A Week In the Life of....

...a missionary.

Someone asked me what a day looks like for me. I've hesitated about writing about this topic for a couple reasons. First, my day is not going to look the same as other missionary wives' days. I don't live in a jungle or a 3rd world country. I don't have to kill a chicken, pluck the feathers, and then bake it. I don't have very small children any more. My day probably isn't all that dramatically different from other women's days in many ways. Second, I don't want it to come across in the wrong way - neither complaining, nor as bragging. Third, it may not be as impressive as expected. The "day in, day out" part of living didn't stay behind in the U.S. We have dirty toilets and dishes here too!

I think we're just now getting into a rhythm/routine as school started a month ago. I'm still trying to figure out where to consistently schedule a few things - such as more Bible/book reading and exercise. So with that preface, here goes!

Sunday:

Of course Sunday is church for us. Church generally ends around 11:00, though sometimes it gets done earlier or later. Because of this I don't always start lunch right away or we'd be eating really early. We usually eat between 1 and 2. P, D, and I normally take an afternoon nap. It's the one day of the week during which I can sleep and not feel guilty about it! Every other Sunday evening we have Bible study so by the time we get home from that it's a quick bowl of cereal or left-overs and the boys are off to bed. Last year on the Sundays we did not have Bible study, I sometimes helped a teenage girl with her English. I'm not sure if I'll be doing that again this year or not.

Monday:

We all get up around 7:00 and everyone gets ready for the day. Jason drives the older two boys to their new school, which is in a town north of us. I head out the door around 8:00 with D to take him to the local kindergarten. It takes us about 7 or 8 minutes to walk there. After walking back I generally check my e-mail and fb accounts, read the news online and eat breakfast. Around 9:00 I hit the books so I can get two hours of Slovak study in before my tutor comes at 11:30. She stays until 2:30 and then it's time for me to help the boys with homework (J picks them up during my tutoring). We head out the door about an hour later for piano lessons, which last for a little over an hour total. During lessons I do some worksheets with D and/or study Slovak. We walk back home and I start dinner prep while the boys continue working on their homework. Now you can see why I have to dedicate my morning to study because I don't have much time in the afternoon. During piano lessons and dinner prep Jason is meeting with his Slovak tutor. After the boys head to bed I usually watch Slovak television to get some more study hours in. If I can start off the week with a good amount of hours, it takes off some of the pressure later in the week. I'll also spend some time on the internet, catching up on e-mail or reading the news. One Monday evening each month during the school year there is a ladies' event at the church and I normally attend. I try to be in bed around 11:00, because this girl needs 8 hours of sleep every night in order to function well.

Tuesday:

The morning routine is the same with two hours of Slovak study (most of which is spent finishing up my writing assignment), but on this day, I have tutoring at 11:15. I added another tutor to my schedule and we meet two times each week. Unfortunately she charges extra for traveling (and she's already more expensive than my other tutor), so I have to go to her house, which is in the next town over. I normally do some more studying after getting home from tutoring and once the boys are home homework, etc. starts up again. They have theory class for piano in the afternoon, but thankfully on this day a lady from church is taking them for us because her daughter has the same schedule. That is a big help and time-saver for us. I normally do some home-schooling with D during this time and then start dinner prep. Tuesday evenings are typically free, so sometimes Jason and I will watch something together. We have also begun discussing a book we are both reading entitled Third Culture Kids. Last school year I watched Slovak television on this night as well, but after discovering that this is the night they show an American program about airline emergencies and crashes, I decided it wasn't good for my psyche. Knowing every possible thing that can go wrong on an airplane - and let me tell you there's things I never imagined - is not good when you know you have to fly on one across an ocean. It's nerve-wracking enough as it is!

Wednesday:

Morning routine the same. I meet with my conversation partner for a couple hours. She is learning English and I, of course, am learning Slovak. We spend time speaking in both languages. I definitely think her vocabulary is way better than mine, but she is still working on her grammar. My vocab and grammar both need improvement (Slovak grammar is a killer!). We take turns going to each other's homes. I usually ride my bike to her house because it is too far to walk to (yes, I tried and with Dawson, no less!) and I don't like driving here. I may have to re-think that when it gets really cold and snowy! After that, I try to get more study time in if I'm able and then I walk to pick up D from kindergarten. The rest of the afternoon is pretty much the same as the others. The boys have piano again (yes, really), but usually Jason drops them off and picks them up. This evening he has his English class, so it's a good opportunity for me to study, spend time on the internet, get cards sent to our partners, or watch Slovak television. When he comes home we usually spend some time together.

Thursday:

This day is the most "free" for me schedule-wise. I don't have any scheduled Slovak tutoring, etc. and the boys don't have piano! I do a lot of independent study on this day, including completing my writing assignment for my Friday tutoring. This usually takes me 2-3 hours, depending on the topic and how much I have to look up in my computer lexicon. Jason has tutoring in the afternoon, so I'm usually studying, working with the kids, and/or making dinner. Often I listen to Slovak radio while I am making dinner or doing the dishes. It is another helpful way for me to get language learning time in. I normally listen to the Catholic station or the news-radio station. I'm understanding more and more - reading the news online helps me better understand those reports when I hear them, weather is understandable for me now, and sports is getting easier. The Catholic station often has discussions about various moral issues, which is a good way for me to learn vocabulary and to learn what they are concerned about.

Friday:

This day is the hardest for me as far as my Slovak tutoring schedule. I have both my tutors on the same day and by the end, I feel like it! As a result, I normally only study for about an hour in the morning. I try to get the laundry washed and hung (we only dry socks and underclothes because of high electric costs) so it can be folded and put away on Saturday. I either finish my writing assignment or finish preparing for my other tutor. I have tutoring with my first tutor from 11:15-12:45. By the time I get home it's about 1:00 and my second tutor comes at 1:30. She works in our village, so she comes on her way home from work. I basically only have time to eat lunch and take a breather. I then tutor with her until 4:30. Once she leaves I either crash and relax by going online for a little while or I dive into dinner prep. Normally we eat store-bought, ready-made pizzas that I add extra  toppings to or sometimes we get some take-out (which means Chinese, McD's, or gyros). Take-out options here aren't quite the same as in the U.S., which is probably a good thing! Typically we watch a movie as a family because the boys don't watch television through the week. We've been exposing the boys to some of the classics, particularly musicals. They seem to enjoy them. Once the boys go to bed, Jason and I generally watch something together.

Saturday:

We sleep in on Saturdays! The boys are allowed to have "special cereal", which means cereal that people have brought from the States, that we've bought on sale at Tes*co, or that we've found in Austria. Normally they eat corn flakes with granola, so they get excited when they get to choose something other than this! We usually let them watch something from Net*flix or on a DVD - typically something educational like science or about animals. I am trying to keep my Saturdays more free as far as Slovak study goes, and so far I've been able to do that. This is normally a day for me to catch up on house-cleaning - something I try to do a little of each day, but this is the day when I have the most time. It is also a day for me to correct the boys' English subjects or to go over problem areas with them. One Saturday a month there is a children's activity at the church's community center and we normally attend. I try to help as a I can with crowd control, helping with the craft, or cleaning up afterwards. Of course Saturday means bath night for our boys. Jason and I normally spend the evening together.

Some other things that take up my time are:

Reading, something I've been trying to dedicate more time to this year. It really is helpful and encouraging to spend time reading. I don't have time for fiction at this stage in my life, but I enjoy reading Christian living, women's issues, marriage, and parenting books. I've been writing down finished titles so I can try to improve in this area. I've also been trying to read to the boys before bed, though it definitely doesn't get accomplished every night. Last year I taught English one morning a month to 8th graders at the local public school. I am hoping to do that again this year. After the class I would usually stay and talk with the two English teachers for an hour or so. I normally spend time each or every other week sending cards to our partners - thank yous for special or one-time gifts or new support, anniversary cards to the couples, birthday cards to the children and singles, and get-well cards if we know someone has had surgery or been sick. I also try to keep our missions fb page updated. The boys are all doing some home-schooling at home, so I over-see that as well as grade their work (though I often get behind on this). In the summer I had a garden so watering and weeding were on my to-do list. I did a lot more watering than weeding, but thankfully we still had pretty healthy vegetables anyway.

As you can see, my days are probably a lot like yours, plus the 30 hours/week of Slovak study. I must admit the days often go by so quickly and the weeks seem to be rolling along. Sometimes I really want to put on the breaks because I know my boys won't be young forever! That is probably one of the biggest challenges for me as a mom who is learning a foreign language. I need to learn it to be effective in life and ministry here, but it does require a lot of my time. I have to keep reminding myself that if I dedicate myself to the task now, it WILL be over, someday. Of course I'll always need to keep learning and increasing my vocabulary, but I won't always need to dedicate this amount of time.

So that's my week in a nutshell!