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!