What to write...

What does one do when the people they write about have "written to google" and found her blog?Do I keep making cultural judgements through my American lens?  Do I hide the realities of life as I see them?  Do I stop pointing out things that are funny to me but just a way of life for the average Hungarian?  Probably not.  Sorry if you're reading this kids - because I don't really mince my words (hopefully they all busted out their Magyar-Angol dictionaries to see what mince means) when I'm talking about my experiences here.  Maybe I should give some extra credit for those who can read and report back about the content of my blogs- they are still exposing themselves to English right?!

Speaking of exposing themselves to other cultures - I have officially mailed off letters to the United States.  My 9A students wrote letters (really good ones too) about themselves to send to my Burnsville students.  I am hoping that we can scrounge up 33 of the seniors I had last year to write back.  These 9A students are mostly beginners, but some have quite an extensive background in English- so the letters vary in complexity and length.  However, I think it's a great opportunity for both sets of students to learn about one another - and perhaps make fun of me on an international scale.  "I have Ms. Carla for class, and she is crazy"  I believe my American students would concur.  Some things are the same in any culture.  

I sought out help to achieve the mailing of the letters - Gabor and Balazs (sp?) escorted me to the Post Office to get these letters off.  I needed an international envelope, and postcard stamps, and even as my Hungarian skills are increasing, I don't have the courage to attack the Post Office on a Friday afternoon with half the rest of the town.  I secured an envelope, in addition to two extras so I don't have to haul Hungarian students with me each time I go somewhere, and mailed two postcards as well.  This isn't as hard as it seems... yeah right.  I tend to be less aggressive in situations here than I would be at home.  I back away and I'm a bit timid - with a face that pretty much screams - I'm a foreigner.  So as I am tentative, other people make their moves and I get lost in the shuffle.  Oh well- luckily these two teenage boys weren't having it and made me move up in line.  I also found that with the two native speakers, I lost all courage to say anything in Hungarian.  I said "excuse me" and "sorry" in English to several people as I was moving through the post office - but whatever.  I'll get there soon.  

I then had the two guys help me look into purchasing a bicycle.  I had spotted some reasonably priced ones at Tesco (my home away from home) but I was advised by everyone I talked to that any bike I bought there would fall apart after the first ride.  So, we set off to some bicycle shops.  Unfortunately, I'm not willing to spend $200+ on a bike quite yet when I haven't been paid since June.  So I got some info and then headed home.  Sometimes I'm not sure if I get charged more because I have no idea what is going on, and I figured that with two native speakers there, I wouldn't get screwed right?  Prices were posted.  No special foreigner deal.  Dang.  Oh well, the help was nice.