Hey Folks, I don't have much time today, cause Monday's my busy day, but i just wanted to let you know that i posted some pictures from our recent trip to Ireland on my Photobucket. That's right, I went to Ireland. Last week; from Thursday to Monday. I hope to have some more details about that soon, but for now, you can enjoy the pics:) http://s971.photobucket.com/albums/ae193/mattgingerich/Ireland%20trip%20November%202010/

a few more-or-less recent photos with helpful explanatory notes (fall 2010 edition)

- Hope Singers. The choir members arrived here August 3-5 (due to many flight complications, they didn’t all arrive in PL at the same time). After several days of rehearsal, we took two 5-6 day tours, and spent several days recording. Here are just a few of the things that I especially enjoyed:

o Having Jewel here! I didn’t realize how much I had missed her until she got here. We had talked a lot during the past year, but there is nothing like being together. Thank you so much for coming over, Jewel! My cousin Raphael also came with the choir. It was a last-minute decision on his part, and I’m so happy that it worked out. It was very cool to spend time with him again.

o Singing with a choir again. It had been over a year since I had sung with a choir, and I was more than ready to do it again. Having Lloyd Kauffman as conductor was extra special. He and Mary are very special people.

o Meeting Christians from other parts of Poland. Going on tour and meeting other believers helped give me a broader picture of the Church in Poland. I also was able to meet up with some previous acquaintances. Sometimes I get so entrenched in my own little world here in Minsk Mazowiecki that I forget what is happening in other parts of the country.

- Personnel changes (wow, that sounds so cold and impersonal). The beginning of September, we said goodbye to Maria Zimmerman and LeRoy Schwartz. Gideon Yutzy and Anita Yoder came in their places as the new VSers, and Maria Wadel and I are now the second year VS people (whatever that means). Also, Lois Whitt, from Georgia, is here to teach school for Lavern and Lolita’s children. The number of young people here has grown ever so slightly; there are usually six of us when we get together: the aforementioned vsers, Lois, and Conrad Smucker.

Of course, it takes some time for group dynamics to gel. But, we’ve had over 2 months together already, and it feels like we’re getting to know each other well. When you work this closely with people, you have to get along, and you end up getting to know each other quite well. I’m grateful for the people we have here; it really is a good group.

- English teaching (since I don’t have a picture of this, you’ll just have to imagine it, or you could come visit me and see it in real lifeJ). This is my second year of English teaching. I still don’t have very much experience, but this is certainly much easier than last year. This year, I’m teaching at another school besides our own (GTE). It’s called Royal School, and I’m teaching a different method there. It’s called the Direct Method (wonder how they came up with that name?) and consists largely of question and answer dialogues between the teacher and students. It’s rather scripted, so I’m glad I’m not teaching only this method, but I’m enjoying getting out and having new students and working with other teachers. The great thing is that it involves virtually no preparation. I love thatJ I teach at Royal about 5 ½ hours a week and I have 3 bi-weekly lessons at GTE as well as 5 private students. It’s a nice mix.

Gideon and I took a bike trip the 3^rd week in September. We went to a town not too far from Minsk; it’s one of my favorite places to spend a weekend away. We rode to a nearby town, took the train to the next region of PL, then biked the rest of the way to Kazimierz Dolny. We biked a total of 100 kilometers round trip; a nice weekend jaunt. Kazimierz is located in the hills; there’re castle ruins, lots of old stone architecture, and lots of Jewish history. I also have a couple of friends at university there, so we got to hang out with them.

Ciao~~