Week of January 21

Last week and this week I read final exams and computed final grades for my course at the University of New York in Prague. I sent the final grade to each student, with an explanation of what assignments were missing. They were to e-mail me if my information was inaccurate, and sure enough, I had forgotten to record the grade of one student's assignment. I am just glad to catch it before sending grades to the registrar.

All exams came through fine with the exception of one. I suggested that the student whose exam did not come via e-mail, hand deliver the exam to me here in New Hampshire, and spend semester break with us! He said his plans had been made, but maybe another time! It turned out he had written his paper on a Mac and forgot to hit the button that allows it to be read by a PC. So we straightened that out.

Today I mailed off another package to the students at CISP, the middle school students Lloyd and I taught. We had worked on Proverbs, and I have made it into a booklet. I sent one to each of them with a personal note. Also to the other teachers. Sending mail internationally takes time at the post office!

Jose got an apartment in Boston on Monday afternoon. He had spent many, many hours searching Craigslist, and got quite a few possibilities,-- enough to decline living in the dorm (which cost $3000 more)-- but by the time he got down to Boston to look at the apartments, they were taken. People would say to him, "PLease come in the next 45 minutes"... and he just couldn't do that from here.

So classes started on Monday morning at 9:00, and he had no place to live. He stayed in a hostel the night before, sleeping in the same room with 3 total strangers, cell phone tucked under the covers next to his hand!

After class on Monday he was able to go right to the apartments that had openings, and found an excellent one, so he moved right in. Lloyd took a truck load of furniture on Tuesday, and Jose came home Wednesday to get the rest of his things. He drove his tracker down and has parked it outside his apartment window. We will probably bring it home when we go to Congress this next week. Anyhow, last Sunday was VERY STRESSFUL knowing classes were the next day and he had no place to live, and we are very thankful that he is now settled in for his last semester of undergraduate work. He is even glad to be back at Mass Art, and didn't think he would ever say that! God is good!

Week of January 16

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I read my Equality Depot catalogue! God bless equality!

Students at UNYP continue to e-mail me many times a day. Last week they were expected to visit a treatment center for people with mental disorders. I always like to take students on a field trip, but with my language barrier, could not do so in the Czech Republic. Students were encouraged to go to a facility near their home where they could communicate in their primary language. I have received most of the assessments of these field trips, and they were interesting. For the most part, the students think the mental health facilities in the Czech Republic are inadequate. One question students had to answer was: Would you place a friend or relative in this facility? Most answered No. Another question was, Would you want to work in this facility after you graduate from college? Many wrote that after having seen this place, they no longer want a career in mental health! I am so sorry for the fall out from this reality check!

Their final exams are due Thursday. Please pray that they will not be stressed but will do well.

We received an e-mail from a parent of a child at the Christian School where Lloyd and I taught in Prague. The school had received serious terrorism threats, and had to cancel classes. We pray that the students will be kept safe, and that their faith will be strengthened through this scary experience.

Today I finished a final edit of the Book of Proverbs that these students worked on with me. I hope to mail you a copy. I am now working on a "secular" book of Proverbs for those who are not people of faith but can benefit from the wisdom of this great book.

Today is the first day of classes at St. Anselm. My class is Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00. I thanked God many times throughout the night for a late afternoon class. Our property is covered with ice. The white birches are bowed to the ground. Lloyd saw and smelled burning of wires when he went out to get the mail yesterday, and there were pops throughout the evening from trees or transformers blowing up. At 2:00 A.M. there was a curious blaze in the sky, and my sister tells me that her husband (an EMT), and son-in-law (state trooper) were in and out all night dealing with trees down. We are thankful to be home where we can keep a watchful eye on things.

Jose's first class is Friday afternoon. He still hasn't finalized an apartment, but has his driver's license and tracker, so will be commuting for a few days. We pray for his safety and the right place in Boston for him to live near Mass Art.

Work in Prague Continues

Even though we are back in New Hampshire, I am getting daily messages from my UNYP students in Prague. I received the first batch of student papers via e-mail. My new skill as instructor is to correct papers on the computer! This means I used the red button at the bottom of the screen, and put my comments in red. I don't yet know how to cross things out, so put them in brackets. Because English is not their primary language, the students had varying degrees of success with a formal paper. This is the only assignment throughout the course where I am grading them on spelling and grammar as well as content. After correcting the paper, I saved it and sent it back as an attachment. One student did not receive hers back from me, and I did not receive a paper sent by another student, but we worked it out. Glitches on the web!

I had forgotten how stressed students get toward the end of the semester, and how much hand-holding has to be done. I might sit in the Faculty Room all semester waiting for students to show up during my office hours, and no one came. BUT that changes at the end of the semester. My Gordon students were the worst. They kept coming in my office during the last week of the semester and bursting into tears. It might be over an A-!!! So please pray that my UNYP students will not suffer from a lack of face-to-face contact these last three weeks. I plan to call them. Lloyd found that if you dial 10-10-9-8-7 before dialing the number, the call is not very expensive.

I went to Southern New Hampshire University today and talked with Sheila in the International Education office, a brand new office set up in September. They did not have UNYP on their list, but we began talking about things we could do across continents. Thank you for your prayers about future projects.