Last days in Debrecen

During the first part of last week, I was to be working with an English "camp." Ok - not quite sure what that entailed (and in very Hungarian fashion, I didn't find out until I showed up). It was a 7 year old, two 8 year olds, two 10 year olds a 12 year old and a 15 year old. So, so far they did not have an age or grade in common. The only thing they DID have in common is that none of them spoke English. I showed up for my first day with them and we were immediately rousted out the door. My two hours with these kids today was to be spent playing pool. I'm sorry, what? Yes, I typed it correctly, playing pool. They did not know me, I didn't know them. I didn't know where we were going, supposedly they did... it was off to a great start.

I know I signed up here to teach English, but I've never worked with TOTAL non-English speakers. It was a bit intimidating for me. I managed to squeak out some Hungarian and communicate loosely with them as a result of a couple of key phrases, but it was not my favorite day as an educator.

it's all in the attitude

I started out a couple days ago dreading the run I had to do. I am off a few days as a result of my not so timely departure from Debrecen and I needed to do just a three mile run. At this point in my training, the 3 mile runs are like eating ice cream on a hot day- a treat - compared to the longer runs. I was not looking forward to this run, and put it off until about 10:30 - when it was just hitting the top degrees of heat for the day. Smart Carla, real smart. I took off without water, since it was only three miles (stupid) and turned my music up louder than usual to help invigorate me as I set off.

Almost immediately, I ran into four of my FAVORITE 9th grade students from last year. They called my name, but since my music was a bit loud I didn't hear them at first. I finally heard the joint shouting and stopped to chat with them for a bit. They are not excited to return to school next week (like many students this time of year) and they were probably not shocked to learn that I can hardly wait for school to start. We talked for a few minutes and I was on my way. It was good for them, since I was clearly out of context, and it was probably the first time all summer they had spoken English, so it was a jolt of what's coming next week. He he he.

I continued on, already hot and sweaty though I had gone less than 2 tenths of a mile, upset with myself for not bringing water. I got to the lake and made my way around to the pathway not looking forward to running against the grain of Hungarians who never move out of the way. I kept the radio loud and my eyes on the path and charged on.

For a long time, I've been using the running program of "run for 10 minutes, walk for one." Well actually, I use it when it's convenient and I give myself an excuse to walk - so I guess I'm not that faithful, but it comes in handy when I need it. Almost immediately upon reaching 10 minutes, I halted to a stop and walked... slowly. About two minutes and thirty seconds into my minute of walking, I got tapped on the shoulder by a fellow runner. He continued on, but turned around and motioned for me to get moving and run with him. I wasn't sure what the hell was happening since I clearly did not know this guy. I turned around and he pointed at me, and doubled back - all while keeping his legs moving at a running pace. He started talking to me in Hungarian, and basically said "you're a runner, I can tell- get running!" I looked at him with a pleading face and choked out "no, I'm slow today." Then, he went on for about a minute about my shorts - I didn't understand at first, but he was questioning why I was wearing "under armor" compression shorts (like biker shorts) under my Nike running shorts. I still didn't quite get it, so he lifted his shirt up, showed me some chafing on his chest and pointed at it and then my shorts. I finally got it and said - "ja.... nincs" basically, oh I get it, no I don't have chafing. He then went on about chafing and said he had to use vaseline, and I said it wasn't necessary with those type of shorts. He thanked me, wished me luck and ran on. I started up again with a smile on my face- ready to finish this three mile beast.

I don't know if it is because he is Hungarian or because he is a runner - but at that moment, when I was doubtful that I could even move three miles, I was extremely proud to be a member of both communities (even though one of them is just a loose association). There is something about Hungarian people that causes them to reach out, when they know you need it. Sure, I have the crazy neighbor ladies, and occasional run ins with crabby neni's, but generally speaking Hungarians are an amazing people who have overcome great odds.

I finished my run, though not as strong as I had hoped, but I finished. I was able to do so because of my encounter with the 9th grade students and with a complete stranger- a runner-who had given me the faith in myself to keep going- with or without Vaseline.

Kindred computing spirits

As I neared my last couple of days in Debrecen (thank god) I became more in touch with others like me. By that I mean, I too recognized other souls utilizing the free wireless internet at McDonalds - with the purchase of a large soda (or other similar small food item). I am glad that I was not the only one, but hell- we all know I've given a LOT of money to McDonald's in my lifetime - it's about time I get something back right?

Short clip of the cowboys

Cowboys on the plain

The Great Hungarian Plain... starring Christie and Bill

This is from our very bumpy ride in a wagon - Hortobagy style :)

Tour of the Hortobagy

Well - Christie came along with me on an "excursion" that Kata planned. It was a trip to the Hortobagy. Naturally, the date and time of this planned excursion changed, so I sent a 6:30 am message to Christie and she was able to make it from her neighboring town.

Though it was unseasonably cold and raining, our spirits were not dampened regarding our big trip to the Great Hungarian Plain. When you google Hungary - there are always pictures of the long horn cattle and the cowboys who maneuver 5 horses at once. We don't get that kind of exciting action on the west side of Hungary, so I was thrilled to see these facets of Hungarian plains life in their natural habitat. We got to the tour site a bit early, but it was time enough for Christie, Kata and I to drive Kata's "friend" Bill insane. Don't worry - he reciprocated throughout the day. He was an interesting duck - a British man, a naturalized Hungarian who had lived in Hungary for the last 20 years. He never wants to move back to England and has a wicked hatred for foreigners, whether in England or Hungary - which is odd since technically he is one here. It was a bit confusing to watch him and Kata interact since they easily transition between English and Hungarian mid sentence. Christie and I looked at each other with fascination every once in a while, trying in earnest to follow what they were saying. We enjoyed a cup of coffee to warm ourselves up, and headed out to our "transport."

the plains...

The Hortobagy is protected land in Hungary. You cannot build on it, nor can you travel in certain parts of it unless you are in one of the designated wagons. We were excited to ride in the wagon, but it was a bit cold and rainy so I wasn't sure how this would end up. Of course, it's virtually unheard of to get rain in this area, so Bill figured that it was the fault of the Americans - more the Minnesotan than the Floridian/Texan. Oh well.

Kata (in her Hungarian white pants - preparing to ride in a dirty wagon on the plains) and the wagons

our big pimpin driver- who eventually gave up his coat and hat to the patrons of the foreigner wagon because of the cold and rain.

We crawled into the wagon of "foreigners." Two Hungarians were in it, but bolted and went to the wagon that had only Hungarians in it. We had a nice Italian family in our wagon, plus one random little Hungarian girl with the Italians. Not sure how that happened, but it was interesting. Our wagon was so multi-lingual that it was almost comical. The Italian guy spoke a few different languages, his wife spoke English, we were speaking English and Hungarian, and crossed into French for a word or two. Strange what Hungary brings together.

We headed out on about an hour tour of the plains - rain the entire time. It was chilly in the wagon and the rain came in through both ends, so we were wet too. It didn't dampen the thrill of seeing the animals though. Ok, coming from Minnesota, this wasn't all that thrilling, but it was something new and different. We saw the famous Hungarian Mangalica pigs- their meat is supposed to be nearly cholesterol free, sheep and goats, a buffalo (which they use for buffalo mozzarella- there was a big discussion involving the Italians about mozzarella and buffalo), horses and the long horned cows. We also happened upon (ok, they live out there) some cowboys and they did a horse show for us. It was very neat!

The curly haired Mangalica pigs

Me and the sheep and goats... apparently Hungary has a disproportionate amount of "black sheep" ha ha ha.

the cowboys/shepherds

yay - me on a horse... hmph

the long horn cattle that are very famous in Hungary

the cowboy in action

a not so happy cow

Our Italian friends had the three kids with them, and Raffi - the one on the far right, was not real pleased with the entire experience. He did like getting on the horse, but then returned to the wet wagon and he wasn't happy.

After the tour, we were treated to a fabulous traditional Hungarian lunch of gulyás (with the grey horned cow as the meat) and a potato/pasta dish that was some word that sounded German to me. Christie knew what it was, and I followed suit. Kata and Bill got a Hungarian pasta dish with sour cream in it - figures :)

After lunch, we took a few minutes to look around the market that was there. Unfortunately, it was the end of the holiday weekend, and raining- so many of the stands were gone. I happened to purchase one of the souvenirs I've been searching for since I arrived - to be revealed in a later post.

some interesting pottery - I liked the black

potters studio

Kata and Bill

Carved horns - selling for 110,000 Forint - over $500.00 - craziness.

Catching up

Well I've been in Debrecen for almost two weeks now. I'm still fascinated by the fact that it's the second largest city in Hungary, and when you ask people who have lived here their entire lives what there is to do, the go to answer is "well there's the church..." and that's it. I have been lucky the last few days because I've had visitors - in fact, I'm more popular in Debrecen than in Tata I think. Not really, I'm just on the right side of the country now. Christie came to visit twice, and Tara came to celebrate part of the major holiday that we just had.

Sidenote: I'm at McDonalds, Istvan and Tomi are working - Eva must have the day off- and they've finally changed the bathroom code. Just in case anyone was keeping track.

For St. Istvan Day (August 20th) there was the nationally known "flower parade" here. I'd compare it (loosely) to the Rose parade. The floats are made out of flowers and organic material - but that's where the comparison ends. I was told by Kata to purchase a ticket for the stadium. The parade route ends in the stadium where the judges are and the different groups perform in the Stadium. So - I purchased a ticket, but the morning of, I never made it to the stadium. I figured that I'd have a better chance of seeing the floats up close if I just parked in an open spot. So I did just that - right in front of one of the malls.

This parade was fascinating to me for many reasons. First of all, there was a minimum 8 minute - up to 15 minute delay between each float. All of the floats were flanked both front and back by groups, but there were several long pauses in the parade. As evidence of this, the parade that had 16 floats - maybe there were 20 I don't remember - and several groups - took over three hours to complete. Now, I've never been strong in math, but that's about 5 floats an HOUR, maybe 6. Luckily I brought a book with me so It was not a complete loss. Additionally, I've found (and you've read) that Hungarians provide some of the best people watching in the ENTIRE world - and the morning of the parade was no different. The floats were nice - certainly not up to Rose Parade standards, but great for Hungary. Additionally, I was surprised to see that the remainder of the groups participating in the parade were solely dance groups- each accompanied by a band. There were groups from Italy, Brazil, Serbia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Finland, and other countries I can't remember. There weren't politicians, local businesses, any other groups than the cultural performers.

After the parade Tara came to town and we saw the parade again - later that night. I think it was just the "winners" of the competitions for floats that were featured in the evening parade, but to me it was the same thing again. Tara got to see some of it though, and I saw a couple groups that I missed earlier that morning so it was good. Also - we saw the BEST fireworks I think I've ever seen in my life. I kept saying "that was the finale - wow!" and they'd keep going. I saw fireworks I'd never seen before, and it went on for quite a long time. I feel like the presentation cost half of Hungary's operating budget, but it was worth it. I enjoyed it. All in all - good holiday.

Oh - by the way, it was a holiday celebrating the establishment of Hungary as a country - by St. Istvan (Steven). Just in case you were wondering.

float with cows and other animals

float representing Hungary

now THAT'S a uniform - just pin a piece of cloth on a white shirt... The whole band was like this

Hungarian long horn cattle and a traditional plains farmer/cowboy

even the pooper-scooper was covered in flowers

the support team - carrying bottles of water for the band

sexy majorettes - baton twirlers

Serbian dance group

belly dancers - why not?

another dance group with large balloons? or something like that

Bulgarians - I think

the final "float" - the street sweeper that came less than a minute after the last group finished... caused the crowd to scatter pretty quickly.

Boo again...

This is a short video of Boo entertaining herself with a twist tie - the things that please a cat :)

Pictures of Debrecen

the concert I went to last night - it's the Hungarian equivalent of Elvis I was told - that meaning that he's the biggest rock star in the history of Hungary - but I don't remember his name...

fountain in the main square

large famous hotel

fountain and places to enjoy beverages

looking towards the church

the big church - the main draw of Debrecen - it's where they declared independence from in 1849. I think it was 1849...

new haircut- Debrecen style

At this very minute, I am convinced that I personally am causing a hole in the ozone layer on my own. I got my hair cut this morning at a salon near my apartment, and the experience was like many other times I have had my hair cut in foreign countries. I walked into a local salon and said I'd like a haircut - and operation make the foreigner happy commenced. There were TWO shampoo stages, followed by conditioner. For some reason, I must be a huge wuss or something since my neck always gets sore from leaning back in that hair basin. Anyway, that was followed by a precise hair cutting, though we definitely were not really communicating as to what I really wanted since I thought she asked if my hair was too long, and apparently she said, do you like it long - and I responded with yes. OK - after the cut, she applied a softball size clump of mousse to my hair - I have SHORT hair, there is no need for that. Mousse was followed by a 26 minute blow dry - really? it takes me 3 minutes to dry my hair. After hair drying, there was hair spray - and then ratting. And then hair spray and combing out the ratting. There were final touches, and a waxy substance run through my hair. There was 10 times more product than hair on my head. Ick.

I always love getting my hair cut in foreign countries, mostly for the adventure. I can't even name all the places I have had my hair cut -Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Brussels, Hungary, Japan, Austria, Burnsville... the list goes on. The thing that interests me is that though I tell ALL the hairstylists world over the same desired cut, it always turns out different. And honestly, I don't REALLY care all too much about my hair. It will grow back, eventually. So even when a haircut goes awry- and LORD knows they have- I'll always survive and live another day. It's all a part of the adventure I suppose. :)

The apartment here - enjoy?

the hallway leading to the front door (taken from the kitchen)

Boo is quite comfortable on the shelves

and under the "chair covers" yeesh - orange...

this is interesting - the water from the sink connects by the hose on the left to the shower - so to turn the shower water on, I have to turn the faucet from the sink on... interesting huh?

the kitchen

the "bedroom" I sleep in the white (silky sheets) bed in the corner

the other room - with the tv... though it doesn't work - and I quote "oh, the tv doesn't work, well don't look for channels..." Thanks Kata...

the ghetto-fabulous way I have to access my hallway - reach through the window hole and open the door from the other side to let myself in. Hmm... secure?