I think I may be omnipotent

Before every Hungarian lesson, I have written down something I have hoped to cover in my little notebook. And in every lesson, that is what we have learned about, without anyone (or myself) requesting that this be so.

Yesterday Agi asked me, on the way to our monumental day of government agencies, how I liked the school. I said "It's really nice. Nobody really talks to me though. I wish they would." Today, literally everyone spoke to me. In Hungarian. I'm pretty sure that the porter invited me horse back riding. This came to pass because she showed me a photo of her daughter horse riding. I said "Me. Little." and pointed at the photo to convey that I had ridden when young. She then invited me. I think.

Just now, as I am writing this blog, my neighbor Kisz Istvan, who awkwardly spoke to me for 20 minutes as I looked words up in my phrasebook this afternoon, rang the doorbell. Lyla and I, with the help of the dictionary, figured out somewhat what he was saying. The three words we got were "toilet," "every (or everything)," and "ready." Via body language, we figured out that he wanted us to flush the toilet. We did, then he mimed as if the water were flowing/flooding/dear god what is going on. Then he smiled and went on his way. This man also thinks Lyla is pretty. He, like everyone else in the building except for Lyla and myself, is over retirement age.

Back to my omnipotence. This week I wished aloud that I would have a chance to do some real teaching without being carried around in my colleague's handbags, figuratively speaking. Today Edit was out sick and I had to teach 1B by myself. 26 first graders that don't speak English. Luckily the only casualty was when Thom stuck Balint's good scissors into a giant glue stick and then used that to bludgeon Alex. Alex deserved it, but still. The good scissors! This resulted in a guttural, wordless scream coming from my mouth. Thom attempted to escape out of the room, but I caught him three steps from the door, and drug his wiggly, kicking first grade body back into the class angrily stating "Nem jol! Nem jol!" "Not good! Not good!"

I hoped for fruit this week. Today, I stepped off the tram and saw purple apples. Purple. They bewitched me so I brought some home.

I was thinking how much I missed my dogs and a stray one trotted up to me and sat down, looking up into my face for a pet.

Fear me.

Other random observations:

sztreccs <--- this is how Hungarians have co-opted the word "stretch." This makes me giggle.

I learned from Vivvi's blog that Hungarians believe that if a woman gets cold feet, or a cold bum, she will have gynecological problems such as a "uterus cold."

Alfonso visited this weekend. It was very nice. We did all the touristy stuff. Memorial park (where they put all the old commie statues) pretty much summed up how I feel about Hungary: confused, a little nervous, entertained, out of place, and so much bigger than myself. Then the baths reminded me that it's a balm for my aches.

I f-ing hate living someplace and not speaking the language. Gah. I want to know it all yesterday.