Finding Comfort

From Melissa:
Strange things happen when you enter a foreign world, a world where the language and the customs and the people are all different from what you know. I find myself constantly wanting to settle...searching for things that bring comfort. This is not a new feeling for me. I lived in San Diego for 6 years, and yet each day I found myself searching for something more...searching for that feeling of "home". It always seemed elusive to me. And now I am in a new country, but still searching for the same things. There are things that bring me a sense of comfort, that feeling of home. Some of those things are: the seasons of fall and winter (when it seems that holiday warmth and togetherness is all around), holiday decorations (I get ridiculously excited when I see cute autumn and Christmas decorations!), cool and crisp fall air, watching episodes of Friends (no matter how many times I have seen them! I just love the friendship and camraderie...they are so happy together!), playing games and having coffee and dessert with family and friends. As I write these things, I see a common theme. Togetherness. Community. That feeling of knowing and being known. Something that I feel I have been missing for the last couple of years.

I have let myself become isolated (blaming it on the fact that I am an introvert and I need that time). I have let the sadness and anxiety that I struggle with take over my heart. And all the time I have kept everyone I love at arm's length. But I have also found that maybe in those times that I am struggling and seeking comfort in a feeling of "home", I should be seeking comfort in God instead. A good friend said to me, "why is it that in those times of greatest need, we drift from the one thing we really need?" I don't know, but I am going to work on coming to God instead. He is the only real answer. He is the only one who can really comfort me.

So I know this isn't such a lighthearted post, but I felt that true authenticity and opening myself up has to start somewhere (so why not with everyone I know??) When you are seeking comfort, seeking home, trying to settle, maybe what your heart is really looking for is something different....something more divine.

All the Details...

I have had many people ask me for more details...about the people and the culture and the daily ins and outs of what it is like here. So I thought this blog could be dedicated to that! For the most part, Hungary is a very homogenous country. The school is not! But the country as a whole is. People here tend to be friendly. When we go to pay rent to the landlord (who speaks NO English) she makes us food and sits with us and talks with us, even though neither of us can understand each other! The style here really ranges; I would say it is not that different from the U.S. The only American clothing store they have here is H&M, which I have not been into yet.

As far as groceries, there are a couple of big grocery stores which are British and French. There are also a few smaller stores, one here in Diosd is called CBA and we go there a lot because it is within walking distance. They also tend to carry some American brands (I actually bought Trader Joes cereal there the other day! In english and everything!) You can get most foods here too; they don't have chocolate chips, and the peanut butter here isn't very good (and if you know me very well then you know that that is rough for me!) Food is cheaper here than in the states (CA at least), but there are a few things that are more expensive (ice cream).

There are still remnants of communism here. Though they have free elections, many communists are still in power. The tax system here is the 4th highest in the world, with a 25% sales tax, which makes it very hard for most Hungarians to make ends meet. However, many of them have beautiful gardens and nice properties which they take good care of.

We feel really comfortable here. The Hungarians are not overly friendly, but they are polite and helpful. The city of Budapest has about 2 million people, but it never feels congested or overly crowded to us. There is so much to see and the architecture is beautiful! We feel blessed to be in such a beautiful place. Wish you all could come visit us! Just email or comment with any questions!

Youtube Account

On the left there is a link to our youtube account...there are videos on there of some of our adventures and of our flat!

A funny moment...

So Sharon Martin (the elementary principal) introduces me in elementary chapel a couple weeks ago and as I make my way to the front of the room, and stand in front of all the kids, teachers and some parents, I hear a lot of ooo's and awww's and excitement because of how tall I am and how bright my shoes are, and so on. Sharon then introduces me and asks the kids..."what's the first thing you notice about Mr. Wilcox?"...a few kids go with the standard..."He's really tall!" and "His shirt matches his shoes!" But than she calls on this 4th grade boy who says..."well he has a lot of flab on his arm bones!" Hahaha, the whole room was cracking up, it was pretty dang funny and has been a big joke here ever since. The good news is I have the little man in my class, and on the first day I had to flex for him to prove myself...than I punched him as hard as I could to show him how strong I am and that seemed to work pretty well!! (just kidding about the punching)

Anyway, so my basic day here is 8:30 PE with 4th or 5th grade, Then lunch with the middle school where we usually eat for about 15 minutes and then play basketball or something in the gym. Then after lunch it's 2nd and 3rd grade PE followed by 1st grade PE and wrapping up the day with middle school boys PE. The kids here all want to play either dodge ball, bball, soccer or kick ball for some of the younger ones, and we also do a little working out before games and stretching. It has been pretty awesome, and since I can dunk it seems that I have been pretty much idolized by all the kids. I also try to play in every game we play which is a little unfair at times but it makes me feel like a champion!

Well we miss everyone back home and would love to hear from all of you! Don't hesitate to facebook, or email us, or even comment on our blog! Viszlat!!!

School Begins!

On a little more serious note, and to the reason that we are really here, school began last Wednesday, Aug. 26! The first three days consisted of us getting to know the students and how things work around the school. This Monday began our first full week of school and the start of a little more work!

Brandon began all his P.E. classes this week. He has all of elementary P.E. as well as middle school boys P.E. He is great with the kids and they just love him! They hang on everything he says and does...I am going to be just Mr. Wilcox's wife soon! He works them hard too...they don't get away with anything during his class! When basketball season comes he is also going to help coach the varsity basketball team, which he is really excited about! Everyone is really thankful that Brandon is here because they have many more women staff than men, and they have really emphasized the need for male role models at school.

I (Melissa) still have not begun counseling students yet, as it is just the fifth day of school, and not all the students know me very well yet. However, I am putting together a lesson for each month of school that I am going to be teaching in each classroom. Each month will be a new topic and I will go into the classrooms for 20-30 minutes and discuss the topic with the students. So far I only have elementary school planned and these are the topics we are going to discuss: differences, conflict resolution/bullying, self-esteem, healthy living, happiness and playing, being a good friend, and handling emotions/anger management. I will also be meeting with all the new students in the next couple of weeks to talk to them about how they are adjusting. Something I was not planning on, but am now doing, is helping to coach the varsity volleyball team! I am getting more excited about it now, but the thought made me a little nervous at first! It has been a long time!

We are both really excited for what God has planned for us this school year. We feel like we were called here for a reason and we ask that you would continue to pray as we embark on all that he has called us to do.

We miss you all back home! Come and see us if you can!! :)