Vivaldi at the library

Jacky and Hannah are two new friends in my life. Hannah is from China and her mommy, Jacky, went all the way from Fredericton to Nanjing to go and get her from an orphanage. They invited me to go along to a special classical music concert at the library downtown and I'm so glad I attended this special function for the kids. A string quartet from St. John, New Brunswick, performed movements from Vivaldi's "The four seasons". They explained which elements of the music depicted the horses in a fox hunt, a barking dog, a trumpet call during the chase and finally the chase itself. They played segments of the music before the time to help the children identify the sound of a bubbling brook, bird song and the sound of rushing leaves as a light breeze blew through the spring air. The kids had to listen to hints in the music of a coming storm and the thunder that predicted rain. It was absolutely magical. The children danced to the music and at times the cellist had to lean away from a little passerby who was coming dangerously close to the bow of her cello. There were about fifty children and their parents so it was a hive of activity in an otherwise quiet library. It has become one of my favorite places in this town.

It snowed here last week, much to my delight. God is evident in his creation and the skies declare his glory! The joy of children, music and nature has reminded me again what a loving and merciful Father we have who sent his only Son to make a way for us to enjoy him. Everyday. Singing and dancing to his praise. Just like those little kids this morning. Unhindered by who might be watching them.

We're off to Tim Hortons!

It has been a lifetime since I last wrote on this blog. Writing is so hard sometimes, but today I feel as if I can write volumes! I have just come home from teaching a class of four students - one from Taiwan and three from Korea. I only have two more weeks of this three hour morning class before my schedule changes, so I'm savoring every moment. The students are all new to Canada, much like me, and they are at the foot of their very steep learning curve of mastering English. I am astounded at the speed at which they grasp things that I taught often in Taiwan with great difficulty. Context is everything when it comes to language acquisition. When they leave they greet me with an upbeat, " See ya!" which is a rather new phrase to my ears but is definitely the Canadian greeting they hear most.

This Friday we will go on a field trip to Tim Hortons. It's the most Canadian thing to do in town - buy a coffee and a donut at "Tim's". It's named after an ice hockey player Tim Horton that played his first National Hockey League game in 1950 and continued playing up until 1974 when he died in a car accident. He opened the first Tim Horton Donut Shop in 1964 and a police constable from the same town, Ron Joyce, added the entrepreneurial savvy to the business that lead to a total of forty shops at Horton's death. Today there are over 3000 stores in Canada and the US. They even opened a Tim Hortons in a 40 foot trailer on the military base of the Candian Forces in Afghanistan in 2006! Steven, a Taiwanese boy in my class is a great fan of donuts and I'm looking forward to seeing his face when he gets to choose one of the myriad donut options on Friday morning. With the wet and damp fall weather we're experiencing I can't think of a better way to celebrate Friday!