Hunglish

Everyday I learn a little bit more Hungarian...and everyday I lose a little bit of my English.


Ben and I joke that if we didn't have each other we would lose our ability to communicate normally in English. This may sound a bit extreme, but it's true. The way I have to talk to my kids, co-workers or just the people on the bus is completely different. I no longer speak fast and Ben especially has had to learn to slow down. We joke that Ben should be used as a way to test people if they are fluent in English. As in: "If you can understand this man....then you pass, and are now declared a competent English speaker." 


Ben at least gets to deal with High School and Adults in his teaching. Granted they are usually only beginner to intermediate, but still more advanced than my primary students. 


I am especially nervous about next week when I will start teaching in the school nursery. This will be children who are 3-5 years old. I will have other Hungarian-English teachers in the room to help translate, but it is still a bit daunting. You never realize how much you need your language to communicate until you don't have it anymore. 


Now Ben and I resort to all sorts of communication tricks. We make hand gestures all the time, we use our body language in different ways, and we are careful how we use eye contact. Eye contact can be both a blessing and a curse. For example: You make eye contact with someone on the bus and then make a gesture that they can sit down. This is a good thing and a friendly thing, but then they think you speak Hungarian. They then start talking to you about who-knows-what and suddenly your having a conversation in Hungarian without even trying. This is good until they expect you to respond. You then can go the route Ben does and say in Hungarian, "I don't speak Hungarian." Or you can go my pansy route and simply smile and nod and then say, "Igen (which is yes in English)."


I say igen to things I have no idea what I'm saying igen to. I don't even know if they asked me a yes/no question. But I get so tired of telling people I don't speak Hungarian that I just sometimes say igen instead. This usually gets me a positive response and they just continue talking and I continue to "listen." 


This may make me a horrible/lazy person, but sometimes it's nice to pretend you can understand what they are saying even if you don't. It's nice just to feel for a minute like you fit in. Although on the other hand I may be saying yes to who knows what. They could be asking me, "Do you want to be mugged later by a stranger?" Me, "Yes, please." Or, "Do think Unicorns really do exist?" Me, "Yes!" As you can see saying yes could become dangerous or at least make me look crazy. 


Ben says I need to stop saying igen and I agree, especially when it comes to communicating with Bus Drivers. This is my typical morning conversation with the Bus Driver trying to go to Ebes. 


Me: Ebes


Bus Driver: Ebes?


Me: Igen, Ebes.


Bus Driver: Something...something....Hungarian...Ebes.


Me: Ebes!


Bus Driver: Ebes?


Me: Igen. (This is when I make the bold move and hand them my money).


Bus Driver: Something....something....(Gives me receipt).


Me: köszönöm (thank you).


So this is why I need to learn Hungarian and fast! I mean how many more of these awkward exchanges can I go through? I feel like I need to stamp something on my forehead to let people know I'm not mentally challenged (which is probably what that Bus Driver thought of me). 


I am curious though if one day saying igen could be a good thing. Like, "My Aunt just died and left me all this money would you like some?" Igen!


So the next time your in Hungary you should try the "Dana method" and see what "Igen" can do for you! :)

New Pictures Site!

As if having our blog wasn't vain enough...we have created a new site just for pictures! http://hairgrovesinhungary.shutterfly.com/

I created this site because there is just no way I can upload all our pictures on this blog. Plus, posting pictures on facebook doesn't seem fair to those of you out there who may not have it (yet).

I will continue to blog and post pictures here, but in case you really miss us you can now go to shutterfly.com and get even MORE Hairgrove's in Hungary info!

Hope you all enjoy!

Weekend in Eger!

We decided this weekend to spend our time in the beautifully baroque town of Eger. This town is known for being one of the best places to sample wine and marvel at its architecture. Its cobblestoned streets make for interesting walks after a few glasses too!

We traveled by train, which took about 3 hours from Debrecen to Eger. During our journey to Eger we had to switch trains (which made us a bit nervous), but it worked out just fine. Once we arrived in Eger, it took very little time to figure our way around. There were actually signs for the streets! This may not seem amazing, but in Hungary it seems to be rare for street signs to exist.

We found our way to our hotel, the Retur Panzio (which is what the guide book recommended and ended up being a great choice) and dropped off our backpacks. After that we headed to the main square to take in the sites. We first went to the Minaret, which is a tall Turkish remnant that people can climb. We chose to climb the Eger Castle instead. Beside we didn't feel like braving more claustrophobic old stairways again.

We went to the Minorite Church and then found our way to the Castle, which looks more like a fort. You can tell by just looking at the Castle why Eger has played such a key role in defense throughout Hungary's history. The view from on top of the Castle was beautiful. We felt transported back in time walking around ruins from the 13th century.

After our trip to the Castle we strolled around town and took in all the wonderful architecture. We then went to dinner near the main square and sampled some of the wine. We hope to visit Eger again and go to the wine cellars just outside of town.

Today we went to the Basilica where we accidentally ended up attending worship there too. We enjoyed the worship service despite not understanding a single word except "Amen and Jesus." But despite that it still may have been one of the most beautiful services I've been to in a long time.

Unfortunately, it was raining non-stop today so we had to cut our visit a little short. We highly recommend that you should visit this town if your in Hungary--we'll be your tour guides!

The Minaret.

A street in Eger.

The Dobo Square.

The Minorite Church, built in 1771.

Statue of Istvan Dobo and his comrades-in-arms fighting the Turks in 1552.

Inside the Minorite church.

Outside Eger Castle.

The view from on top of Eger Castle was beautiful.

Many houses surround the Castle.

Ben "holding" the Hungarian flag.

A view of the main square.

Honey roasted chicken with salad and potatoes. Yum! Finom! 

The wine in Eger is very good!

The dessert!

The Basilica, a neoclassical monolith completed in 1836.

Inside the Basilica.

The soaring domes created a great atmosphere for the organ music.

This is the second biggest Catholic Church in Hungary--
However,  Debrecen has the largest Protestant Church in Hungary. :)

I Kiss Your Hand

Yesterday I realized I focused on just the negative parts about teaching. Today I'll focus on some of the good parts. 


When I arrive at school I am often arriving right when the bell rings at 8:00 a.m. The reason is the bus doesn't drop me off until 7:58 a.m.  So when I arrive to class there is no prep-time, no time to rest, I have to hit the ground running. My Tuesday's start off with my second-graders who are sweet, enthusiastic and a bit hyper. The first thing one of my boy students did was come up to me and say, "An apple for the teacher!" And then handed me an apple. It was my first official apple as a teacher! I thanked him and then another student came up to my desk. She handed me a angol-magyar/magyar-angol dictionary and told me it was to help me learn hungarian better. I then looked around the room wondering if this was some sort of teacher holiday in Hungary? Were they all going to come up to my desk bearing gifts?  But it wasn't a teacher holiday, it was just kids being nice to their new teacher. 


Another thing that kids like to say to their teachers here is csókolom. It is also used in reference to females or the elderly as a form of respect. Csókolom generally means "I kiss your hand." Students usually use this word as a form of goodbye/or hello. I'll often hear it several times as I leave the building. At first I was paranoid wondering what they are saying, "Are they insulting me in Hungarian and I don't know it?" Nope. Just the opposite. I think this is a great word because it catches you off guard. I'm so use to the seriousness of the hungarian language (or at least it sounds serious) that when I hear this word I can not help, but smile. 


My favorite thing about teaching is also how happy the kids are to be learning English. Granted not all of them are ecstatic, but the majority do seem excited. I have kids come into my classroom between passing period and recite to me new words they know in English. Or if there are flashcards on my desk they will recite those in English. They are so proud to show off what they know. I don't remember being this excited as a kid about learning a new language. These kids also inspire me to continue learning Hungarian. If I say just one word in Hungarian they get very excited. But I try not to say too many words in Hungarian, after all I'm suppose to be teaching them English. :)


But one phrase I love saying to my kids in Hungarian is "nyugodt, nyugodt," but it sounds more like nogi, nogi, which means "calm, calm." It works surprisingly well. Fortunately, most days I don't have the need to say it, but when I do it makes me smile on the inside. 


Teaching is hard especially when you have never done it before. I'm not sure if I will be a teacher when I go back to the States, but I am glad that my first experience of teaching is here in Hungary. It's not everyday you have students who want to kiss your hand! Ha! :)

Mean Girls-The Hungarian Version

Teaching elementary school definitely brings back old memories of when I was in school. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was sitting where my students are sitting. Today I had an unpleasant flashback to my youth, by witnessing a girl getting picked on in my class. I noticed from the first day of school that the other students didn't seem to like her. She is quiet and sweet--perhaps my smartest student in my 5th grade class, but for some reason is not liked.

Today was exceptionally bad because they started throwing things at her while my attention was diverted elsewhere (like helping other students). The most frustrating part was that I couldn't understand the insults that they were saying to her. But it was clear (no matter what language they spoke) that they were being nasty. You don't have to know what someone is saying to know that it's mean. Their faces were twisted and cruel and I could tell they were not going to give up. I know children are mean for no reason sometimes, but the injustice of it all made me so mad. I had to continually divert the children's attention back to the lesson and make sure they were leaving her alone. I even positioned myself so they couldn't directly look at the girl. Even with me in the way didn't seem to deter them from being mean.

Eventually they did settle down and thankfully class eventually also has to end. But I know there will a next time and a next time. As hard as I try to stop it, they are still going to bully this girl either in class or outside of class. Who knows how long she has had to endure this? Or how long they will continue to tease her? It just makes me sick to think about.

And the worst part I think...is that "mean girls and boys" like this exist all over the world. Every day there are students bullied for no reason. Or bullied because they are smart or just different. In a world that constantly challenges us to all be "unique" why is it that the "unique" people are often the outcasts?

All I know is that this problem is as old as time and will never fully go away. I may sound defeated, but I  hope to make a difference at least in these kids lives. I hope to get across to them somehow that what they are doing is wrong. Even if all I can do is give them a stern look and say "stop it!"

A day at the Hortobagy National Park

Yesterday we went to the town of Hortobagy and the National Park, which is in the same area. We took the opportunity to go since we didn't have to work. We enjoyed visiting the park and getting out into nature again. Here is brief photo journey of our day.

In the town of Hortobagy, which is 50 minutes from Debrecen.

Realizing we are in the middle of nowhere.

Hay stacks on the horizon.

About to get on our "hay ride" through the national park.

A different kind of "horse-power."

Fields as far as the eye can see.

Fuzzy pigs and donkeys enjoying some food.

No these are not Texas Long Horn, but Hungarian Grey Cattle.

Fuzzy little sheep with twisty horns.

A man wearing traditional clothing
(no that is not a skirt, but really baggy pants).

Ben enjoying the view.

The horses are trained to lay down, while the men crack the whip above them.
(The horse was enjoying this and eating grass actually.)

The horses were trained to do this to hide in the grass. 

Can your horse sit like a dog? This one can!

Enjoying the sites.

Ben's thinking: "How can I do that with my future horses?"

Man riding with 5 horses. They can do up to 16 at one time!

Is this their version of skiing? 

He must have very strong leg muscles! 

Riding my first Hungarian horse...

and hoping I don't get thrown off. :)

The horses of the Hortobagy National Park.

Saturday adventures in Debrecen!

Never underestimate spending time in your own town...especially when your in Europe. Ben and I are eager to travel in Hungary and in the rest of Europe, but sometimes it is nice to take a weekend and relax at home. While at home this Saturday we traveled around Debrecen discovering more nooks to hide away in. We came across this beautiful and peaceful park across from the University in Debrecen. While I spent time sketching the pond and trees, Ben went around and took pictures. We were happy to get outside after a couple of days of rain. 

Besides going to the park, today we went on a self-guided bus tour of the city. We are continually discovering new bus routes to take and where they lead to. We had a few moments of confusion---like when the bus just stopped and everyone got off--and then the bus driver motioned to us to also get off. Apparently it was the end of the line. A kind old lady (who only spoke in Hungarian) pointed to a bus stop across the street for us to go to. While riding around on the bus today we discovered more tennis courts, a hockey rink/ice skating rink, and of course more cute apartments (that we wish we lived in). We enjoyed riding the bus today because it was also a lot less crowed than it is during the week. I should also clarify about what I mean when I say "bus." There are three kinds of transportation around the city of Debrecen--bus, tram, and trolley. So when I say "bus" I actually mean anyone of these (but I am too lazy to say which one, so I say "bus" for all of them). 

I also was able to buy my first English novel here in Hungary! Yes, they do sell novels in English here, but they are not easy to always come by. Luckily we live in a big enough city to support a bookstore that has an English section to it. Otherwise I would have to travel to Budapest every time I needed a new book in English. Unfortunately for Ben we have not found any graphic novels here in English yet. It looks like he may have to start reading books without pictures again.  :) 

Another random thing we found while shopping the other day was a dryer for sale. It was the first dryer we saw in Hungary for sale. Most Hungarians don't have dryers because the electricity to use one is too expensive (and besides it's more fun to hang things out the window right? ha, ha.).  Well this dryer we saw was only $300, which was a pretty good price---and even a little tempting. We joked that it would make a good Christmas present for each other. Or even better we thought, what if all our friends on Facebook chipped in one dollar so we could buy one! Ha! Well...it's fun to pretend at least.

We also have become better cooks since living here too (well Ben actually)! Now don't get too excited---our skills before we came were pitiful so we had nowhere to go, but up. Ben has really taken to cooking and has developed a skill for making edible meals out of the random contents of our fridge. You see, the stores around here close early on Saturday's...so if need to buy groceries past 1:00 p.m.---good luck! Ben somehow looks at the contents of our fridge and says..."Oh, we can use this and that and etc, etc."  Whereas, I look at the fridge contents and go..."Oh crap, we have nothing to eat! I guess this means a granola bar and some popcorn!" Thank goodness I have Ben...otherwise I would be very hungry in Hungary.  :)

How do you say "Big Mac" in Hungarian?

I am constantly conflicted by two opinions in my brain. One thought is that it really doesn't matter where you live--people and places are all relatively the same. The second thought is that it really does matter where you live--because people and places are too different to possibly be the same. The more I try to pick a side in this argument the more merged my feelings become on the subject. 

I used to really believe you had to live somewhere different to truly experience something "different." But now that I live in Hungary, I keep finding more similarities between the people here and the people back home. People are people no matter where you go. Kids act the same in their behavior and they love the same music, movies, clothes, etc, the only difference is language. When I am teaching I often forget they are not American students...at least until they say something in Hungarian. They even love the same food. When I ask the students what their favorite food is they almost always say McDonalds!

Speaking of McDonalds, Ben and I had our first taste of it here in Hungary. We normally don't go to them back home, but now that we're in Hungary we could no longer resist the temptation/curiosity of it. When you step inside the McDonalds here in Debrecen it is obvious you are no longer in the States. The ceilings are vaulted and the furniture is modern and sleek. The staff is even better dressed! And the kitchen is actually clean! The menu is essentially the same--the word for Big Mac is still Big Mac. The only major difference is that here you have to pay for your ketchup and other sauces you usually can get for free back home.  

I'm sure some people will be mad that we went to McDonalds. I can hear the typing of angry comments now like: "You went all the way to Hungary just to go to McDonalds?!" Or "You should be sampling more of the local flavor and not wasting your money on something you could get back home!" And those would all be valid complaints to make to us. However, after you have lived in a country for a month...which it almost has been now for us. That "honeymoon" feeling you get when traveling starts to wear off. It especially wears off after you have struggled time and again to order the "local food" in a foreign language and get tired of the blank/annoyed stares. So forgive us if once in a while we do go to McDonalds or KFC or Subway...or any of the other countless fast-food chains here. We go to places like  this because its nice to order something and be understood for once. And it is also nice that a Big Mac tastes the same here as it does back home---actually I think it was better here. 

Weekend Trip To Szolnok

We decided to take our first trip outside of Debrecen this weekend. It was a test run of sorts to see if we could actually do a trip on our own. We picked the city of Szolnok because our CETP friend, Emily who lives there invited us to a "Goulash Festival." Plus, other CETP friends were said to be going there as well. We left Saturday around 12:30 and arrived in Szolnok around 2:00. Our train trip there was easy (which on the way back it wasn't, but we'll get to that soon). We first went to our hotel to drop off our backpacks (we can finally travel light). And then headed to the festival that was happening just across the river. We enjoyed all the sites, smells (well most), and general atmosphere of the festival. As we were walking to go meet our friends we came across this reenactment that made us laugh.

While at the festival we enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new friends. We enjoyed our goulash and had our first taste of palinka, which is a strong hungarian brandy made from different fruits. I had a plum one. We only had one shot of it because it is so strong. If I had had a second shot my head would have definitely been spinning! We toasted our palinka to the school year and hopefully everyone making it through okay.

goulash at the festival.

After the festival we said goodbye to our Budapest friends who had come and were heading back that night. We then went to dinner and enjoyed a lovely hungarian meal outside. Luckily we had Emily with us to help translate the menu (there was no English menu available).

Museum.

Today we went touring around Szolnok with Emily who showed us the museum, the market, and the general sites of the city. It is smaller than Debrecen, but still bigger than many cities in Hungary. It has a small town charm that makes you feel quite relaxed.

A beautiful garden near the city.

Ben standing in our balcony at the hotel.

We enjoyed our visit, but around 1:00 it was time to head back home. We got on the train to go back to Debrecen, but it was packed full. There were no seats left so we had to stand. We thought that maybe after a few stops people would be getting off and then we could sit down. Well just the opposite happened! As we travelled from town to town we kept taking on more people than we seemed to be letting off. So half through our journey in the town of Pupspokladany we saw a huge line of passengers waiting to come on the train. Me and Ben exchanged looks and both said, "Yeah right!" As in yeah right you all are not going to fit! Guess what we were right!

We sat at that train station for an hour while standing on the train while they tried to figure out how to fit all the people on. I think they ended up having to attach another car to the train just to make it work. We stood there (and eventually I sat down) waiting and waiting with nothing, but hungarian messages being said in the train terminal. What they said who knows?

Waiting in the train (and tired of standing).

Finally we began to move again after an hour of waiting. I enjoyed the last part of the train ride the most knowing we would soon be getting off.  Thank goodness the weather was nice and the train was not stuffy. We looked out our open window and saw beautiful crops of corn, sunflowers and endless fields of grass. Ben and I joke that we live in the Kansas of Europe and after this train ride I believe it. Yes, this part of the country is very flat, but it also has a mystical charm to it. Looking out across the plains it is hard to believe that for thousands of years people just like me have traveled across them. The scenery seems familiar to me for some reason...giving me a sense of deja vu. When we finally arrived in Debrecen I breathed a sigh of relief...we were finally home.