Hostels, again.

I had yet another interesting experience at a hostel on Thursday night. I was in Vienna just for the evening to do some errands and to meet Margaret and Dick, friends of my mom and dad, the next morning. I arrived in Vienna after 6:30, so I didn't have much time to really do anything. I dropped my things off in my 4 person dorm room. I'm so over the rooms with more than 8 people. I prefer the 6 bed or 8 bed rooms. 4 was perfect, and it was all females so I was pleased. As I entered the room to get rid of my backpack, I noticed that one of the residents of room 405 was already asleep. Really?! It's 6:45 pm. I'm not one to really talk since I tend to go to bed on the early side, but seriously? Ok - so I immediately tiptoed around the room putting away the things I didn't need and grabbing the essentials for the evening. Now, not only was this petite asian woman sleeping, but she had built a little fort so that the lights were blocked from bothering her. She was in a cocoon type structure in her bed - having a towel and blanket hanging from the bunk above her to block the light. I was very considerate (as I usually am) and turned on only my "bed light" so as not to bother her while I was in the room. When I was done, I turned out all the lights and left for the evening.

After some meandering around Vienna, I returned to the hostel. I had ventured up and down some of the shopping streets and hit up the Starbucks and a grocery store. I like to roam the aisles in the store and see what they have there that I can't get in Hungary. I found some chai tea, some lychee drinks and new chocolate flavors by Milka- I was pleased. When I returned to the hostel, I did some computer stuff and played around on the internet until about 10 when I turned in to read a bit. It was then that the second roommate came home. She took a shower at 10:30 and followed with hair drying and rustling around before heading to bed. It wasn't a big deal as it was still before 11:30. I can handle that - I'm not a complete loser, but I was tired and had to get up fairly early the next morning. I also had made a HUGE traveling faux pax- I forgot my ear plugs. I'm a very light sleeper, and this was not a good situation. I put my iPod in for a while, but sleeping on those ear buds is no good. After she stopped rustling around (I swear - and this is a total stereotype, but has definitely been my experience- asians pack each of their individual items in a crinkly plastic bag when traveling. Subsequently, when they go to retrieve any of said items, they crinkle the bags and make an annoying amount of noise. This asian woman wasn't any different) she went to bed and I was able to take my iPod out.

Only then did the third roommate return. It was after 12:30 and she turned on all the lights, and rustled around in her things (yes, she was asian too) to find the necessary items she needed. Keep in mind that I was getting up early (at 6:30) to leave to meet Margaret and Dick. So I had already showered, and had set out my clothing for the morning, along with all of my hygine items and had packed everything else away. I was ready to put on the fresh clothes and walk out the door more or less. These three - had no intention of being subtle or quiet about their goings on. She showered, and then blow dried her hair as well. Why one needs to blow dry hair at 1:00 in the morning I have no idea. At any rate, there was a fan in the room. While she was in the shower, I decided I needed some white noise, and I got out of bed, plugged it in and turned it on level 2. It was not facing anyone; the wind hit the wall. I just wanted something to offset the noise that was being made by the rustling around of my last roommate. She finished in the bathroom, and proceeded to come out, turn on all the lights again and rustle around until she was ready for bed. THEN, she shut off the fan and crawled into bed. What? she turned the fan off? Obviously someone in the room wanted it on, and it wasn't blowing on anyone, why would she turn it off? It clearly wasn't on when she blowed into the room initially - it was turned on recently, why on earth would she turn it off? I just couldn't figure it out! At any rate, it was after 1:3o when she finally settled down, and eventually I just got up and turned on the fan again - screw these women. The one in the cocoon was snoring a bit and I needed some noise other than my iPod. I thought all would be settled until I got up at 6:30. Boy was I wrong. The second roommate's alarm went off at 4:00- am. Yes, 4 in the morning. WHAT THE?! She apparently had an early train to catch - so it was back to the bathroom for her, and another round of hair drying. I was about ready to kill someone. The cocoon women got out of bed just after 5 and took her computer downstairs. She'd apparently had enough of this. I got up just after 6 and got ready. I had not slept well, but thus is the life of hostels I suppose.

I think, if it were up to me, at large hostels - like the one I was at - there should not only be choices of genders in the room, but also rooms designated for "early risers" or "late night partiers." I happened to strike the luck of the draw with this one and have a couple of each, so it was like the perfect storm, but whatever - it's what you get for 19 Euro I suppose.

My first Handball match

Well... Here it is ladies and gentlemen - a sport I bet 98% of you have never seen, let alone heard of. Handball is quite popular in Europe, particularly in Hungary and at my school. Several of my students play handball whether for the school or for a club team. I had never seen the sport before, so I decided to go watch a game. It's a loose cross between rugby, soccer and basketball with a little football thrown in. I have no idea what the rules are- and it's amazing that they all come out of it alive since there are NO pads, and evidently no safety regulations what-so-ever. My team is the one in the black and white stripes- thus getting scored on in this particular play :(

Walk to school

These are some pictures I took on my way to school the other day. Fall is here - and I miss the MN fall. Here, it just got cold in the morning and evenings real quick. There was no gradual change of the colors of the trees or anything. It just got dry and the leaves fell off. Too bad... I hope the weather stays nice, as my mom's friends Margaret and Dick are coming to Tata for the day to visit!!! I can't wait to show off my little piece of heaven, or purgatory at least :)

my school as you walk through the entrance gate

Tata

pretty flowers

the flowers again

Musings

I haven’t written much lately on the blog and I realize that. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve just gotten used to the “funny” things here or if I have just been too busy. I’m not sure what the cause is, but let me tell you – these last few months are going to go fast – super fast. I have a sort of count down until I come home – but it’s not something I think about often. I’m going to miss these kids dearly- and the whole Hungarian experience as well. We were doing an activity with my students this week where we had to identify groups that we belong to that make up our identity. Using me as an example, they came up with runner, teacher, American – things like this. Obviously these are groups that I belong to that make me who I am. It was interesting that in almost every class they brought up Hungary. Whether it was that I belong to a group of “wannabe” Hungarians or “adopted” Hungarians – or even in one class “a true Hungarian.” It was nice, and they wanted to let me know that I’d passed the test and was an acceptable American-Hungarian. I don’t know when I’ll be in this country next – perhaps for the szalagavato of my ninth graders from last year (so in another 4 years) but I hope to return soon as it is now yet another part of my identity.

Speaking of my 9^th graders from last year, I was invited to attend a family canoeing trip with Bence Papp – one of the funniest students I had last year. He raised his hand in class and said “Carla, my father would like to invite you to come canoeing with my family.” Without hesitating, I asked where and when – and committed to attending. The next week, I was told that it wasn’t just a family trip canoeing, I’d be canoeing UP the Danube, that it was a race, and that there would be gulyás afterwards. Now this was shaping up into yet another experience I’m not quite ready for. I’m not entirely sure what is happening, but there is some race, and I get a t-shirt, and if it rains I should wear a jacket. That’s as far as I’ve gotten on the instructions – and it’s this Saturday. So – wish me luck on my first foreign canoeing race… or whatever it is.

Oh Boo...

I know I shouldn't complain - but I had an expensive (in Hungarian terms) trip to the vet the other day. Boo had some sort of weird cloud over her left eye and after googling it, I realized that it could get bad quickly so I brought her in to the lovely vet who speaks English. He told me it wasn't that serious yet, and prescribed some drops for her that I was to give her three times a day. The 500ml bottle of drops was almost $30. That's the same amount I paid to have her spayed - or neutered whatever it is for girls. Ugh. She's fine now, but what a weird cat. Conjunctivitis? Who knew?

her just chilling

hanging out

being Hungarian and watching the things below her - (the angle is a bit weird, but I'm looking down over her to the ground.)

Which came first?

The neighbor who lives behind my building has an interesting habit I thought I'd share with all of you. He lets his chickens out twice (or maybe three times) a day so they can explore the land around his property. They pluck and cluck around for a good 20 minutes or so, and then he calls them back into their tin fence... much like you'd let out a dog and call them back. I think this is a fascinating practice, though it makes sense. However the other day, I caught an unsuspecting dog walker heading right towards the herd (is it a herd of them?) of chickens. they clucked and sqwaked and scared the daylights out of the dog, so dog and owner retreated fairly quickly.

you can see the chickens in the upper right area of the picture

enter dog-walker

exit dog walker.

Security - Eötvös style

This is the "lock" on a cabinet in a classroom I teach in - swing the nail down, locked. Swing it up, open. Hmph.

Csenge

An update on the 5 year old. I have been doing rather well with her – much to my surprise and to her liking apparently. Every Monday and Wednesday the mom comes to “fetch” me at my apartment and we drive to their house. There is some sort of treat waiting for me, usually fresh baked by the grandma or retrieved from one of her husbands excursions abroad. Then Csenge and I leave the chaos of the three year old twins to the mom and head to her room. There she has lots of play things and we have many options in terms of things to capture her interest.

Initially – as you probably read – I freaked out when thinking about teaching- and communicating with a five year old. I fashioned several different sets of flash cards that we have been using each week, but that didn’t seem to be enough. I recently began to purchase parts of the “English Adventure” series. It’s pre-reading English activities that involve Disney characters. The kids apparently love it because they recognize many of the different people involved in the exercises. I started by purchasing the “pupil book” and the “activity book.” That looked like more than enough to last us through January when I leave. However, not having looked at the books or taught out of them before, I was surprised when I got them home and read “Chant – track 7.” It was a picture of Donald Duck and his three nephews (can’t remember their names at the moment) and they were riding a merry-go-round. Chant? What the hell am I supposed to chant about? I don’t have the CD, so I have no idea what the topic of the chant would be OR how exactly this chant would go. Hmmm… now what? On to the next exercise I suppose. We made it through a couple different things, and then reverted back to the fan favorite “heads shoulders knees and toes” and she was thrilled. However, I was a bit perturbed that I needed to seek out more segments of this learning series. I set out the next day to purchase the CD. Our book store in town didn’t have it, so I ordered the CD and the teacher book – which set me back another pretty penny. In the mean time, my colleague Gabi lent me her photocopied version of the teachers book, so I now had the words for the chants and songs, but without the CD I was still on my own in terms of a tune. Damnit. Oh well. We did some more activities and sang the rainbow song the next time – she loved it. Most recently, we practiced “run, jump, spin, sit, stand and stop.” She LOVES to be active, but these commands were a bit trying for her. At any rate, this whole experience has me doing things I never thought I’d be doing – let alone with a total stranger’s kid in a foreign country. We’re singing and patty-caking and the whole nine yards. Her mom told me yesterday that Csenge “LOVES” learning English because it’s fun… so I suppose that’s reassuring. I have to say, I don’t exactly mind it that much either.

Győr - again

Megan and I met one weekend in our getaway of Győr. It’s mid-way between the both of us so it’s an easy rendezvous point for us. We ended up there on a beautiful Sunday and happened to catch a local jazz band playing on the newly done square. I had never seen the finished square so I was quite excited to experience the finished product. We had lunch at a nice outdoor restaurant that boasted “Traditional Hungarian Cuisine” though there was no paprika chicken on the menu. I was disappointed in that, but I lived. We ended our day with a trip to the mall – always loads of fun. Especially when you’re dropping lots of money on an external hard drive like I did. Yippie!

Megan checking out the band - remember, she plays the trombone in the Pápa orchestra, so she's always following the competition.

Győr

the band in the main square

where we ate

Győr

Megan

Faculty Party Bus!!!

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the faculty trip to a colleagues’ wine cellar. He lives in Tata, but has a bit of property with a cellar on it in a nearby village. As you move westward through Hungary from where I am, there are spots of wine areas here and there in the hills. Actually, there are a number of different wine regions in Hungary, and I just happen to live near many of them.

There was a sign up sheet in the main office, and as I saw more and more names be added to the list, I decided that I’d give it a whirl. I’ve learned that my Hungarian becomes decidedly better after a few glasses of wine. Interestingly enough, there was also a bus hired to drive us all to the wine cellar. They are adamant that no one drink and drive in this country- it’s a terrible crime and one can receive severe punishment if you’re caught. So, the school forked over the money and paid for us all to be picked up and taken to this area.

the faculty party bus

I was a bit sheepish at first, I boarded the bus with several of my colleagues, but I had no one to sit with. It was okay because I was able to watch the scenery then, but I felt a bit stupid initially. As we stopped at more and more places along the way to this village, we picked up more and more people and the bus came to life. When we got to Labatlan – the village we were heading to- we stopped for a quick tour of the cultural house and museum. Most villages and all cities here (there are BIG differences between villages and cities – in terms of funding and size and such) have a cultural center where they proudly display their history and artifacts- this village was no different. After the tour we tromped back into the bus and headed for the cellar.

András the gym teacher holding up some random fruit...

the group at the cultural house

I had no idea what to expect, as I hadn’t ventured out into “wine country” on my own. I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived though. It was an area of rolling hills that were more hill than rolling. As we moved farther and farther up the hill side, it became quite clear that there were several (I was told dozens) of wine cellars in this particular area. We got off the bus and enjoyed a scenic walk to his particular cellar among gardens and grapes growing in small plots

over looking the valley - though not a very clear picture

wine country - Hungary style

András again - pretending to pick grapes

beautiful isn't it?

When we got to Istváns cellar (I’m not entirely sure if his name really is István or not since I don’t know the guy, but odds are it might be) we were greeted with 4 or 5 picnic tables in a long row adorned with the compulsory bread and glasses ready for the wine. We began with the obligatory shot of pálinka (which he also made) and he made a toast along with the headmistress and down the hatch it went. Ew. I still hate pálinka- it burns on it’s way down, and never tastes good. Ew. This was followed by mass consumption of bread in anticipation of more bread to follow. We went into the cellar and saw where the wine making process took place. He has a grape press that is more than a century old, it was pretty cool! Then there is the actual cellar part. He has wine and non-alcoholic wine, pálinka and juices that he has made in there.

lit candles to make sure there is enough oxygen in the cellar

the cellar

the "ante"-room

Following the tour of the cellar was the lineup for gulyás his wife had made. There was a huge vat of it (as all good gulyás comes in) waiting for all of us to dig into – to accompany our bread of course. I spent most of the meal talking with some of my English colleagues, but I was also able to branch out a bit and talk with some other people who either had been afraid to speak English before, or I became more confident in my Hungarian – not sure which happened.

the gulyás vat

the table - bread and wine (just like Jesus would want it I think)

bread - and edimame?

Gulyás - and wine and bread

colleagues

the host "István" on the left and his wife in the black pants

the secretaries - Kata is sitting down. She's my favorite!!!

colleagues

the boys end

After dinner (and glass of wine after glass of wine after glass of wine) we moved back into the cellar ante-room if you will and many of the veteran teachers told stories of what it was like in the old days. Their “good ole days” would be our best days in the US I swear. At any rate, I had too much wine and paid for it the next day, but I was dropped off from the bus at the stop near my house and made it home to sleep very well that night. What an interesting faculty experience.

the homemade pálinka

in the anteroom telling stories

Csenge - my 5 year old "student"

I take no credit for her learning this song - though we did do a rousing version of "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" today... isn't she a sweetie???

The man, the myth, the legend : Stanislaw Albro

Ladies and Gentlemen - Stanislaw Albro

Last weekend, I ventured to the small town of Gödölő, only 20 some miles out of Budapest. What drew me to Gödölő??? Stan Albro. Let me refresh your memory... Stan is a man in his late 60's early 70's who came to Hungary with my group last year. We were all very concerned about Stan's future in Hungary as he lost his glasses, wallet and briefcase several times just in the orientation period of one week. I introduced Stan to the internet the week we were together - he taught in the US, but paid someone each week to check his e-mail and tell him the important stuff. Stan is himself an enigma - and for some reason, I was drawn to him. He was like my long lost grandpa who I did nothing but razz and we had a great time.

Stan and I reconnected at the "farewell" dinner for the new teachers this year, and it's been best friends forever since- I guess... He invited me to his town to "share" lesson plans - which meant me copying over 30 ideas for him to use in his class. I had no problem doing this because I have experienced many different activities that worked in my classes, so I enjoy passing things on that I know can work with high school kids. So, we e-mailed back and forth, and basically I was told to show up at a particular school at 9am. Ok, well I had to check the train schedules and such, and figure out where said school was - but I was in.

SIDENOTE: on the train to Budapest, I was seated in a compartment with two Vietnamese tourists and three Hungarians. The two Vietnamese tourists were coming from somewhere in the Czech Republic on their way to Budapest for the weekend. They boarded at around 1:30am and immediately went to sleep - at that time it was only the two of them in their compartment. When they woke at 6:30am, they found that their brand new MacBook Air, a digital SLR camera, an iPhone and about $1800 US was stolen out of one of their bags while they slept. We found someone who was Hungarian and could speak English to help fill out a report with the Hungarian train steward, but we all kinda knew that they'd never get their stuff back. I felt so bad for them, and still don't really know how exactly it was taken, but word to the wise - be CAREFUL with your stuff when traveling anywhere!!!

Back to Stan : when I talked to Stan in preparation for the trip, he said that I should get off at the second Gödölő train stop - and I mentioned to him that I would be coming by "train train" not "commuter HEV" train. He told me to calm down, there was only one train. Then again, I had the cryptic directions to his school, "it's about a 5 minute walk." Ok - so off I went. I took the second Gödölő stop - which was in fact the main train stop, not "Szebed something" as I was directed by Stan. He also told me that he'd "try to be around" at the train station to meet me... and as I got off the train, there was no Stan to be found. Hmmmm... well, I better head towards the center of town - here goes nothing.

I followed the train tracks back towards town and veered toward the church steeple - the church is the center of most towns and villages here, so I figured it would be the direction to go. Next thing I knew - I had stumbled upon the school I was directed to find, though there were approximately 2,000 other people waiting for me there too. Not really, there was some sort of running race for kids - but it certainly clouded my ability to spot the man I was there to meet. Fortunately after about only a minute or so, I recognized a certain shuffle and navy sweat pants - I knew I'd found my mark. I hollered for Stan and we got down to business... well kind of.

He had a particular set of tasks that needed completing during the weekend. They included making several copies of 12 Angry Men for his students, correcting papers, going to a show at a Museum in Budapest, buying me lunch and hearing about my lesson ideas. I too had some things I wanted to do - namely see Stan's town. SO, I wasn't thrilled about the idea of hopping back on a train to Budapest... we agreed that the show would have to wait and we'd get as much done as possible in town. Stan was freaking out a bit about all the papers he had to grade, so I wanted to make sure he got some of his tasks done.

We were going to grab some breakfast (at the local hotel where he has breakfast every day) but we were cutting it close to closing time. On top of that, he didn't have his wallet and I had forgotten my camera so we went back to his apartment to retrieve his never used camera and his wallet. (he actually had his wallet with him the entire time, but he carries such a big bag that he loses things in the bag regularly.) After the initial shock at the state of his apartment, we were able to locate the necessary things and headed back out.

We got a light breakfast and talked about all different kinds of things. I told him a bit about where I teach in the US, and he told me why he (in not so many words) isn't comfortable going back to the US to work for another 5-7 years. If you're lucky, some day I'll tell you the story - but it didn't seem like something he really talked about a lot - so CETP teachers, I wouldn't ask him about it. We talked lesson plans and he was thrilled to have some additional ideas, and our next task to complete was the photo copies.

We got the copies made and headed out to walk around the town a bit. There is a big palace in Gödölő, and I wanted to see that - Stan had never been. We wandered a bit and had lunch at a really nice restaurant and headed to the palace. It was a beautiful building- and though there weren't pictures allowed, I snapped a few good ones.

Even though he'd had three cappucino's and two Diet Cokes, Stan was spent after the palace, so we went our separate ways - after I explained that the HEV train and the "train train" are two different tracks and different stops. He is a sweet sweet man- and lord only knows how he's managed to stay here and function on his own for over a year now. We gave a verbal rain check about seeing the show in Budapest, so maybe there'll be more Stan stories on the way :)

Stan reading my materials - I wish you could see more clearly his chain that holds his glasses... it's precious.

a festival in Stan's town - not quite sure what the occasion was...

a poster I thought was great - I'd like one for my classroom!!

Stan in front of his school

Stan paying for his copies - with his abandoned bag off to the side...

Stan's cell phone - (one of them anyway) with his number on a post it on the outside of the phone, taped down so it doesn't come off.

Stan eating his omlete for lunch. He's suffers from sleep apnea, so he's on a restricted diet - that he occasionally follows. This includes no caffeine in the afternoon (which he also ignored). Note the characteristic "Stan" large cup of ice that he orders with every meal for any beverage. He's ordered this every time he's eaten in this country, and hasn't learned how to ask for it in Hungarian... oh Stan...

My lunch - risotto with mozzarella balls - yum!

pretty flowers - dead grass

Stan in front of the palace

Stan in the palace

the coat of arms of some guy - he died and with his death the family line stopped, so the coat is upside down at his funeral. I thought it was interesting. The docent did not think it was interesting that I was taking pictures.

a relic of the Holy Cross - as certified by the Vatican (who knew there were so many pieces around Hungary!)

Stan reading some material about Budapest that I picked up for him

the palace