Apologies to anyone (Grandma Bouman this is for you) who has been waiting for a new post. I have a long list of excuses to give but mostly I just didn't do it, so approximately two weeks later here is my account of and reflections on the weekend we spent in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Thursday September 18: We had to wake up really early (like 6?) to get to the dorm on time where the bus would be to pick us all up. Then we had an extraordinarily long drive to get to where we would be staying in Sarajevo, but lots of things happened before we arrived including the crossing of two borders. The first border was the Hungary/Croatia border where we would end up losing my mom and our Nigerian student (Aby) due to visa complications. Moving on from that major bummer we kept hauling through the European country side. I think I took about three hour and half naps on this ride so there's not much more to report on the driving until we were in Sarajevo. We drove in around 7ish and it was so exciting. Not only because we could finally get out of the car but also because I could recognize some things from the last time we were there in 2011. The city is a lot the same but also lots of things looked different and better. The city hall/library building was completely redone and beautiful whereas last time it'd been a bit of a mess. We piled off the bus quickly found our hostel set our things down chose beds and went right out to dinner. The green vegetable soup starter was (surprisingly?) yummy followed by a classic european vegetarian meal of fried cheese and french fries tasted great. The most exciting part of the meal for me however was the bread we had loved so much the last time we were there. I think it's probably the best bread in the world. And having had it again only confirms my suspicions of this. After dinner my dad and I went for a quick stroll around the old town and then back to the hostel to check in on my mom and Aby.
Friday September 19: Had to wake up fairly early to go to breakfast and get on the bus by 9 to go to the tunnel museum. It is a small museum about a tunnel that went from Sarajevo under the airport to smuggle supplies into the city during the siege. Right, I haven't said anything about the siege. So Sarajevo has a LOT of history and I certainly don't know it all and this post will hardly scratch the surface of it but the city was under Serbian siege for 1300+ days around 1992/6. Sarajevo is in a valley of sorts with mountains on all sides where the snipers were during the siege. The museum had improved a lot since 2011 and we saw a short video on the siege and then look around in the museum and went through a short part of the actual tunnel. Coming back into the city we had a bit of free time before we were scheduled to meet our guide for a walking tour of Sarajevo. On this walking tour we saw the corner where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot which triggered WWI. The amount of history like that in Sarajevo was (is) crazy to think about. With our big group and the noise of the city our guide was hard to hear a lot of the time so I don't remember a lot of other things from the tour but it was a good way to see the city and hear about the history from the perspective of a local. After the tour my dad and I went to this gallery remembering the genocide in Srebrenica (which is in Bosnia) in July of 1995 where 8,000 lives were lost and the world ignored. It was hard to be in the gallery. There was a video playing that we watched most of and the stories of some survivors were simply heartbreaking. Even though it was challenging and sobering to learn about and see footage of it did feel appropriate to go to and to remember. I feel like if we ever want the world to be a place where things like this don't happen we need to learn about why and how they ever did happen. As humans I feel like its our job to look out for other humans. When we left the building and were back in the bustling streets it was a strange sensation. The cross between mourning the past and being so happy to be in Sarajevo was hard. Then wandering back towards our hostel we stumbled upon a small artists shop who had beautiful paintings. The artist had a few paintings turned into postcards of city landmarks with colorful abstract background, so of course we bought a few. The next thing we did was meet the group for a small hike up a hill to view the sunset and see the city from above. We were able to see a gorgeous sunset and watch as the sky darkened and minarets lit up. Not being used to it watching the call of prayer was fun and interesting to think about what it means for the people of those mosques and what it could mean for me as a Christian. After all that and as our stomachs started grumbling we walked over to the brewery for dinner. There was one of the best vegetarian meals with fresh grilled vegetables. Some good conversation and fries later we headed back to our hostel.
Saturday September 20: We went to Mostar! We'd also gone here in 2011 and I'd really loved it so I was quite excited. Getting closer however we could see we were driving into some rain. Which did if only slightly put a damper on the mood. When we arrived it was pouring. We got off the bus, met our tour guide and not ten minutes in had bought another umbrella. Walking through the old/ touristy part of town learning (relearning?) some of their history was interesting also semi hard to listen and pay attention to at all times due to the rain. The bridge in Mostar is so cool. It was bombed out at one point during the war but rebuilt with stone from the same quarry as the original. It is absolutely gorgeous, although a bit slippery to walk on. After our tour our guide suggested a restaurant and we were all for getting out of the rain and a bit hungry so most of us walked with her to it. Instead of ordering we all got the chefs choice (except, of course, the vegetarians who got pasta). At one point while waiting for our lunch the rain sounded and looked quite fierce and then all of a sudden the power flickered out, it came back pretty quickly but was still quite the experience. After lunch a few of us headed over to this cafe/bar/place with drinks that was in a cave. We took this tunnel and then some steps up and found ourselves in the new part of town. Then we went back into the cave and into the old streets. We walked a little ways out of the old town and into a cemetery. We found it was almost the time we were meant to meet back at the bus and started towards the parking area. Finding the walk took less time than expected Jason and I went back for ice cream. Then found everyone and boarded the bus back to Sarajevo. The drive between Mostar and Sarajevo was beautiful. Its a lot of twisty mountain roads and for a long time we were driving along side this river/lake area and with the fog from the recent rain it looked super pensive and cool. Getting back to Sarajevo the group split up for dinner. A lot of the students went to a place that translates to the Spite House but Dad and I went and ate at the restaurant in a courtyard. Good father daughter conversation and bonding time. On our way our we bought my mom a scarf and went back to the hostel to get our things ready for the morning.
Sunday September 21: A long bus ride. Approximately 4 more stamps added to the passport and we were finally back in Hungary. We stopped in a small town on the border for dinner. Food ranged from fish soup to goulash to grilled and fried vegetables. Feeling good with food in our stomach we drove the final stretch back to Budapest. Day to day I don't really think about it but after returning home from this trip it made me realize how much like home Budapest actually feels.
Overall reflections: It has been voiced many times since we returned the struggle it is to know history and to love the world. While we were in Sarajevo it was difficult to find the balance between appropriate sadness of the tragedies that have taken place there and enjoying what the city had to offer us. They are healing. Buildings are being redone. There were noticeably less walls with bullet holes this time than in 2011. Change and progress is happening but that does not mean we can forget what happened. Sarajevo is a gorgeous city and I am so happy that I've been able to be there twice if only for 2/3 days at a time.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
hungarian field trips; budding friendships
I've now gone to a whole week of Hungarian school. Okay, not really, I've been to three english classes, a math class and a homeroom, as well as two all day outings. It feels like a lot. I don't know what you've been told but waking up at 7:45 is hard. (I honestly don't know how I'll ever wake up an hour earlier back home, but we'll deal with that later I suppose.)
Yesterday I got to see kids my age hear about 9/11 for maybe the first time, or maybe they'd heard of it but didn't know much. When we were first at the school before leaving to go into the city their teacher asked them if anyone knew anything special about the date (this was translated to me) and obviously I knew and I'm not a hundred percent sure how the discussion went from there but their teacher told them a lot about it and they asked some questions. It was really interesting to get bits and pieces translated and to see how non americans view it. One question that was asked that I had also kind of been wondering from their perspective was: What makes this tragic event so different/special? Why were they talking about it? To the best of my understanding the teacher answered that it was because the United States is (one of/ the?) most powerful countries in the world and nothing like this had really happened there before. I was impressed they were even talking about and think they may have done a better job of honoring the day then some of my previous teachers.
On to the fun stuff. Well, first on to a museum, then on to the fun stuff. First the whole class got onto a bus (making it rather crowded) into the city. Getting off at Ferenciek ter we took a short walk to this seemingly non-descript museum. It was a poetry museum dedicated to the hungarian poet petofi sandor. There was a woman who talked for a long time all about him in Hungarian and I'm not going to pretend I was interested in that. My foot fell asleep during the talk but I managed to stay awake. After her long speel we walked into the next room(s) where there were some interactive activities. Then after those finally we were on to something exciting.
A scavenger hunt! The class was spilt into teams and everyone given around 7 things in the area to find and take their picture with. My team was Borka, Bori, Dori, Dodo, Eszter, and of course myself. First we had to find this library and take our picture with it and the fountain in front of it. (Warning: the rest of this paragraph is all about teenage girls taking pictures and that's about it.) We took a couple nice pictures and then did some sillier poses by the fountain. Then we were off to find Raday Utca (which I knew where was, also for all you non Hungarians Utca means street). We posed in front of the street sign and asked this guy to take our picture - which he did but he didn't get the sign in the picture so we had to ask another person. Next was the great market where we had to ask multiple people to take our picture because they were all turning out blurry, in the end we got some cute ones. And on to find the Budapest Music Center we were. (Side note: finding things in Budapest is so much easier when you have Hungarians who can ask other Hungarians where things are.) The last thing we found was this huge building called the whale the looks pretty cool from the outside but we didn't go in. Then we tried to look for something called old parliament or something like that but no one knew what it was or where so we gave up. Since we had at least looked for all the things on the list we started walking to a school the final meeting place. At first we were confused about why we were meeting at the school but then we were told it was designed by the same person who designed Radnoti (the school I'm with) and that made more sense. From there we were dismissed.
Now a bit more on developing friendships and such. Throughout these past days (a whole school week!) I've been getting to know the class better, names and everything else in my memory has improved. I have a pass to get in the building. I can go by myself and know what stops on the metro and bus to get off. And as generally as possible I know what I'm doing. The names I know: Borka, Bori, Dori, Dodo, Chi Minh (boy was I wrong with that spelling before), Eszter, Vera, Maty (I don't know spelling but I know how to say it), Szofi, Anita, both Dannys, Peter, and maybe some others but not off the top of my head. I think it's safe to say I've gotten to know Borka and Bori the best. Borka is the best translator I could ask for and as a super bonus we have quite a bit in common. We both like youtube (especially Miranda Sings), we like American Horror Story, One Direction, horror movies in general, being silly and laughing a lot. A lot of what I just said describes Bori a lot as well except she likes horror less but watches it anyway with Borka, which just shows how sweet she is. Everyone else has been lovely also I just don't know well enough to describe thoughtfully.
Today we played board games and went to some caves. I'm not sure exactly why there were two days in a row of field trips but I'm also not complaining. This morning I woke up confused and worried (this is what waking up before 8 am does to me), I wasn't sure what time it was or when I had to leave and had a little panic but ended up making it to school in plenty of time. Once I got to school a bunch of the girls were preparing Bori's birthday present (It was her birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BORI!). They had all gotten her a little something or written a card and someone had printed out pictures from yesterday that looked super cute and we all chose together which one to put in the frame. Then we all played games for a while before we left for the caves. I played this game with picture cards and some little pieces of paper (which I'm not going to explain all the rules because its pointless but was really fun) and I ended up winning -which was exciting. Then we started to play scrabble (they agreed to try to play in English because they're all the nicest people ever) but then it got hard and confusing with the Hungarian alphabet and spelling in English so we quit. It was pretty much time to go by then so we walked out to the bus stop.
After being packed into a couple of buses like sardines we were finally at the caves. Hanging around outside chatting a bit and then finally we were ready to go in. It was cold in the caves and listening to someone talk in Hungarian about rocks was okay I guess but looking around at the actual rocks themselves were pretty cool. A ways later there was a memorial and a wreath to commemorate someone (a caver perhaps?) who'd died in the cave - kinda freaky/sad, kinda cool. We kept moving on and again someone was trying to convince Borka to teach me Hungarian swears. After that they told me a story where they had met some people who only wanted to know the Hungarian word for penis and then would shout it all the time. Which of course started the penis game (which if you don't know what is how did you get through middle school first of all but second of all is basically where you start saying it really quiet and then you have to be louder than the person before you and eventually its really loud) and so it ended up a bunch of Hungarian highschoolers yelling penis. I just laughed. Pretty quickly after that we were out of the caves back into the warm(er) air. We sat around again and I learned a hungarian (not sure if its really a hungarian game but I'd never played it before so I'm assuming it is) game with two teams and a coin. Basically the team with the coin passes it around so the other team isn't sure who had is and then puts their hands face down on the table and the other team has to figure out which hand it's in. Very fun, or at least passes the time, but kinda hard to do well. That wrapped up our time together because right after we got back on the bus into the city where I left to go home and a few went back to the school.
A bit of online courses and then the Bovens were in our apartment! The Bovens (Greg and Ruth) if you don't know used to go to our church (Ruth was one of our pastors) but now are at La Grave but currently in Budapest with us! Unfortunately all the school I've been going to has made me slightly behind in my classes (how ironic) and I couldn't go to dinner with them, but I was brought home starbucks and pizza by my favorite (only) parents. What an end to a great week.
Yesterday I got to see kids my age hear about 9/11 for maybe the first time, or maybe they'd heard of it but didn't know much. When we were first at the school before leaving to go into the city their teacher asked them if anyone knew anything special about the date (this was translated to me) and obviously I knew and I'm not a hundred percent sure how the discussion went from there but their teacher told them a lot about it and they asked some questions. It was really interesting to get bits and pieces translated and to see how non americans view it. One question that was asked that I had also kind of been wondering from their perspective was: What makes this tragic event so different/special? Why were they talking about it? To the best of my understanding the teacher answered that it was because the United States is (one of/ the?) most powerful countries in the world and nothing like this had really happened there before. I was impressed they were even talking about and think they may have done a better job of honoring the day then some of my previous teachers.
On to the fun stuff. Well, first on to a museum, then on to the fun stuff. First the whole class got onto a bus (making it rather crowded) into the city. Getting off at Ferenciek ter we took a short walk to this seemingly non-descript museum. It was a poetry museum dedicated to the hungarian poet petofi sandor. There was a woman who talked for a long time all about him in Hungarian and I'm not going to pretend I was interested in that. My foot fell asleep during the talk but I managed to stay awake. After her long speel we walked into the next room(s) where there were some interactive activities. Then after those finally we were on to something exciting.
A scavenger hunt! The class was spilt into teams and everyone given around 7 things in the area to find and take their picture with. My team was Borka, Bori, Dori, Dodo, Eszter, and of course myself. First we had to find this library and take our picture with it and the fountain in front of it. (Warning: the rest of this paragraph is all about teenage girls taking pictures and that's about it.) We took a couple nice pictures and then did some sillier poses by the fountain. Then we were off to find Raday Utca (which I knew where was, also for all you non Hungarians Utca means street). We posed in front of the street sign and asked this guy to take our picture - which he did but he didn't get the sign in the picture so we had to ask another person. Next was the great market where we had to ask multiple people to take our picture because they were all turning out blurry, in the end we got some cute ones. And on to find the Budapest Music Center we were. (Side note: finding things in Budapest is so much easier when you have Hungarians who can ask other Hungarians where things are.) The last thing we found was this huge building called the whale the looks pretty cool from the outside but we didn't go in. Then we tried to look for something called old parliament or something like that but no one knew what it was or where so we gave up. Since we had at least looked for all the things on the list we started walking to a school the final meeting place. At first we were confused about why we were meeting at the school but then we were told it was designed by the same person who designed Radnoti (the school I'm with) and that made more sense. From there we were dismissed.
Now a bit more on developing friendships and such. Throughout these past days (a whole school week!) I've been getting to know the class better, names and everything else in my memory has improved. I have a pass to get in the building. I can go by myself and know what stops on the metro and bus to get off. And as generally as possible I know what I'm doing. The names I know: Borka, Bori, Dori, Dodo, Chi Minh (boy was I wrong with that spelling before), Eszter, Vera, Maty (I don't know spelling but I know how to say it), Szofi, Anita, both Dannys, Peter, and maybe some others but not off the top of my head. I think it's safe to say I've gotten to know Borka and Bori the best. Borka is the best translator I could ask for and as a super bonus we have quite a bit in common. We both like youtube (especially Miranda Sings), we like American Horror Story, One Direction, horror movies in general, being silly and laughing a lot. A lot of what I just said describes Bori a lot as well except she likes horror less but watches it anyway with Borka, which just shows how sweet she is. Everyone else has been lovely also I just don't know well enough to describe thoughtfully.
Today we played board games and went to some caves. I'm not sure exactly why there were two days in a row of field trips but I'm also not complaining. This morning I woke up confused and worried (this is what waking up before 8 am does to me), I wasn't sure what time it was or when I had to leave and had a little panic but ended up making it to school in plenty of time. Once I got to school a bunch of the girls were preparing Bori's birthday present (It was her birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BORI!). They had all gotten her a little something or written a card and someone had printed out pictures from yesterday that looked super cute and we all chose together which one to put in the frame. Then we all played games for a while before we left for the caves. I played this game with picture cards and some little pieces of paper (which I'm not going to explain all the rules because its pointless but was really fun) and I ended up winning -which was exciting. Then we started to play scrabble (they agreed to try to play in English because they're all the nicest people ever) but then it got hard and confusing with the Hungarian alphabet and spelling in English so we quit. It was pretty much time to go by then so we walked out to the bus stop.
After being packed into a couple of buses like sardines we were finally at the caves. Hanging around outside chatting a bit and then finally we were ready to go in. It was cold in the caves and listening to someone talk in Hungarian about rocks was okay I guess but looking around at the actual rocks themselves were pretty cool. A ways later there was a memorial and a wreath to commemorate someone (a caver perhaps?) who'd died in the cave - kinda freaky/sad, kinda cool. We kept moving on and again someone was trying to convince Borka to teach me Hungarian swears. After that they told me a story where they had met some people who only wanted to know the Hungarian word for penis and then would shout it all the time. Which of course started the penis game (which if you don't know what is how did you get through middle school first of all but second of all is basically where you start saying it really quiet and then you have to be louder than the person before you and eventually its really loud) and so it ended up a bunch of Hungarian highschoolers yelling penis. I just laughed. Pretty quickly after that we were out of the caves back into the warm(er) air. We sat around again and I learned a hungarian (not sure if its really a hungarian game but I'd never played it before so I'm assuming it is) game with two teams and a coin. Basically the team with the coin passes it around so the other team isn't sure who had is and then puts their hands face down on the table and the other team has to figure out which hand it's in. Very fun, or at least passes the time, but kinda hard to do well. That wrapped up our time together because right after we got back on the bus into the city where I left to go home and a few went back to the school.
A bit of online courses and then the Bovens were in our apartment! The Bovens (Greg and Ruth) if you don't know used to go to our church (Ruth was one of our pastors) but now are at La Grave but currently in Budapest with us! Unfortunately all the school I've been going to has made me slightly behind in my classes (how ironic) and I couldn't go to dinner with them, but I was brought home starbucks and pizza by my favorite (only) parents. What an end to a great week.
Monday, September 8, 2014
hungarian overload: first day of school
Today was my first day (well half day/ two classes) of Hungarian school. It was one of the most interesting things I've ever done and probably the most purposely confused I've ever been. So the church my family goes to in Budapest (St. Columba's) pastor has two sons, one of whom goes to a very good school in Budapest (Radnoti) and classmates speak a good amount of english, his mother was kind enough to ask the school and the certain teachers if I could join them for a few classes. It was so bizarre being back in school, and to add on to that everyone was speaking some language I couldn't understand.
When I first got to the school it was a break between classes around noon, so Danny (our pastors son) introduced me to one of his teachers and we went into an office and talked to a woman I think was a secretary who wrote down my name (Aby Bouman - close enough) and said she would make me a pass for the building that would be ready tomorrow. (Just to clarify that bit - right when you walk into the building there is this turn style type thing like you would put a ticket through then walk through and then its locked again and this key/pass thing will let me in and out of the building.) After that we walked through the halls to the room where the next lesson, English, would be and I was introduced to some of his classmates. In this moment and through the rest of the day my sympathy grew for any level of foreign exchange student. I was bombarded by names and faces and lots of Hungarian going way over my head. At first all of them were shy to speak in english even though I could understand them saying things like "beszel angol" which basically means speak english. It is so hard to learn more than one name at a time in english no less Hungarian. I think I remember about four or five from all of it. Basically what happened when I met everyone was that I was moved over to the girls (classic highschool) and so during class I sat next to Borka I believe was her name- she had good english and was quite nice.
The first class was english which was good because believe it or not it was all in english, except for when there was a more difficult word that would be explained in Hungarian. At the beginning of class they were working on participle clause which I've never even formally learned but was very obvious to me (the native speaker) what they were suppose to be doing. Some times a student would be called on to change two sentences into one giving more information in participle clause form and they would say a sentence that made sense and said the same thing but would be wrong because it was the wrong form - this made me realize just a portion of how hard it is to learn other languages english especially. Throughout the whole english class most of the students had been a bit chatty but this one girl especially had been talking in Hungarian when the teacher wanted them to speak English and near the end the teacher was getting fed up and she asked the girl, "what the bloody hell could you have left to talk about, is it too much to ask that you keep your personal matters to the break?" I was a bit taken aback but at the same time it was rather funny and they seemed to think so as well. I don't think the meaning hit them as much as it did me but I kept thinking how people would react if any teacher said anything like that at home.
Now there was a short break between classes where I followed some girls out to the courtyard where some students were playing soccer (futbal, I suppose) but us girls walked over to a corner and stood/ sat and talked. Most of it was in Hungarian but every so often they'd ask me a question or tell each other to speak english. In the end it was got across that we were the same age, I would be in Budapest until december, and I know who Miranda Sings from youtube is. Also I got some oreo milka (chocolate bar - my favorite) from a girl named phonetically chimy but if I had to guess it would be spelled cseme.
Next we headed back inside for homeroom which was more students than the first class and the room was full. I was sitting by two girls, one of which had been in my first class the other not so she tried to talked to me in Hungarian before someone else jumped in saying I only spoke English. Then the teacher asked my name I said Abi a couple times (apparently its not a common name as they don't really have the same A sound that begins Abi) and then she told me thats all she could handle for now. After that I was informed later she told the girl next to me to translate the class or the important parts but she didn't - I don't blame her it'd probably annoying/ a little bit scary/ she probably just didn't feel like it but after the homeroom the other students were joking and teasing her about it (not in a mean way). With out a translator I pretty much tuned out the class except when they would say a number or day of the week (which I know) or when they would all laugh at something, and once the teacher said Szell Kalman Ter and that is a metro stop I know. It was a very strange sensation having no idea what was being said.
At the end I was told it was time for the boys to go to lunch but since I was following Danny I could go to. On the way down to the lunch room Danny said I probably couldn't have lunch because I didn't have a pass which was fine but then someone came up with one so I got to eat anyways. After getting my soup with random meat pile in the middle (Danny said "I don't know what this is but I think sometimes its better to not know") I sat down with a bunch of guys speaking hungarian. At one point Danny told me they were happy I couldn't understand them. Then they went around saying names me repeating them and then promptly forgetting. I remember one of them starts with M and is very Hungarian and there is another Danny but thats about all. Then they wanted to teach me how to swear in Hungarian so from that point I stopped repeating what they were saying. After eating we headed back upstairs and since the next class was PE and they boys and girls were separated I decided to head out.
All in all it was a pretty good first experience and I'm going back tomorrow at 10 for another english class. Then later in the week are some field trips to a museum and some hiking/ ropes course? which I believe I'll be going too. It's hard but it's fun and I'm excited to go back.
When I first got to the school it was a break between classes around noon, so Danny (our pastors son) introduced me to one of his teachers and we went into an office and talked to a woman I think was a secretary who wrote down my name (Aby Bouman - close enough) and said she would make me a pass for the building that would be ready tomorrow. (Just to clarify that bit - right when you walk into the building there is this turn style type thing like you would put a ticket through then walk through and then its locked again and this key/pass thing will let me in and out of the building.) After that we walked through the halls to the room where the next lesson, English, would be and I was introduced to some of his classmates. In this moment and through the rest of the day my sympathy grew for any level of foreign exchange student. I was bombarded by names and faces and lots of Hungarian going way over my head. At first all of them were shy to speak in english even though I could understand them saying things like "beszel angol" which basically means speak english. It is so hard to learn more than one name at a time in english no less Hungarian. I think I remember about four or five from all of it. Basically what happened when I met everyone was that I was moved over to the girls (classic highschool) and so during class I sat next to Borka I believe was her name- she had good english and was quite nice.
The first class was english which was good because believe it or not it was all in english, except for when there was a more difficult word that would be explained in Hungarian. At the beginning of class they were working on participle clause which I've never even formally learned but was very obvious to me (the native speaker) what they were suppose to be doing. Some times a student would be called on to change two sentences into one giving more information in participle clause form and they would say a sentence that made sense and said the same thing but would be wrong because it was the wrong form - this made me realize just a portion of how hard it is to learn other languages english especially. Throughout the whole english class most of the students had been a bit chatty but this one girl especially had been talking in Hungarian when the teacher wanted them to speak English and near the end the teacher was getting fed up and she asked the girl, "what the bloody hell could you have left to talk about, is it too much to ask that you keep your personal matters to the break?" I was a bit taken aback but at the same time it was rather funny and they seemed to think so as well. I don't think the meaning hit them as much as it did me but I kept thinking how people would react if any teacher said anything like that at home.
Now there was a short break between classes where I followed some girls out to the courtyard where some students were playing soccer (futbal, I suppose) but us girls walked over to a corner and stood/ sat and talked. Most of it was in Hungarian but every so often they'd ask me a question or tell each other to speak english. In the end it was got across that we were the same age, I would be in Budapest until december, and I know who Miranda Sings from youtube is. Also I got some oreo milka (chocolate bar - my favorite) from a girl named phonetically chimy but if I had to guess it would be spelled cseme.
Next we headed back inside for homeroom which was more students than the first class and the room was full. I was sitting by two girls, one of which had been in my first class the other not so she tried to talked to me in Hungarian before someone else jumped in saying I only spoke English. Then the teacher asked my name I said Abi a couple times (apparently its not a common name as they don't really have the same A sound that begins Abi) and then she told me thats all she could handle for now. After that I was informed later she told the girl next to me to translate the class or the important parts but she didn't - I don't blame her it'd probably annoying/ a little bit scary/ she probably just didn't feel like it but after the homeroom the other students were joking and teasing her about it (not in a mean way). With out a translator I pretty much tuned out the class except when they would say a number or day of the week (which I know) or when they would all laugh at something, and once the teacher said Szell Kalman Ter and that is a metro stop I know. It was a very strange sensation having no idea what was being said.
At the end I was told it was time for the boys to go to lunch but since I was following Danny I could go to. On the way down to the lunch room Danny said I probably couldn't have lunch because I didn't have a pass which was fine but then someone came up with one so I got to eat anyways. After getting my soup with random meat pile in the middle (Danny said "I don't know what this is but I think sometimes its better to not know") I sat down with a bunch of guys speaking hungarian. At one point Danny told me they were happy I couldn't understand them. Then they went around saying names me repeating them and then promptly forgetting. I remember one of them starts with M and is very Hungarian and there is another Danny but thats about all. Then they wanted to teach me how to swear in Hungarian so from that point I stopped repeating what they were saying. After eating we headed back upstairs and since the next class was PE and they boys and girls were separated I decided to head out.
All in all it was a pretty good first experience and I'm going back tomorrow at 10 for another english class. Then later in the week are some field trips to a museum and some hiking/ ropes course? which I believe I'll be going too. It's hard but it's fun and I'm excited to go back.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
cave-ventures and a day in the life
Yesterday was our last true Hungarian class and quiz before the oral exam (which I'm not taking). After class a group of students (Sierra, Kara, Jane, Sam, and Jason) were planning on going to some caves in the Buda hills and invited me. Obviously I accepted. When class ended I stayed at the dorm for a bit, ate lunch and then we were off for the caves.
Sierra had looked up directions so we took the tram to Szell Kalman the end of the line and went to look for the 91 bus which was somewhere in the large square. After walking nearly the whole perimeter I spotted it pointed and we all started running towards it not wanting to miss it. Jason was the only one to make it on the bus before the doors closed but Kara was so close behind and ended up running straight into the door resulting in lots of laughter. Midst our laughter the doors opened back up and we were being yelled at in Hungarian and shooed off the bus as it turned out we were at the drop off stop a mere 50 ft from the correct pick up stop. So we walked over to the right place and sheepishly walked past the driver before remembering Kara and collapsing into more giggles. Another 20 minutes on the bus we were at our stop and looking to Sierra for direction but her map was all in focus except the square of where we were so we guessed and of course went the wrong way. We did however find a sweet playground where we meandered looking for moms to ask for directions. We found a few but none spoke very good english and we didn't have the Hungarian word for cave. Eventually we called my dad and got the word and then got directions and left. When we'd been walking for a while we thought we must have gotten faulty information so turned around and went back to the beginning and asked at a grocery store and found out we had been just short of finding it so back we went.
Luckily when we got there we only had to wait about a half hour for an english tour and in the mean time were out of the heat and able to look in the small exhibit they had. At 4:30 our tour started with a small Hungarian family and a super cool tour guide named Viktor, who was giving the tour in English and Hungarian so would first say it all to the family then us run ahead and do it all again. We learned that the air was so clean in the caves that just the 40ish minutes we were there would clear our lungs of 2 weeks of dirt, also because of the insanely clean air the caves are used for therapy for folks with asthma or other breathing issues. We also heard a bit about Viktor - a lot about where he had traveled, his recommendations for hiking and how him and his mom, who has waist length dreads, had practiced caving in that very cave. All in all very awesome guide. On our way out Jane asked where some stairs to the side lead (genius question) and he told us they were the original entrance/exit and we could go out that way if we like (boy did we ever like). So 104 steps later we popped out on top of the hill with a great view of the city. Then we asked how to get back to the city and since he was off the clock now he said he would just accompany us. What a guy.
Today without Hungarian class to wake up for I got up around 10 (not that late really) and was ready for the day around noon (okay not ideal but anyways...). A little more sitting around and then we decided to go out to the little cafe two doors down called Java Kaffe. I absolutely loved it. I had brought the computer and my school notebooks so after ordering (a frozen mocha - delicious) I settled in for some adv. algebra. Two hours and a brownie later I decided I should probably do the rest of my work at home and left. Then walking into our building I made a decision to take the back steps instead of the normal steps or elevator (we live on the 6th floor just FYI). After living here 5 months back in 2011 and being here another month now I'd never gone on those stairs. They're so cool! Our building is pretty old (but nice) and these steps seemed like a good adventure. They were much more spirally and there were doors more often. I don't think I'm describing them well but in any case I'm glad I finally went that way.
About an hour later my mom was back from I'm not really sure where and we decided to go back out first to the post office (to send my first postcard how exciting!) and then to this cool clothing/miscellaneous store both my parents agreed I would love. I asked my mom a bunch of times the name but I think it must be very hungarian or have some spell on it because I can't remember for the life of me. I did love it though, it was the perfect mix of old and new (mostly new but a few used things - like loads and loads of converse) and vintage and modern. They had lots of cute dresses, tshirts, tank tops, etc. I wanted to spend all of my money there but ended up just buying a pair of sunglasses (which I actually needed because I left my old ones on the back of a camp roger van before getting on the ferry to North Manitou Island).
Then we came back and had a medium/great dinner (it was a bit spicy for my taste) of couscous paella. Now I'm writing this in bed with earbuds in place and a cup of tea by my side. Overall I'd say these were two exciting (well if not exciting at least fun to live) days and I hope you enjoy this description of them as much as I liked living them.
Goodnight.
Sierra had looked up directions so we took the tram to Szell Kalman the end of the line and went to look for the 91 bus which was somewhere in the large square. After walking nearly the whole perimeter I spotted it pointed and we all started running towards it not wanting to miss it. Jason was the only one to make it on the bus before the doors closed but Kara was so close behind and ended up running straight into the door resulting in lots of laughter. Midst our laughter the doors opened back up and we were being yelled at in Hungarian and shooed off the bus as it turned out we were at the drop off stop a mere 50 ft from the correct pick up stop. So we walked over to the right place and sheepishly walked past the driver before remembering Kara and collapsing into more giggles. Another 20 minutes on the bus we were at our stop and looking to Sierra for direction but her map was all in focus except the square of where we were so we guessed and of course went the wrong way. We did however find a sweet playground where we meandered looking for moms to ask for directions. We found a few but none spoke very good english and we didn't have the Hungarian word for cave. Eventually we called my dad and got the word and then got directions and left. When we'd been walking for a while we thought we must have gotten faulty information so turned around and went back to the beginning and asked at a grocery store and found out we had been just short of finding it so back we went.
Luckily when we got there we only had to wait about a half hour for an english tour and in the mean time were out of the heat and able to look in the small exhibit they had. At 4:30 our tour started with a small Hungarian family and a super cool tour guide named Viktor, who was giving the tour in English and Hungarian so would first say it all to the family then us run ahead and do it all again. We learned that the air was so clean in the caves that just the 40ish minutes we were there would clear our lungs of 2 weeks of dirt, also because of the insanely clean air the caves are used for therapy for folks with asthma or other breathing issues. We also heard a bit about Viktor - a lot about where he had traveled, his recommendations for hiking and how him and his mom, who has waist length dreads, had practiced caving in that very cave. All in all very awesome guide. On our way out Jane asked where some stairs to the side lead (genius question) and he told us they were the original entrance/exit and we could go out that way if we like (boy did we ever like). So 104 steps later we popped out on top of the hill with a great view of the city. Then we asked how to get back to the city and since he was off the clock now he said he would just accompany us. What a guy.
Today without Hungarian class to wake up for I got up around 10 (not that late really) and was ready for the day around noon (okay not ideal but anyways...). A little more sitting around and then we decided to go out to the little cafe two doors down called Java Kaffe. I absolutely loved it. I had brought the computer and my school notebooks so after ordering (a frozen mocha - delicious) I settled in for some adv. algebra. Two hours and a brownie later I decided I should probably do the rest of my work at home and left. Then walking into our building I made a decision to take the back steps instead of the normal steps or elevator (we live on the 6th floor just FYI). After living here 5 months back in 2011 and being here another month now I'd never gone on those stairs. They're so cool! Our building is pretty old (but nice) and these steps seemed like a good adventure. They were much more spirally and there were doors more often. I don't think I'm describing them well but in any case I'm glad I finally went that way.
About an hour later my mom was back from I'm not really sure where and we decided to go back out first to the post office (to send my first postcard how exciting!) and then to this cool clothing/miscellaneous store both my parents agreed I would love. I asked my mom a bunch of times the name but I think it must be very hungarian or have some spell on it because I can't remember for the life of me. I did love it though, it was the perfect mix of old and new (mostly new but a few used things - like loads and loads of converse) and vintage and modern. They had lots of cute dresses, tshirts, tank tops, etc. I wanted to spend all of my money there but ended up just buying a pair of sunglasses (which I actually needed because I left my old ones on the back of a camp roger van before getting on the ferry to North Manitou Island).
Then we came back and had a medium/great dinner (it was a bit spicy for my taste) of couscous paella. Now I'm writing this in bed with earbuds in place and a cup of tea by my side. Overall I'd say these were two exciting (well if not exciting at least fun to live) days and I hope you enjoy this description of them as much as I liked living them.
Goodnight.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
tihany, hungary
Saturday was by far the most interesting and fun day of this past week. We peeled ourselves out of bed at the insanely early hour of 6 o'clock and were on the train platform headed toward Lake Balaton (largest lake in central europe) by 7 am. When we got on the train Sierra was super excited and very convinced we were going to hogwarts and even posed as Ron in our train compartment. A little while later I took out my book, This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl, (which she wrote a portion of - long exciting story that I won't put here but if you're interested ask) and she signed the page she wrote. 2 hours of beautiful country side later we arrived in the quaint town of Balatonfured where we would board a ferry to Tihany which is a peninsula that sticks into the lake. But first we stopped at an adorable cafe with a named that translated sweetheart coffee house. After our sweets we walked along the lake taking photos of the phenomenally blue water. Then we ambled to the dock where we waited a short bit to get on the ferry that would take us to Tihany.
After 30 minutes of hanging out in the sun on the back of a boat soaking in the scenery we had arrived. Before we got up to the town we had a group circle of facts. Basically we all went around and said a past fact, a present fact, a future fact about ourselves as well as something that has challenged us about Hungary and one goal for ourselves. By the time that was over most of us were pretty hungry (in Hungary how hilarious - that joke has never been ever made before) and were ready to see the town. It was more of a hike than any of us had expected and nearly a half hour later we were hot and sweaty but at the top with a wonderful view. We ate at the first restaurant we saw called Echo. I had a delicious iced coffee which was very iced and very much appreciated. Then after a long chill lunch Kara, Sierra, Jane and I made our way to the town taking lots of pictures with and of the view. The water looked like we were in the Caribbean (not that I've ever been but...).
In the town there was an Abbey which was quite cool and then the cobbled streets were lined with tourist shops. The main theme of the shops was lavender because Tihany is know for its lavender growth. We heard it only grew there because of the water on both sides of it. After a brief look through the shops we all met back at the abbey to head back to the boat. The boat ride back was much longer and everyone fell asleep after spending so much time in the sun. We arrived in a different small town an 1 1/2 before our train left. First we found the train station but then we wondered looking for dinner/ a place to rest. I sat with Aby, Jane, Kara and Sierra at a cutely decorated place that only had drinks. Aby and I (Abi squared) spend most of our time sitting in a really tall large chair.
Around 6:40 we met back up with everyone at the station so we could be ready for our 7 o'clock train. We had assigned seats so when it arrived we struggled a bit to find the correct car and seats. When the ticket inspector came around we were in the wrong spot so we moved further down only to find when he came by again that we were still wrong but he told us just to stay. Around 9 we were back in Budapest and thus ended our exciting daycation.
After 30 minutes of hanging out in the sun on the back of a boat soaking in the scenery we had arrived. Before we got up to the town we had a group circle of facts. Basically we all went around and said a past fact, a present fact, a future fact about ourselves as well as something that has challenged us about Hungary and one goal for ourselves. By the time that was over most of us were pretty hungry (in Hungary how hilarious - that joke has never been ever made before) and were ready to see the town. It was more of a hike than any of us had expected and nearly a half hour later we were hot and sweaty but at the top with a wonderful view. We ate at the first restaurant we saw called Echo. I had a delicious iced coffee which was very iced and very much appreciated. Then after a long chill lunch Kara, Sierra, Jane and I made our way to the town taking lots of pictures with and of the view. The water looked like we were in the Caribbean (not that I've ever been but...).
In the town there was an Abbey which was quite cool and then the cobbled streets were lined with tourist shops. The main theme of the shops was lavender because Tihany is know for its lavender growth. We heard it only grew there because of the water on both sides of it. After a brief look through the shops we all met back at the abbey to head back to the boat. The boat ride back was much longer and everyone fell asleep after spending so much time in the sun. We arrived in a different small town an 1 1/2 before our train left. First we found the train station but then we wondered looking for dinner/ a place to rest. I sat with Aby, Jane, Kara and Sierra at a cutely decorated place that only had drinks. Aby and I (Abi squared) spend most of our time sitting in a really tall large chair.
Around 6:40 we met back up with everyone at the station so we could be ready for our 7 o'clock train. We had assigned seats so when it arrived we struggled a bit to find the correct car and seats. When the ticket inspector came around we were in the wrong spot so we moved further down only to find when he came by again that we were still wrong but he told us just to stay. Around 9 we were back in Budapest and thus ended our exciting daycation.
Friday, August 22, 2014
dinosauric!
Today we went to a dinosaur/archeologist surprise birthday party for a 22 year old Hungarian. But first we had our second Hungarian class.
Another (early) morning leaving the apartment by 9 to get to the dorm at 10 for Hungarian class. A bit of coffee stolen from my father helped wake me up and keep me interested in learning numbers and taking notes. Only our second class and I had already forgotten to bring the papers Kati had given us. Nearly three hours later we were heading back into the city to prepare for the party.
It was suggested that we dress in theme so I did my best with combat boots, olive shorts, and a white shirt under a jean long sleeve and Dad put minimal effort in wearing beige and greenish. Then it was time to meet the students to catch the train to Csobanka. A few minutes of waiting on a beautiful day across from parliament was no problem at all and soon enough we were on the HEV train.
30-45 minutes later we failed to get off at the correct stop and had to catch the next train going back to the correct stop and almost got fined for not having the correct tickets but luckily we had a lovely Hungarian with us who talked our way out of it. A quick bus ride and we were in Csobanka where the family home of Lena is (it was Lena's sister *Saci's birthday party that we were going to). A very cute town and a quick walk to the house and we were sitting in their backyard waiting to surprise Saci. Many laughs with the students and not being sure if we were allowed to start eating before champagne was passed around for a toast when Saci was about to come.
When Saci came into the backyard she was very surprised indeed to find 16 Calvin students plus their professor & family at her house. We toasted the champagne and sang Happy Birthday and then did our best to say it in Hungarian (boldog születésnapot). I did not like this champagne very much and was going to give mine to my dad, but then Sierra suggested I make it into a mimosa, (champagne with orange juice just incase you didn't know what that was like I didn't) I did and it tasted much better.
Many more laughs and some cake later it was decided that we were all going on a walk. On this walk Aby and I fought for a new best friend Donny (who was about 4? 5? and very adorable but spoke no English). I ended up winning and spending most of my evening playing with and just following Donny's lead. We played a lot with a string and some sort of archeological digging game in the front where the garden was under construction. It started to get dark and then was quite dark throughout our games and near the end the group very nearly left without me.
Then we went on a seeming longer train ride home with lights that would flicker just short enough to make you wonder if you had just had an irregular blink. During said train ride fish faces were made, and candy crush was played. Now I am quite sleepy and looking forward to tomorrow where I will a) get to sleep past 8:30 and b) most likely see the beloved Ainsley and Chelsea who were students on the 2011 trip and are now back in Hungary to teach.
(*Saci pronouced something like SHOT-see, kind of like yahtzee)
Another (early) morning leaving the apartment by 9 to get to the dorm at 10 for Hungarian class. A bit of coffee stolen from my father helped wake me up and keep me interested in learning numbers and taking notes. Only our second class and I had already forgotten to bring the papers Kati had given us. Nearly three hours later we were heading back into the city to prepare for the party.
It was suggested that we dress in theme so I did my best with combat boots, olive shorts, and a white shirt under a jean long sleeve and Dad put minimal effort in wearing beige and greenish. Then it was time to meet the students to catch the train to Csobanka. A few minutes of waiting on a beautiful day across from parliament was no problem at all and soon enough we were on the HEV train.
30-45 minutes later we failed to get off at the correct stop and had to catch the next train going back to the correct stop and almost got fined for not having the correct tickets but luckily we had a lovely Hungarian with us who talked our way out of it. A quick bus ride and we were in Csobanka where the family home of Lena is (it was Lena's sister *Saci's birthday party that we were going to). A very cute town and a quick walk to the house and we were sitting in their backyard waiting to surprise Saci. Many laughs with the students and not being sure if we were allowed to start eating before champagne was passed around for a toast when Saci was about to come.
When Saci came into the backyard she was very surprised indeed to find 16 Calvin students plus their professor & family at her house. We toasted the champagne and sang Happy Birthday and then did our best to say it in Hungarian (boldog születésnapot). I did not like this champagne very much and was going to give mine to my dad, but then Sierra suggested I make it into a mimosa, (champagne with orange juice just incase you didn't know what that was like I didn't) I did and it tasted much better.
Many more laughs and some cake later it was decided that we were all going on a walk. On this walk Aby and I fought for a new best friend Donny (who was about 4? 5? and very adorable but spoke no English). I ended up winning and spending most of my evening playing with and just following Donny's lead. We played a lot with a string and some sort of archeological digging game in the front where the garden was under construction. It started to get dark and then was quite dark throughout our games and near the end the group very nearly left without me.
Then we went on a seeming longer train ride home with lights that would flicker just short enough to make you wonder if you had just had an irregular blink. During said train ride fish faces were made, and candy crush was played. Now I am quite sleepy and looking forward to tomorrow where I will a) get to sleep past 8:30 and b) most likely see the beloved Ainsley and Chelsea who were students on the 2011 trip and are now back in Hungary to teach.
(*Saci pronouced something like SHOT-see, kind of like yahtzee)
Thursday, August 21, 2014
saint stephen's day
(This was written about 24 hours ago but not posted due to sleepiness and then laziness throughout the day)
Today has been super long and full of excitement. It's Saint Stephen's Day, which is celebrating the first Christian king of Hungary, St. Stephen. It's very similar to the 4th of July for Americans. Many businesses are closed and there are festivities everywhere.
We woke up bright (well it was rainy so maybe not bright) and early around 8 to leave by 9 get to the dorm by 10. Once we had all the students with us we headed back into the city to see some booths and look for some cake. A backstory on the cake: every year there is a competition for the best cake and the winner is served special on this day. When we got to Batthyany ter we set out - with raincoats and umbrellas - looking at booths of foods and desserts and trinkets but keeping in mind this special cake. After having made it a couple blocks down to the Chain Bridge with the rain growing heavier we were starting to doubt if the cake we had been told about really existed. Then we finally asked some Hungarians and they pointed us back to where we had started. But we went anyways. We found the cake just past the point we started at so if we had gone the other way it would have been right in our face. In the end it was worth it however because the cake was delicious.
After devouring the cake we had to walk back to the Chain Bridge across it and to the "magic" fountain near our apartment. A quick group meeting and then we had nearly two hours of free time before the mass at St. Stephen's Basilica at 5 o'clock. I went to our apartment for some down time. I did a smidgen of school work and relaxed. The time went surprisingly fast and before long I was back out the door to meet the group at the fountain and walk over to the Basilica. There were thousands of people all around the square in front of the building and some priests and officials on a stage up front with a large screen that I could almost see on my tiptoes. The service was long but fascinating. I kept thinking everyone my age back home is at school learning things they most likely have little interest in when I am surrounded by people of all nationalities speaking languages I can't understand and how incredibly lucky I am to be here.
On a different note during the mass I discovered something horrifying. There is a bug inside of my camera. It looks large but we aren't really sure. At first I thought it was crawling on the lens so I looked but it wasn't. Then I thought it was between the body and lens, but it wasn't. So there is a bug of unknown size or type living inside of my camera. No idea how it got in or how I'd never seen it before but it gave me goosebumps just looking at it so that was really fun. (If anyone has any ideas on what to do about that please let me know).
After the mass many of us were in desperate need of food so we made some time to eat and set a meeting point. My family shared some ginger ales and fries. Following dinner/snack we made our way down the river to the point where we were going to watch the fireworks. We also met our Hungarian friends Zoltan and Peti. We had a great, if far away, view of the city and the fireworks.
Now after walking back and getting home we are all exhausted. A good nights rest is a must because early (for me; apparently 10 is a normal hour to be awake) tomorrow morning we start our Hungarian lessons at the dorm.
Today has been super long and full of excitement. It's Saint Stephen's Day, which is celebrating the first Christian king of Hungary, St. Stephen. It's very similar to the 4th of July for Americans. Many businesses are closed and there are festivities everywhere.
We woke up bright (well it was rainy so maybe not bright) and early around 8 to leave by 9 get to the dorm by 10. Once we had all the students with us we headed back into the city to see some booths and look for some cake. A backstory on the cake: every year there is a competition for the best cake and the winner is served special on this day. When we got to Batthyany ter we set out - with raincoats and umbrellas - looking at booths of foods and desserts and trinkets but keeping in mind this special cake. After having made it a couple blocks down to the Chain Bridge with the rain growing heavier we were starting to doubt if the cake we had been told about really existed. Then we finally asked some Hungarians and they pointed us back to where we had started. But we went anyways. We found the cake just past the point we started at so if we had gone the other way it would have been right in our face. In the end it was worth it however because the cake was delicious.
After devouring the cake we had to walk back to the Chain Bridge across it and to the "magic" fountain near our apartment. A quick group meeting and then we had nearly two hours of free time before the mass at St. Stephen's Basilica at 5 o'clock. I went to our apartment for some down time. I did a smidgen of school work and relaxed. The time went surprisingly fast and before long I was back out the door to meet the group at the fountain and walk over to the Basilica. There were thousands of people all around the square in front of the building and some priests and officials on a stage up front with a large screen that I could almost see on my tiptoes. The service was long but fascinating. I kept thinking everyone my age back home is at school learning things they most likely have little interest in when I am surrounded by people of all nationalities speaking languages I can't understand and how incredibly lucky I am to be here.
On a different note during the mass I discovered something horrifying. There is a bug inside of my camera. It looks large but we aren't really sure. At first I thought it was crawling on the lens so I looked but it wasn't. Then I thought it was between the body and lens, but it wasn't. So there is a bug of unknown size or type living inside of my camera. No idea how it got in or how I'd never seen it before but it gave me goosebumps just looking at it so that was really fun. (If anyone has any ideas on what to do about that please let me know).
After the mass many of us were in desperate need of food so we made some time to eat and set a meeting point. My family shared some ginger ales and fries. Following dinner/snack we made our way down the river to the point where we were going to watch the fireworks. We also met our Hungarian friends Zoltan and Peti. We had a great, if far away, view of the city and the fireworks.
Now after walking back and getting home we are all exhausted. A good nights rest is a must because early (for me; apparently 10 is a normal hour to be awake) tomorrow morning we start our Hungarian lessons at the dorm.
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