I don't hate gay people, but I don't agree with their lifestyle...and it seems that if you're accepting of it, they'll walk all over you......don't let this get out of hand!
Friday, October 03, 2008
Saturday, February 10, 2007
hey again
Wow! It's been such a long time since I've been on here and posted something..
Well, I guess I've kinda been taking a break from writing newsletters and now that I'm also posting blogs and bulletins on myspace there's even less time to write stuff on here.
I guess it's still best to just email me to stay in touch and find out what's going on in my life. What I can say is that right now I'm super busy.
I'm still at the Art Institute and loving it and this quarter I'm taking 5 classes of 4 hours each. Two of them I have about 6 hours of homework for each week and the rest are around 2-4 hours. See my website for some work I've been doing: www.dgurtner.ch
I'm still working for Starbucks, still loving it too, but not as much as I used to. I've been having some trouble with my manager and also other issues that have made it harder to love my job. If I can find something with equal pay and benefits, and maybe closer to what I'm studying, I'm likely to change jobs. I will miss the great smell and free coffee though.
This evening and tomorrow morning I will be playing drums at my church, my usual weekend activity. Right now I feel that I am exactly where God wants me to be doing what he's created me to do. Just the fact that so many things are moving forward in our church and I get to be a part of it, for example being the answer to a prayer of my worship leader for a new drummer, back in the day when I moved to San Diego.
Since, I have seen our church grow in numbers and in maturity. We have also planted a new Church in Ocean Beach, the answer to the call placed on Rob and Rebecca and myself when we move here from Indianapolis. And we are getting ready to plant one in Solana Beach too.
Wow, just looking back at all that amazes me.. just how God had already planned it out so well and how so many unimaginable connections were made to let it happen.. Amazing!!
Well, I'm off now to sound check at our Ocean Beach service. I hope y'all have a great weekend and that God will bless you and use you in a mighty way!
Well, I guess I've kinda been taking a break from writing newsletters and now that I'm also posting blogs and bulletins on myspace there's even less time to write stuff on here.
I guess it's still best to just email me to stay in touch and find out what's going on in my life. What I can say is that right now I'm super busy.
I'm still at the Art Institute and loving it and this quarter I'm taking 5 classes of 4 hours each. Two of them I have about 6 hours of homework for each week and the rest are around 2-4 hours. See my website for some work I've been doing: www.dgurtner.ch
I'm still working for Starbucks, still loving it too, but not as much as I used to. I've been having some trouble with my manager and also other issues that have made it harder to love my job. If I can find something with equal pay and benefits, and maybe closer to what I'm studying, I'm likely to change jobs. I will miss the great smell and free coffee though.
This evening and tomorrow morning I will be playing drums at my church, my usual weekend activity. Right now I feel that I am exactly where God wants me to be doing what he's created me to do. Just the fact that so many things are moving forward in our church and I get to be a part of it, for example being the answer to a prayer of my worship leader for a new drummer, back in the day when I moved to San Diego.
Since, I have seen our church grow in numbers and in maturity. We have also planted a new Church in Ocean Beach, the answer to the call placed on Rob and Rebecca and myself when we move here from Indianapolis. And we are getting ready to plant one in Solana Beach too.
Wow, just looking back at all that amazes me.. just how God had already planned it out so well and how so many unimaginable connections were made to let it happen.. Amazing!!
Well, I'm off now to sound check at our Ocean Beach service. I hope y'all have a great weekend and that God will bless you and use you in a mighty way!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Are the Swiss unfriendly?
Occasionally I'll be asked this question by people who visit or move to Switzerland and find it hard to find friends. One thing I know for sure is that if you have friends in Switzerland they are great friend and the friendships last for life (I've already lived long enough to say that, right :-)
So are the Swiss unfriendly? So far I've observed in the Swiss German parts of Switzerland that the younger generation is way more friendly and open to foreigners, new ideas and changes. The older generation likes to keep things private, thinking nowhere else except inside the box and usually isn't very friendly towards foreigners or new concepts and changes. But i think you can also find that a little everywhere.
I've also noticed that alot of the Swiss usually are good finger pointers and fault finders. And if there's something going on in the world like the US invading Iraq then they're usually unfriendly toward Americans.
But I haven't noticed them being generally unfriendly. Of course, i did grow up in Zimmerwald, a little village outside of Bern and still have a lot of friends there. When my family moved to Meilen, on the lake of Zurich, I made new friends there. The Swiss are proud of their dialect of Swiss German. And yes, I had to take alot of crap about my dialect being very different from my class mates'. But I learned to speak Züridütsch too. And I still have alot of great friends all around Zurich too.
I think that maybe when we come to a place in Switzerland where we don't speak the same language or dialect that pride of the language kicks in and that's maybe part of the trouble, at least at the beginning. But we have to try to adapt, try to speak the same, even if we suck at it. People DO open up when they see that you're trying.
By the way, that's also a general rule for if you're ever in the french speaking part of Switzerland or in France. Most french speaking Swiss also know German, actually even very well. When you go there and you try to speak german with them, they usually won't help you and aren't friendly. But if you at least try to speak french and suck at it, they usually see that you're making the effort and open up, usually they'll even proudly speak german at times if you get stuck.
In France it's alot the same. Usually you can get by by asking if they speak english the first thing you say, not a god idea though. But if you actually try to speak french with your very appearant non-french accent, doors open up and you'll probably be having a conversation in english a few minutes later. The French usually are proud english speakers too.
So I guess the biggest problem is a pride issue and if you raise the person in front of you above you, let go of some of that pride, then things get easier much quicker. Don't forget, you're in THEIR country.
So are the Swiss unfriendly? So far I've observed in the Swiss German parts of Switzerland that the younger generation is way more friendly and open to foreigners, new ideas and changes. The older generation likes to keep things private, thinking nowhere else except inside the box and usually isn't very friendly towards foreigners or new concepts and changes. But i think you can also find that a little everywhere.
I've also noticed that alot of the Swiss usually are good finger pointers and fault finders. And if there's something going on in the world like the US invading Iraq then they're usually unfriendly toward Americans.
But I haven't noticed them being generally unfriendly. Of course, i did grow up in Zimmerwald, a little village outside of Bern and still have a lot of friends there. When my family moved to Meilen, on the lake of Zurich, I made new friends there. The Swiss are proud of their dialect of Swiss German. And yes, I had to take alot of crap about my dialect being very different from my class mates'. But I learned to speak Züridütsch too. And I still have alot of great friends all around Zurich too.
I think that maybe when we come to a place in Switzerland where we don't speak the same language or dialect that pride of the language kicks in and that's maybe part of the trouble, at least at the beginning. But we have to try to adapt, try to speak the same, even if we suck at it. People DO open up when they see that you're trying.
By the way, that's also a general rule for if you're ever in the french speaking part of Switzerland or in France. Most french speaking Swiss also know German, actually even very well. When you go there and you try to speak german with them, they usually won't help you and aren't friendly. But if you at least try to speak french and suck at it, they usually see that you're making the effort and open up, usually they'll even proudly speak german at times if you get stuck.
In France it's alot the same. Usually you can get by by asking if they speak english the first thing you say, not a god idea though. But if you actually try to speak french with your very appearant non-french accent, doors open up and you'll probably be having a conversation in english a few minutes later. The French usually are proud english speakers too.
So I guess the biggest problem is a pride issue and if you raise the person in front of you above you, let go of some of that pride, then things get easier much quicker. Don't forget, you're in THEIR country.
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