The LORD your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
...and that's God speaking (Zephania 3:17, NASB)
Some translations say, "with a loud song." The context clarifies a lot so I'm not going to post it so you'll have to read it. He really does take that much pleasure in purifying our hearts and comfoting our souls. That will never change. I love it.
I have been doing the intern thing for about a week now AND I LOVE IT!
It is amazing how much I've learned in only four days of work; and there isn't even that much going on! I've made a press run, I'm learning flash and dreamweaver, and I've got really cool co-workers.
Right now there aren't many projects coming down the line. This means that I get to walk around and bug people and simply sit and learn. I'll pop into an office after picking up the designer's name from the placard and say, "Hi, _______, I'm Tim the intern, what do you do here?" and then I let the torrents of information rush over me like crazy. I know there is so much to learn and I am glad that I've got at least this semester to get as much as I can from the internship. I'm hoping that I'll be able to really contribute to the company.
Anyway, that's what's up.
There is a whole subculture out there that I was never aware of. I knew that Budapest would always be one of my favorite places in the world. To find out that others are making it theirs is interesting and somewhat comforting to me. To find out how much the city has grown in its interenational influence since my time there is propitious!
I often feel I have to fight to keep my memories of living in easter Europe alive. I remind myself that the tennis courts were between my house and the international school that I attended. The sherbet shop was right down the road from the school just before the first (or second?) major intersection. The walnut tree at the end of the property made the best rations when playing in the yard. The purple lilacs grew by the stone steps in the woods and the white lilacs grew on the other side of the house. City pigeons are dumb and hard to catch even though they let you get close enough to believe you can catch them. Mom talking about never having long hair again because the twins grabbed at it all the time. Camping with Dad in the yard and falling asleep to a story about a blue hamper. Picking tiny asters from the lawn. Getting to see Ishtvan's small utility area where he kept papers and got ready to mow the lawn. Meeting Ishtvan's niece. The stone lions guarded the bridge over the danube (a river that is definitely not blue).
There is so much now that has changed bot economically and physically. The city has become a haven for artists, more so now than when I lived there. And than ks to the smart moves of several banks and tech companies the city holds a major role in world trade. There is definitely much change sweeping through the city even today.
We had seen the first of the major changes just before we left Budapest. The Berlin Wall fell and released a flood of inovations and freedoms that the people had never experienced before. Posters bidding a sarcastic farewell to the russian occupation flew up everywhere (My parents framed one that they keep at their house). Now you can get pills for a potasium deficiency instead of filling a prescription for a banana. Now you can get a banana whenever you want instead of waiting in line to fill a prescription for one. Now that the country is part of the EU there is more religeous freedom, but hunger for God is slowly dying as the people try to satisfy themselves in the sweeping materialism of the west.
Budapes is a place, like many around the world, that has great opportunities for anyone - especially for the church. I will try to post updates on tha topic as I discover more. Until then, viszontlátásra.
http://www.generationexpat.com/
I would lke to take the opportunity to thank The Idea Man for pointing out this site. I spent a majority of my childhood in Budapest. It is always great to find out what people are doing over there and to get the news in my language.
More to come on this topic as I get more opportunity to read.
Again:
Ben, magyar kozonom szepen!
I have a car now. I love it. The mobility that it gives me is simply liberating.
I think that's the reason I like to travel. I like the sound of the road - the sound that different pavements or bridges or train tracks make. I like pull when I take a turn the way my driving instructor told me. I like the push when I remember to turn at the last minute. I like getting myself lost and then finding the way back. I like having my own space, my study lounge, my office, my inner chamber, my music hall, my mini-storage.
Saturday I went for a drive.
I went into town and found a park that is new to me in the village and read under the big trees. The old historic homes were sunning themselves while attendants massaged on new paint and manicured the lawn.
A cul-de-sac.
A dad was teaching his son how to ride a motorcycle. A troop of girls stomped and showed me their angry faces as they dutifully cleared the road, but they still giggled when I pointed at them with my tongue.
EastNorth street taken to the end will bring you to the Greenville library.
I chose a new road.
On the side of the road, half obscured by a fence of make shift signs, sat three children huddled around a glass pitcher and a stack of white styrofoam cups. I had to stop. I parked the car on a side road and followed the sidewalk to the stand.
"You want some lemon-ade?"
"You bet!" Each of them, A third-grader, her younger brother, and another girl assumed a quasi-formation as they each grabbed for the cup and pitcher.
"You wanna buy a rice krispy bar?" the one in the flowery summer dress said as she held up a china plate with individually seran-wrapped treats.
"Sure, how much are they?"
"Um, ten cents (?)."
"OK, I'll have one, thanks!" I could understand her confusion because several signs disagreed with her, but it was a great deal either way. I said good-bye after the transaction and waved and exchanged smiles with Grandma of the screen door as the young brother ran to her to make his business report.
I never imagined when I was their age that I would ever be on the other side of the table buying lemonade - and owning a car.
The internship for the graphic design major is the single most important launching point into a career. In order to get a job in the design field one must have experience (most visual communication companies are more selective in their hiring methods than Wal-Mart). Interestingly enough, the only way to get significant experience is to have a job with a visual communication comapany. Obviously, this sort of circular hiring scheme is hard to break into. But the internship is an adequate loop hole to get me into that circle.
I interviewed with Leslie Advertising last Friday for the internship that they are offering. I got the position after a short follow up call and I will start the magical transition from student to professional this Monday.
I think I'm most excited about navigating a completely new organizational make up.
Working at the University Press taught me a great deal about pulling a design all the way through the printing process: getting the design finished, figuring out what needs fixing and polishing, and sending it off for preflighting and the the presses. But the luxury of the publishing house is that there is always something to do. Your clients are only a few cubicles away. And there are so many projects running concurrrently that if you finish you can always lend a hand to somme one else who is working on a big text book or some elementary school bulletin board charts.
But advertising is a different story. An advertising firm's clients are transient. Ideally you might have a few large companies that consistently send you work (and can consistently pay you). Otherwise your clients are off the street professionals that need a new logo, or ad for a bill-board, or magazine spread. This is the change that I can't wait to get into. My dsigns will significantly change with the different capabilities of new publishers and presses. My perceptions (and misconceptions) about what the design world is will change dramatically as well. I've heard almost every peer of mine that has completed their internship relate how they've learned how little they know about the design field after jumping into the real thing. Now it's my turn.
The minor prophets had so much to say and said it so well. I'm amazed at the potency of the message God sent through them.
Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Ezekiel had a great deal to say about the judgement and anger of God toward idolatrous Israel. Each of them relate similar impending dooms over repeated spiritual adultery. But God inspired each prophet with slightly different nuance; their messages and sermons highlight many facets of sin that were unknown to me.
The most potent and sobering picture of sin (pointed out by none other than the Kammer himself, who always seems to find really amazing stuff and have truly thought-provoking spin on it) that I've seen hides in the 23 chapter of Ezekiel. God lays it all on table for Israel as He sees her actions. It is a graphic description of what Israel, and perhaps we, allow ourselves to participate in every day.
To understand God's expresed perspective on sin is life changing.
Read the minor prophets when you get a chance.