Good times...

This week has been a fun one! Sunday morning I got to see everyone that wasn't at the Wednesday night bible study. There were tons of hugs and summaries of the past year. Roy from Germany was the speaker during service. He's a retired preacher and comes to preach at Eindhoven whenever several of the men are away. After church, we had lunch together, or a potluck...where we got to talk to more people. Jan and Nita had invited us over for the day, and so after lunch, we headed to Best, a town outside of Eindhoven. This is one of their daughters, Nadine, and me, riding in the car to Best!

We spent the day at their house, playing ping-pong and badminton, riding bikes, throwing a football, and watching Home Improvement...the only TV we've watched since we've been here! They took us to dinner the Pancake House, which was right across from the wooden shoe museum. It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed a nice dinner together. It was good spending time with the family.

Monday we had 5 reading sessions. We have not had as great a response as we have had in the past, so the church has ordered 10,000 flyers and is going to place more ads in the newspaper. The sessions we are having with people are wonderful, but just not enough to fill our days. Shahram (one of mine and Mandy's readers from last year) had us over for dinner. It took us an hour to walk there (which definitely built up an appetite), but the dinner was well worth it. We got to play darts afterwards, and were able to get to know him a little better. Thankfully, we were able to catch the last bus of the night home, so we did not have to walk back.

Tuesday, I had 2 readers, and Daleena was scheduled to have 3. However, two of them ended up calling and rescheduling. Daleena was disappointed that they didn't show, but was glad they rescheduled. I was able to see Lourdes and her daughter Priscilla again from last year. We were mutually excited that I was back, and Priscilla, who is my age, is wanting to hang out with me after my reading sessions during the week. We met at the very end of last summer...and while we hit it off immediately as friends, we were unable to spend time getting to know each other better. So I hope that during my time here, I am able to develop a strong friendship with her. It is nice to have another girl my age that I have a lot in common with!

We had our first party last night, and according to Remco, it was quite successful. We had two readers show up...Shahram and Bertine (one of Daleena's readers) and several church members. We played "skit in a bag"...where you put random objects into a bag, split everyone into groups, and give them a time limit to come up with a skit using everything in the bag. Both groups were extremely creative and really got into it. Bertine surprised me with her level of comfort in performing in front of people she did not know. We all had quite a few laughs. Bertine told Daleena this morning that she really enjoyed it and will be back next week. Good!! That's why we do it!

Today I met Remco at Town Hall to complete my au pair paperwork. I recieved a sticker that guarantees me 6 months stay in Eindhoven, and will be receiving something else in the mail that will guarantee me a year. It was exciting! Remco bought me a mobile phone on Sunday for personal use, and we went to open up a bank account after leaving Town Hall. I now have my own bank account (with no money in it, mind you :) ), and my own cell phone. How crazy is that??!! I will be enrolling in Dutch classes soon (to begin in August), so that I can communicate with others easier, and will be purchasing a form of transportation with an engine (either a car or moped) before August.

In just an hour, Daleena and I are headed to the centrum to have dinner with Pieter and Levent, two of my favorite gentlemen in Eindhoven! Then we will be leaving early tomorrow morning to head to Ghent, Belgium, to see the LST team there....Jessica Estes and Kristy...someone...don't know her last name yet. But that's all for now....I'll have more to say after the weekend.

Houdoe!