Halloween in Hungary

Halloween is not a holiday in Hungary. So words like "trick" or "treat" or "candy" don't send these kids into a frenzy like they would back home. However, they love the idea of Halloween even though they don't technically celebrate it here. This week I did a lesson on Halloween and all that ghoulish fun. We made Halloween masks, danced to the "Monster Mash," played pin the nose on the Jack-O-Lanturn and many more activities. The kids loved dancing to the Halloween CD (that my Mom thankfully sent me)--which included such hits as "Ghostbusters," "Adam's Family," "Purple People Eater," and so on. Their favorite song off of it was "Day Light Come" from the Beetle Juice movie. They really had some hilarious dance moves. It reminded me of watching the "Peanuts" gang from the Charlie Brown movies. They all had their own style and particular rhythm. The best part of teaching the kids about Halloween was their non-jaded attitude towards it. I think some kids in America take Halloween for granted and don't appreciate just how unique it really is! So when your handing out your Halloween goodies in a few days to trick or treaters, and one of them gets a little grabby in the candy bowl just say, "Hey, don't be greedy! There are kids in Hungary who would gladly trade places!"

My 4th graders!

My 3rd graders!

My First Real Fall...

For those who may not know, I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago until I was eleven years old. I loved Fall so much as a kid. The thrill of jumping in a pile of leaves, always made up for having to rake the leaves in the first place. I cherished the colors and the scents of crisp autumn air. These were all things that I had to give up when we moved to Texas. Not that Texas doesn't have a Fall...just not the same kind you get up north. In Texas it goes from being 80 degrees in October to a chilly 70 degrees in November...okay maybe 60 degrees, if your lucky. I remember my first Halloween in Texas I actually got sweaty! 

Well now that I am in Debrecen, I am experiencing my first real Fall since I was eleven! I wake up in the mornings and it's 38 degrees! I can actually see my breath. You only get this kind of cold once in a while in Texas, now I get it every day. I have to say I actually love it. However, the joke me and Ben have is, "Yeah we love this weather now...but just wait until January!" 

So we are indeed enjoying the weather now and on the weekends we try to take full advantage of it. We have been walking around Debrecen watching the leaves change and decided to take some pictures too. So for those who may be reading this in Texas...enjoy and be jealous. :)

Happy, Fun, Mickey Time!

"Hello!"

Hello, Hello, Hello Children! 

Hello, Hello, Hello!

Hello, Mickey! 

Hello! Hello! 

Hello Mickey, Hello, Hello!

Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I get to have "Happy, Fun, Mickey Time." Or at least that is what I like to call it. I get to sing this song six times a week! Please take a moment to be jealous!
I teach 5 year olds in the nursery school, which means I get to start every lesson with me and my Mickey Mouse puppet singing this song. This song is played on a CD--where a voice that is "suppose" to be Mickey sings, but instead you get a British voice. The first time I did the song for the children they just stared at me probably wondering, "Has this lady lost her mind?" "Why, yes children...I have!" The funny thing about this song is that is says, "Hello!" like a million times. But "Hello," in Hungarian also means "Goodbye!" So I can only imagine their confusion at first, especially for the beginners.

Everywhere you go in Hungary, you hear people say, "Hello" for "Goodbye." The first few times I heard someone say, "Hello," I thought, "Yippee they speak English!" But sadly no...no they don't. After living here for two months the word, "Hello," doesn't make me excited---now I just ignore it. I wonder how I'll react the first time back in the US and someone says, "Hello!" I may just end up staring blankly at them---instead of responding. I may even be bold enough to say, "Hey your not fooling me! I know you don't speak English!"

Speaking of things that do speak English---Dora The Explorer! Yes, she has made her way to Hungary. Parents in the United States can sigh with relief....knowing that they are not the only one's being tortured by watching Dora. However, instead of Dora teaching Spanish here....she teaches the children English. As in she speaks Hungarian and teaches English. Weird, right? Now if only they had Dora speaking English, teaching me words in Hungarian! Now that may actually be useful!

At the end of my "Happy, Fun, Mickey Time" with the children we sing another song called, "Goodbye Mickey." It is the same as the "Hello Mickey" song, but just insert the word "Goodbye" instead. I have now been teaching the nursery school children for several weeks, and I can say with confidence they understand that "Hello" means "Hello" and "Goodbye" means "Goodbye."

In fact, just the other day while waiting for the bus I saw one of my nursery students, and do you know what their first words to me were?

"Hello Mickey, Hello, Hello!"

A day at the market (once every 50 years)

Debrecen likes festivals. As in there is a festival every other week (or at least it seems that way). I think this must be a Hungarian thing and not just a Debrecen thing. Every town we visit in Hungary either has a festival going on...or they say, "You come back next week for big festival!"

This last weekend we got back into town from our trip and noticed there was a festival going on. Shocking right? This festival was the annual "Fall Flee-Market/ Crafts Fair/ Festival Type Thing" or at least that is what I am calling it. There were over a 1000 vendors lining the streets of Debrecen. Everything from jeans, coats, bras, underwear, baskets, sheets, candy, you name it---it was there! It was like Walmart threw-up on the streets of Debrecen. At least that is the best description I can give.

There were also a million people there! Or at least it seemed like a million. Debrecen is only a town of 200,000---but I think everyone from a surrounding village/city/town/etc was there. We decided to go--not realizing the scale of this event. We met up with Nancy and her contact, Janos and headed into the chaos.

It was like swimming underwater---only the water was people and the air was filled with something else....a combination of candy, meat, body oder, and animals. Ben and I enjoyed walking around...at least at first, but after a while everything started to blend together. I kept asking, "Haven't we been down this street already?" Everything started to look the same and soon my enthusiasm for the event waned.

After a hour and half of drugging up one street and down the other, we decided to call it quits. Jenos turned to us once we made our way out of the sea of people and said, "You see this is why I only go to these things every 50 years!" I couldn't agree more!

Where did all these people come from?

The petting zoo only had goats.

Demonstrating old craftsman techniques.

I thought this was funny.
It says, "American Hot-Dogs"

More candy than you should ever eat!

Need a new sweater for Fall? 

More baskets than even my Mom would know what to do with! :)

Cactus for sale...wait are we in Texas?

Everyone needs at least one wood spoon!

Being a vegetarian in Hungary would be very hard!

Ben's Haircut Experience

My hair was getting a little ridiculous in it’s length. I had a little bit of a mullet going and I noticed my shadow had wings by my neck. So I finally decided to get a haircut this past week. I did not want to go to a barber because they are always way to eager to buzz everything off so I went a salon. I liked our salon back in Fort Worth, Lemon Grass, it was where Dana went and they were great. You would get a hand or scalp massage and get a great hair style as well. Men, I know I sound a little feminine, but face it you know you would like it too.

So I asked my contact to recommend a good place and she set me up an appointment with her person. She wrote down the directions and gave me the time. So I left to go there last Tuesday and the journey begins well. However, the directions were a little off. I am following the drawn map and pass about 3 different places none of which have the name I am looking for. So I have an appointment at 6:00 and I am freaking out trying to figure out the right place due to the fact that it is already 6:15.

I run into one place and say the name I am looking for and they just point out the door letting me know it is somewhere else. So finally I find the place and it is 6:20. So inside the salon is my lady tapping her foot and leaning on the chair while staring at the clock with a pissed off look. I don’t know how to say I am sorry so I try my best using my shoulders and hands. I sit down and give her a printed out picture of the cut I am going for. I am not embarrassed to say it was a picture of Eric from “True Blood.” Both Dana and Lemon Grass recommended the cut so I have used it for the past year, so keep the criticism to yourself :).

My hairdresser looked annoyed and motioned for me to go ahead and sit down. In case I forgot to mention, no one speaks English in this place. She just starts cutting away with scissors and all I can think is, “I am completely at this woman’s mercy.” Meanwhile there is a man behind me getting a full manicure and pedicure so I start to feel a little less fruity. She finishes up and I gestured that I liked it. It cost 1,200 Ft (about 6-7 American dollars) I paid her an extra 500 and gestured how I was late. She smiled and accepted thankfully. I figured tipping her was a good idea since I would probably be coming back :).

When I got home, I showed Dana my haircut and she approved, but also laughed a little too. I am trying to figure out why, so I go look in the mirror and I have a giant grayish/white streak across the side of my hair. I know I have been getting grayer for the last couple of years but this was pretty freaky. Luckily I have a beautiful wife who doesn’t care about me looking older. She says it is distinguishing, so I feel fortunate to have such a loving wife. You can look at the pictures and make your own decision on the success of the cut :). My opinion is that it was a success.

Before the haircut.

Side view of before the haircut.

After haircut.

Transdanubia Trip Day 3

The last day of our trip was filled once again with Hungarian history and beautiful sites. We first went to one of the famous battle sites from the 1848 Revolution against the Austrians. 

Hungarians signing a treaty with Austria.
The Hungarians lost the Revolution.

A monument to the 1848 heroes.

Special grave markers for the 1848 Generals.

Looking over the city.

A monument that symbolizes an eternal flame
 for Hungarian soldiers who have died in wars.

A map of the battle sites and memorial sites.

Me next to a traditionally dressed Hungarian soldier from 1848.

Ben practicing for "battle" in the trenches. 

Looking out towards Lake Velence.

Our next stop was Lake Velence, which is the third largest lake in Hungary. However, according to our teacher-friends the lake may actually be the second biggest soon. Since the second biggest lake they said is drying up.

Once we were done looking around the lake we got back on the bus and headed back to Debrecen. We really enjoyed our trip and getting to explore more of the western part of Hungary. We think that perhaps the western side is prettier, but the eastern side has the nicer people. :)

When we got back to Debrecen we saw more hot air balloons in the sky.
Can you spot them?
Perhaps they were welcoming us home. :)

Transdanubia Trip Day 2

Sign at the park.

The second day started with us piling into the bus and heading off to a park to go hiking. We walked around for a long time observing the day go from foggy and cool to sunny and warm. In typical Ben fashion he climbed to the highest points and waved down at the rest of us bellow. Many of the teachers got a kick out of seeing Ben climb so high. At one point in our journey we crossed a river--some people used a fallen tree to cross the river and some used the bridge to cross. 

Can you spot Ben?

After the hiking half way one of the teachers decided that we should all do some yoga. So there we all were in the middle of the forest doing yoga. It was fun trying to keep up with it--considering everything was said in Hungarian.

After hiking we headed to a tiny village of Fehérvárcsurgó to see the Amerigo Tot museum, he was a famous Hungarian artists and actor. 

Museum of Amerigo Tot.

The artist and his art.

Sitting in one of his chairs he made.

From here we went up to a little church on a hill that was originally built in the 13th century. 

The church.

A famous sculpture of Mary and Jesus done by Amerigo Tot.

Inside the church.

After visiting the church we went to the Károlyi Palace in Fehérvárcsurgó. This Palace is an important relic of the capital’s neoclassical architecture, only the outside walls of the present Palace originate from the 17th and 18th centuries. The Palace is now used as a cultural meeting center and museum. 

This side is still under construction.

After we finished our tour of the Palace we were invited to the house of one of their old work colleges. At her house they had set up tables outside for eating dinner. (Ben called this our "Anthony Bourdain" moment.) They cooked traditional hungarian goulash, but before we could eat we had to do another round of palinka. Ben tried not to get any, but they shoved the tiny shot glass into his hand anyway. He looked at me with pleating eyes and said he just couldn't do it. In normal situations I would have told him to just throw it away, but in this situation there were too many people around. If they had seen him throw it away it would have been considered very rude. So being the good wife that I am...I took one for the team. So in the span of 5 minutes I had 2 shots of palinka. Palinka is not just your ordinary alcohol - it has 50% alcohol content. Needless to say I was feeling very drunk before I even had my first bite of dinner. On top of the palinka, I was also encouraged to drink some wine with dinner. 

After dinner we went in small groups and walked around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day and the sun was just going down when we reached the top of the hill in the village. Only Hungarians would go hiking after dinner we thought! :) One of our hosts said as we were walking around that this village is considered by some (Hungarians) to be the center of the world. And in my palinka induced state of mind I could see why. It was beautiful, peaceful and off the beaten path. 

When we went back to the house after the walk we had some dessert and some of the teachers started singing Hungarian folk songs. After the songs were sung, we kissed our hosts goodbye and headed back to the hotel. 

At the hotel we had late night snacks and play Hungarian charades again. This time they put all the English speaking people together in a group so the game was a little more understandable. We wrote down things for the other groups to act out. We came up with some good, but embarrassing ones like act out "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Pregnancy Test," and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." 

We laughed a lot that night and yes the palinka eventually did wear off, but I told Ben that he owed me one!