Friends!!
Carmel Rising Star Talent Contest: All you amazing performing artists can compete.
Carmel Christkindlmrkt is Number One in the U.S.: be sure to go and enjoy the music, food, drinks and shopping and ice skating.
January Things To Do In Indiana And enjoy the new year and all the things there are to do!
Hohoho, Friends.
I hope that you are ready for the holidays! We had a Great last week of classes.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM EST (GMT-5)
We had our very own holiday program with a concert of ukelele, singing and signing Amazing Grace.
International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM EST (GMT-5)
We finished the letter to the Philippians with Philippians 3-4. We looked forward to the end of the Bible i. Revelation 22. God was, is, and will be. Jesus has come, does come, and will come. We talked of time and reincarnation. We never have a dull moment!
International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
We talked about cookies, no one was motivated to bake. Our conversations turned to
English Classes: Thursday, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
Congratulations! The most frequent 1000 words are finished! Great work. We played games with holiday sayings and American Christmas traditions and icons.
Kids' Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
We shared our Christmas traditions. Almost everyone has turkey for dinner for Christmas. In Japan they have chicken and there is a tradition of eating KFC. Our friends played Amazing Grace and Jingles Bells. What talented musicians we have!
icons: common cultural or religious symbols
Ho ho ho, Friends!
I am always tickled to compare notes across our meetings and classes to find out that we are all saying the same things...As the holiday parties and celebrations roll around you can join in this old saying:
Cookie Walks, Bazaars, Shows
There is more and more to do. Cookie walks are popular in the United States. A cookie walk saves you time and lets you try all the holiday homemade favorite cookies. Holiday bazaars, shows and shops are another great way to shop local and support artisans and crafters. Some of these support philanthropic causes and others support the people directly.
And speaking of another specific opportunity: Meet Gene and Carol at CLC on for Cookies, Craft and More on Saturday, December 11, 9:00-11:00.
Nativities and Pageants
Christmas pageants are icons of the season. Historically, churches, schools and communities would put on a Christmas play featuring the nativity and the story of the first Christmas. The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson is a fun little book that tells the story of all the things that can go wrong but the true spirit of Christmas shines. Charlie Brown Christmas features the pageant and all the worry that goes into a production, Linus steps forward and declares the story. If you want to have your own family pageant, this one from Guideposts has only a narrator and is pretty simple or this Script from Oriental Trading has talking animals along with more action.
A nativity are figurines that show the story of the first Christmas. Families have different traditions surrounding setting up nativities. Some people don't add the baby Jesus until Christmas Day. Other people like to set up the display. Nativities may be fancy or they may be kid friendly.
Many churches have services on Christmas Eve and Christmas day as well as in preparation all during the advent season. Go and see and enjoy.
Local Winter Fun
We are all talking about fun winter activities. Thank you Kathy for getting these together so quickly!
We live on a street. We drive on the street. But don't walk or run in the street. And we find look for places that are off the street. This
Korean Dramas We Are Watching (on Netflix):
American Sign Language: Monday, 4:30-6:30 PM EST (GMT-5)
We studied Silent Night for the vocabulary and signed along. We tried Amazing Grace from We Play Along. These songs are very common in the United States. Silent Night for Christmas caroling and Amazing Grace for many general events. And because we like to play and learn our ukuleles, here is Joy to the World in tabs along with the lyrics and here is the We Play Along Joy to the World.
There are great resources we like to use. Find them listed with their links on our page Our Meetings and Classes.
December 13: We will close out the year with songs. Auld Lang Syne is one to study for the New Year!
International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM EST (GMT-5)
We compared Philippians 2:5-11 to John 17 and then with Paul's statements in Philippians 1:19-24. 2 Kings 17:7-22 shows what abuses that God was contending with from people. He does not tolerate this mistreatment of himself. But he does remove the people from him. Think of a parent saying, "You need to go and sit in the other room!"
December 17: Wrap up Philippians 3-4.
International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30-11:30 AM EST (GMT-5)
Our holiday party was small but mighty. We met in person and on Zoom. We sang a few Christmas carols together in our home languages.
December 17: Cookie Day! Pick a recipe and meet me on Zoom in your (and my) kitchen.
English Classes: Thursday, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
We wrapped up the common words starting with S and T. Our sentences are becoming stories as we compile and pile words into meaningful, alliterative sentences. It is a bit of a challenge, but a very fun learning experience. Pronunciation of these words may also be challenging, especially when we have the exact word in our home language pronounced slightly different.
English is weird. It can be understood through tough thorough thought though.
December 16: Our last letters U, V, W, X, Y, Z. And our virtual Christmas Party!
Kid's Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
We had a nice little visit.
December 17: Our last class of the year. Bring pictures of lights and decorations you seen.
Hello, Friends.
I hope that you are getting out and enjoying the lights. There are some spectacular displays in the neighborhoods. Some houses have signs out front where you can tune in your radio and watch a choreographed show.
More Festive and Fun in Indiana
Safety and Automated Calls
Robocalls are phone calls where you get a recorded message rather than a person. Automated calls from your doctor or pharmacy that remind you of your appointment or that your prescription is ready, from the school announcing cancellations or political or charity calls are legal. Robocalls attempt to sell you something or attempt to get your personal information and use spoofing or other phone numbers and identities are illegal in the United States.
What can you do?
Find out more: Robocalls from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM EST (GMT-5)
We enjoyed some videos and holiday vocabulary. We are finding that we are signing all the time now. Learning English and ASL are a nice combination.
December 6: Come and sing carols!
International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 AM EST (GMT-5)
Chapter 5 in Ephesians talks about extending our behaviors in our family groups. This chapter talks specifically to married relationships. Wives should submit to their husbands. Husbands should love their wives. Submission defined is acceptance or putting someone else first. Submitting to God is accepting His direction. Submitting to your husband means accepting his opinion and leadership. A husband who loves this wife would put her welfare above all other things. In this case, the partnership of husband and wife are strengthened as a team that works together. This Crosswalk article does a great job of further explaining cultural and societal views of confusing submission with oppression and sexist behavior as opposed to a good model for a relationship.
Chapter 6 in Ephesians talks about the extended household. Children should respect their parents. Paul refers back to the fourth commandment: Honor your father and mother that you may live well on the earth. Paul advises parents not to exasperate their children. When anyone is frustrated, aggravated, annoyed and provoked how would he or she respond? Certainly not with respect and honor. In this case, parents have a responsibility to help their children grow in love.
Ephesians closes with messages. Communication with one another
December 7: Philippians 1-2 Zoom or in person in Room 100.
December 14: Philippians 3-4 Zoom only.
International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
We talked about meeting up next week at CLC.
Please RSVP to indyintlfriends@gmail.com YES or NO.
We had great discussions about food*. We talked about brains and how they process information and understanding how forgetting and making mistakes can be our friends when learning. Forgetting and relearning on a schedule helps us to cement information. At first you have to remind yourself (or review) in short intervals (5 minutes, 20 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, every day, twice a week, twice a month, etc.). Making mistakes also helps you to remember something because it calls attention to the information. We also talked about the strategies of adding songs and music to increase our memory as well as emotions and senses.
We compared pronunciations across our languages. "J" does not mean the same thing to everyone. Unplugging what you know from your own language and learning a new sound or sounds for the same name can be a forgetful challenge.
*Important recipes:
And Chinese Morning Glory/Ong Choy notes from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
December 9: S and T word lists.
December 16: W, X, Y and Z word lists. Our last class. Come to the virtual party!
Kids' Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
We had a music fest of Jingle Bells (here are the words)! Oh what fun! We talked about the words in the song and what they meant. We met two or our friends and asked questions from their five sentences.December 10: We will have a flute solo of Jingle Bells and see how many (English) words you could make from the words Merry Christmas!
December 17: Our last class this year! Let's have a party!
