Nose Kisses

In the days of my youth, my parents had quite a big collection of Peanuts comic books. I'm pretty sure I devoured every single one to the point that I knew many storylines by heart. One of my favorites was a series that included a butterfly landing on Peppermint Patty's nose. She immediately jumps to the conclusion that there's a meaning behind this, and after much guesswork and analyzation, she decides it was an angel from heaven, sent to give her a kiss. For some reason, I always liked that image, that God might take the time to lean down from heaven and choose me specifically to spend a kiss on.

Nine years ago, I was sitting on a plan leaving Japan, and I was just so incredibly disappointed that our last drive through the country had not afforded me a sighting of Mount Fuji. I'd been told the airport was near it, but skyscrapers and smog had blocked my view. "Oh well," I thought, "guess I'll just have to come back." And that is when my seatmate elbowed me, pointed out her window, and said, "Look! Mount Fuji." It was perfectly illuminated against the backdrop of a rising sun, sticking out above the clouds. And it was my first named Nose Kiss from God.

(Note: none of these pictures are my own, but they're closest to the views I had.)

In 2007, I got to spend a week in Australia for my brother's wedding. The lack of vacation time and major distances between cities Down Under meant from the start that I would not be able to visit Sydney. I had to resign myself to that fact that the Opera House and Harbor would have to be saved for a future visit, even though my plan had a short lay-over in this famous city. Once again, just after take-off, I happened to glance out my left window (from the row I had all to myself), and there it was: the Sydney Opera House, perched on the edge of the harbor and sparkling in all its glory. My second Nose Kiss.

When I arrived in Quito, Ecuador for six months, I was a little disconcerted to find out my new home was perched on the edge of a volcano. But everyone was quick to assure me that there were many more dangerous volcanoes in other parts of the country, and they proceeded to name a few. One recurring name was Mount Chimborazo, supposedly one of the most perfectly cylindrical-cone shaped volcanoes you've ever seen and "technically" the highest point on the planet if one actually measured distance from the core of the earth and not sea level. (Chimborazo is almost exactly on the equator.) I spent the next six months trying to get a glimpse of this mountain on my various travels up and down the country. Alas, the clouds obscured my attempts every time without fail. My last day was March 18, 2009, and as my plane turned north to return me to Minnesota, you guessed it, it took us right past the most perfect, the most stunning, and the most clear peak of Mount Chimborazo. God and I shared a sweet moment of tears and thanks. My third Nose Kiss.

I was feeling pretty special. Three nose kisses on three continents, no less. It isn't as if I had been keeping a list of things I wanted to see in the world and hoped to spot from a plane window, but on my long flight across the Atlantic two weeks ago, God gave me my fourth Nose Kiss. I've only visited New York City once and had all of 2 hours, which barely afforded me time to see Central Park and run down to Times Square. I had flown in and out of Newark several times before, but I guess the seat and direction has just never been so perfect. This time, the world aligned, and I got to stare at the elusive Statue of Liberty for a full five minutes before our plane descended too low and hit the tarmac. But it was enough time for me to pour out my thanks and appreciation once again.

I realize these stories may seem silly to many and not all that special, but I'm amazed at the way God knows the path to my heart: in tender moments we share seeing the world together. I think he likes me. :-)

Update in Pictures

I'm shamelessly copying my friend, Kristin, and just going to give you an update from classes to Thanksgiving/Christmas parties and Christmas markets to life in general through pictures. Enjoy! :-)

Overheard in the Middle School

On Thursday

MB: How did the Soviet Union even come to be.

Me: Great question. We're actually going to talk about that on Monday.

On Friday, with guest speaker.

Guest Speaker: Any other questions about Russia?

MB: Can you tell me how the Soviet Union came to be. Miss Custer didn't know.

HW: I'd like to thank KS for all her contri-butations to my speech.

Colleague: Hey, Katrina, are you teaching the 6th graders that brains come out noses?!

Me: Yes, in the mummification process in Ancient Egypt.

Colleague: ... oh. They failed to mention that detail.

A Troubled Day ... to His Glory

Tuesdays in Homeroom are "Troubled Tuesdays." It's the day when the kids can spill out any of the things that are troubling them, we dump it all on the board, and then we pray about them coated in the trust that God knows our troubles intimately and cares about them. Today was no exception, and boy was it a day that would need to be bathed in prayer.

I usually arrive at school around 8:15. By about 8:20 today, I could tell things were setting up to be a pretty crummy day. By 8:55 it was even more definite. Several mean e-mails, two poor tests, and a lunch detention later, I was dropping with hunched shoulders into my chair and just about to pop in the headphones to escape when I heard a small voice behind me, "Miss Custer?"

It was one of my 8th grade girls. Amidst the craziness of the staff room, she came straight up to me, got really close, and asked in all seriousness if we could talk somewhere in private. My heart went straight into my throat, and I have to admit my first thought was, "Uh-oh, now what?" But I followed her out into the hallway and then into the privacy of an unused room, and that's when she opened up. She wanted prayer. She said some really nice things about trusting me and just being in a place right now where she was asking all kinds of questions about God - is he really there for her? Does he care? What are his intentions with her life? Can he be trusted? And then she asked again, "Will you pray for me?"

What a blessing to be able to approach the throne with her, not as a student but as my sister. I wasn't sure about the right words, but I prayed with and for her. And when she left to go back to class, I had trouble fighting back the tears. More than anything, I was completely humbled and frightened - humbled that she had allowed me that privilege, and frightened because I was reminded of the scary responsibility I have here to represent Jesus to these kids. The thought that played over and over in my head the rest of the day was this one: "If they're looking at us, who do they see us looking at?" I sincerely hope they see me gazing intently and forever into the face of my Savior!

Think Seuss

BFA's music department was feeling especially ambitious this year and decided to put on our first-ever Musical. It was to be a joint venture of the High School and Middle School and include a live orchestra, directed by my friend, Jill Musick. The chosen play was Seussical, and it was an exciting day in the Middle School when our "young ones" nabbed 2 of the main parts. Over all, the cast included some 20 odd Middle Schoolers, 10 more worked on the crew and on the set-building team, and 1 was even in the orchestra. Even among the High Schoolers, I was thrilled to see many of my former students. And THEY ROCKED IT! I can't begin to describe how impressed I was with all of their performances. If I'd been wearing a button shirt, they would've all been on the floor. :-)

MC, representing the Middle School in the orchestra

The center bird is our 7th grader, AM.

I was so proud of my small group freshmen, HH and EE. EE played the General!

Another former student: BD as Horton the Elephant.

Cat in the Hat, Bird, and Jojo (AD, AM, and CC)

11/11/11 at 11:11:11

My kids begged me to have a second of silence on Nov. 11 when we hit exactly 11:11 and 11 seconds. They're so funny!

Pictures from the AMAZING Fall Musical about to come.

Fall Party 2011

Fall Party is our best dress-up party of the year. My German neighbors thought it was a bit strange to see Little Bo Peep standing at the end of the driveway in a hoop skirt in October, but they're pretty much used to the strangeness that is BFA by now.

The M.S. party theme this year was "Movies." The staff went as the characters from Toy Story, hence my costume of Bo Peep (sadly, this is the only picture I have. See facebook for more):

The kids are as creative as always. Below you'll find characters from High School Musical, the old man from Up, Despicable Me (the minions were super funny), Remember the Titans, and Alice in Wonderland.

When TCK's get a hold of idioms

"Fall has sprung!"

"And then, right out of the bat, ..."

"I've been trying to get him to do that all morning, but it's like pushing teeth."

Dr. Finkelbaumer

My predecessor in the Middle School social studies position basically gave me all his materials and powerpoints when he left the Middle School two years ago. One of them was this great lecture for the 6th grade on what some of the major gaps are in Evolution. Because he was still around last year, I had him come guest lecture on that day, and the kids ate it up, even though the content was at a very high level for them.

This year, he was gone, but I really wanted the kids to have this lecture and not just from me. I knew with it begin somewhat difficult material, they would zone out after 20 minutes. So, on Tuesday, I announced that we would be having a very special guest speaker on Thursday: Dr. Finkelbaumer. The class began peppering me with questions about her - what she looked like, what her first name was, if she was a Christian, etc - and they were genuinely excited to have this science Dr. come to their class.

By Thursday morning, I felt pretty guilty because truthfully there was no Dr. Finkelbaumer. As class started, they looked around frantically. "Where was she?!" I slipped into the closet to "call her," and then proceeded to make a costume change and put on some nerd glasses my friend owns. I hiked up my skirt to my chest, put on mismatched shoes, tied up my hair in a bun, and emerged as made-up Dr. Doris Finkelbaumer. I wish I had taped their reactions. Some snorted, one put his head in his hands and shook it, and the rest looked seriously disappointed while I thought, "What kind of a horrible, lying teacher am I!?"

Anyway, the basic idea for the plan worked. 90% of the class stayed with me as I lectured about Darwinian gaps and all these new evolutionary concepts, and they dutifully took their notes and asked tons of questions as we went. They did also spend the rest of the day accusing me, Ms. Custer, of impersonating the famous Dr. Finkelbaumer, and I had to defend the crazy scientific possibility that we could look so much alike! :-)

If she ever comes to class again, I'll take a picture next time.

Dorm Birthdays

Dorm subbing is a regular part of BFA life. Since the dorm parents are off every Thursday and the RA's every Monday, they need teachers and other staff to come help out and be an adult presence on those nights. In addition, each dorm parent couple and RA gets 3-4 weekends off per semester, so once again, they rely on outside adults to ensure that things run smoothly and the food makes it on the table.

Yesterday, I helped out at the Liel dorm, a high school girls dorm with 13 students. It also happened to be a girl's birthday, and Liel has an interesting tradition. :-) Watch:

Amateur Poetry

Here a couple more Biblical haikus to have emerged of late:

suff’ring’s whip yields scar

cracked spirit mockery’s tune

glory eternal

(2. Corinthians 4:17)

Gold gifts follow star

Myrrh wrapped in wisdom

Frankincense for rev’rent praise

Silver Betrayal

Injured Slave and Certain Dream

Brotherly Savior

(Joseph, or Jesus)

My Basel 7k

So, not many of you know, but I talked a whole bunch of people into signing up for a 7k in Basel this weekend. Which of course then meant I was obligated to run it, too. But we had so much fun (apart from the heat wave that took us all by surprise). I've been running every Mon-Wed-Fri with two Moms in town and have been feeling pretty good lately, so I was pretty pumped come Sunday morning. We successfully navigated our way through the industrious part of Basel, got our numbers and sent our stuff in a huge truck across town to wait for us at the finish line. Here we are still pumped up before the race.

Here we are a little more exhausted after the race. The two women on the far left were my running buddies. During our "training," our best time was somewhere between 48 and 50 minutes (we had conflicting watches), so we were shooting to definitely be better than the 50-minute mark. Somehow, the adrenaline did its thing though, and we all came in just shy of 43 minutes. Hooray for the happy feelings we had!!!
So right now I'm online looking for another race in the near future. Why is this so addicting?!

My wonderful students

Gawk. Here's reason # 3956105762032 of why I adore Middle Schoolers and the way their minds are working and growing and maturing - both good and goofy.

In 7th grade Geography, we've spent the last two days setting the context for Planet Earth. It is, after all, going to be our subject of study for the year. Part of my goal was for them to see how small Earth is compared to other planets, let alone stars and galaxies and the rest of the universe, so I showed the class part of Louie Giglio's "Indescribable" video here. In our follow-up discussion, I asked the question "What is Earth's purpose? Why did God create it if it's so small and insignificant compared to everything else?" They came up with some good answers about God giving us a place to live and wanting to show up his creativity, etc. I was still trying to prompt them into seeing that all of creation glorifies God when MC raised his hand, and I called on him.

MC: "So, maybe God created the Earth as a home for us, okay. But why did he even create us?"

Me: "Do you mean 'why did he create humans'?"

MC: "Yes, why did he waste his time with us? Especially if he knew many of us would not even believe in him?"

Whoa, 7th graders asking philosophical questions most intellectuals can't even answer. My heart skipped a few beats, and of course my mind began racing for an answer. I chickened out and turned the question back on them.

Me: "Why do you think God created humans?"

AP (timidly): "Maybe he was lonely?"

Me: "Um, ... anybody else have any ideas?"

NR: "Maybe he wanted someone to love him."

Me: "Good, keep the ideas coming?"

Sadly we didn't have enough time to fully unpack it. We did eventually end with God's glory, and I'm planning on reviving the conversation on Monday, but HOW COOL IS MY JOB?!?!?!? Where Middle Schoolers can have spiritual conversations at the drop of a hat?

Bring on the kids

As of yesterday, my classroom is pretty much ready for the start of the school year. Here's one view of the back where we've set up a "chill area" (since there's no room for an actual student center at the new campus, there are a few such couch areas around the school), and then there's a shot of the front with me and my lovely geography maps. I'm so much more relaxed this year around.

New Middle School

Here are just some of the pictures of the summer - all the work that went into transforming the old Elementary School into our brand new Middle School! Pictures of the final product to come.

putting together 24 computer lab chairs

Ikea drawers for the teachers

destruction of the rotten playground

out with coat hooks and cubbies - in with lockers

shoveling rocks: by far the greatest summer challenge!!!

setting up book shelves for the library ...

... and then filling them! :-)

A first in 12 years!

Today I woke up and missed America. Not the people - I've missed them many many many times in the last 2 years - but actually America with all its conveniences, amenities, faults, culture, and food. I really just wanted to hop over to Caribou for a morning jolt followed by a trip to the public library (because both WILL be open all the time). I'd throw all my trash into the same bin and make calls knowing each one isn't going to cost me extra. And maybe I'd stay up till 2 am just so I can go buy my Peanut Butter M&M's at a 24-hour store (one with a Redbox preferably).

Okay, it's not really that bad. My "missing America" only lasted about 10 minutes and then I remembered everything I love about Europe (and the fact that I seemed to only be missing the shallow consumerism aspects, and I don't want my emotions controlled by THAT). Truly, I'm doing great. I think it just hit me that I haven't been away from America this long in one stretch since before I moved there in 2000. Besides, these are good feelings to have 10 days before school starts because it reminds me what my students will be feeling when they leave all their various home countries to come to school in Germany.

Impressions from Camp

Christian camp in Austria is so different from any camp I've been to in America. For starters, we're usually in some farmer's field, and we set up our own tents, build our own kitchen in the forest, find a spring to tap water from, chop our own firewood, and dig our own outhouses. This year, we had it a little cushy because there were toilets and showers nearby that we were allowed to use. Granted, the water was usually cold, but hey, I actually showered at this camp!

our homemade oven

Cooking over our homemade stove with "dining room" in the background

We were a conglomeration of teens (and leaders) from the Baptist Church, the Calvary Chapel Church (both in Spittal), and 1/3 outsiders, meaning they'd been invited by a friend and had no previous church experience. We spent a lot of time building the camp and doing the daily duties of cooking, gathering water, chopping firewood, etc, plus the regular camp things such as Capture the Flag, roasting s'mores, and playing with electric fences (teenagers!).

broken bridge when we got there

the bridge we built over it

Teaching them Capture the Flag - they LOVED it!

Yes, they did actually play around with an electric fence.

On Wednesday, we packed up our sleeping bags, some clothes, and a bunch of tarps, and we went on a 2-day hike. Wow! On the first day, the complaining really got to me. Of course, the kids' packs were very heavy, and for some of them, hiking for 5 hours was quite the new feat. However, I was more than ready to throw in the towel by the time we got to our overnight spot. The kids all fell to the ground, some in tears, and refused to move. So, we girls cooked them dinner while the guy leaders set up all the tarps, collected firewood, and found fresh water, and then we tucked them all into their sleeping bags. Our evening leader meeting found us all on the verge of tears and in prayer, and I can't begin to describe how beautifully God worked. The kids truly enjoyed the sleeping outside and woke up on Thursday morning entirely new kids. The hike back down was so much more enjoyable, and the hike marked the turning point of the week between complaints and great attitudes. I think we experienced a spiritual victory that night!

Johannes with the map and compass; the kids took turns leading us.

Break time!

Lovely sight on Thursday morning: everyone still sleeping under their tarps.

The most important facet of the week were the spiritual messages. Each day was devoted to a different topic, e.g. How to deal with disappointments, Building healthy friendships, Sexuality and love, Living with one's parents, etc. The disappointment day was especially hilarious because I drove off in a car and came back with McDonald's sacks. However, when they opened them up, they found only an apple and a piece of hard bread. (Don't worry, we fed them real dinner later.) I was also in charge of a tent of four girls, two of whom were non-believers. They were so much fun and asked some really good questions. If you'd like to pray, pray especially for Marie and Julia who were very open to having God in their lives, but no decisions were made this week (that I know of).

McDonald's disappointment

One of my girls: Lisa.

Thanks for reading!

Guilt tripping

5 reactions that have convinced me to keep my newest phone in my pocket as much as possible.

Reaction #1: A new cell phone, huh? Do your supporters know this?

Reaction #2: Why did you get that one? Everyone knows the old model is better. Plus the newest one is coming out in a few months.

Reaction #3: Looks like the materialism of the world has a hold on you.

Reaction #4: Don't you know that those parts were made by child slave labor in Asia? Children, Katrina. Children.

Reaction #5: Why didn't you get a case? Your phone is sliding all over my lap. You need a case. Oh, and the phone charger. Why don't you have non-stick pads all over your car? That'll help the phone from sliding. Where are all your apps? What kind of a low-grade phone is this?

Biblical Haikus

Rainy days always set me in a writing/reading mood. And since the tented Polka band across the street won't let me take my planned nap, I've been adding to my growing newest project: Biblical haikus. Sort of. I tend to like the rhythm of 5-5-7 better than the traditional 5-7-5, so I'm not sure what to call these guys. For now, I'm sticking with "Haiku."

It began with an online sermon a couple of weeks ago, and I loved the puns contained in the names of both the hero and the villain. The first haiku just came to me. Since then, my list has been growing, and I'm thinking I'll use them this fall in Homeroom as a fun guessing game. See if you can tell which stories the following three are from (the middle one being the one from the sermon, so all you GCR people have it easy):

Who knew risking all

- in times such as these -

Orphan's crown her people'd save?

Son of my Right Hand

Sword-wielding Leftie

Justice upon fat Cow-King

Leafy shadow's deed

Aside core and seed

Death-pierced heart which nails freed

Games

This summer has been amazing in that I feel it's been a wonderful balance between work, time for myself, and time with others. I'm getting a lot of sleep, hopeful to be able to store some up for the coming school year. :-) I've gotten to read a whole slew of books on my reading list, taken both long and short hikes with other BFA-ers in town for the summer, and played a ton of games.

Last week Thursday, 9 of my former students came over for a game night. We played Dictionary, Fishbowl, and Spoons and laughed a lot. JH even came up from Zurich, which was impressive. She and KO spent the night upstairs in my guest room.

Then on Saturday, I was invited to a Dominion tournament. Dominion is a fairly new game for me, though I already love it and own my own set now. I only knew a couple of the people at the tournament, which was super fun meeting more young couples, although I was still the youngest, which meant I got to start every round. Yipee! I came in 9th place - ouch - but now that I have my own set, I plan on getting better, so you all should consider yourselves challenged!

This week, I moved in with the E kids for three days while their parents were gone. 9-year-old NE apparently can't get enough of games, and his sisters were more than happy to let me take over the role of his playing partner. In three days, we covered Taboo, Set, Outburst Junior, Dutch Blitz, Speed, Stress, Who Is It, War, Skipbo, and lots of Mario Kart on the Wii. I didn't know that was possible. :-)

My Worth?

This afternoon as I was mixing and baking up some Patriotic Sugar Cookies, I was listening to KTIS on the radio. (It makes me feel warm and fuzzy, especially the weather and traffic reports. I still recognize all those place names versus the ones mentioned on German radio.) A song came on, and I thought I heard the following line: "... the lie that I am someone worth dying for."

Interesting, I thought, and began pondering what they might mean by that when the chorus came on again, and I realized I'd understood it wrong. The actual line was "Jesus, help me believe that I am someone worth dying for."

I guess I can see what the songwriter is trying to say. Earlier lyrics state, "Am I more than flesh and bone? Am I really something beautiful? ... I'm not just some wandering soul," and I wouldn't even disagree with any of those questions or that statement. I believe Christ's death on the cross carries the underlying message that as humans we are valuable, that we are more than skin over skeleton. I trust that even if I had been the only sinner on earth, God still would have sent his only Son to take my place because that's who He is. And in his working, that gives me worth.

However, asking Jesus to help me believe I am someone worth dying for still strikes me as completely backwards because the truth is: I'm not. I never have been and I never will be. Take me just as I am, and I don't deserve to have anyone lay his life on the line for me, much less the Son of God. I'm beyond unworthy to have him die for me, but he did it anyway. And now it's only because he dares to say I have any worth, only because he speaks those words, that I do. The order of things is crucial here. Not 1. I'm worthy and therefore 2. Christ died, but rather 1. Christ died thereby 2. making me worthy.

My intention is not to criticize this song. I just wanted to say that I almost like my first misunderstanding of it better. "Save me from the lie that I'm someone worth dying for, but remind me of the sacrifice of your Son and the worth this gives me."

Buying myself flowers

Yesterday was a grueling day, very manly. I shoveled rocks for an hour, then mowed a big lawn for two, and then went back to shoveling rocks, and all of this was in the in 90-degree heat. Sweat was just pouring off me. After work, a bunch of us headed over to the Kandern pool, which was of course wonderful, but I still have to say: lying in a swimsuit still does NOTHING for making me feel pretty and feminine.

So, last night in the grocery store, I bought myself flowers.

It's taken a long time (too long) for me to really be okay with buying myself flowers. They were something you got at special times as a form of recognition (acting in a play, being class president, birthdays, ...), and if they were to come at a time "just because," then they were naturally going to come from a special person (read: a man). I think my reluctance to buy them for myself came from not wanting to usurp that special someone. However, I've slowly begun to realize that waiting just means I'm missing out on years of having fragrant flowers on my kitchen table, and for 3 bucks a bundle, I really could splurge every now and then. He can pay me back when we finally meet. :-)

Vacation 2011

I'm back! No, I did not drop off the face of the earth as some people here at BFA thought, but I did launch myself out of school immediately into a 2-week vacation. My good friend KL (http://wordslikenets.blogspot.com), who is moving to Kenya for 2 years this July, came to visit, and we did a very quick run-around of the Alps.

We began in Paris, the City of Lights, for 2 days, where we climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, gawked at the Louvre, and ambled our way around Versailles. This was followed by a 6-day driving tour through southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, and Switzerland. We clambered around many a castle, visited a WW II Concentration Camp, attended my old church, ate pastries and tortes to our hearts' content, rode a boat in Venice, took amazing sunset pictures in multiple countries, hung out with a couple of my students, and hiked a Swiss Alp. That last bit was probably one of the best stories because we accidentally stranded ourselves at the peak when we forgot to check the time for the final chair lift run; we missed it by 10 minutes. Thus began our frantic hike/run down the mountain so that we wouldn't miss the cog train, too. 1 cow pie and 2 sweat-stained outfits later, we arrived out of breath at the station, only to wait another 40 minutes to be allowed on the train. Such is the adventure called life.

I had a great time and came home very relaxed. KL has left me, and I spent three days mostly on the couch reading, doing laundry, and writing postcards for all my lovely supporters. This week, it's back to school. My next blog will be about the big news happening on that front. For now, just enjoy some pictures. :-)