Greetings From Pasadena!

Hello Friends!

Well, I made it to California in the middle of a HEAT WAVE!! IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!! In less than three hours riding in the plane I experienced a 50 degree weather change. It was very difficult the first few days. On Sunday our team participated in a Scavenger Hunt which lead us to downtown Pasadena where we searched for over an hour in over 100 degree temperatures for a restaurant called the Equator. We only had our clues to go by no restaurant name, so we had to talk to random people on the street and ask for help a lot. We were greatly relieved and pleasantly surprised by the restaurant and enjoyed a nice lunch there. Despite the heat, our team did not give up and we ended up winning the scavenger hunt at 4:00 almost a hour and a half after the deadline. We worked together and did not give up like all the other teams! It was nice to see a movie at the budget theater to cool off before heading back to campus for an evening of very hot sleeping!

My team for Hungary consists of six people. They included: Chelsea, Adrienne, Tim, Cristianna, Amy, and myself. I am the oldest on the team and the only teacher, but am so excited for the enthusiasm on the team and willingness to learn. We have been teaching practice lessons and sitting through many mini workshops which are helping us to be good teachers overseas as well as teaching us how to adjust to living in a new country. The days are long and jammed packed with mini lectures and workshops.

Well, I have to sign off and prepare my mock lesson for the day! I am so thankful for cooler weather! With the cool wave going though I have been able to at least sleep which was not easy the first two nights here. I will post more later! Enjoy your day!