Sunday, January 21, 2024

Mid-January and No Thaw In Sight

 Hello, Friends.

The United States is finally seeing true winter weather. Weather is a popular topic in Indiana as well as many other parts of the country. When we move from one area to another, we keep an eye on the weather and plan accordingly. While we like to think we are in control of our time and our travel, Mother Nature will throw in a surprise ice storm.

Weather talk can be code for more than whether it is raining. It can be an invitation to conversation or an indication that. It can be acknowledgement or a greeting.

In America: The First Primary Election...Or Not. It depends...

Tuesday is the first primary election for presidential candidates. New Hampshire. In a primary elections the individual state has election rules for selecting each party's candidate to be included on the ballot in November of 2024. In the case of New Hampshire, undeclared or independent voters can walk in and select either a Republican or Democrat ticket to weigh in on a candidate choice. While elections can be straightforward, discussion and speculation are all part of the game.
 
The New York Intelligencer offers the dirt and the lowdown on the primary: 2024 New Hampshire Primary: How It Works and Who's Expected to Win

Movies, Books, Genre 

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

We love heartfelt Southern on Netflix 
  • Sweet Magnolias
  • Virgin River
We are Country at heart--(if you revisit sites later, the list will be different)

Meetings and Classes

Join us and grow: International Friends: Meetings and Classes (indyinternationalfriends.blogspot.com)

American Sign Language: Tuesday, 5:00-6:00 PM EST (UTC -5), Zoom

We picked up some essential phrases as we talked about winter weather. Both of these phrases are contingent on your perspective (in Brazil -2 F is unbearable, but in Iowa it isn' surprising, but in Indiana we know that in a couple of days it will be much warmer):

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 8:45-9:45 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

We talked about 2 Peter and Jude. These two letters are companion letters, both warn against false teachers. That the people trained and appointed to teach and support the community (Godly or otherwise) have ulterior motives and abuse their power or authority and is very uncomfortable to consider and to talk about. We don't like to think that people would intentionally mislead others about God's love, grace, and mercy. Jude's letter describes the actions and behaviors of the people thoroughly. He advises that the people guard themselves from being dragged in and dragged down by these people. 2 Peter 1: 16 advises to "pay attention to scripture" and 20-21 that prophesy (declarations of the Gospel) come from God via the Holy Spirit and not from human beings.  Jude 1: 20-22 provides the gracious advice to support each other and focus on God and his love and to show mercy to those who are in doubt (as a result of the erroneous teaching).

American English and Culture: Thursday, 9:00-11:00 AM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

We had a very productive class on Thursday. We covered a lot of ground using creative exercises that help grow mental connections and expand knowledge and skills with the American English language and culture. Our goal is to expose you, as adult learners, to more than American English content, and to give you tools and experiences that help you understand the subtilties of learning and American culture and develop outside of class.

We looked at each other's collages and talked about the impact of creating a visualization of a phrase: how we perceived the words and their flow. It isn't too late to try this out. See Meeting Notes and Handouts for our work. 

We sang and pronounced a nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice which is wonderful for practicing "smiley" sounds/words and short choppy "a" words strung together as well as transitions from smileys to dropped jaw. The story mirrors what is going on linguistically: sounds and pronunciations in this rhyme run all around mouth and head and are clipped. We presented the rationale for learning these rhymes as both as a fun exercise as well as a cultural reference (since these are ingrained in early childhood learning, they are the essence of our cultural references).

January 25: Playfully prepare for the day: 

Journaling is a good way analyze phrasing, track progress, critique grammar, and experience the subtilities of punctuation. Journaling is a very individual and personal take on a subject, situation, or day. Expand your skills with this week's prompts and focus on the weather: 

  • Write a public service announcement about the weather.
  • Relate an opportunity to talk about the weather.
  • Describe the weather. Try to create rhyming sentences or phrases. Maybe write a haiku that focuses on (a short poem with three lines of five, seven, and five syllables inspired by nature and seasons)
Email your writing or a photo of your work to indyintlfriends@gmail.com.

The weather is a bridge to important things said and unsaid: Talk About the Weather

Nursery Rhyme Play: Here is Barney the iconic big purple dinosaur singing and playing with  The Three Little Kittens. Notice the creative play and activities that help bridge learning.


Kids' Conversation and More: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

Our friend wowed us with an impromptu presentation of the structure and function of the Japanese federal government. He pulled up a graphic for illustration and explained in English the Japanese titles in five or six comprehensive and interesting sentences. 

January 26: Let's finally finish looking at the time range of 1600-1800. Once again, what was happening in your corner of the world and in the world at large? Do events coincide?

Words and Phrases

all part of the game: something not to be surprised or upset about; to be expected

at heart: living one lifestyle but having a love for another

companion: covering similar material

can be code for: to talk about one thing when thinking or feeling something else

covered a lot of ground: did a lot of work

dirt: gossipy information

dragged down: cause someone to do something wrong or to cause someone to be sad

dragged in: cause someone to become involved in something

erroneous: incorrect

impromptu: unplanned and unprepared

it depends: reflects an uncertain answer

lowdown: facts or relevant information

plan accordingly: decisions and actions that are appropriate for a specific situation

prompts: key words or phrases that assist or encourage a speaker

public service announcement: posted information intended to keep a community safe and healthy

straightforward: not complicated 

subtilities: small but significant impacts

The United States is: This phrase can be confusing. States is plural, but the United States is singular (one country). This was not always the case. Until just after the Civil War, The United States were the 

through...up to: starting with a place or event and then going beyond another to the beginning of another

wowed: impressed 



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