Tata day 2

Today was my first day at the school with everyone else.  I met some of the teachers the day before, and secretaries and staff as well, but it was really a blur.  Today was my big day to be introduced and see the rest of the faculty.  I attended the AM staff meeting, after being abandoned in the “big teachers room” by Mirtill and I fended for myself prior to the start of the meeting.  After two or three people approached me and spoke in Hungarian, they figured out that I was the Amerikai tanar (the American teacher).  I would of course respond that I did not speak Hungarian and they would look away uncomfortably and eventually leave where I was.  A couple really worked hard at speaking to me, and it was so much appreciated.  I am constantly amazed (and mildly embarrassed) that so many other people know English and we have no drive to learn other languages.   At any rate, I was introduced by the Headmistress, said a few sentences (which were then translated into Hungarian) and I left.  I was told that it was very important to tell the faculty that I had been a teacher prior to this year in Hungary, as that would in some way, build my reputation with them.  I get the sense that this is a very elite school in terms of Hungarian education.  They have to apply and take an entrance exam to get in, and there is a high level of motivation among the students.  When I asked the Headmistress what she was most proud of about the school, she responded (through Mirtill’s translation) that she was proud of the fact that students want to be there and they are motivated to learn and to do well.  It was like a dream come true!  The conference with the Headmistress was interesting – who do you look at as someone translates a conversation.  I watched the Headmistress when she was speaking to try and get a sense of her tone and emotion, but she was looking at Mirtill, and as Mirtill was translating to me, I wanted to nod in agreement, but I wasn’t sure where to do it, because the ideas being conveyed were not Mirtills, they were the Headmistresses.  Oh well.  Whatever.  It turns out that she speaks a bit of French, so we spoke briefly in French – but she has absolutely no English.  Which means maybe I won’t get in trouble for anything because she can’t yell at me?!?  At any rate, Mirtill outed me in front of the Headmistress by telling her we had to leave so I could unpack all of my luggage.  Luckily for me, the Headmistress said that she too liked to travel with everything she’d ever need.  Whatever.  J

 

After I was released from the faculty meeting, I decided to check out town a bit more.  I walked around the lake a bit, and checked out a few of the shops.  I stopped for a Coke light and enjoyed a patio seat on the sidewalk.  The weather here has been absolutely beautiful – and that makes it easy for the 20 minute walk to school.  Who knows what is going to happen once the winter comes…  I walk right by the lake on my way to school, so hopefully there isn’t a ton of wind in the winter time.

 

After I walked around a bit and took some pictures I returned to my apartment, and several pieces of luggage that had yet to be unpacked.  So my solution was of course, to walk back to the Tesco.  There were some other things that I found that I needed, and I didn’t want to start unpacking yet because it seemed like a daunting task at the time.  I got there and totally owned the carts – I don’t think I mentioned this, but you have to put a coin in to release a cart to use if you want, but you can only get them outside.  So when I was there the day before and started with a basket, and then tried to get back outside to get a cart – I threw the whole store for a loop… anyhow, you get the coin back when you return the cart and all was well.  I also rocked the bus on the way back… it’s just getting to places that trips me up.

 

After the trip to Tesco, I cleaned up a bit and prepared for the Opening Ceremony.  It’s a big gathering at the school to kick off the new school year – but it seriously was like the opening funeral.  We were outside on the school grounds, with the students lined up facing the audience.  Each class has their particular spot and the lined up with their “form teacher” – which is the homeroom like teacher for them.  They were all in uniform (hopefully I’ll have a picture here soon) but the uniform wasn’t really specified very well.  The girls had a sailor like shirt, and black bottoms.  Whether or not these bottoms covered their butt cheeks was up to the individual student.  There were some of the shortest skirts I’d ever seen on school children.  BUT, I’m in Europe and I’ll go with the flow.  The boys were all in suits – which was also a change for me.  The ceremony started with the national anthem - which has got to be the most depressing song I’ve ever heard.  Then there was some poetry from a student that seemed to be very aggressive, but who knows what she was saying.  The 9^th graders were introduced and each student was given a flower.  Then the new teachers were introduced – starting with me.  It wasn’t a big deal because I heard the “Amerikai tanar” key words and my name, so I stood- but then a student came to me with a flower and said “welcome to our school”.  She kind of took me off guard by showing up like that – BUT – then she went in for the kisses on either side of the cheek.  I hadn’t experienced a true European cheek kissing, and here I was doing it with a total stranger in front of the whole school and their parents.  YEESH – It was quite an experience. They continued with the other new teachers, and the mayor of the town spoke.  The Headmistress got up to give her speech and it was downhill from there.   At the very beginning, Erika (an English teacher) told me to watch for all the students that fell.  I thought she was kind of kidding – but she was dead on.  The students stood for the whole time- but it wasn’t longer than 45 minutes – and in that time, 4 students fainted and three were escorted away from the group because they were faint.  Really?  45 minutes?  At one point, someone interrupted the Headmistress and asked her to seek a doctor’s help – she asked if there was a doctor present in the middle of the opening ceremony!!!  As it turns out, one student fell hard on his face and needed stitches – an ambulance came to the opening ceremony.  Seriously?  Pansies.  Oh well.  After the ceremony, I headed back home to prepare for my first day – even though I didn’t have a schedule yet.  It was quite an exciting Friday night.