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?
- Look at what we offer: Our Meetings and Classes
- Check the day and time of the class.
- Sign up and to get our Zoom links: Register for Our Meetings
- I will send you the Zoom links.**
* 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.
See You Next Year!
And, that reminds me....
If it is Tuesday, December 15:
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.
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!
take away: something to remember, learn and apply or use
wrapping up: finishing
get together: meet socially
took a turn: changed suddenly
relevant: have meaning
warm our hearts: make us happy, encourage
tend to: are inclined to, seem to happen
once: when1
meaning behind: rationale or reason
a bunch of: many
thanks to you: because of your actions
acquaintances: people we meet casually and have a speaking relationship with
given name: name give to us from our parents at birth
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