Chain gang - Hungarian style

As we move comfortably into Fall, the leaves change and fall around Tata.  Enter the Tata chain gang… actually, I don’t know exactly what they are – but all over town, there are people of all ages, raking and cleaning up garden beds in preparation for winter.  They leave the piles of leaves, and come back the next day to rake again.  I can’t tell if they are different groups of people, or volunteers or what, but it’s been great to see all these people taking ownership of our town.  If only I could speak the language, perhaps I could help.  Meh.  The top picture has some of the gang - their vests say "Tizta" which means clean and "Tatáért" which means the city of Tata.

Choir practice - post trip.

Well Choir was good on Tuesday.  It  was nice to see everyone again (I missed last week because of the whole cat at the hospital and trauma at school).  Apparently there has been quite a bit of action since our Pápa trip.  Kata was all fired up because we were supposed to sing at some big celebration next weekend.  I shouldn’t say “some” big celebration – starting next Wednesday, I have 10 days off of school as a fall break combination Revolution celebration.  I’m not entirely sure which revolution exactly – I think the 1956 one, but there were so many… next weekend, there will be big activities all through Hungary, including Tata.  So, there was a grant that was applied for to invite choirs to come and perform at the big ceremonies.  Kata requested 36,000 forint from the 400,000 forint grant, and the grant people apparently questioned each of the things she itemized, so she said forget it.  I don’t know all of it since I’m not exactly fluent in Hungarian yet, but EVERYone was pretty riled up and upset with the grant people and some other choir that is going to be there.  It felt like the beginning of a jets/sharks battle to the death. 

 

After things calmed down, we sang for a bit, and then headed out to eat.  I didn’t take any pictures this week because we were in a small garage like area – and it would have been a bit awkward.  Also, I was so taken a-back by the food, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with myself.  For those of you who know me well, you know I don’t really care for fish.  Ok- I hate fish.  I don’t like any seafood – at all.  For those of you who don’t know me that well, I still hate seafood.  The smell of fish makes me want to vomit.  So- you can guess what was sitting in front of me.  Three pans- a fish in each, taking up the ENTIRE pan.  (they were 9 x 13 pans)  Imagine my feeling… oh boy – here we go.  SO- I asked Erika to cut me a small piece… and nothing in Hungary is small.  I had about half a fish on my plate- ok, not really, but it seemed like it.  I felt like I was going to barf, no lie.  On top of it all, it was Carp that Istvan had caught in the lake.  I have been told 1.) that the lake is toxic (not really, but the kids say it’s terrible) and 2.) that Carp are super crappy fish that NO one eats.  Great.  Here I go.  Luckily, the fish was resting on a bed of potatoes so I ate those, and I picked through the fish – and had bread.  Once I had “finished” I looked around, and I was the ONLY one who didn’t have just a small pile of bones left on my plate.  Crap.  Or should I say carp.  Man!  The guy next to me (who I’d never seen before) asked Erika if I liked fish from the sea better… well, not really.  Ok- so now I felt uncomfortable, especially since we were at the house of one of my fellow teachers, and he was concerned that I wasn’t eating the fish.  MAN!  I decided to just drink some wine and try to make conversation.  That didn’t last long, so I just continued to drink wine. 

 

Then, just when I thought I was done being uncomfortable, Istvan (Kata’s husband) decided that he was going to read the story I wrote about the trip to Pápa to the entire group.  Oh man.  Kata fetched it from her house (they live two doors down) and returned to have Istvan read it aloud.  Now- not only is everyone watching me, but I have already had a severe incident of cultural mishaps regarding my writing.  I was extra careful when I wrote this, but still, it was like my own personal judgement day – and it was in front of 15 people!!  As Istvan read, they laughed and reacted positively (I didn’t know which parts he was reading) and afterwards, they all thanked me for such a nice note.  I thanked them again for a nice trip – and life with the choir was good.  Istvan (the host) asked me if I wanted one last glass of wine, I said no thank you, and raised my glass as he poured.  There is just no saying no in this country when it comes to hospitality.  

Just before we left, Istvan (the host) told everyone that he was going to be bringing some wine back from the famous Tokji region of Hungary after the break.  He asked if anyone was interested in ordering any- and since it was a popular suggestion, I hopped on board.  They asked what I wanted, and I said I liked semi-sweet white wine, so just put me down for whatever other people are ordering.  Little did I know that they were ordering by the 10 Liters!  SO - I have 10 liters of some sort of white wine coming my way after the break - yeesh.   

The picture is of my “blue dye” square that I made in Pápa.  I think it’s very pretty!

Autumn in Tata

Fall is my favorite season – jeans and sweatshirts, walking along hearing the crunch of the leaves, the changing colors… I love fall.  Sadly, it’s not the same here.  Sure, the leaves are changing, and today it was 70 degrees, but there is something about the crisp air and apples of MN that really gets me in the mood for the changing seasons.  I don’t know what this winter will bring, but hopefully parts of it will remind me of home. 

Tesco

I have tried to explain how big peppers are here – not literally, but how important they are to the everyday diet- and I don’t think people get it.  I took a picture of the smallest amount of peppers you can buy at Tesco – they come in large bags like apples – it’s crazy.  I did end up cutting one in half and sticking the entire thing in my sandwich today – it’s what they do!!!  I also took a picture of the carts at Tesco – you can see where you have to put the coin in – the coin that causes me so much heartache every time I go ANYWHERE!!!

Big weekend in Tata - not really.

Saturday was a good day.  I was looking forward to a weekend in Tata, just relaxing and not having to catch a train anywhere.  I could sleep in and get LOTS of stuff done.  Well… neither of those things really happened.  I did have a nice time just relaxing and hanging out Saturday morning, but I had to prepare for lunch at Elizabeth’s at 12:30.  I knew that I would have to bring something (since I screwed it up the first time, I was going to be prepared).  Elizabeth had called me the night before to confirm… part of me really hoped she wouldn’t call, just because I don’t like new situations and small talk – which was what the entire lunch was going to be about, but I managed just fine.  She told me to come at half past 12 – and when I asked where she lived she responded with “do you have a map?”  Well, yeah, I have a map, but it’s a tourist map and doesn’t really show all the small streets.  She said do you know “so and so” street – of course I don’t Elizabeth, I’ve been her a month.  She told me to take my street, but not in the direction of something (indecipherable Hungarian word).  Then I would “go and go until I came to an intersection- then go forward” really clear- this is going to be no problem.  After I went through the intersection I was to “look for her street and go Right- her house is 4 point 5 – but there is no 5.  It’s midway down the street.”  Ok – no problem right?   Well, when I set off in the morning, I was ready for anything.  I thought I knew where I was going – I knew where there was a flower shop to go to, it was going to be alright. Until I got to the flower shop, and it was closed.  Dang.  On to the next one – yay!  I know of another flower shop- so I enter, and I come in on a family preparing funeral bouquets.  Hmmm… try again – I didn’t want to try and order a bouquet in the midst of that. Man.  I found a third shop, and they had bouquets right in front of the counter – life was good, expensive, but good.  Ok – off to Elizabeth’s.  Hmmm… map in hand, here we go.  I definitely underestimated exactly how far she lived from me, but luckily I’m skilled in the art of walking so I made good time.  I found her street – barely – (the picture is of her street sign) and eventually turned down to start looking for her house.  She told me she had a green gate… well so did every other house on the block.  Ok – I’m looking for 4 point 5.  What exactly does that mean?  I was walking by 77, 75….67, 63 – did she mean 45?  In due time, it all came together – green gate, check, 45 – missing the 5, check- midway down the block, check.  Ok- so I rang the bell.  Or so I thought.  I entered the gate, and heard nothing, saw no one, and instantly panicked.  Was I in the wrong place?  I backtracked and rang the other button- and I heard the bell ring this time.  Now what.  Do I wait?  Do I go back through the gate?  Ugh – panic again… Oh –here she comes.  Thank goodness.

She brought me in and showed me around the first level of the house.  She has a beautiful back yard and garden – even in the beginnings of fall as things are starting to die off.  She offered me a drink – two different types of wine – so I tried the “bull’s blood” I’m pretty sure it’s a well known type of Hungarian wine.  Red – obviously – and I don’t usually drink red wine, but it was really good.  Elizabeth’s two children are grown up and don’t live there anymore, and her husband was in Russia on work – so it was just her and me.  She prepared a vegetable soup, delicious – and then a pasta dish with chicken and cheese.  It was a lovely meal – and as I’ve learned now, I ate a lot.  After all, I wasn’t going to eat for the rest of the day right? (yeah right).  She gave me a tour of the upstairs, and some more wine – and then we finished with chocolate.  I love this country!  Wine and chocolate at lunch!  She lent me some books on how to learn Hungarian- and one on Famous Hungarians – so I have a little light reading for the next few weeks- but I’m excited about it. 

After I left, I figured I was already half way to Tesco, so I might as well go.  I was planning on buying a DVD player and a printer.  Again, life is not without adventure – as I did not have a 100 forint coin for the cart.  Dang.  So I stopped and bought a diet coke at the gas station.  Jackpot – 100 forint coin – here we go.  I got the DVD player and the printer and some other necessities – and I was very excited.  One of my students has all 10 seasons of Friends, but I couldn’t play it on my computer since they are region two DVD’s.  Now I was going to be in business right?  Nope.  I didn’t get a certain cord that I needed for the printer, and the DVD player had no remote.  No remote?  What?  There is one in the book – and it’s the only way you can control the machine.  UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH.  This was too much for one day, so I did some laundry and cleaned a bit –planning to fix everything the next day. 

Today I set off early for Tatabanya – I was in search of a cord for the printer, and a universal remote or something to fix my DVD problem.  Luckily I have nailed the buses, so I was in Tatabanya in no time, hitting up the Media Markt.  I got a universal remote – and the cord I needed, SCORE!  I celebrated with a McDonalds meal. 

I got home, and of course the universal remote didn’t work.  I tried for over an hour to program the DVD player.  Crap.  Now what?  I decided to check the buses and head back to Tesco.  I got there lickety split, and headed back to the DVD spot – with receipt in hand, and translated sentence asking for help in hand.  There wasn’t anyone back in the DVD section, but there was a remote just laying there on top of the boxes of my DVD player.  What?  That’s my remote – what do I do?  Do I just shove it in my bag because I know that it belongs with my machine?  Do I try to communicate that this is really mine to a worker there?  UGH.  I went to the customer service desk and explained my situation, and the kid behind the counter told me to bring the machine in to Tesco and they’d trade it.  CRAP.  Of course I didn’t bring it with me, and the buses only come once an hour on Sundays.  UGH.  I ended up just buying the same DVD player, planning to return the first one at a later time when I could figure out how to do it – and call it a day.  Or so I thought.  I got to the front of the line to buy the new DVD player, some peppers and onions – and wait – where’s my credit card?  I had it this morning at Media Markt…. CRAP!  I left it there.  She never gave it back to me.  Seriously?  So – I bought the machine and everything, got home, double checked at home and boarded a bus BACK to Tatabanya.  I got to the Media Markt and asked the security guard if he spoke English – of course he didn’t – so for some reason I turned to the cashier and said “I lost my credit card” in English –and she pointed me to the security guard who had it on the desk.  Thank God.  What a day.  And I still had planning, and reading, and typing to do.  Man- so much for a relaxing day. 

9th Grade Welcoming

Friday was the big “welcoming” at school.  It’s what I call hazing, but they call it tradition.  We had to perform the airline skit, and the other first years had to perform their skits as well.  We practiced several times, and I think it was actually pretty funny- since I had the translation of what was going on.  I had a funny part as the English speaker who didn’t know what was going on.  The kids were very nervous- but excited.  We all had matching t-shirts that said “Don’t worry, be happy” on the front with a smiley face- and our names (Carla on mine) and EJG for Eötvös József Gimnázium. (how do you like those accents? I finally figured it out – thanks Kyle!)  The shirts were cute – and they were so excited to wear them.

The theater was full with the other 9^th grade classes and other students who came to watch.  We performed first, and did very well – the other ones I couldn’t really understand, but they seemed funny to others, so I just went with it.  Dori (one of my runners) was the head of the whole thing, and she really wanted it to go well.  She was really nervous, but they really stepped up and did a nice job.  Afterwards, the kids were to put on swimsuits and the rest of the night was a surprise.  I’m sure I’ll hear all about it Monday at school.  Hopefully they didn’t have to do anything too horrible…

Boo is back in action!

Well, last week was one of damage control, but I think all will be fine eventually… at any rate, there are a few updates that need to be shared.  First, Boo is home from the vet.  As I’ve said before, everything in a foreign country is an adventure – this was no exception.  The vet told me that he was going to call me on Friday – took my phone number and everything… so I waited and waited on Friday, no call.  I didn’t know if the vet was open on Saturday or not, so I decided to just head over and see if I could check on her.  As I approached, the place looked more like a zoo than a vet/pet hospital.  There were two crates of bulldog puppies outside in the courtyard.  There was a semi-stray (I don’t know who he belonged to) black and white dog checking out everything he could.  He even wandered into some of the exam rooms.  The funny thing was, so many people were coming and going, and she would put her paw on their legs so they’d pet her – and six people gave her a treat from the bowl on the counter.  She knew how to work her magic.  There were other dogs that were obviously not happy to be there, and some who had no idea what was going on.  One was having four teeth removed, one was getting a large thermometer shoved up you know where- lots of action at the vet.  As usual, I waited until I could survey the situation fully to see what exactly I should do- luckily the vet spotted me and called me in after a while.  I could hear her meowing while I was in the lobby- and she didn’t know I was there.  I don’t think Boo was happy.  She was there for three days, and the vet told me that her intestines were swollen.  I’m not sure why- after effect of the fall?  Who knows.  He said that she was on some antibiotics and that things should be fine.  I have been watching her eating – she still seems to struggle with swallowing a bit, but he said that dry food was the best – so I’m sticking with it.  She has been playing more than ever – thanks to some new toys sent from home, and she is very liberal with her use of the “meow”.  I suppose that means she is feeling better and wants attention.  She seems to be much more active in her jumping too – so I’ll have to make sure that anything harmful to her is cleared off any surface.  At any rate, she seems much better- so hopefully that will last.  

Ugh...

So I have experienced enough cultural differences in this week to last me a lifetime.  Sadly, that won't be the case since I'm only a month in...

As I stated before, my students found my blog, and I think they mostly liked looking at the pictures of themselves on the internet - who knows.  But, they were talking about it, and my colleagues were curious about it as well.  So I gave some of them the site, and three of them spoke with me yesterday about their feelings.  Two basically just said, keep names out - we understand, but keep names out.  The third one said that she was offended multiple times over.  I still don't really understand why, I guess when I think about it, I have mentioned their dress- but that's all I can recall... she was mad that I mentioned her husband and thought I was being ironic when I stated "Sweet Hungarians" at the end of an entry about them helping me.  I was not being ironic.  I think that, at least in my family, we have some issues getting the tone across in typed form- so yesterday I made the site private.  I know it's a hassle for all of you, and I apologize, but I don't want to ruffle any MORE feathers here if I can help it.  

I did set up a blog that will be specifically for school stuff for the kids to look at.  I will most likely post similar information (in addition to the other stories) on this site, but I didn't want to leave them in a lurch wondering why they couldn't access the site they could before.  SO- I told them today that I had already put too much info on the site and that blogger wanted me to start a new one - so I did.  Hmph... 9th grade naivete?  I'm thankful for it. 

Today at school - the teacher who was REALLY mad approached me and asked about the cat, so hopefully things are smoothing out a bit.  Speaking of - Boo is in the animal hospital.  I brought her in yesterday with a sheet of broken Hungarian saying things about "vomiting and diarrhea - not eating - not drinking" etc. etc.  The receptionist recognized me, and probably thought about why I was back so soon.  At any rate, one of the vets spoke perfect English.  So after an hour of Boo squirming in my arms, we were seen by this guy who studied in Ohio.  He said that she looked skinny and needed some fluids (duh) so he'd keep her until Friday and watch her.  I don't know if it's after effects of the fall or what, but hopefully she'll be back good as new when Friday rolls around. 

So- at any rate, I think things will settle down a bit with the blog stuff... I hope anyways.  In the meantime, I'll continue to read the blogs of the other teachers here on my program who can blog freely about their experiences.  Hmph.

sick kitten...

Well, I am convinced that Boo is very sick.  She threw up before I left on Saturday, and didn't eat hardly anything while I was gone.  She hasn't been drinking water, so I've been giving it to her through a straw.  She has had loose stools and won't play at all.  I thought she was getting better after I tried a third new food - a wet one, but she still had loose stool, and this morning peed on my bed as she was sitting there.  I've been doing a lot of reading on how to treat this, but the main thing that everyone says is that it is very serious and I should take her to the vet.  I'm not sure what to do, because I have only had her a week and a half... can I bring her back to the pet hospital and say = what the hell?!  You gave me a sick cat?  The language barrier is really not helping the situation.  Ugh.  I don't know what to do... wish me luck.

Hungarian or not?

I tried to exude exactly how Hungarian I am last week, and it failed miserably.  I wore my knee length boots to school with gauchos.  I thought for sure that if anyone could, I would be able to make it through the day in the boots – they have a heel that is only about 2 inches, so it shouldn’t be a big deal right?  After all, these Hungarians walk around in stilettos like their lives depend on them.  I have no idea how they do it, so I gave it a whirl.  What a mistake.  I was in pain after about the 4^th lesson- don’t forget the fact that I had to walk the mile home after school was done.  Yuk.  I got home, changed shoes, and headed to Tatabanya for a trip to the Intersparr (the grocery store).  I had been thinking the whole way there about how I didn’t have a 100 Forint coin to put in a cart once I got there, and they pretty much don’t let you in unless you have a cart – so I plotted a way to buy something for cheap and secure the coin that I needed.  There is a coffee shop in the Intersparr, so I thought if I got a cappuccino or something, that’d give me the change back that I needed.  Wrong again – it was more expensive than I had anticipated, so I got bills and some 20 Forint coins back.  Dang.  Now what?  I just headed over to the carts in hopes that someone there would be able to provide change for my 200 Ft bill.  Once I got close enough to the carts, I realized that they in fact took a 20 Forint coin, not a 100 Forint coin.  Defeat yet AGAIN!  I literally had spent the last 1.5 hours thinking of the cheapest way to get a 100 Ft coin, and I never needed it.  Man. 

Thankfully there is one part of me that is definitely NOT Hungarian – my hair.  While it isn’t necessarily a masterpiece, it’s not a Mohawk or worse yet, a faux-hawk.  I snapped this picture the other day on the bus – to try and illustrate just how awesome their hair really is.  Red hair dye is on sale at Tesco this week… maybe I’ll have to get some!

Race Day

We got up and had a nice breakfast – thanks to Hanna!  And off we went.  We got there plenty early, mostly because I’m insane and have to be relaxed before a race.  We watched the start of the Marathon, cheered on the “fun-runners” and then headed to our start.  We weren’t here to have fun –we were serious runners.  Ok, maybe not, but we had fun.  Our race was 7.5k, and that was plenty long for the running that I have been doing lately – I don’t think three times a week is enough to really be running anything too competitive.  We had many different people take our picture, and once the countdown began in Hungarian- and both of us joined in- we were off!!  The weather couldn’t have been more perfect – the sun seemed to come out as soon as we got to the starting line and it was about 55 degrees or so.  Absolutely perfect for running.  The race course was interesting, down Andrassy, then across Eotvos (the name of my school) and back up parallel to the train tracks and then through city park.  Besides the occasional cobblestone that is not really that great for running on, the course was fun!

Hanna rolled in with a smile on her face –as she should, it was her FIRST RACE!  I didn’t even think about that until right when she finished, but I am so proud of her.  This was no lowly 5k that we ran, it was 7.5k- that’s a distance!  I hope that we can continue running enough to do another fun race somewhere cool.  Prague, Vienna?  Who knows.  We celebrated by eating the goodies in the finisher’s bag, and with a trip to McDonalds’s.  We earned it!  Way to go Hanna!

Weekend in Budapest

Well we had the big mini-marathon this weekend.  I am thrilled that I didn’t have to run a whole marathon, but the weather was just perfect for those who did.  I’m getting ahead of myself…

I left early for Budapest on Saturday – and got into town about 10:30.  I headed for the mall right away because I needed winter boots (preparing for the pending cold weather) and I’m in search of some petite brown pants.  It’s hard enough shopping without having to search for petite items.  Yeesh.  Some stores had things marked as “short” but I didn’t have much luck with the pants.  Dang.  I found some boots – and they were 20% off – so I was thrilled.  They ran me about $30.00 – perfectly reasonable.  Shoes here are VERY expensive, particularly if they are an American brand or a name brand that is famous in the United States.  My running shoes, which are about $80.00 in the US run for $210.00 here.  A pair of Columbia sandals that I have, ran me about $20 or $30 – I don’t remember – in the United States, and here they are $98.00.  I don’t get it, but whatever.  It certainly has (temporarily) quashed my shoe fettish. 

I wandered around a bit enjoying being inside out of the wind- the weather had turned rather nasty on Saturday.  Cold and windy… so the mall was a welcome reprieve from walking around outside.  There were these awesome escalators there - they are like the moving sidewalks at the airport but they go up- I have included a picture.  I went to the bookstore and picked up a book I had been looking for “Hungary and the Hungarians” – it is supposed to be a good read about the Hungarian people and their culture.  I also got a Harry Potter book in English – I miss them.  I headed to the food court for lunch, and it was so busy that I ended up eating my Chinese food standing at a ledge that was made for eating.  I was just minding my own business when a man came and set his tray down beside me.  He began to talk to me, and from what I could gather, he wanted me to watch his food while he went in search of salt.  I turned and said “igen” – (yes).  He returned shortly thereafter and continued to talk to me in Hungarian which made things increasingly more awkward.  I still haven’t figured out the appropriate time to butt in and say “actually, I don’t speak Hungarian.”  Is it just as they get going?  When they pause for a breath?  When they are all done with their statements?  This time, I waited until he was finished, and I told him I didn’t speak Hungarian.  He then switched to pretty good English.  He asked if I wanted some of the fish he had for lunch.  I said no thank you, and of course – how very Hungarian of him- he cut his filet in half and put half on my plate.  Crap.  I don’t like fish.  In fact, the smell makes me gag.  I didn’t know what to do.  I had a shark on my plate- it was HUGE!  What to do.  Not to mention that I had just finished a huge plate of sesame chicken and rice… crap crap crap.  So, I dug in.  I thought I was going to die.  It was breaded and fatty like fast food usually is, but there was the fishy taste that just kills me.  Literally – for the rest of the day, I thought I was going to puke.  I choked down as much as I could as we chatted.  He asked if I was from Budapest, and I told him I lived in Tata.  He has been there and we talked a bit about how beautiful it is – nice pleasantries.   I think I’m going to puke.  Luckily, I had some rice left, so I was able to mask part of the taste – but man.  These Hungarians and their food. 

After the mall, I thought I was going to meet up with Megan, but she changed her plans, so I headed towards Hero’s square to check out some art – or so I thought… I ended up getting REALLY lost and having Hanna talk me through several trams and busses to get to her apartment.  Her place is so cute – it’s very homey and such a nice size.    We dropped off my stuff and headed to get our race numbers. 

I was getting excited because I love race expos – and I figured this one was going to be big, since it was a big international race.  Well – it was kind of big, but fun none the less.  There were ads for many other European races that Hanna and I might think about doing in the future….maybe.

We headed off to the pasta dinner and to enjoy some entertainment.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a ticket for the dinner for some reason, but that ended up being okay.  Hanna got some sort of dish that was pasta and a cottage cheese type thing, and a beer.  The only beverage choices were beer and iced tea.  Of course, beer has more carbs, so she opted for beer.  We wandered a bit and then headed in for a fairly early night after a quick visit to Jake and Ellen’s.  

In search of Cocoa

The second picture is from the TourInform (tourist stop) booth in Tata.  There is a computer that takes a picture of you in town and you can choose the "postcard" you want to put your picture next to.  The one we chose is of my school.  Nori, Dori, Me and Anna had hot chocolate yesterday after school.  Nori, Dori had gone running the previous two (three?) Thursdays.  Today we did not run (I did earlier in the afternoon) because Dori hurt her leg in gym, and being the coach that I am - I didn't let her run on it, not until the limp stops.  We went out in search of a cup of coffee (hot chocolate) instead.  Sadly, most places that sell coffee are also cocsmas (bars).  Not good.  Not that they would order a beer, I just didn't need to be sitting in a bar with three 9th graders.  We found a place that seemed to be more restaurant than bar, and had our cocoa.  It took the guy literally 20 minutes to make it, but it was pretty good.  They are such sweet girls - they try to hard to communicate, and collectively we do a pretty good job.  

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.  

Black and Gold Day - Hungarian style!

I have been talking about Homecoming week during all of my classes this week- it coincides with Burnsville’s Homecoming.  We discussed the different days of dress, the activities from the powder puff game to the dance, and the black and gold day events.  I explained pep fests and the drumline and danceline, and then encouraged the students to wear their school colors to school some days.  Today, my 9A students (the ones I know the best) celebrated Black and Gold day with me.  I told them that Black and Gold day is very important to my students back home, and that they take pride in showing support for their school.  They were very excited to take part in Black and Gold day – even though they are thousands of miles away from my Burnsville Students.  It brought them a bit closer to my home, and made me feel for a few minutes as if I was back at BHS.  It was very nice.  The rest of the school was a little confused as to why one section of students all dressed in the same colors, but whatever.  That’s what makes the English dual language program cool.  J

Criminal minds

Well, we've gotten to the bottom of the nasty neighbor situation - kind of.  Mirtill took care of things once I showed her the note.  She went to see the headmistress right away, and got full support from Martha (the head mistress).  Martha said that Mirtill was to take me home, and see if there were "house rules" anywhere to be found.  Then, Martha said that she would like to be invited to any building meetings so that she could be informed of things and pass the information on to the American teachers living there.  How nice!!!  

Throughout the day, the students were concerned as well.  I had shared the note with a couple of students at various levels, and word spread quickly that I had been upset earlier.  Two different students offered to get a group to escort me home to converse with the neighbors. Two other students told me that they would write notes back to the neighbors to tell them that it wasn't me and to leave me alone.  The other students just wanted to make sure that I wasn't sad anymore.  How cute.  

At the end of the day, I was a little nervous.  Mirtill was on a mission.  (thankfully I had told her about the cat earlier that day so she wasn't surprised when she came over).  She looked at the names of the other people in the building -Martha wanted the names of suspect neighbors so she could make some phone calls- and then we went upstairs.  She decided that it would be a good idea to introduce me to the neighbor on my floor - which definitely was.  She is about 60 years old- lives by herself, and was very pleased to meet me.  She told Mirtill that her daughter lives in Ireland, so if I have any problems I can come over to her house, and she'll call her daughter and they can translate between each other.  Clearly she isn't the nasty neighbor.  

Today when I got to school, Maria told me that her husband who knows someone who lives in my building said that there is a crazy lady who lives here, with xxx as her last name (I don't remember right now) but I knew right away that this is the lady who is directly below me.  Apparently she calls the police regularly about a crying baby who lives next door to her.  Whatever.  Also, Maria's husband told her that if I bring any more notes in, they are not to translate it literally, they are to say that it is something really nice instead.  Ahhh, sweet Hungarians.  

Well call the police why don't ya...

Ok - so this morning, I was getting ready to head out to school - it's thursday (my favorite Hungarian word- csutortok- with umlats over every vowel) it was going to be a good day.  Until... I stopped to check my hole with a flap (mail box) to see if my letter about the bank card had arrived.  Lo and behold, I had another hand written note in Hungarian in my box.  Shit.  I didn't have time to try and translate upstairs, so I just put it in my bag and headed out.  I had my Hungarian lessons in my ipod, and my book out to read while walking, but I was so angry that I had received another note, I couldn't concentrate.  What was this one about?  The cat?  I didn't see either word for cat in the note... it couldn't be the cat.  I had only done one load of laundry since the last note and it was at 5 in the evening- a reasonable appropriate time... what could it be?  I got to school all fired up and ran into the two I run with, Nori and Dori.  I asked them what it said, and again- with arms up over their mouths, they gasped.  Crap crap crap.  This couldn't be good.  They said that whoever wrote the note called the police because I was moving my furniture again.  WHAT?!  I hadn't moved anything since the first day I got here and had re-arranged my place.  What are they talking about?  Did I move a chair to get at the cat?  Did I move something to get to a shelf? NO.  I hadn't done anything.  Ugh.  OK- I thanked them for the translation and headed into the office.  I showed the ladies in the office, and immediately started crying.  This was the hard part of living in a foreign country- I couldn't write back because I can't formulate a sentence - after all, I'm only conjugating verbs - I didn't know who had written it - and I couldn't apologize and explain that I had done nothing wrong because I don't have the appropriate skills to do so verbally.  Ugh.  What a way to start the day. Three of my colleagues got on the phone to friends to try and collect information about my neighbors - they wanted to see who would be writing letters like this.  Let the investigation begin... ugh.

Hungarian Lesson

I had another Hungarian lesson today.  I’m trying to utilize many different ways of learning the language since it is so freaking hard.  She is a nice person, and I’m sure she is a great teacher of English, but in my second class, she had me conjugating verbs?  Holy hannah.  Conjugating?  How about some additional vocabulary?  How about the alphabet – how about how to pronounce all the accented vowels.  Ugh.  I’m a little frustrated, but in conjunction with the other ways I’m learning, maybe I’ll come out ahead.  

Barna

Barna is one of my 9^th grade students.  He is fairly advanced and seems to enjoy learning English.  He likes to talk about dark things, wears black all the time and loves heavy metal music.  He is quite a character – but I think he’s funny.  I told him that it scared me that he wore black all the time, and that he should wear a pink or a red shirt.  He told me that he didn’t have pink and red clothes, but he had a yellow shirt.  So- today he wore his yellow shirt for me – and claimed that he was “like a rainbow.”  Oh Barna.  See daily Barna on the left, and special day Barna below.

So today was an interesting day at school.  My 9^th graders have enlisted me to participate in an “initiation” ceremony next week.  It’s somewhat like hazing in the United States, but not harmful, and it’s looked forward to by the kids.  Each class will do some sort of performance, (I think) and then the older kids will "welcome" the younger ones.  The 9^th graders have come up with a skit involving a trip on an airplane.  They will be passengers on a plane, and then I come on and don’t understand the Hungarian being spoken by the stewardess (not surprising).  I am to cause a bit of a scene, and then I’m escorted to my seat on the plane.  Then I have to faint (I’m not entirely sure why) and then we almost crash the plane.  It was cute to watch them work, and function solely in Hungarian – they are a bit more lively in their native tongue.  Midway through the practice, there was a myriad of shouts of “nem” (no) and “igen” (yes).  I joined in with an excited Igen – not knowing what I was voting for – turns out they were discussing whether or not to have one of the students be a terrorist to take over the plane.  Had I known this, I would have of course chimed in with a Nem.  I wasn’t sure what to make of the terrorist addition, having just discussed 9-11 with my students.  I don’t know if I’m entirely comfortable with it, but it wasn’t a national tragedy for their country, so maybe they don’t see that I’m uncomfortable. In the end, Gabi attacks the terrorist with an English book – so maybe it’s all a part of the sillyness of the skit?  Made me stop and think a bit though…  I have included pictures of the kids practicing their skit.