March 1

This weekend, 14 ESI people and friends of ESI people went skiing in Slovakia. We rented 3 cars, only got lost briefly, and had one person who was carsick but did not throw up, so all in all it was a good trip. We stayed in the town of Brezno and skied at two different nearby resorts on Saturday and Sunday. This was only my third time skiing, and I am still learning, so it was rather painful. I need to work on technique, I am told, rather than trying to fly down the mountain. After much bruising, I am beginning to agree.

But the snow was great, and the view was beautiful. The only complaint that people had about the weekend was the ski lifts, which were not lifts at all. They were these discs which you had to put in between your legs, and they would pull you up the mountain. when you got to the top, you often had to put in a little rest time, because your thighs and butt had nearly cramped from being clenched for so long. I fell off once. Tracy, another teacher, also fell and took out three other people. Amy, also another teacher, could never manage to get on the lift on the day that she decided to try snowboarding, and the lift operator (who know almost no English) knew enough English to tell her to go home.

All in all, it was a great weekend. It was fun to be with everyone just hanging out in the hotel and on the slopes. While tiring, it was very relaxing as well.

March 5

Well, today was the big decision day. All ESI teachers in Hungary had until today to decide whether they will come back next year for more. I began praying about this decision back in January, and thought at the time that my decision would be reached well before the deadline for sure. With that kind of head start, how could I not know by march 5?

On yesterday, March 4, Neal and I were two of the few who had not reached their decisions. While it seemed that all others had been receiving bolts from the sky and being happily confirmed in their plans, both of us were hemming and hawing and hedging until the last minute, telling ourselves that if God does not tell us, then we must have to make the decision as best we can given the information we have. Our job is merely not to worry, to trust that God would work through our decisions. But secretly, a bolt from the sky would have been nice.

So, we decided. I decided that I would not come back next year. I do not know what he has decided -- he has joked today about how the ESI Central Europe Director is in California, so he technically has about 12 more hours. I am guessing that he has not sat down in front of the computer and fired off that all-important e-mail.

There are a variety of reasons why I decided not to come back, but I will not share any of them right now. The fact is, though I have made the decision, I am still waiting for God to work things out. I decided because I needed to, but the future is far from settled.

I appreciate all of your prayers -- it seemed that everyone I talked to from America was praying about this. I regret that I do not have an impressive story of answered prayer -- but there is still time.

The only other exciting thing about today is that it is snowing, and has been all morning, so there is quite a bit on the ground now. I hope that it stays, because tomorrow we play American football with the students.

March 28

This weekend it was rainy and cold. On Friday night, had a few friends over to the flat and watched About Schmidt and Phonebooth.

The first one, starring Jack Nicholson, I had never seen before. But I did remember that I was on the University of Nebraska campus back in 2001 when they were filming a scene there. It's about a guy who throws away his life in working for an insurance company, killing his desires, and taking no risks. When he retires, his wife dies, and his daughter plans on marrying a guy he doesn't like. After he goes all around Nebraska to visit places from his past, and goes to Denver to his daughter's wedding, he realizes that his life was meaningless.

And that's the end of the movie.

It's good, in the end, that he did realize it. Many people never come to that realization, especially in places where hard work and mindlessness are prized, such as modern America. I hope that that movie has helped many people to recognize themselves in its characters, and encouraged them to stop grasping for comfort. Maybe there will be fewer people in the next generation who fold their hands to sleep while death creeps up to them.

What it did for me was make me wonder about returning to America next year, whether it is a good idea or not. There is certainly a need for people there who refuse to accommodate themselves to the status quo, who are willing to take risks and to resist laziness. But am I strong enough to do it? Can I endure without giving in? These are the questions that I asked myself after watching this movie, just as I asked them three years ago the first time I watched Office Space.

Phonebooth was a nice little suspense movie. All the bad language was at first grating, then boring.

Saturday we had planned to play American football, but it was still cold and rainy so we called it off. I went for a walk with Abi, Katie and Annika instead. Then, in the evening, I went to Soomi's apartment to watch parts of movies and eat dinner.

I don't think I've ever mentioned Soomi before. She is a Norwegian (ethnically Korean) who attends medical school here in Budapest. Medical school is apparently very difficult to get into in Norway, so there is a gang of Norwegian medical students here because there is a school with an English medical program. Many of them go to Calvary Chapel, which is where many ESIers (myself included) go as well. Currently, Soomi is dating a former ESIer who was in the Czech Republic last year, Kevin Futch.

Did you get that? It's OK, you don't need to. Anyway, the people who were over at Soomi's place last night were Neal (my roommate), Danielle (another ESIer), Judi (another ESIer), Stian (another Norwegian med student), Trina (his wife, who is Australian), Kevin, Soomi and me. They watched the first two Godfather movies, and I got there toward the end of the first one and left about an hour and a half into the second one.

Here is an interesting fact for you: did you know that European daylight savings time is a week ahead of the American one? We sprang ahead last night, and so for the next week Europe will be seven hours ahead of the east coast of America, instead of the usual six.