that we do best.

The Great Countdown!

 Hello Friends,

It is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! We are adjusting to a New Normal, we are seeing some great new traditions being established. There are fabulous opportunities available for us to enjoy performances via our computers. We can meet and see each other across distances. Hopefully, a COVID vaccination will bring us all together face to face sooner than later. Hopefully, we can continue the new traditions and methods of greeting each other.

December 1, Advent and Calendars and the final countdown

An Advent calendar counts down the days before Christmas. You can purchase calendars that have treats behind numbered doors. These have become more and more popular in recent years. In the United States, Christmas is both a secular and religious holiday. 

By secular, Christmas is a time for all people to celebrate friendship and charity and gift giving. Santa Clause is a focal character for children. It is a time to share love and joy and good will. It is a time to wear gaudy sweaters and eat cookies. 

As a religious holiday, it is a time for people to anticipate and celebrate the birth of Jesus as the Son of God. The four weeks before Christmas (December 25) are marked down and celebrated. Some churches offer midweek services to prepare for Jesus' birthday. Nativity scenes that recreate the idea of the birth story told in Luke

Holiday Performances You Can Enjoy Anywhere

And yes, if you don't live in Indy, you can "attend" virtually!

• Dave Koz live virtual concert from the Center for the Performing Arts, December 12 at 8:00pm Eastern time. The $35.00 "ticket" gives access to the concert to one device and downloads of two albums. Click to reserve your "seats".
• Carmel Symphony Holiday Pops concert December 14, 7:30-9:30 Eastern time). Virtual tickets cost $30.00. Click for more information and get your pass.
• Holiday Lights by the Civic Theater 
• Elf the Musical on demand December 4-December 26 or watch with others at a specific time. 

More Holiday Lights and Events to Enjoy 

• Lights Over Seminary, Noblesville, 5:00-11:00. 200 10th Street, Noblesville. Walk or drive holiday lights sponsored by Duke Energy. The article tells the history of and explains the meaning of “seminary” (not to be confused with cemetery).
• Noblesville Santa Routes: Santa is riding around the neighborhoods in Noblesville! Check the schedule to see when and where he will be ro wave hello! 

More Movies

Southern Living has a list of Christmas holiday centered movies. Not everyone is nice...Die Hard, the Grinch to name two.

Being Relevant While in the United States

iWi presented a great seminar on getting yourself ready for the workforce after a gap. Sometimes your visa may not allow you to work for money while in the United States. This doesn't mean that you have to take a break from building your knowledge, skills, abilities or experience while living here. You do not have to have a gap that says you lived abroad. 

• Volunteer your services with an organization to stay relevant in your field or to gain experience in a new field.
• Update or write your resume in English using the American style to help you think about your career from a new perspective.
• Participate in classes online in your field through YouTube. Many Universities have taped lectures. TED talks are another way to build your knowledge. Document your self study.
• Take an assessment to help gauge areas for improvement and then look for ways to improve. One favorite for confidence building is Brene Brown. Her webpages have assessments and workbooks to go along with her books 

COVID-19 Update

Quarantine vs isolation and for how long? If you or someone in your household has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID -19 your household should quarantine (stay at home) for 14 days. The person who tests positive should isolate (limit contact with people in your home) for 14 days or until symptoms disappear. Rad more: When to Quarantine from the CDC.

Zoom Access Problem Resolution

If you or your family have getting into Zoom classes or meetings:

• Try a different device: your phone, tablet or lap top. 
• Log all the way out of Zoom and then log in using the ID that you use for that class or meeting. Sometimes someone else is logged into Zoom and security won't let an unknown person log in.
• Restart your computer or laptop and or clear the cache. Sometimes you computer just needs to start all over again!
• And, direct from Zoom: Sign in before clicking the link (be sure you sign using the identification you use for International Friends) and open a new tab in your browser. Sign in through this link Sign In - Zoom. After signing in click the link from our email.

Stories and More: Monday, 10:30-11:30

We enjoyed a great story. We put together shakers to dance to our fall song. Join us as we start our 

December 7: Join us as we get begin to celebrate Christmas!

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

We have accumulated enough vocabulary to make small talk about our families and the holidays. This is after less than 10 weeks of meeting! Join us in our conversation.

December 7: Join us for a recap to converse using what we have learned. 

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

Mark 4 is full of great opportunities for discussion. In this week's story Jesus casts a demon out of a man (in the temple on the Sabbath). We had some amazing insight leading to points to ponder:

• The world is not only physical but it is spiritual: Jesus is the authority in both realms.
• Satan needs our power...we can choose to give it to him. Jesus does not need our power.
• Why was the demon-possessed man at the Synagogue (Jewish temple)? We are reminded that everyone who is in the church is not perfect. Was he there for disruption or for help?
• Who are we to judge? What what distracts us or has our physical, mental and spiritual attention?

December 8: We will wrap up Luke 4 with a story where Jesus heals many.

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

We prepared for our last two meetings of the year. Usually these meetings are full of fellowship, fun and food. We will continue the tradition!

December 8: Let's talk about Christmas and holiday traditions and expectations. We may have taken some events for granted, but not anymore!

December 16: Cookie Day! Let's Zoom for a bake along. Click for the recipes to make your shopping list!

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

We talked about home cooked meals and discovered that across most of our cultures we make puffy noodles or dumplings by making a dough of flour, water and oil or flour and an egg. The dough is dropped in boiling water or broth. This is home cooking! We talked about Chamoy and using this condiment on vegetables. We compared COVID testing and our experiences (Wow! We can and do get tested!)

December 9: Join us as we get together to recap our week and talk about what's on our mind.

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

Every week is different and brings new challenges. Some questions are common: how to be better understood in the United States and how to improve my abilities to communicate. 

Our classes are anticipating a two week winter break. That doesn't mean that you take a break from your English studies. There are some very enjoyable ways to keep moving forward that have been suggested by our students. One of them is Immersion Reading (where you read and listen at the same time). This can be a great strategy to get more than one sense involved in learning anything. You can also break this strategy into pieces to get more out of it.

1. Just listen (think audiobook) but have the book on hand for support and back up. This is a great way to improve your listening skills and then check what you have heard and/or confirm what you are hearing. Sometimes your mind can wander when just listening. Fix this by speeding up the audio (or slow it down if you struggle to keep up). A downside may be that some of the cadence or song of the language might be slightly distorted.
2. Listen and read along. This method involves or engages at least two senses at the same time (seeing and hearing). You can absorb vocabulary and pronunciation at the same time and build multiple paths in your brain. Physical tracking or following along with your finger can add another sense dimension. This method can be overwhelming when learning something brand new with new vocabulary because there are additional levels of translation with seeing and listening.
3. Read now and listen later. Read a chapter or pages and then listen to the audio while you are driving or doing something else. You are familiar with the content and listening allow you to absorb pronunciation and cadence.

Where to find or make Immersion Reading.

• Whispersync on Kindle through Amazon provides books in multiple formats.
• Children's sections in the library often have books matched with audio tapes.
• Use Hoopla through the library along with a downloadable ebook (a book on line) or check out the actual book.
• Watch a movie with captioning.
• Watch a TED Talk with captioning.

For more take a look at this article: English Immersion Reading: a Powerful and Effective Way to Learn

End of the week Conversation: Friday, 10:30-12:00

We had great discussions that included pronunciation, accent, cadence, dialect and the differences in our home languages and English. We compared what we talked about in our various classes and meetings and tried out our skills on each other.

Are you having trouble pronouncing a phrase? Turn it into a song. Many pronunciation and accent evaporate when you sing.