Well, we're still not really getting into regular updates but we have a few things to write about and here's something for starters.
Between Christmas and New year we spent a few days in the mountains of the Peloponnesos in a lovely apartment complex. Turned out that it was owned by a good friend of some of our friends from church in Athens, so it was good to make some links there. We liked the apartment and the location so much that we'll be back.
It was in a lovely gorge, not far from the main ski resort in southern Greece and part of the plan was to see some snow, which we did by driving quite high up to the ski slopes. For much of the winter the snow hangs around much lower down but there'd been a few warm days so it was really only the ski runs themselves which had snow.
Anyway, we got a toboggan for a few euros for one of the days. Joel and I headed into the mist for a bit of zooming down the hill (Hannah lasted a few minutes before getting too cold) while Dawn had to stay in the (hired) car with a sleeping Esther. We hadn't agreed where to meet up when our fun was over so Dawn texted me let me know the girls were awake and ready to head back to Kalavrita town for lunch. The only problem was I'd left my specs in the car, not wanted to crush them in any toboggan/cliff disasters that Joel and I might have had. You may know that I really need them for reading, being longsighted, and I couldn't make a single thing out on the text.
I've never been particularly bothered about the ageing process but this tickled me. My wee five year old had to read the text aloud to me. A healthy reminder of mortality.
As Joel and I were alone on the slope it was a bit tricky to get decent footage of his intrepid sledding. I considered just letting him go and filming 'til he disappeared from sight, but opted instead to get him to hold the brake until I was a bit downslope then hope he could steer straight into me. Have a look at the short clip. For a few seconds just before this was taken the fog vanished, revealed a stunning, sparkling mountainside. We'll be back, making sure we get some clear days. (The photo on our last prayer letter was of this mountain from afar).
There's other stuff to blog about that short trip which hopefully we'll get round to in the next couple of days, including a little-known but moving WW2 episode from the town of Kalabrita itself.
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Christmas Celebrations Part 2
So, below is the Sunday School Christmas Celebration. We'd had real trouble trying to get there (We'd decided to hail a taxi rather than get the bus/metro because it would be 'easier' but then found that there were no taxis free. We caught a bus and tried to get a taxi from the centre, which also took AGES!) and arrived 10 minutes before the start, and therefore 20 minutes late! As a result we bustled the kids into the back room where the others were and they were not interested in putting on angel robes and performing. They'd been quite reluctant in rehearsal, so we probably should have anticipated the outcome. It was a bit frustrating though. We decided to stay and watch proceedings. So, here are a few clips edited together to give you a flavour of the Sunday School production and Joel and Hannah's contemporaries' role in it.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Christmas Celebrations Part 1
Kαλή Χρονιά! Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s been nearly two months since we last blogged – so much to say, so little time…
So, first of all, an update of Christmas. Term finished for all of us on 21 December and we had a few Christmas celebrations to attend around that time. Hannah’s school had a little Christmas party just for the kids, whilst Joel’s school had a presentation. He had been given a poem to recite and was to play a baker in the little Christmas skit (no lines, just a bit of movement to music with all the other kids), I say ‘was’. He wasn’t up for doing any of it, as it turned out. He had learnt the poem and we were all looking forward to the little performance, but as we entered the school he didn’t want to go in, didn’t want to get into his ‘costume’, didn’t want to take part at all. He’s quite a literalist, our Joel: he won’t ‘role-play’ for long and generally insists on being ‘just Joel’ (not a dog, or a lion, or a shopkeeper, or Super-Joel!). I’ve edited together some of the high- and low- lights of the afternoon… I think it speaks for itself.
I’m also putting together a similar video of the Sunday School Christmas celebration at church (which saw both Hannah and Joel opt out of being angels on the night of the performance!), so that will be on soon too, with a bit of background writing by me! Jonathan is going to put something on here about our Christmas Day celebrations (all good) and our time away in Καλάβριτα (Kalavrita) (which was also good!)… Needless to say there are issues with Joel in terms of his confidence at school (and also his behaviour – more about that another time), and we’d value your prayers for us, for wisdom and love in knowing how to help him, and especially for him, thanks.
So, first of all, an update of Christmas. Term finished for all of us on 21 December and we had a few Christmas celebrations to attend around that time. Hannah’s school had a little Christmas party just for the kids, whilst Joel’s school had a presentation. He had been given a poem to recite and was to play a baker in the little Christmas skit (no lines, just a bit of movement to music with all the other kids), I say ‘was’. He wasn’t up for doing any of it, as it turned out. He had learnt the poem and we were all looking forward to the little performance, but as we entered the school he didn’t want to go in, didn’t want to get into his ‘costume’, didn’t want to take part at all. He’s quite a literalist, our Joel: he won’t ‘role-play’ for long and generally insists on being ‘just Joel’ (not a dog, or a lion, or a shopkeeper, or Super-Joel!). I’ve edited together some of the high- and low- lights of the afternoon… I think it speaks for itself.
I’m also putting together a similar video of the Sunday School Christmas celebration at church (which saw both Hannah and Joel opt out of being angels on the night of the performance!), so that will be on soon too, with a bit of background writing by me! Jonathan is going to put something on here about our Christmas Day celebrations (all good) and our time away in Καλάβριτα (Kalavrita) (which was also good!)… Needless to say there are issues with Joel in terms of his confidence at school (and also his behaviour – more about that another time), and we’d value your prayers for us, for wisdom and love in knowing how to help him, and especially for him, thanks.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
Joel and Hannah at School
Having written an update on our progress in language class it seems only right to update you on the kids’ progress at school. I’ve uploaded some videos to our facebook group: Greece Is The Word – Clarks in Athens (see link on the left!). So, here’s a little taster of Hannah and Joel’s school experiences – purple for Hannah and dark blue for Joel.
Joel’s school starts at 8.15. He’s there for 4 hours and the day usually begins with drawing. He never really liked drawing and he still opts out of that activity sometimes. He likes drawing his family and Spongebob Squarepants!
The school is a Νηπιαγωγείον (Nipiagogeion), a compulsory pre-school for 5-6 year olds and optional for 4-5 year olds which is run by the state. Greek school intakes run on calendar years but the academic year is the same as the UK. SO, children start ‘proper’ school the September of the year they turn six. In Joel’s case, then, he’ll start September 2008, just over a month be
fore he turns six. Instead of being one of the oldest in his year (like in the UK), he’ll be one of the youngest as his class will be full of kids born from Jan – Dec 2002.
The school is only 400 (Clarkie) paces from our front door and is at the bottom of an apartment building. There is a yard out the back where the children are able to run around. The two classrooms are small but big enough for the 15 or so kids in each class. It is very close to the primary school, where he will go next year, so we expect that most of his class will go up with him.
He is friends with Emilio, Dimitri, Panagiotis, Maikis and Yezan. His teachers are Kyria Litsa, Kyria Sonia and Kyria Maria (they job-share). Kyria Litsa, who we’ve had most contact with, says that Joel is very clever but he needs to learn to listen more and talk less. (Honestly, even in a Greek context his school reports are the same as his mother’s were back in the late 70s!)
He’s enjoying it and looks forward to going. Jonathan usually drops both kids off on
the way to uni and both at the beginning and the end of every school ‘day’ there are plenty of “Γειά σου”s (“Ya sou”s: Hi and bye!) being exchanged! Joel is known as Τζοέλ, Jo-el, at school – sadly, it seems the Bible Greek version of Joel, Ιωήλ, isn’t well-known or used.
He is making some progress in Greek but we’re aware that his lack of language is impeding full involvement in the class. He has learnt to read in English over the past few months (started with Kate, some with me but mostly self-taught) and has been teaching himself (mostly) to read Greek since late September. Slowly, slowly he’ll pick it up, hopefully before he starts ‘proper’ school next September.
Hannah is also enjoying school. She’s definitely found the whole culture-shift very tiring. When we first moved here, 10 months ago, she had dropped her mid-afternoon nap months before. Since we’ve been here she probably naps 4 out of 7 days a week and she’s definitely been more tired since she started school.
Hannah’s school is a Παιδικός Σταθμός (Paidikos Stathmos), literally a Child’s Station. It operates both as a private nursery and as a Νηπιαγωγείον and is run by the Borough Council. If we weren’t students, we would have to pay. It’s up the hill towards the university and is set in it
s own grounds with two well-equipped playgrounds. It’s open from about 7 til 3ish, so Hannah could go for all that time and take a packed heatable lunch, but she goes from 830ish til 12ish daily.
Hannah also has three teachers: Vaso, Stella and Kyria Stavroula. We THINK that Vaso and Stella are the helpers and KS is the qualified one! Anyway, Vaso is Hannah’s favourite. She also has some friends: Benny (maybe Penny?) and Fay are the girls and a boy called Aphrodite (which is NOT a boy’s name – his REAL name is Evripides: Euripides, but that’s a bit tricky for H). There are about 15 kids in her class too aged 3 and 4.
We’re not really sure how she gets on from her perspective. Kyria Stavroula told Jonathan the other day that Hannah was doing fine and that she’s beginning to learn and will learn quickly. She was very enthusiastic and warm about her.
We know that Hannah is much shyer and more reticent outside of the house, and even more so away from us. We're not quite sure what to do about that, if anything. We pray that she'll be growing in confidence about who she is and be able to find her voice outside of the house!
Joel’s school starts at 8.15. He’s there for 4 hours and the day usually begins with drawing. He never really liked drawing and he still opts out of that activity sometimes. He likes drawing his family and Spongebob Squarepants!The school is a Νηπιαγωγείον (Nipiagogeion), a compulsory pre-school for 5-6 year olds and optional for 4-5 year olds which is run by the state. Greek school intakes run on calendar years but the academic year is the same as the UK. SO, children start ‘proper’ school the September of the year they turn six. In Joel’s case, then, he’ll start September 2008, just over a month be
fore he turns six. Instead of being one of the oldest in his year (like in the UK), he’ll be one of the youngest as his class will be full of kids born from Jan – Dec 2002.The school is only 400 (Clarkie) paces from our front door and is at the bottom of an apartment building. There is a yard out the back where the children are able to run around. The two classrooms are small but big enough for the 15 or so kids in each class. It is very close to the primary school, where he will go next year, so we expect that most of his class will go up with him.
He is friends with Emilio, Dimitri, Panagiotis, Maikis and Yezan. His teachers are Kyria Litsa, Kyria Sonia and Kyria Maria (they job-share). Kyria Litsa, who we’ve had most contact with, says that Joel is very clever but he needs to learn to listen more and talk less. (Honestly, even in a Greek context his school reports are the same as his mother’s were back in the late 70s!)
He’s enjoying it and looks forward to going. Jonathan usually drops both kids off on
the way to uni and both at the beginning and the end of every school ‘day’ there are plenty of “Γειά σου”s (“Ya sou”s: Hi and bye!) being exchanged! Joel is known as Τζοέλ, Jo-el, at school – sadly, it seems the Bible Greek version of Joel, Ιωήλ, isn’t well-known or used.He is making some progress in Greek but we’re aware that his lack of language is impeding full involvement in the class. He has learnt to read in English over the past few months (started with Kate, some with me but mostly self-taught) and has been teaching himself (mostly) to read Greek since late September. Slowly, slowly he’ll pick it up, hopefully before he starts ‘proper’ school next September.
Hannah is also enjoying school. She’s definitely found the whole culture-shift very tiring. When we first moved here, 10 months ago, she had dropped her mid-afternoon nap months before. Since we’ve been here she probably naps 4 out of 7 days a week and she’s definitely been more tired since she started school.Hannah’s school is a Παιδικός Σταθμός (Paidikos Stathmos), literally a Child’s Station. It operates both as a private nursery and as a Νηπιαγωγείον and is run by the Borough Council. If we weren’t students, we would have to pay. It’s up the hill towards the university and is set in it
s own grounds with two well-equipped playgrounds. It’s open from about 7 til 3ish, so Hannah could go for all that time and take a packed heatable lunch, but she goes from 830ish til 12ish daily.Hannah also has three teachers: Vaso, Stella and Kyria Stavroula. We THINK that Vaso and Stella are the helpers and KS is the qualified one! Anyway, Vaso is Hannah’s favourite. She also has some friends: Benny (maybe Penny?) and Fay are the girls and a boy called Aphrodite (which is NOT a boy’s name – his REAL name is Evripides: Euripides, but that’s a bit tricky for H). There are about 15 kids in her class too aged 3 and 4.
We’re not really sure how she gets on from her perspective. Kyria Stavroula told Jonathan the other day that Hannah was doing fine and that she’s beginning to learn and will learn quickly. She was very enthusiastic and warm about her. We know that Hannah is much shyer and more reticent outside of the house, and even more so away from us. We're not quite sure what to do about that, if anything. We pray that she'll be growing in confidence about who she is and be able to find her voice outside of the house!
Friday, 9 November 2007
Language Learning is tough...
It's over a month since we re-started our language study at the university. We thought we'd take a moment to describe our classes and how we're getting on. I'll be writing in navy blue and Jonathan will write in maroon.
In some ways I've pretty much picked up where I left off last year. My lessons are still between 3pm and 6pm but are now every day. This is the least popular time of the day for the language course, so there are only 4 classes: 2 beginners, 1 intermediate and 1 advanced. I'm VERY glad that I was 2 points off being in the advanced class as I've found the intermediate class enough of a struggle.
There are about 17 of us in our class and almost all have lived in Greece for at least 2 years, most more like 10. Consequently most people can speak quickly and understand most of what is said at whatever speed it is spoken. Most are in the class in order to improve their job prospects as, although they can speak quite well, they know very little Greek grammar and struggle to spell. (Did you know there are at least 5 ways to write the sound 'ee' in Greek? We have endless questions about this as people begin to see and spell words they have been hearing and using for years.)
I felt like I was, once again, drowning in language at the beginning: not understanding most of what was discussed but understanding all of what was taught. As a result of this and my previous experiences of Greek language learning I enjoyed the grammar parts of the lesson and the exercises (when I understood the words!) but completely shied away from speaking and didn't ask questions when I didn't understand. I spent ages in the evening with the dictionary looking up words I'd written down in class. This meant that, in retrospect, I understood the lesson but was not really equipped to take part.
My lowest point was when a very friendly and nice stand-in teacher, Vangelis, asked me to introduce myself and went on to ask me a lot of questions I wasn't quite prepared to answer. My name is top of the register, sadly, so I often get 'picked on' first. I cried. It was SO embarrassing and I couldn't stop. I didn't leave because I knew it would be even harder to go back if I had, so I just sat there. And every time I thought about it I cried again. Wrong. It was wrong. Still, it totally shot down any pride I might have had and helped me to realise how stressed I was by the whole process and how much I just needed to relax and trust the Lord. He knew and knows how this language learning business is going to be for me and we need the language. I got through the rest of the lesson and was ok about going back the next day. I still find the anticipation of the lesson a little stressful but once I'm there it's fine.
That was a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm a bit more confident about speaking, much less bothered about making mistakes and I have quite good relationships with at least some of my classmates. I think that, as we bond a bit more every week, we will help each other to improve. Most of my class struggle with the things I find really easy - correct conjugations and spelling are my speciality (I'm such a loser!) - so we help each other!
As we warm up to each other, the mood of my class is relaxing and improving. My class teachers have changed a little too, which helps (the most austere teacher has gone on paternity leave!). I have Giorgos Mondays and Wednesdays, Aliki (when she's there, family problems have kept her away for a fortnight) Tuesdays and Thursdays and Maria - who is the most gentle teacher! - on Fridays. We both get opportunities to talk about what we're doing here and so pray for us to take them wisely and use them well.
I've taken up watching the odd soap opera on tv (recommended!). I don't understand much of the language but get the gist and it's good for my general listening skills. I'm also reading through 1 Corinthians (VERY slowly) in my Quiet Times with Modern Greek NT in one hand and NIV in the other. I'm also reading Harry Potter 1 in Greek - again VERY slowly, painfully so, but the language isn't TOO difficult and it's good to see how sentences are constructed and translated.
I'm still amazed how, every week at church, I understand more and more of what is said: it might be that I recognise a word or tense that I've learnt in something that Giorgos says in his sermon or something that we sing. I'm encouraged by that and have not lost heart, although I think I was faltering a bit for a while.
I'm extremely glad that I like my classes. If class was onerous or I felt intimidated by it there would be a significant cloud over each day. As it is, I like my three teachers (Vangelis Monday/Friday, Giorgia Tuesday, Menelaus Wednesday/Thursday) and am beginning to get to know my class mates. Each teacher focuses on different things to an extent - vocabulary, verbs, grammar - so we're getting a good variety of input and homework. My spoken Greek is probably only better than one other person in my class - same as with Dawn's group, most have been here for a long time and/or are married to Greeks. They are beginning to be good fun too, and I'm spending more break times chatting with them. The Englishman's disadvantage is that they all speak English so it's way too easy to revert to English when the Greek runs out. I need real discipline to stick with Greek. They are patient with that, so I have no excuse really.
I've found that I have been a little less confident to speak and make mistakes compared to pre-summer. Regarding language study, my main prayer need is to be bold to open my mouth to chat about anything, and be convinced that making mistakes is fine and also a good way to learn. The great thing about Greeks is that they genuinely appreciate foreigners speaking their language, and if asked they will correct us when we speak.
I am on the 9-12 shift so I head up to the university ('up' being the operative word: it's a steep hill from our house to our department) after taking first Joel then Hannah to pre-school. As long as breakfast goes smoothly and I have my bag packed (with my three large books, bible, notepad, coffee flask and water bottle...) and we're all ready in time this is a pleasant journey. The kids are happy on the way and we chat about the things going on around us. Our journey always takes Hannah and I past the DVD shop with a Gollum model crouching by the pavement. She never fails to notice that he's grumpy because he lost his ring.
Like Dawn, I can't keep up with the others in the class in what I say but I struggle far less than some with what's being taught, and don't make the spelling or grammatical mistakes as much. It means that although I am and feel way behind, my language is being built on a good foundation of correct Greek. I really need to find a way to pick up a wide range of vocabulary AND USE IT. I need to watch the news (I can't quite bring myself to watch soaps) and more than anything I need to be in the company of (sympathetic) people speaking Greek around me and to me. I also need to be extremely disciplined in doing homework and looking up the words I don't understand in the evenings so that each day I expand the useful vocabulary. An obvious point struck me today - I need to proactively learn the words and phrases that I want to use, both in conversations with random people I come across, and with believing students that we begin to meet and plan with.
Another thing on my mind about my class is that by May when the course ends we will have spent many hours together and will have had opportunities to talk about many things. I am sure none of the others are Christians and yesterday I had my first mini-opportunity to talk about the gospel - well, the implications of it at any rate - with a French girl of Catholic background. It would be great to build real friendships with these folks and be a light each morning.
In some ways I've pretty much picked up where I left off last year. My lessons are still between 3pm and 6pm but are now every day. This is the least popular time of the day for the language course, so there are only 4 classes: 2 beginners, 1 intermediate and 1 advanced. I'm VERY glad that I was 2 points off being in the advanced class as I've found the intermediate class enough of a struggle.
There are about 17 of us in our class and almost all have lived in Greece for at least 2 years, most more like 10. Consequently most people can speak quickly and understand most of what is said at whatever speed it is spoken. Most are in the class in order to improve their job prospects as, although they can speak quite well, they know very little Greek grammar and struggle to spell. (Did you know there are at least 5 ways to write the sound 'ee' in Greek? We have endless questions about this as people begin to see and spell words they have been hearing and using for years.)
I felt like I was, once again, drowning in language at the beginning: not understanding most of what was discussed but understanding all of what was taught. As a result of this and my previous experiences of Greek language learning I enjoyed the grammar parts of the lesson and the exercises (when I understood the words!) but completely shied away from speaking and didn't ask questions when I didn't understand. I spent ages in the evening with the dictionary looking up words I'd written down in class. This meant that, in retrospect, I understood the lesson but was not really equipped to take part.
My lowest point was when a very friendly and nice stand-in teacher, Vangelis, asked me to introduce myself and went on to ask me a lot of questions I wasn't quite prepared to answer. My name is top of the register, sadly, so I often get 'picked on' first. I cried. It was SO embarrassing and I couldn't stop. I didn't leave because I knew it would be even harder to go back if I had, so I just sat there. And every time I thought about it I cried again. Wrong. It was wrong. Still, it totally shot down any pride I might have had and helped me to realise how stressed I was by the whole process and how much I just needed to relax and trust the Lord. He knew and knows how this language learning business is going to be for me and we need the language. I got through the rest of the lesson and was ok about going back the next day. I still find the anticipation of the lesson a little stressful but once I'm there it's fine.
That was a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm a bit more confident about speaking, much less bothered about making mistakes and I have quite good relationships with at least some of my classmates. I think that, as we bond a bit more every week, we will help each other to improve. Most of my class struggle with the things I find really easy - correct conjugations and spelling are my speciality (I'm such a loser!) - so we help each other!
As we warm up to each other, the mood of my class is relaxing and improving. My class teachers have changed a little too, which helps (the most austere teacher has gone on paternity leave!). I have Giorgos Mondays and Wednesdays, Aliki (when she's there, family problems have kept her away for a fortnight) Tuesdays and Thursdays and Maria - who is the most gentle teacher! - on Fridays. We both get opportunities to talk about what we're doing here and so pray for us to take them wisely and use them well.
I've taken up watching the odd soap opera on tv (recommended!). I don't understand much of the language but get the gist and it's good for my general listening skills. I'm also reading through 1 Corinthians (VERY slowly) in my Quiet Times with Modern Greek NT in one hand and NIV in the other. I'm also reading Harry Potter 1 in Greek - again VERY slowly, painfully so, but the language isn't TOO difficult and it's good to see how sentences are constructed and translated.
I'm still amazed how, every week at church, I understand more and more of what is said: it might be that I recognise a word or tense that I've learnt in something that Giorgos says in his sermon or something that we sing. I'm encouraged by that and have not lost heart, although I think I was faltering a bit for a while.
I'm extremely glad that I like my classes. If class was onerous or I felt intimidated by it there would be a significant cloud over each day. As it is, I like my three teachers (Vangelis Monday/Friday, Giorgia Tuesday, Menelaus Wednesday/Thursday) and am beginning to get to know my class mates. Each teacher focuses on different things to an extent - vocabulary, verbs, grammar - so we're getting a good variety of input and homework. My spoken Greek is probably only better than one other person in my class - same as with Dawn's group, most have been here for a long time and/or are married to Greeks. They are beginning to be good fun too, and I'm spending more break times chatting with them. The Englishman's disadvantage is that they all speak English so it's way too easy to revert to English when the Greek runs out. I need real discipline to stick with Greek. They are patient with that, so I have no excuse really.
I've found that I have been a little less confident to speak and make mistakes compared to pre-summer. Regarding language study, my main prayer need is to be bold to open my mouth to chat about anything, and be convinced that making mistakes is fine and also a good way to learn. The great thing about Greeks is that they genuinely appreciate foreigners speaking their language, and if asked they will correct us when we speak.
I am on the 9-12 shift so I head up to the university ('up' being the operative word: it's a steep hill from our house to our department) after taking first Joel then Hannah to pre-school. As long as breakfast goes smoothly and I have my bag packed (with my three large books, bible, notepad, coffee flask and water bottle...) and we're all ready in time this is a pleasant journey. The kids are happy on the way and we chat about the things going on around us. Our journey always takes Hannah and I past the DVD shop with a Gollum model crouching by the pavement. She never fails to notice that he's grumpy because he lost his ring.
Like Dawn, I can't keep up with the others in the class in what I say but I struggle far less than some with what's being taught, and don't make the spelling or grammatical mistakes as much. It means that although I am and feel way behind, my language is being built on a good foundation of correct Greek. I really need to find a way to pick up a wide range of vocabulary AND USE IT. I need to watch the news (I can't quite bring myself to watch soaps) and more than anything I need to be in the company of (sympathetic) people speaking Greek around me and to me. I also need to be extremely disciplined in doing homework and looking up the words I don't understand in the evenings so that each day I expand the useful vocabulary. An obvious point struck me today - I need to proactively learn the words and phrases that I want to use, both in conversations with random people I come across, and with believing students that we begin to meet and plan with.
Another thing on my mind about my class is that by May when the course ends we will have spent many hours together and will have had opportunities to talk about many things. I am sure none of the others are Christians and yesterday I had my first mini-opportunity to talk about the gospel - well, the implications of it at any rate - with a French girl of Catholic background. It would be great to build real friendships with these folks and be a light each morning.
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Joel's birthday
He was 5 yesterday. We had a relatively quiet birthday. There was no big party and so no need for 'clarking it'*, which was a relief at least.
We'd had a good family-focused weekend, with some preparation for his birthday, present purchasing etc. It has become a bit of a Clark tradition that you make your own birthday cake, so Jonathan and Joel got on with that on Saturday.
On Sunday Joel took some of the cake to Sunday School, we had a fairly quiet afternoon and evening at home.
Yesterday (Monday 22) Joel, Hannah and Jonathan went to school as usual. Joel took some of his cake to school. We had some presents and cards at lunchtime and spent most of the afternoon playing with Lego. (I, sadly, had to leave them to it and go to school!) Whilst I was away, Giorgos (George) Adam (our pastor) and his son (middle of 3) Dimitris popped in with presents for all 3 kids! I returned at 6ish. We have begun to make friends with a Canadian family who LITERALLY live around the corner and work for Hellenic Ministries. They are Heath and Meriko Miekle and they have 2 kids, Kiara (10) and Darius (6). Meriko and the kids came over for cake and stuff at around 6, so that's when we had candles and official happy birthday singing. Then it was just birthday bath and bed. Nice.
I don't think Joel related this year's birthday to last year's, so he was fine and really enjoyed it. He has also enjoyed the elongated nature of his birthday, with cards and presents still arriving! Thanks so much to all who have sent anything, we've all really appreciated it.
Below are a few photos of Lego we've made (mostly Joel - he's wired for this sort of thing, he's ALWAYS loved puzzles and putting stuff together and following written instructions...), enjoy?!
We'd had a good family-focused weekend, with some preparation for his birthday, present purchasing etc. It has become a bit of a Clark tradition that you make your own birthday cake, so Jonathan and Joel got on with that on Saturday.
On Sunday Joel took some of the cake to Sunday School, we had a fairly quiet afternoon and evening at home.
Yesterday (Monday 22) Joel, Hannah and Jonathan went to school as usual. Joel took some of his cake to school. We had some presents and cards at lunchtime and spent most of the afternoon playing with Lego. (I, sadly, had to leave them to it and go to school!) Whilst I was away, Giorgos (George) Adam (our pastor) and his son (middle of 3) Dimitris popped in with presents for all 3 kids! I returned at 6ish. We have begun to make friends with a Canadian family who LITERALLY live around the corner and work for Hellenic Ministries. They are Heath and Meriko Miekle and they have 2 kids, Kiara (10) and Darius (6). Meriko and the kids came over for cake and stuff at around 6, so that's when we had candles and official happy birthday singing. Then it was just birthday bath and bed. Nice.
I don't think Joel related this year's birthday to last year's, so he was fine and really enjoyed it. He has also enjoyed the elongated nature of his birthday, with cards and presents still arriving! Thanks so much to all who have sent anything, we've all really appreciated it.
Below are a few photos of Lego we've made (mostly Joel - he's wired for this sort of thing, he's ALWAYS loved puzzles and putting stuff together and following written instructions...), enjoy?!
Joel, Giorgos and Dimitris enjoying Joel's birthday present - a early-reader in Greek.
Darius with Joel's birthday cake and other birthday stuff.
The House That Joel Built 
Some of Joel's birthday vehicles!
* 'clarking it' - a term coined by some very good friends in Beeston. It means implementing big plans at the VERY last minute: quite a lot of 'stress' but very little anxiety, if you know what I mean! Was first coined on reflection of the way that we had prepared for (or thought a lot about but not done much in preparation for) Hannah's 2nd birthday party.
Saturday, 20 October 2007
September turned out to be a bit crazy! Here’s a quick breakdown of what happened:
We originally planned to return on 11 September, but re-arranged our flights for the sake of the Joel and Hannah starting school at the same time as others in their class (10 and 3 September respectively). So, we returned on 2 September and Hannah (as you can see below) settled in fairly quickly, screaming notwithstanding! Joel started the following week, although, what with ceremonies and elections he ACTUALLY started on Tuesday 18 September.
On Monday 10 September I wrote the blog below and uploaded it on the Tuesday. My (Dawn’s) DAD 
had a minor heart attack on the Monday and was taken to a (not-so) local hospital. Over the next few days they ran tests and my mum commuted the 20 or so miles by bus or by lifts from friends (she doesn’t drive). I assumed that, because it wasn’t a big attack, they’d just keep him in, maybe do a minor ‘procedure’, monitor him and send him home. He actually needed a quadruple bypass operation and, after they’d run extensive tests, sent him to the London Heart Hospital in Westminster. Knowing that this was major surgery, we decided I should fly back before the operation and stay for a week, as the first few days after the op are indicative of how well recovery would go. I took Esther with me (couldn’t leave Jonathan with all three kids, and she’s the cheapest to take on a flight!) and flew out on Saturday 15 September. Dad’s operation was on the Monday and it all went very well. For a 74-year old he’s pretty fit and healthy(!) and has recovered incredibly well and quickly.
Esther and I spent some nights at my Auntie Debbie and Uncle Tony’s house in South-East London (thanks to cousin Becky for giving up her room!) and some night’s at my sister Nichola’s house in deepest darkest Kent. Mum (and sometimes Nichola and nephew Matthieu) were down the road at Auntie Sharelle’s. Auntie Debbie’s a child-minder and had the space to look after Esther and Mats every day, for which we were VERY grateful! I was insured on Dad’s car so we drove into the city every day. I love driving in Athens, so London was a breeze! Overall though, the week was exhausting - all the emotional and physical strain took it’s toll and I came back to Athens with a virus (maybe, in my weakened state, I caught it on the flight back!)…
had a minor heart attack on the Monday and was taken to a (not-so) local hospital. Over the next few days they ran tests and my mum commuted the 20 or so miles by bus or by lifts from friends (she doesn’t drive). I assumed that, because it wasn’t a big attack, they’d just keep him in, maybe do a minor ‘procedure’, monitor him and send him home. He actually needed a quadruple bypass operation and, after they’d run extensive tests, sent him to the London Heart Hospital in Westminster. Knowing that this was major surgery, we decided I should fly back before the operation and stay for a week, as the first few days after the op are indicative of how well recovery would go. I took Esther with me (couldn’t leave Jonathan with all three kids, and she’s the cheapest to take on a flight!) and flew out on Saturday 15 September. Dad’s operation was on the Monday and it all went very well. For a 74-year old he’s pretty fit and healthy(!) and has recovered incredibly well and quickly.Esther and I spent some nights at my Auntie Debbie and Uncle Tony’s house in South-East London (thanks to cousin Becky for giving up her room!) and some night’s at my sister Nichola’s house in deepest darkest Kent. Mum (and sometimes Nichola and nephew Matthieu) were down the road at Auntie Sharelle’s. Auntie Debbie’s a child-minder and had the space to look after Esther and Mats every day, for which we were VERY grateful! I was insured on Dad’s car so we drove into the city every day. I love driving in Athens, so London was a breeze! Overall though, the week was exhausting - all the emotional and physical strain took it’s toll and I came back to Athens with a virus (maybe, in my weakened state, I caught it on the flight back!)…
My Dad’s now at home and continuing to do well. It’s definitely put a strain on my mum. She doesn’t drive and they live in a village. Dad would normally drive into town (a 5 minute car-ride) to do grocery shopping or run other errands. My mum gets the bus or fits in with friends’ schedules on trips to town. It’s pretty tiring for her, with all the responsibility and the worry and the walking! Please continue to pray for them. My Dad was especially moved by the knowledge that so many were praying and, in his ‘resting’ state, has spent more time reading the Bible.
The others survived without us, although Jonathan w
as weary and coming down with something when we returned! Hannah and Joel had both settled into a good routine and were enjoying school.
as weary and coming down with something when we returned! Hannah and Joel had both settled into a good routine and were enjoying school. England was cold, so it was good to get back to temperatures in the high 20s, as you can see from this photo of Joel and Hannah as we prepared to nip out for some bread and milk one afternoon (with baby Little Lucie in her pushchair!)
Within a few days of our return Jonathan and I had our language placement tests, which we'd had no time to revise for. They went well, really. Jonathan's classes are 9-12 every morning, with about 200 students. He was put into a B3 class (intermediate advanced - 4 classes up from last year). My classes are 3-6 every afternoon. There are only about 70 students at that time, so there are 2 beginners' classes, 1 intermediate and 1 advanced. Thankfully, I'm in the intermediate (NOT the advanced) which is pretty much the same level as last year. More about all this later...
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