I was a little worried that the more used to things I become, the less exciting this place will be. That's just not true. I'm far from used to it here, but I keep having more fun. I keep experiencing things that are better than I had hoped for. But I still don't speak Hungarian.
I was tired this weekend, teaching in a foreign world is a challenge! Fortunately, there were two festivals here in Békéscsaba, so I decided not to travel anywhere. I was able to sleep in and enjoy my town. The festivities started Friday night, but I was too tired to do anything. I walked around and saw a crappy band play. It started to look like I should've left for the weekend.
Then came Saturday. One of the festivals was by the mall here. It had a stage, and about 12 booths selling things. I think nine of them sold alcohol (beer, Hungarian wine, and Pálinka - so at least there was a selection). There was one jewelry booth, a few candy ones, and two food places.
One booth was selling Lángos, which is a Hungarian street food that I've been dying to try. After I ate it, I just felt like dying. It's a thick, frisbee shaped piece of dough that is deep-fried. It's topped with fatty deliciousness and you dig in. I went with the healthy version and only had cheese on mine. But the people who ordered before me went all out. Theirs had thick cream (similar to sour cream) smeared on, about a pound of shredded cheese, and plenty of salt. It was all topped off with some lard wiped on with a brush. Mine tasted good, but was way too big and I felt sick by the time I finished. I can only imagine how those other people felt.
While I was eating it, a guy came up to me and practically put his face in my Lángos. Then he asked me a question in Hungarian and the only word I understood was Lángos. I answered (in Hungarian) that I don't speak Hungarian. He stared at me for a second like I had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "You don't speak Hungarian? Yeah right, and the planet's round." Then he stuck his face back in my snack and asked it the same question, in Hungarian, ten times louder and slower (I thought this was a uniquely American tactic). I figured he probably wanted to buy one too, so I pointed to the stand hoping that he wouldn't just decide to eat mine because it speaks Hungarian. He went back, told his friends, and they all walked by looking at me with pitying looks thinking "He must have some sort of mental disorder if he doesn't speak Hungarian, he doesn't deserve that Lángos. Probably didn't even get extra lard smeared on."
Then, in a moment of great irony, I looked up and realized there was some sort of beauty pageant going on. They were gorgeous Hungarian college girls parading around on the stage in bikinis. The fascinating part was, they spoke Hungarian, but had clearly never eaten a Lángos.
After that trainwreck of a meal, I decided to go back to the other festival that was focused on quality foods and healthy living. Besides, it was in a nice park, not on a crappy street. I had been by earlier in the day and this festival had a bunch of food stands and only one or two beer places. It was all quality food like cheeses, breads, honey, and other things that were probably locally produced. I couldn't talk to anyone though so I hadn't stayed long.
When I went back, I saw the lady who I'll be giving private English lessons to. She's the one who organized the event and the person who told me about it. She gave me a glass of their homemade beer, showed me a tent that was a replica of how the ancient Hungarians lived, and tried to convince me to try Hungarian folk dancing. It didn't work, but I really enjoyed watching it.
There was a large room that looked very Hungarian. It had white walls and a green ceiling. The ceiling had all sorts of ornate woodwork built for both support and looks. Outside was just dark woods in this park, so I suddenly felt as if I really was in a remote place in Hungary. There was a band of a few stringed instruments and a man with a drum (who was using some sort of drumstick and a stick stick, he probably broke it off a tree on his way in). The music was traditional Hungarian music, and everyone there seemed to know the traditional dance that goes along with it.
The really fascinating part was the people. There were all ages from 2 to 70. Some of the people the most into it were high-school or college aged kids. In America, kids this age wouldn't be interested in anything called "traditional" or "folk", and wouldn't want to do any dancing in front of their parents. But here they loved it. There was even a competition of sorts. There was a lot of thumping the feet at specific times, dancing in circles while holding hands with others behind the back, tapping the feet, moving the feet quickly, and smacking the legs and the feet with the palm of the hand. I'd love to learn how to do these dances.
I was very impressed and became tired just watching. Now I know how they burn off all the extra lard.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
American Football and Hungarian Hospitals. That Was My Day.
Before you get upset about the title, it wasn't in that order. I went to the hospital before I played football. Also, before you get worried about my health, it was just for a physical of sorts. But that doesn't mean it wasn't interesting.
I've been told a few times that I'd have to go to the hospital for a check-up as part the bureaucratic residency process. Today, I was told suddenly (as is usually the case) I would go to the hospital right after my last lesson, and someone would go with me to help. My friend and translator turned out to be one of the IT guys at the school. He's one of the few men, and closer to my age than most. I hadn't talked to him much before, but he's a nice guy and speaks English well.
Then we got to the hospital. Have you ever wondered what a Hungarian hosptial looks like? I can show you. Go to your local movie rental store and ask for a horror movie that takes place in a mental institution. Imagine the signs are in Hungarian and there's a little less blood on the walls. That's what it looked like. There were creepy stretchers that looked like people should be tied to, and inconsistent lighting. I won't get too descriptive because I don't want to erase the image in your mind - that's what it looks like.
There was confusion about the room where we were supposed to go. They had a directory which led us to a room that had a sign on the door explaining it was the place we needed. It was locked. We were early so we waited, and no one came. My co-worker called the school to see if they knew anything. They didn't know, so we waited more. Finally, his phone rang again and it was someone guiding us to the correct room. They looked at us like we were idiots for waiting at the wrong place, but I have a different opinion about a hospital with mislabled doors (maybe it's a Hungarian thing).
After that it went fairly well. My co-worker did an awesome job of translating, and it was just a few general health questions, some chest listening, a urine test, and a basic eye exam. The eye exam, by the way, was unique in two ways: 1. There was no little plastic spoon thing, I covered my eye with my hand 2. The charts are read top to bottom, not left to right (remember this, they get pissed off if you read it left to right). I'll admit I know very little of Hungarian nursing etiquette, but they seemed mean.
Second major event of the day, football. A few minutes into a lesson today, a student raised his hand with an unusual question. He asked, "Do you like sports? For example, do you like American football?" Yes, I do. "The Békéscsaba American football team has an American coach, would you like to talk to him?" I said yes and he promised to tell me more after class. He followed through further than I expected. He came up to me and said, "We have training [European for practice] today, do you want to meet in front of the school at 5 and we can go to it?" I guess I'm playing, this will get interesting.
It was a hike to the field. Down one of the main streets and over a tall, sketchy looking bridge that was most likely built by communists. It went over the railroad tracks, and you can see through the gaps in the uneven boards to where you're about to fall to your death.
The field, and the team, were exactly what you'd expect (just like the hospital). Imagine an American football team (made up of Hungarians and one - now two - Americans) in a rural corner of Hungary on the Romanian border. It was a worn out soccer field surrounded by dozens of soccer goals, walls, and rusty fence type structures. Over the walls were worn down, red-roofed European houses, large ugly buildings, and smoke stacks in the distance. The team was a good mix of very Hungarian looking guys of all shapes and sizes. The coach is another CETP English teacher who was mistakenly recruited when his wife told someone he was a football coach. He was really a soccer coach, but she made the translation that the Hungarian didn't expect.
I never thought I'd play on a football team in Hungary. I also never thought I'd play on a football team where I would only be the kicker if everyone elses legs were cut off. I suppose that's what playing soccer the day you start walking will teach. At one point of the practice, I had to tackle my student. I'm not sure where that fits in with student-teacher relations. But if it gets around the school, I bet kids will pay more attention in my class.
My international CNN just showed images of the fires in Boulder. That sucks. One interesting note, a high percentage of Hungarians have heard of Colorado and know at least something about it (such as one of the pro sports teams). This was never the case in Belgium. They always thought Colorado was either by California or New York. Good guess Belgium, good guess.
Now me and the 475 million bugs in my apartment are going to go to sleep (I'm not exaggerating, I counted).
I've been told a few times that I'd have to go to the hospital for a check-up as part the bureaucratic residency process. Today, I was told suddenly (as is usually the case) I would go to the hospital right after my last lesson, and someone would go with me to help. My friend and translator turned out to be one of the IT guys at the school. He's one of the few men, and closer to my age than most. I hadn't talked to him much before, but he's a nice guy and speaks English well.
Then we got to the hospital. Have you ever wondered what a Hungarian hosptial looks like? I can show you. Go to your local movie rental store and ask for a horror movie that takes place in a mental institution. Imagine the signs are in Hungarian and there's a little less blood on the walls. That's what it looked like. There were creepy stretchers that looked like people should be tied to, and inconsistent lighting. I won't get too descriptive because I don't want to erase the image in your mind - that's what it looks like.
There was confusion about the room where we were supposed to go. They had a directory which led us to a room that had a sign on the door explaining it was the place we needed. It was locked. We were early so we waited, and no one came. My co-worker called the school to see if they knew anything. They didn't know, so we waited more. Finally, his phone rang again and it was someone guiding us to the correct room. They looked at us like we were idiots for waiting at the wrong place, but I have a different opinion about a hospital with mislabled doors (maybe it's a Hungarian thing).
After that it went fairly well. My co-worker did an awesome job of translating, and it was just a few general health questions, some chest listening, a urine test, and a basic eye exam. The eye exam, by the way, was unique in two ways: 1. There was no little plastic spoon thing, I covered my eye with my hand 2. The charts are read top to bottom, not left to right (remember this, they get pissed off if you read it left to right). I'll admit I know very little of Hungarian nursing etiquette, but they seemed mean.
Second major event of the day, football. A few minutes into a lesson today, a student raised his hand with an unusual question. He asked, "Do you like sports? For example, do you like American football?" Yes, I do. "The Békéscsaba American football team has an American coach, would you like to talk to him?" I said yes and he promised to tell me more after class. He followed through further than I expected. He came up to me and said, "We have training [European for practice] today, do you want to meet in front of the school at 5 and we can go to it?" I guess I'm playing, this will get interesting.
It was a hike to the field. Down one of the main streets and over a tall, sketchy looking bridge that was most likely built by communists. It went over the railroad tracks, and you can see through the gaps in the uneven boards to where you're about to fall to your death.
The field, and the team, were exactly what you'd expect (just like the hospital). Imagine an American football team (made up of Hungarians and one - now two - Americans) in a rural corner of Hungary on the Romanian border. It was a worn out soccer field surrounded by dozens of soccer goals, walls, and rusty fence type structures. Over the walls were worn down, red-roofed European houses, large ugly buildings, and smoke stacks in the distance. The team was a good mix of very Hungarian looking guys of all shapes and sizes. The coach is another CETP English teacher who was mistakenly recruited when his wife told someone he was a football coach. He was really a soccer coach, but she made the translation that the Hungarian didn't expect.
I never thought I'd play on a football team in Hungary. I also never thought I'd play on a football team where I would only be the kicker if everyone elses legs were cut off. I suppose that's what playing soccer the day you start walking will teach. At one point of the practice, I had to tackle my student. I'm not sure where that fits in with student-teacher relations. But if it gets around the school, I bet kids will pay more attention in my class.
My international CNN just showed images of the fires in Boulder. That sucks. One interesting note, a high percentage of Hungarians have heard of Colorado and know at least something about it (such as one of the pro sports teams). This was never the case in Belgium. They always thought Colorado was either by California or New York. Good guess Belgium, good guess.
Now me and the 475 million bugs in my apartment are going to go to sleep (I'm not exaggerating, I counted).
Monday, September 6, 2010
They Sell Chicken Feet in the Grocery Store
I'm not kidding, the butcher counter in my local store has a lot of meat products and sausage all piled up. Today I noticed one of the piles was chicken feet. There were a lot of them. That means a lot of people must buy them. The line for the meat stretched halfway through the store. Maybe that means those feet were on chickens this morning so they're still very juicy (or chewy or tender or whatever chicken feet tase like when they're good). I have to buy some.
I had an eventful weekend. Based on two Saturday nights and a Friday spent living here, I have concluded that everyone watches Star Wars dubbed in Hungarian on Friday nights. On Saturday nights, then get really drunk, crank up their car stereos, and serenade me outside my window until 5 or 6 AM. It's nice to feel involved in the community.
I mentioned in my last post that the theater was setting up for a performance, and boy was that a good one. I didn't have a good view of the stage, but that didn't mean I didn't have a good view of the show. I was sitting on a bench off to the side but there were a lot of people standing in front of me watching. Before it all started, a rather heavy set woman came over and asked in Hungarian if she could share my bench. At least that's what I think she said, she could've been telling me a new planet was discovered, but she pointed and I nodded and she sat down. Keep in mind it was a small bench, so that's why I was very excited when her husband showed up and decided to sit between her and I. This man was cool, because I had the unique ability to appear invisible to him. This made him comfortable enough to spread out on the bench, and why not when he had all that room next to him!
The show was boring, mostly just people singing and nicely dressed people giving speeches I didn't understand. But there were three very entertaining parts. First, I had noticed a man standing in a football mascot-type dinosaur costume waiting for his time to enter. Also, a "honk" would occasionally come out of the hallway into the theater. Eventually the dinosaur put his head on, stuck 4th of July sparklers in his nose (turning him into a dragon), and wheeled out a giant, old-fashioned bird cage with two geese in it. They hung out for a few minutes, but one of the geese escaped on the way back so the dragon was forced to pick it up and carry it back into the theater. I have no idea what that was all about, maybe it's a Hungarian thing...
Next, one of the ushers made all of the people standing in front of me move out of the way. I was sure they finally realized who I was and were making sure I had a perfect view. Not the case. A big, fancy horse drawn carriage containing important people pulled up in front of the theater. The people got out, and everyone cheered while they said more words I couldn't understand. But, the carriage had to circle around the crowd of seats to get back to the road, and this is why the people had been made to move. Suddenly, the carriage driver instructed his two terrified looking horses to head directly for the invisible red haired person sitting on the bench. No one else seemed alarmed, so I tried to act calm as to not embarrass myself in front of my new community. Fortunately, the horses saw me and swerved 6 inches before their giant legs would have crushed me (even though it was possible to turn much, much earlier). I feel I won the fight though, because one of the horses was so scared when he saw me that he left a giant pile of horse apples.
This is when I learned that my bench neighbor was not just an ordinary member of the audience. She grew tired of watching people give the horse's remains dirty looks, so she got up and went inside the theater (I remained invisible to her husband, however, who didn't see this as an opportunity to slide over at all). She returned with a bucket, a dustpan, and a broom. Not a fancy, horse cleaning up after broom, just a straw broom. It was a little gross. But I was happy that the mess was cleaned up because it had stopped being funny. I decided this when a very in love, young couple were too busy holding each other close and walking face to face to notice the pile until they walked through it. I wonder if they'll take that as a sign?
Finally, I was getting ready to leave because I was hungry and had a headache, but I decided to wait a few more minutes. There were some guys in goofy white costumes that had been standing around the whole time and I was waiting for them to perform. I was very interested because they were talking to a few of the most beautiful girls to ever walk the Earth, and I decided that I wanted to join their group, whatever it was. Unfortunately, they just sang, and they song wasn't very good. It was a let down. But, while they were singing, all the lights turned off, and two groups of sparklers strung between the Greek columns above them ignited (a third group didn't ignite, so the attempt at symmetry was lost). Someone hadn't been thinking though, because the sparks were falling right on the singers and they had to move out of the way. Then, out of nowhere, a ten minute long firework show erupted from the balcony above.
It was an awesome ending. Plus, there was smoke all throughout the small streets on my walk home, and it made it look like a really cool foggy night with the old street lamps and European architecture. I was on the lookout for vampires.
Today was back to the grind. I only had three of my four classes (surprise, surprise), but I really liked one class, and now I'm really looking forward to teaching that one.
So if anyone knows any good chicken feet recipes...
I had an eventful weekend. Based on two Saturday nights and a Friday spent living here, I have concluded that everyone watches Star Wars dubbed in Hungarian on Friday nights. On Saturday nights, then get really drunk, crank up their car stereos, and serenade me outside my window until 5 or 6 AM. It's nice to feel involved in the community.
I mentioned in my last post that the theater was setting up for a performance, and boy was that a good one. I didn't have a good view of the stage, but that didn't mean I didn't have a good view of the show. I was sitting on a bench off to the side but there were a lot of people standing in front of me watching. Before it all started, a rather heavy set woman came over and asked in Hungarian if she could share my bench. At least that's what I think she said, she could've been telling me a new planet was discovered, but she pointed and I nodded and she sat down. Keep in mind it was a small bench, so that's why I was very excited when her husband showed up and decided to sit between her and I. This man was cool, because I had the unique ability to appear invisible to him. This made him comfortable enough to spread out on the bench, and why not when he had all that room next to him!
The show was boring, mostly just people singing and nicely dressed people giving speeches I didn't understand. But there were three very entertaining parts. First, I had noticed a man standing in a football mascot-type dinosaur costume waiting for his time to enter. Also, a "honk" would occasionally come out of the hallway into the theater. Eventually the dinosaur put his head on, stuck 4th of July sparklers in his nose (turning him into a dragon), and wheeled out a giant, old-fashioned bird cage with two geese in it. They hung out for a few minutes, but one of the geese escaped on the way back so the dragon was forced to pick it up and carry it back into the theater. I have no idea what that was all about, maybe it's a Hungarian thing...
Next, one of the ushers made all of the people standing in front of me move out of the way. I was sure they finally realized who I was and were making sure I had a perfect view. Not the case. A big, fancy horse drawn carriage containing important people pulled up in front of the theater. The people got out, and everyone cheered while they said more words I couldn't understand. But, the carriage had to circle around the crowd of seats to get back to the road, and this is why the people had been made to move. Suddenly, the carriage driver instructed his two terrified looking horses to head directly for the invisible red haired person sitting on the bench. No one else seemed alarmed, so I tried to act calm as to not embarrass myself in front of my new community. Fortunately, the horses saw me and swerved 6 inches before their giant legs would have crushed me (even though it was possible to turn much, much earlier). I feel I won the fight though, because one of the horses was so scared when he saw me that he left a giant pile of horse apples.
This is when I learned that my bench neighbor was not just an ordinary member of the audience. She grew tired of watching people give the horse's remains dirty looks, so she got up and went inside the theater (I remained invisible to her husband, however, who didn't see this as an opportunity to slide over at all). She returned with a bucket, a dustpan, and a broom. Not a fancy, horse cleaning up after broom, just a straw broom. It was a little gross. But I was happy that the mess was cleaned up because it had stopped being funny. I decided this when a very in love, young couple were too busy holding each other close and walking face to face to notice the pile until they walked through it. I wonder if they'll take that as a sign?
Finally, I was getting ready to leave because I was hungry and had a headache, but I decided to wait a few more minutes. There were some guys in goofy white costumes that had been standing around the whole time and I was waiting for them to perform. I was very interested because they were talking to a few of the most beautiful girls to ever walk the Earth, and I decided that I wanted to join their group, whatever it was. Unfortunately, they just sang, and they song wasn't very good. It was a let down. But, while they were singing, all the lights turned off, and two groups of sparklers strung between the Greek columns above them ignited (a third group didn't ignite, so the attempt at symmetry was lost). Someone hadn't been thinking though, because the sparks were falling right on the singers and they had to move out of the way. Then, out of nowhere, a ten minute long firework show erupted from the balcony above.
It was an awesome ending. Plus, there was smoke all throughout the small streets on my walk home, and it made it look like a really cool foggy night with the old street lamps and European architecture. I was on the lookout for vampires.
Today was back to the grind. I only had three of my four classes (surprise, surprise), but I really liked one class, and now I'm really looking forward to teaching that one.
So if anyone knows any good chicken feet recipes...
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Hello I'm Arriving, Hello I'm Leaving
I don't speak Hungarian, they don't speak English, but we all get along just fine. Last night I made the rounds to a few really cool bars. I was unsuccessful in my attempt to find someone who could and would communicate with me, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying. One really cool bar was setting up for live music, and it looks like that's a pretty common thing, so I'm sure I'll be spending some time there. I left before the music began however, and was only able to watch the Hungarian soccer team lose in their Euro Cup qualifying match. The Hungarians took the defeat much better than I did, because they were expecting it.
Also, I happened upon a concert at the Csaba Center (the small, but relatively large mall here) that was fascinating. It was three guys performing, a singer, a guitarist, and a bass guitarist, who were helped along by recorded music (who knows if they were actually playing at all). The funny part was, every teenage girl in southern Hungary was there, and they were all screaming and trying to climb on the stage like it was the biggest boy band in the country (maybe it was).
While there, I saw a girl with a small animal cage that had two chipmunks in it. Maybe it's a Hungarian thing...
Today I found Tesco, a sort of British Wal Mart, and was rewarded for my long hike in the heat. I bought a reading lamp for my bed, and a clock radio (no wonder Borat's neighbor couldn't afford one, they're not easy to come by in these parts). Hopefully this means the end of my digital watch and flashlight era.
I had my coffee at my new hangout, the Mozart Cafe, who I'm permanently indebted to for teaching me how to buy peppers. Their English vocabulary is about the same as my Hungarian, but we smile and have a good time. Anyone who visits must go there. Tell them "hello" - they know what it means.
Speaking of hello, I don't think I've mentioned how smart the Hungarians are. They use this term to mean hello, but they also use it to mean goodbye. It's genius. They have about 472 different ways to say hello and goodbye, and most of them have this unique feature of being able to be a greeting or a farewell. Life is so much easier that way!
The theater is right down Andrássy ucta (my local pedestrian street) from the Mozart Cafe, and they were setting up an outdoor stage and seats (while various people were singing). I saw some very elaborate costumes on the stage, and I don't know if it's some sort of live commercial for a play they're doing, or if there will be a live performance. Either way, I'll be there.
I attempted to make it back to that market that I found the other day, but I was just too late and they were closing up for the day. I'll try to get there earlier tomorrow and hopefully when it's full it doesn't project the feeling of a third world country.
The more I get to know this place, the more I like it. I would recommend visiting, but it's like my own little private paradise so you should probably go somewhere else, like Kentucky.
Hello.
Also, I happened upon a concert at the Csaba Center (the small, but relatively large mall here) that was fascinating. It was three guys performing, a singer, a guitarist, and a bass guitarist, who were helped along by recorded music (who knows if they were actually playing at all). The funny part was, every teenage girl in southern Hungary was there, and they were all screaming and trying to climb on the stage like it was the biggest boy band in the country (maybe it was).
While there, I saw a girl with a small animal cage that had two chipmunks in it. Maybe it's a Hungarian thing...
Today I found Tesco, a sort of British Wal Mart, and was rewarded for my long hike in the heat. I bought a reading lamp for my bed, and a clock radio (no wonder Borat's neighbor couldn't afford one, they're not easy to come by in these parts). Hopefully this means the end of my digital watch and flashlight era.
I had my coffee at my new hangout, the Mozart Cafe, who I'm permanently indebted to for teaching me how to buy peppers. Their English vocabulary is about the same as my Hungarian, but we smile and have a good time. Anyone who visits must go there. Tell them "hello" - they know what it means.
Speaking of hello, I don't think I've mentioned how smart the Hungarians are. They use this term to mean hello, but they also use it to mean goodbye. It's genius. They have about 472 different ways to say hello and goodbye, and most of them have this unique feature of being able to be a greeting or a farewell. Life is so much easier that way!
The theater is right down Andrássy ucta (my local pedestrian street) from the Mozart Cafe, and they were setting up an outdoor stage and seats (while various people were singing). I saw some very elaborate costumes on the stage, and I don't know if it's some sort of live commercial for a play they're doing, or if there will be a live performance. Either way, I'll be there.
I attempted to make it back to that market that I found the other day, but I was just too late and they were closing up for the day. I'll try to get there earlier tomorrow and hopefully when it's full it doesn't project the feeling of a third world country.
The more I get to know this place, the more I like it. I would recommend visiting, but it's like my own little private paradise so you should probably go somewhere else, like Kentucky.
Hello.
Friday, September 3, 2010
One Week Down, I Don't Know How Many to Go Because the Schedule's in Hungarian
It was a great feeling telling students that they could now leave school for the week and have fun for the weekend. I'd forgotten how little high school kids care in their last half an hour of the week, so I'll need to figure out how to keep them focused (if it's possible). I can always just knock over some cabinets, that worked in the beginner class.
Today was the opposite of yesterday. I now have three markers of my very own, and I went to school prepared to teach three classes and it turned out to only be two. There was a mix up with all the schedule changes, and one of the teachers didn't get the memo, so the students were in the wrong place. Good thing I got up early...
It's very funny in situations where something goes wrong (like the class not being there), because of how the Hungarians react. They all know I don't speak any Hungarian, but a couple of them will argue frantically with each other, all the while looking at me like I'm following along. The language always makes them seem really mad about something urgent, even if they're just discussing their favorite type of cereal. Then, everyone walks in a different direction and one of them looks at me and says "it's okay". Sometimes there's one or two more sentences (simple, not compound sentences) offered, but it's never a guarantee. I've already learned to take what I can get.
I also sat in on another class (in English), where the teacher just asked everyone to tell her what they did for the summer. Most of them just hung out around here and then went to a festival somewhere in Hungary for a few days. Two or three students went to Greece with their families, and one girl visited relatives in England. A few said they worked a little bit during their summer break, and they usually worked on farms, in stores, or in a factory. As far as I know, none of my high school friends ever worked on farms or in factories, so that was very interesting for me.
After the class, the teacher told me she likes to find out what they did for their summer breaks because not too many of them can afford to go on big, fancy vacations. I told her that I'm used to Greece being a very exotic and expensive vacation spot, and quite a long trip to get to. These students complained that their drive was too long - try that in a conversation, "I'd like to go to Greece, but I'd have to sit in the car for 12 hours. I think I'll just go to Serbia like last year."
I'm excited that it's the weekend and I don't have to get up early, but I haven't decided what I'll do with my free time. I'll probably study some Hungarian, try to figure out where to buy toilet paper, and make some friends. If last Saturday is any clue as to how weekends are, I won't even have to go to a night club, I'll just open my windows until 5 AM!
Today was the opposite of yesterday. I now have three markers of my very own, and I went to school prepared to teach three classes and it turned out to only be two. There was a mix up with all the schedule changes, and one of the teachers didn't get the memo, so the students were in the wrong place. Good thing I got up early...
It's very funny in situations where something goes wrong (like the class not being there), because of how the Hungarians react. They all know I don't speak any Hungarian, but a couple of them will argue frantically with each other, all the while looking at me like I'm following along. The language always makes them seem really mad about something urgent, even if they're just discussing their favorite type of cereal. Then, everyone walks in a different direction and one of them looks at me and says "it's okay". Sometimes there's one or two more sentences (simple, not compound sentences) offered, but it's never a guarantee. I've already learned to take what I can get.
I also sat in on another class (in English), where the teacher just asked everyone to tell her what they did for the summer. Most of them just hung out around here and then went to a festival somewhere in Hungary for a few days. Two or three students went to Greece with their families, and one girl visited relatives in England. A few said they worked a little bit during their summer break, and they usually worked on farms, in stores, or in a factory. As far as I know, none of my high school friends ever worked on farms or in factories, so that was very interesting for me.
After the class, the teacher told me she likes to find out what they did for their summer breaks because not too many of them can afford to go on big, fancy vacations. I told her that I'm used to Greece being a very exotic and expensive vacation spot, and quite a long trip to get to. These students complained that their drive was too long - try that in a conversation, "I'd like to go to Greece, but I'd have to sit in the car for 12 hours. I think I'll just go to Serbia like last year."
I'm excited that it's the weekend and I don't have to get up early, but I haven't decided what I'll do with my free time. I'll probably study some Hungarian, try to figure out where to buy toilet paper, and make some friends. If last Saturday is any clue as to how weekends are, I won't even have to go to a night club, I'll just open my windows until 5 AM!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Tell Me What You Really Think
I suppose I'm a real teacher now, because I taught three classes today. I arrived at the school at 7:30 ready to teach the one class I had on my schedule and was immediately handed a revised schedule, surprise! Two of the classes were fairly advanced English speakers, but the other was a beginner class.
The beginner class was the challenge of the day. I expected them to know a little more than they did, and I still can't figure out the exact extent of their knowledge. They had a surprisingly large vocabulary of words such as "hamster", but didn't know how to respond to questions like "How are you?". My plan, if they were truly beginners like they were, was to do some activities using the whiteboard to explain myself and ask about them. Here's some advice, if your plan for a 45 minute class of kids who hardly speak English absolutely requires drawing pictures on a whiteboard, make sure you have a marker. I was able to come up with some games (some were more successful than others) that just involved miming and simple sentences, but it didn't go as well as I hoped. The highlight of the class was when I unlocked a seven foot tall cabinet and opened it looking for markers. It wouldn't have been exciting except it was a magical cabinet that only weighed three pounds so I didn't even notice when it almost fell right on top of me hoping that it could build up enough momentum to make up for it's lack of weight. I didn't notice it was about to fall on me until I heard 20 Hungarian students scream simultaneously. They were much more focused after that, wondering what the crazy American might do next.
The other two classes were a blast. One class had less knowledge of the English language, but made up for it in their outgoing effort. I did an activity with both those classes where I gave them a few minutes to come up with about five questions they wanted to ask me -- anything they were wondering about. Then, when they thought I was about to answer them I asked for two volunteers. I made these two sit at the front of the class, right in front of me, and answer the questions as if they were me. It worked wonderfully. They are high-school students, so while they were writing their questions with their friends, they would look at me and giggle. Everyone had wide eyes when they realized two of their classmates would have to guess these answers about me, but they all enjoyed it.
Here's what they came up with: I'm 26 years old (or late 20's) with a wife who's pregnant with twins. I came to Hungary because I wanted to drink Pálinka (the famous Hungarian brandy made from a variety of fruits), and I'm going to stay here forever. I studied History, Literature, Teaching, and I'm an Engineer. My favorite parts of Hungary are the sausage, the Pálinka, and the nice people. I wanted to be a baker as a child and my favorite food is some Hungarian dish that I've never heard of (that was consistent in both classes). I have three sisters and one of them is watching my hamster while I'm here. I enjoy Kung Fu and the only people I know in this city are the other teachers. I think Hungarian women are the most beautiful women in the world and my favorite movie is Titanic (I obviously cried at the end because it's so sad).
I'm impressed, they're quite creative.
However the most interesting question was, "What do you think of the financial crisis?". This was answered with, "I was in America when it started, so I didn't really like it. But now I have come to Hungary so I am rich and don't care.". This one question made the whole exercise worth it. If I were to ask them that question directly, they would never have given an answer like that. It was only after having some fun and letting down their guard that they said this in front of me (at the beginning, they were visibly uncomfortable guessing my age with me listening). This was a sentiment that I wondered if the Hungarians would feel. Now I know to do by best and not act like a "rich American".
In other news, my shower has seemed to become friends with me and decided to do it's job. For two days in a row it hasn't tested me by giving hot water for 24 seconds and then freezing cold water for five minutes. My strategy has been to turn it on and rinse myself off, then I would shut off the water to save any heat that may exist, next I would use my soap and shampoo, and finally turn it back on to rinse off the soap in water that would make a polar bear shiver. Maybe it was testing me to see if I'm really tough enough to live here. The best part was how it decided to only give hot water when the caretaker was here.
Speaking of the caretaker, he's the happiest man at the school. He walks around whistling with a big smile on his face and talks to everybody. It's quite comical because everyone else has been running around like the building is on fire and there's no way out. This morning as he was rolling a shopping cart through the teachers room (maybe it's a Hungarian thing, I don't know) he passed me and fired off a couple of sentences in Hungarian and shook my hand. I looked at him and said "Jó reggelt" which is Hungarian for good morning. Amazingly, his smile managed to get bigger and instead of letting go of my hand, he started shaking my arm with his other one. Then he spent two minutes telling everyone else in the room that I had spoken Hungarian with him (they, surprisingly, were too busy frantically running around to hear him).
Finally, my last victory of the day was at the grocery store. I was standing in the vegetable section for the 38th time trying to figure out how to buy the paprika peppers that are on sale (akció). Just then I heard an excited hello and saw the lady that runs the coffee shop I've been to a few times and her daughter. She's the only person I've met outside of my school who speaks any English. Even if it is limited to saying hello, goodbye, and coffee terminology, she still managed to teach my how to buy peppers.
I can only imagine what tomorrow may hold in store for me.
The beginner class was the challenge of the day. I expected them to know a little more than they did, and I still can't figure out the exact extent of their knowledge. They had a surprisingly large vocabulary of words such as "hamster", but didn't know how to respond to questions like "How are you?". My plan, if they were truly beginners like they were, was to do some activities using the whiteboard to explain myself and ask about them. Here's some advice, if your plan for a 45 minute class of kids who hardly speak English absolutely requires drawing pictures on a whiteboard, make sure you have a marker. I was able to come up with some games (some were more successful than others) that just involved miming and simple sentences, but it didn't go as well as I hoped. The highlight of the class was when I unlocked a seven foot tall cabinet and opened it looking for markers. It wouldn't have been exciting except it was a magical cabinet that only weighed three pounds so I didn't even notice when it almost fell right on top of me hoping that it could build up enough momentum to make up for it's lack of weight. I didn't notice it was about to fall on me until I heard 20 Hungarian students scream simultaneously. They were much more focused after that, wondering what the crazy American might do next.
The other two classes were a blast. One class had less knowledge of the English language, but made up for it in their outgoing effort. I did an activity with both those classes where I gave them a few minutes to come up with about five questions they wanted to ask me -- anything they were wondering about. Then, when they thought I was about to answer them I asked for two volunteers. I made these two sit at the front of the class, right in front of me, and answer the questions as if they were me. It worked wonderfully. They are high-school students, so while they were writing their questions with their friends, they would look at me and giggle. Everyone had wide eyes when they realized two of their classmates would have to guess these answers about me, but they all enjoyed it.
Here's what they came up with: I'm 26 years old (or late 20's) with a wife who's pregnant with twins. I came to Hungary because I wanted to drink Pálinka (the famous Hungarian brandy made from a variety of fruits), and I'm going to stay here forever. I studied History, Literature, Teaching, and I'm an Engineer. My favorite parts of Hungary are the sausage, the Pálinka, and the nice people. I wanted to be a baker as a child and my favorite food is some Hungarian dish that I've never heard of (that was consistent in both classes). I have three sisters and one of them is watching my hamster while I'm here. I enjoy Kung Fu and the only people I know in this city are the other teachers. I think Hungarian women are the most beautiful women in the world and my favorite movie is Titanic (I obviously cried at the end because it's so sad).
I'm impressed, they're quite creative.
However the most interesting question was, "What do you think of the financial crisis?". This was answered with, "I was in America when it started, so I didn't really like it. But now I have come to Hungary so I am rich and don't care.". This one question made the whole exercise worth it. If I were to ask them that question directly, they would never have given an answer like that. It was only after having some fun and letting down their guard that they said this in front of me (at the beginning, they were visibly uncomfortable guessing my age with me listening). This was a sentiment that I wondered if the Hungarians would feel. Now I know to do by best and not act like a "rich American".
In other news, my shower has seemed to become friends with me and decided to do it's job. For two days in a row it hasn't tested me by giving hot water for 24 seconds and then freezing cold water for five minutes. My strategy has been to turn it on and rinse myself off, then I would shut off the water to save any heat that may exist, next I would use my soap and shampoo, and finally turn it back on to rinse off the soap in water that would make a polar bear shiver. Maybe it was testing me to see if I'm really tough enough to live here. The best part was how it decided to only give hot water when the caretaker was here.
Speaking of the caretaker, he's the happiest man at the school. He walks around whistling with a big smile on his face and talks to everybody. It's quite comical because everyone else has been running around like the building is on fire and there's no way out. This morning as he was rolling a shopping cart through the teachers room (maybe it's a Hungarian thing, I don't know) he passed me and fired off a couple of sentences in Hungarian and shook my hand. I looked at him and said "Jó reggelt" which is Hungarian for good morning. Amazingly, his smile managed to get bigger and instead of letting go of my hand, he started shaking my arm with his other one. Then he spent two minutes telling everyone else in the room that I had spoken Hungarian with him (they, surprisingly, were too busy frantically running around to hear him).
Finally, my last victory of the day was at the grocery store. I was standing in the vegetable section for the 38th time trying to figure out how to buy the paprika peppers that are on sale (akció). Just then I heard an excited hello and saw the lady that runs the coffee shop I've been to a few times and her daughter. She's the only person I've met outside of my school who speaks any English. Even if it is limited to saying hello, goodbye, and coffee terminology, she still managed to teach my how to buy peppers.
I can only imagine what tomorrow may hold in store for me.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A Sense of Pride
Today I got up very early and went to school. It was chaotic and hilarious. There were students standing around everywhere looking tired and waiting for something to happen. The teachers were either sitting calmly and chatting with others, or running around frantically like they could only find one shoe (both groups seemingly oblivious to the other).
Eventually, all the students lined up in the courtyard of the school to have the first ceremony. The students all stood in one big mass (almost like military troops in a formation), with many of the teachers standing in the front of the groups. I stood opposite them with the rest of the teachers, behind where the Director gave a big speech through a microphone. He introduced me at one point, and I am told he talked about where I come from, what day I arrived in Békéscsaba, the meal I had with him and my contact lady (explaining that I now know what good food tastes like), and that he had a very enjoyable conversation with me.
After everyone entered, they played the Hungarian national anthem through some loudspeakers. I know it was the national anthem because one of the English teachers was kind enough to stand beside me and translate throughout the ceremony (and probably, to make sure I didn't do anything stupid). It was fascinating to watch there reaction to the song. When our national anthem is played in the United States, people tend to look proud, excited, and happy. They want to sing along, cheer, and jump up and down. Here the reaction was quite different. Everyone looked very stern and serious. They weren't smiling and I only noticed one person who was barely mouthing the words. They were all standing very straight and still, and almost seemed to be nervous. There was an eerie feeling in the air.
I was confused about this reaction, so I looked really closely at all of the people and noticed signs of an emotion that I had missed at first. Pride. They all looked very proud. They weren't showing it in the outward, excited way that American's tend to, but it was there nonetheless. I didn't see anyone looking around like they were bored, or chatting to their friends in the back. Instead, They were all taking the song very seriously. All acting as if they know their country has had some very difficult times in the past and know that it has taken great sacrifice by many people just to be able to hear this song. Their faces suggested they don't take that for granted, and know things could change at any moment that would require more hard work and difficulties to help their country survive.
Even through all of it's troubled times, Hungary has been a nation (of some form another) since the year 1000. After seeing what I saw today, I'm beginning to understand why.
Eventually, all the students lined up in the courtyard of the school to have the first ceremony. The students all stood in one big mass (almost like military troops in a formation), with many of the teachers standing in the front of the groups. I stood opposite them with the rest of the teachers, behind where the Director gave a big speech through a microphone. He introduced me at one point, and I am told he talked about where I come from, what day I arrived in Békéscsaba, the meal I had with him and my contact lady (explaining that I now know what good food tastes like), and that he had a very enjoyable conversation with me.
After everyone entered, they played the Hungarian national anthem through some loudspeakers. I know it was the national anthem because one of the English teachers was kind enough to stand beside me and translate throughout the ceremony (and probably, to make sure I didn't do anything stupid). It was fascinating to watch there reaction to the song. When our national anthem is played in the United States, people tend to look proud, excited, and happy. They want to sing along, cheer, and jump up and down. Here the reaction was quite different. Everyone looked very stern and serious. They weren't smiling and I only noticed one person who was barely mouthing the words. They were all standing very straight and still, and almost seemed to be nervous. There was an eerie feeling in the air.
I was confused about this reaction, so I looked really closely at all of the people and noticed signs of an emotion that I had missed at first. Pride. They all looked very proud. They weren't showing it in the outward, excited way that American's tend to, but it was there nonetheless. I didn't see anyone looking around like they were bored, or chatting to their friends in the back. Instead, They were all taking the song very seriously. All acting as if they know their country has had some very difficult times in the past and know that it has taken great sacrifice by many people just to be able to hear this song. Their faces suggested they don't take that for granted, and know things could change at any moment that would require more hard work and difficulties to help their country survive.
Even through all of it's troubled times, Hungary has been a nation (of some form another) since the year 1000. After seeing what I saw today, I'm beginning to understand why.
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