Adjusting to Debrecen

Though off to a rough start, things have settled down a bit here in Debrecen. Though a large part of me is happy to be returning to Tata, it’s a nice city here. Kata (the contact teacher here) is WAY more outgoing than many of my colleagues in Tata. She and the school director Christie came over to take me on a drive through the town, and because there was some maintenance that needed to be done here. There was a light in the kitchen that didn’t work. So, Kata, Christie, Clari neni (the owner) and the “handy” man had to come over at the same time. We’re talking Hungarian time here again, so it was about 15 minutes after they had originally stated. Backing up for a second, Kata (in very Hungarian fashion) had told me the day before that she and Christie would come before this appointment and take me around the town. SO – I was sure to be back in the apartment well before 5:30 – the scheduled maintenance time. I sat in my apartment (on a gorgeous day) from about 12:30 until Kata called at 4:30 and said we’d go out after the maintenance man came. She was surprised that I was home (as I sit here thinking – you’re the one who told me we were going out this afternoon – of course I’m home). Oh well, anyway… they all came at 5:45 to fix the light in the kitchen.

Earlier that morning, I had used some of the “Mr. Proper” (it's the name for Mr. Clean here) to clean the floors. The apartment has not been cleaned since Communism left the country I swear. There are bug carcasses in all sorts of places, so I’ve swept many of them up, but there isn’t a vacuum – so I’ve just pushed all the grit into a corner. I’ve also noticed that the bug remains seem to be reproducing- either that, or they aren’t all dead. As evidence of the latter, there are bug-motels a plenty in all of the cabinets. The kitchen smells like a giant can of bug killer. It’s kinda gross. Those who have lived with me (other than my mom) know that I like to keep things clean. Albeit, this does not necessarily apply to my bed room, but I like to be in a clean space. I don’t like grungy hotels, I hate that my carpet in Tata seems to NEVER get clean no matter how often I vacuum – I just like things to be clean. I had a hard time sleeping here the first night because the (grody) sheets that I managed to scrounge up were dirty, as was about everything else in the apartment. There are large rugs that cover the main expanses of flooring, but they are large and incapable of being shook out by one person. They are full of grit and mounting cat hair now thanks to Boo. Anyhow, back to my point – I had mopped the floors earlier that morning and cleaned the bathroom sink and counter and felt 100 times better. Until the maintenance man came and changed a long two bulb fluorescent light for a single round bulb circular light. I’m not sure how that transition works, but whatever – it’s Hungary. He managed to blow out not only the fuses in the apartment, but when we switched them back, it was a bigger problem than he had thought. Well, yeah a large popping noise and then sparks flying is not necessarily a good thing. He finally got it fixed and we were able to get on our way. Kata drove me around the “Great forest” and I was able to see the track that they have here. It’s a beautiful track, and its totally open to the public to use for free. We circled around the park and saw the main buildings for the medical school and the other university buildings in the area. Debrecen is home to one of the most prestigious university systems in all of Hungary, and they are very proud of it here.

We went out for dinner and drinks afterwards – something I have yet to do with my colleagues in Tata – but it was nice to talk about what it’s like working at a language school versus a day school, and the challenges that come with such a placement. They also told me that I was the MOST flexible teacher they had worked with – little did they know how much I bad mouthed their professionalism in not returning my phone calls until the night before I was to leave. It was a nice evening, and now I knew where I could go for my run the next morning.

I m experiencing this again here in Debrecen, but Hungarians are generally very hospitable and helpful people. When I was rejected on the train for having my cat, three other Hungarians pleaded with the ticket guy to just let me on since I didn’t know the rule. When I got to my next train, a nice guy came OFF of the train and helped me get my stuff into a compartment. At the train station in Budapest and in Tata, two different old ladies (who aren’t known for their nice nature) offered to help with Boo and all my stuff. I don’t know if it’s the cat that earns me some street cred or what, but when you have a cat with you – even the old ladies are nice. They conversed with me and told me how many cats they had at home too. It was nice. It’s continuing here in Debrecen. Kata will only be “in charge of me” for two weeks, and she has already gone out of her way to make me feel welcome and comfortable in the town. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have someone looking out for you while in a foreign place, even if only for a little while.

So, overall I’m getting over the dingy apartment, and cleaning it to the best of my patience level since another person from my program will be coming here the day after I leave. I am excited for the activities here this week, including the Hungarian “Elvis” (I was told today in my lesson of four adult males) who is performing tonight on the main square. I have found places to run and to get on the internet, and I’m getting to do some teaching that I have never experienced before. Sure – I can teach business English. No problem…. That remains to be seen I suppose.