So Briggi said "Let's go to a wine fest."

So Lyla, Ashley, and myself were like "sure thing, wine fest sounds good."

First, Friday night. A bunch of us went out to celebrate Eliza's being in Budapest for the night. The night began at Mr. Sörözo's, a bar were beer is 145 forints for half a liter and the sixteen year olds rule the joint. Lyla and I walk in after everyone else has been there for a little bit to find our friends surrounded by 16-18 year old Hungarian boys, teaching them innappropriate things in English such as:

That's what she said!
Jaeger bomb, Jaeger bomb, Jeager bomb bra?
banging
etc.
In exchange were were taught innappropriate things in Hungarian such as:
Horse f***er
b**ch
go f*** your mother
etc.

Then we went to a salsa club and danced awkwardly alone in the corner. There is photographic evidence of the awkwardness. It's seriously in the top five of awkward photos. It was a weird night.

So Saturday comes and we go to fetch Briggi from the train station with something of a headache. We then proceed to take two metros to Ferenciak ter, where we wander around lost and confused looking for the bus to the southern Volanbusz station. We find our way there just in time, run to catch the bus, and head off to the wine fest in Etyek.

This bus is FULL. We are crammed in there like sardines, driving up mountain roads and speeding along the highway. There is a woman next to us with a map of the highway, and luckily Briggi can communicate to her in German, so we sort of figure out where we are supposed to be heading. We get off the bus, wander for a bit, and find our way to quite close to where we are heading.

Where we are heading is the wine cellar of Briggi's family friends, the lovely, lovely Csibi family. (Cheebee) The father, Tomas, comes to find us and brings us in. We meet his wife Judit and son Andy, as well as Andy's silent friend Petey. Then we are brought down to the cellar, where we are shown the freshly pressed must (grape juice) and the wine aging in barrels. Tomas demonstrates how to use the stealing squash (a sort of pipe) to take wine from the barrels. Then the tasting starts. We are given... many samples of many different wines. Just at the right moment, when the room was starting to feel very dizzy, Judit calls us back upstairs, presenting us with a beautiful spread of meats, cheeses, and breads. We eat until it is not possible to eat any more, then go for a walk around the town.

In the square we see a small child making plum jam (which people eat with spoons from a bowl) and hear some heavy-metal-folk music. No, that's not a mistake, that is what it was. More walking. More wine. Folk music, and dancing, and having historical and cultural facts explained to me when I asked questions, and often when I did not. All of this due to the very generous hospitality of the Csibis. We are sent to catch the bus with full plastic cups of pinot noir rose, and Andy and Petey lead the way. Back to Budapest, thankfully this time on an express bus.

We go home, eat some dinner, and swing by our acquaintance Monika's farewell party. Then we are invited by Andy again to go to a party at a friend's home. We arrive, and are passed around the party like small children by concerned (and wasted) Hungarian 20-somethings, all making sure that we are comfortable and entertained. All of whom speak perfect English as well. We stay there for several hours and are then walked back to the night bus.

I know that it is not possible to do justice to this day in a few short paragraphs on a blog. But I really wish I could. The whole day I was awash in a spirit of good will and hospitality. The whole day, nobody yelled at me or rolled their eyes when I attempted to speak Hungarian. I was fed, spoken to with respect, and happily shown where I needed to be. I felt genuinely happy, and actually comfortable and un-awkward, for an entire day. And that is about 30 times as long as I have gone without feeling out of place since I arrived here. I know that I am in Budapest and it's the "big city" and people are naturally cold. But I cannot even explain the relief I felt in my heart when I had a day where everyone was just... nice.

So... the next time you see someone who is confused, or lost, or alone... be super nice to them. Maybe this way I can karmically repay the Csibi family for their awesome, awesome kindness.