ESL Vespers: Parables for student life

ESL Troupe

ESL Vespers: Parables for student life

The parable of the talents...modern version

ESL Vespers: Parables for student life

 

The wise man built his house upon the rocks...

ESL Vespers: Parables for student life

The Good Samaritan...modern version

ESL Vespers: Parables for student life

The Good Samaritan...modern version

ESL Vespers: Parables for student life

Mucha cultura :)

Recently, we've done quite a few things on the culture front here at Asia-Pacific International University (we've been forbidden to say AIU :) )...

Culture Show, 1st Semester 2009-2010

There were lots of beautiful items, of course, but here are only a few.

The Mexican girls studying here this semester put on an item, an all the rest of the Latin Americans pitched in...

Vietnamese students, with their beautiful Ao Dai costumes.

Indonesian students, Irian Jaya region dance.

Chinese male students and their tai chi, the girls and their ethnic tribal (can't remember the name) dance.

Iraqi and Iranian students (plus honorary ones)... I got dragged up on this one, but fortunately nobody took pictures of me...(or did they...hmm, possible blackmail material ;) )

Several of the groups asked (or rather dragged) people from the audience to join them on stage. Here's Daniel (of renowned tango fame), and  Paola and John Bueno, doing their best Bhangra dance with the Indian and Nepalese girls... Ok, so I got carried away with the editing...thought the little "supernovas" would cover all the general strange flailing of hands rather nicely.

Ancient "Culture"

Well, okay, maybe this isn't exactly culture with a capital C...but...
Some very gracious friends usually have me over on friday evenings. After supper, their girls often prepare Bible charades (previously featured here ), inviting the adults to join in. Well, I think this one wins the "best improvised costume" award (note the royal asparagus)...don't you?

Cultural Sabbath

The Latin American girls got together again, this time to present a special music item at Asia-Pacific International University Church: "Padre de Amor"

I'm grateful

I'm grateful for quite Sabbaths with blessings of answered prayers...
I'm grateful for friends who stop to bow their heads and send a prayer heavenward on a moment's notice...
I'm grateful for friends who check up on me, feed me, and support me...
I'm grateful to a God who inclines his head to hear, and stretches out his hand to heal...

My many birthdays.... :)

Thanks to all my friends and colleagues who contributed to making my birthday/s a happy occasion! Friends also provided photos here and here.

Darn! It's hard to blend in with an Audi!

... one of the strange bugs from around here trying hard to get his camouflage to blend in with a neighbor's car...I'd say, "Stick to tree bark..."

Just in case you had any doubts...

I do not have perfect pitch...hehe (my neighbors could have told you that!)...but it was still fun to take this test and make my small contribution to science :).

If you think you do (or to get rid of the people who keep bugging you to sing with them), try out the

University of California Absolute Pitch Study
http://perfectpitch.ucsf.edu/

Babysitting mushrooms...

A friend who went away on vacation left me her mushroom packs...with instructions to put them in a dark and humid place, they now grace the edge of my bathtub. After a couple of days, they sprouted beautiful edible mushrooms that were promptly stir-fried and gobbled up... Mom, just so you know, I'm eating the mushrooms from my bathroom! :)

Hotel in Hanoi

Hanoi 4

While in Hanoi, I met up with fellow Argentinians for pizza (and tried to convince the restaurant manager that Argentinian mozzarella is better than the one they were serving!). Thanks, Oscar & Stella, for a wonderful time!

Hanoi 3

Hanoi is a city of a million motorbikes and no visible traffic rules...traffic lights seem to be mainly decorative. The never ending stream of bikes, honking cars and motorbikes mysteriously parts as you set foot on the street without looking to the left or right...an experience in faith...faith that the local person you are following will guide you safely across, faith that the cars and motorbikes will actually swerve to avoid you...faith that the sidewalk on the other side is attainable. At one point, I found myself letting out a shriek as I stood petrified in the middle of the street, with a car mere centimeters away from my belly, another one almost touching my behind, and a horde of motorbikes about to engulf me...not for the faint-hearted pedestrians like me.

The city also has quite a few quaint little lakes around which people gather to exercise, gossip, walk, take their wedding pictures, and watch the world go by.