This year, I have the privilege of working with a few different populations of people.
During the school week, I work with high school students (10th through 12th graders) at the Lutheran High School in Békéscsaba. Parents and teenagers are able to choose the secondary school that the teens attend. The schools can either be in their hometown or in a neighboring town. Some of my students are from surrounding villages or towns and take the bus into Békéscsaba everyday. Others are from towns further away. They stay in the Lutheran High School Dorms Sunday night through Friday, heading back to their hometown Friday afternoon. The dorms come at no cost to the students and their families. Although 3 meals are provided, the students’ families pay out of pocket for these. Besides English, all of my students are taking at least one other foreign language. Hungarian curriculum requires all students learn English, Italian, or German. Most students will take intermediate or advanced level language tests after completing high school. They have to pass the higher intermediate language test in order to get into university. The lessons usually involve a conversation around upcoming holidays, how school is going, or we work on English homework or practice tests for the language exam. I correct pronunciation and grammar. My students teach me Hungarian words for different things and love showing me their favorite musical artists. Two mornings a week, I attend activities at the Lutheran Nursing Home in Békéscsaba. One of many services the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary provides, the nursing home has an assisted living portion and memory care. 3 meals and around the clock nursing care are provided on a daily basis. There are activities two days a week for residents living here. During the mornings, the activities are aimed at those in the assisted living. There are memory games, exercises, discussions, and crafts. Each resident has a very different personality. One gentleman loves to rile up the women by making sly comments during activities. Each of them will laugh, point their finger, or shush him. Three mornings a week, I head over to the Day Center for young adults with disabilities. Another service provided by the Lutheran Church, the day center is in another part of the same facility. Recently added, it has a large activity room, a lunchroom, a mudroom, a staff office, and a room where the young adults can go and rest throughout the day. In the rest room are two beds, a TV, and a fooz ball table for them to use as they please. I come and hang out, doing crafts with the participants, watching movies, or interacting as staff work on other items for the facility. Afternoons are usually spent with students in English lessons. One evening a week, I take a bus to nearby Békés. I attend a weekly worship service for Roma and Non Roma Young adults. People of all ages attend. I have begun meeting with two young girls wanting to work on their English. We meet before worship, kick around a soccer ball or play a game of pool and chat in a mixture of English and Hungarian. They usually tell me something in Hungarian, point, and I repeat in English.
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Elaina JohnsonI am from a town on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. I grew up in Hudson, WI, where I had the privilege of returning after graduating from Winona State University with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. Archives
December 2016
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