Easter Monday picnic

I finally finished editing the video from Easter Monday. I had like 63 video snippets so it took a little while ;)

We had a nice picnic with the church of Pietracatella and friends in the country at an old mill. We had lots of opportunity to practice Italian, make friendships and get to know people better.
And of course to eat. When it comes to food, Italians dont mess around. :) We are talking about a 6 course "picnic".

This video is a fun summary of this delicious day :)

Vegre befejeztem ezt a videot... volt vagy 63 kis videom amit osszevagtam. Beletelt egy par napba. 

De mostmar keszen van es remelem tetszeni fog! :)

A pietracatellai gyulekezettel es baratokkal piknikeztunk egy szep regi malomban a videken. Sok lehetosegunk volt egesz nap gyakorolni az olaszt, ismerkedni, beszelgetni. Es persze enni. Amikor az ennivalorol van szo, az olaszok nem trefalnak. 6 fogasos "piknik"rol beszelunk :)

Ez a video egy vidam kis osszefoglalasa a napnak. :)

Sunday lunch at the church

So. We had a real fun lunch with our church {well, part of it} today. The ladies brought such yummy food. We all passed around what we brought and shared the goodness. I really enjoyed trying the other ladies' cooking. Especially when we got to dessert...oh my word! That was heaven on earth, so good! So good! It was worth every single calories!!! 

{probably all 5000 of them LOL}

I am really enjoying getting to know more and more people from church. Expecially the ladies... I would love to learn a lot from them!

Nagyon jol ereztuk magunkat a gyuli utani kozos ebeden.  Az asszonyok mind olyan finomsagokat hoztak. Mindenki korbeadta, amit hozott, es egymast kinalgattuk. De jo volt megkostolgatni, hogy miket keszitettek masok. Minden nagyon finom volt, kulonosen a desszertek! Oh, nincs ra szo, hogy milyen csodasak voltak! Megertek minden egyes kaloriat!! Mind az otezret! :)

Nagyon orulok, hogy vegre kezdem jobban megismerni az asszonyokat. Szeretnek sokat tanulni toluk!

These two guys above {both wearing stripes} are from Romania. Turns out they speak some Hungarian!! Yayy! So excited! It was surreal hearing them speak in my mother tongue. I dont hear that often these days. They asked me in Hungarian, "Mit csinaltok itt?", {What are you doing in Italy} and I answered in Hungarian and they understood it!! :) It was such a joy for me! :)

A ket fiu a felso kepen (mindaketto csikosban) Romaniabol jottek. Most itt elnek es dolgoznak jobb elet remenyeben. Most volt eloszor alkalmam egy par szot beszelni veluk, es kiderult, hogy Temesvar kornyekerol valok, es beszelnek egy kicsit magyarul!!! Hat nekem az olyan orom volt! :) Kerdeztek, "Mit csinaltok itt?" 

En pedig magyarul mondtam el nekik, es ertettek! :)

These desserts...my life will never be the same again...

Ezek a desszertek... orokre megvaltoztattak az eletemet! :)

After lunch we helped clean up and had some more fellowship

Ebed utan segitettunk eltakaritani a romokat es meg egy kicsit beszelgettunk

Barbershop, friends and death announcements

1. I expected sunny 72 degrees today. What I actually got: a cloudy 69 degrees.. 

It is okay though. I felt cold all morning, so I finally made a hot water bottle to put under my feet while studying. Scott decided to go and "sit in" at signore Nicola's shop. He is one of the local barbers/ hairdressers and one of the most popular ones might I add. He is also our landlord. And one of the handful of believers in town.

Scott had the chance to chat with him a lot as well as the costumers. One of which spoke a little English :)

2. We rode our bikes out a little to further explore our neighborhood. There are entire streets that seem completely uninhabited during the year. Our landlady told us that when the summer season starts up people from all over Europe fill up the beaches, hotels, our town... all the vacation houses open up and life in general pick up pace big time! Most of the tourists (or summer residents) are from Italy, then from Germany, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland... but from all over, really. That will be an interesting time for us (first summer in Italy). Scott suggested it might be a good time to set up my little stand and sell my handmade products to tourists on the walking street. :)

3. Death announcements.

We have noticed that the bulletin boards, or ad poles in town are always covered with these mysterious announcements. First we didnt know what they were about, then realized that they were death announcements! The dead is very well-remembered in Italy.

Traditionally, when someone dies in a village in Italy, he is kept in an open casket at home, and friends and neighbors will visit and pay their respects. The family will often decorate the door of their house and put up notices to tell people about the death and the funeral. In the city, where people are no so intertwined, death notices are put in the newspaper. 

4. Picking up Benjamin from school 

I haven't mustered enough courage to talk to the other moms yet, but I am definitely preparing for it.

On Saturday Benjamin is invited to one of his classmate's birthday party and I am totally planning to chat and mingle. As opposed to last time, when I just sat quietly and observed the other parents while gnawing on a piece of pizza. 

Totally doing it this time. 

I think.... Oh, dear...

5. Friends

This is Martha. She is originally from Cameroon, Africa, but she has lived in Italy with her Italian husband for twenty-some years now. They have four beautiful children. Now, Martha is really sweet and helpful, we go on walks a few mornings a week and she knows everything about anything, really... what is going on in town, which vendor sells the freshest eggplants at the market, or what is the passato remoto form of the verb credere.She also gave me some miraculous elixir the other day that cleared up my eye infection in a jiffy!

And this is Antonio!! :) He is our neighbors' 14 years old son. He and Benjamin get along really well, they always hi-5 each other above the fence. Benjamin always greets him with loud CIAO! every time he leaves or comes home.

6. Beautiful flowers I spotted while walking down the street. Anybody knows what kind they are?

7. Well, here is another interesting picture...it actually cracked me up. I tried taking a picture of it without being seen. I dont want to hurt anybody's feelings :)

So here it is, the CITY VAN! :) With a fan in the window! :) Love it!! 

Team dinner

Hey! Finally we were able to get together, all of us, and have dinner together.

Vegre sikerult mar osszehozni egy kozos vacsit a munkatarsainkkal

Team Italy consists of 

Az olasz misszios csapatunk a kovetkezo tagokbol all

Daniele Lorefice (far left balra)

Scott Lough (you know him ot mar ismeritek :)

Antonio Marino (pouring Pepsi tolti a pepsit)

Dolores Rodriguez Marino (wearing glasses, right side jobb oldalon, szemuveges)

and me es en (taking the photo en fenykepeztem)

and of course our bambini: Anna, Sofia, Chantal and Benjamin.  

Here with the ladies

Itt a holgyekkel

Haha... "fellowship" time :)

Igy toltottuk az idot... :) Nem is. 

Chantal and Benjamin

A little update

Spring is definitely coming. More and more are the number of those sunny, warmer days. This coming week promises to be beautiful. At least until Friday. They say it is gonna be low 70's and sunny Yay!! :)

I have never experienced a more mild winter before [than here in Southern Italy] but I havent been looking forward to spring this much either. 

I love how everything is coming alive again, the wonderful and "gragrancious" spring flowers are out and the morning sun full of Vitamin D. I like to sit out on our piccolo balconcino in the mornings and study. Also one of my favorite things to do in the morning is to hang clean clothes out to dry. As the breeze softly waves the fabrics, I inhale the wonderful smells of spring, and the sun is warming me up. From the outside in. :)

A tavasz hatarozottan itt van. Egyre tobb a szep, napos, kellemes nap. Jovo het gyonyorunek igerkezik. Legalabbis pentekig. 21 fokot mondanak Jaj de jo!!!! :) Soha nem volt meg ilyen enyhe telem, de ugyanakkor soha nem vartam meg a tavaszt se ilyen nagyon. Nagyon szeretem a tavaszt, ahogy monden eletre kel, a tavaszi viragok bodito illatat es az egyre melegedo nap tele van D vitaminnal! :)Nagyon szeretek kiulni delelottonkent az erkelyre tanulni, ahol melegen sut a nap. Egyik kedvenc elfoglaltsagom, hogy reggelente kirakom a vizes ruhat szaradni az erkelyen. Itt mindenki "kiteregeti a szennyeset" szo szerint! :) 

What has been happening with us since the last blogpost? (which was in February..shame on me)

Well, probably nothing very interesting according to your measure, but for us every day is an adventure, a challenge, a joy. 

Mi is tortent a legutobbi blog post ota? (ami februarban volt...szegyellje magat). Ha't...nem tul sok erdekes a mas merceje szerint, de nekunk minden nap kaland, megprobaltatas, orom. 

Here are some highlights: 

Ime nehany esemeny:

1. On a daily basis we are:

praying in the morning with our team, Benjamin is in kindergarten from 9 to 3:30, Scott and I are studying the Italian language and culture in every free minute of the day, I (Edina) am trying to learn more and more about the Italian cousine, learning the use of the ingredients available here, the usage of the 1000 kinds of cheeses in the deli's etc. 

Napi szinten amit csinalunk: Reggel rovid megbeszeles es imadkozas a munkatarsainkkal, Benike ovodaban van 9 es fel 4 kozott, Scottal a nap minden szabad perceben tanuljuk az olaszt, en (E.) probalok minel tobbet megtanulni az itt kaphato elelmiszerekrol, etelek elkeszitesi modjairol, az 1000-fele sajt felhasznalasi modjairol...

Sunday school for the little ones
vasarnapi iskola a picurkaknak

2. On Sundays we go to church and meet the local believers.

Vasarnaponkent imahazba megyunk es talalkozunk a helyi hivokkel

3. We said goodbye to our beloved co-worker, Emmanuelle who following God's voice went back to Germany to serve in his home church for a while until God directs him otherwise

Bucsut intettunk szeretett munkatarsunknak, Emmanuelle-nek, aki az Ur szavat kovetve visszament Nemetorszagba ahol az otthoni gyulekezeteben fog szolgalni egy ideig

(he is in the far left    o a balszelso a kepen)

4. It is a big deal for me that we have finally found the public library in Termoli. The set-up is a bit different...well..from any other library I have ever been to.... but it is probably just because I dont know the system here yet :) LOL Love it!!! :)

Szamomra nagy esemeny, hogy vegre megtalaltuk a varosi konyvtarat Termoliban. Az elrendezes egy kicsit....hogyismondjam....ma's, mint amit egy konyvtarban varna az ember...de valoszinuleg ezt csak azert erzem igy, mert meg nem ismerem jol a rendszert. :) Haha nagyon jo!!! :)

5. Benjamin is learning so much in school. He understands a lot and his teacher told me that he is speaking a lot in Italian already with his friends. Probably not on Goldoni-level, but perfectly enough for what he needs. We are very excited about this, because we just got a phone call a few days ago that Benjamin cannot do another year in kindergarten (which we originally planned on doing so that his Italian would be much more advanced by the time he starts 1st grade), he is starting 1st grade in the fall!

As intimidating as it sounds we are excited and happy for him. 

Benike nagyon sokat fejlodik az ovodaban. Mar ert nagyon sokat olaszul, es a tanito nenije elmondta nekem, hogy mar sokat beszel is olaszul a kis barataival es tanaraival. Mi nagyon orulunk ennek, kulonosen mert most hallottuk, hogy szeptembertol iskolaba kell mennie es nem maradhat meg egy evet az oviban. Eredetileg azt terveztuk, hogy nem kuldjuk elso osztalyba, amig nem beszel folyekonyan olaszul, de a kora miatt muszaj kezdenie az elsot. Ez egy kicsit ijeszto, de ugyanakkor izgalmas is. 

6. We hit the city a couple times this month again. What for? To do more paperwork of course :)

But Thank God we can see the end now. Other than a couple more things we are "all settled".

Ebben a honapban is el kellett menni ketszer Campobasso-ba hivatalos ugyben. De hala az Urnak mostmar ugy tunik, hogy hamarosan a vegere erunk a sok papirmunkanak, ugyintezesnek. :)

7. Our hearts are bleeding for millions of Italians who dont know the Lord yet. Please pray for them today!

A szivunk nagyon nehez azokert az olaszokert, akik nem ismerik az Urat. Kerlek imadkozzatok ma ertuk!

8. Carnival season is officially done. We had some fun parades in our little town too

A farsangi karnevalok ideje hivatalosan is veget ert. A mi kis varosunkban is volt par erdekes felvonulas

Ciao! 

Hungary trip briefly

1. The trip was good. 

2. What wasn't good: I was sick most of the time with a bad cold. Scott hurt his right shoulder, he has been wearing a sling.

3. We have bought a car. Renault Thalia. Finally. 

 4. Benjamin loved being in Hungary and see his Mita and Pita. (Hungarian grandparents)

He also loved seeing the demolition sites.

 5. With my brother. We are standing on the newly finished town square.

 6. Waiting for our train

 7. The guys....being all cute

8. I ate lots and lots of pastries during that one week. Poppy seed pastries (my favorite), sour cherry pastries, walnut pastries, cheesy pastries, cheese curd pastries...

9. It took us 16 and a half hour to drive back to Italy

Arriving to the Italian border felt really good. Like...going HOME! :)

Yes, I love cloud photos. This one was bellissima! :)

This little guy LOVED sticking his head out the window and have the wind blow in his face 

Budapest on an early Sunday morning 

10. We are grateful grateful grateful!!!