18 months in Hungary

Am I more developmentally advanced than 6-month-old Lucas here? Let's find out!

I decided to come to Hungary in December of 2007. Much planning and many surprises later, I came here almost exactly nine months after I had first conceived the idea. Saturday was my 18 month anniversary in Hungary. If my life here in Hungary were a child... well, let's ask the internets, shall we?

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• likes to imitate parents' actions... well, not parents, but I do get around pretty much via imitation
• begins to show signs of independence; says "no"... much to the chagrin of my colleagues
• finds it difficult to wait and wants things right now!... language, results, understanding...
• gets angry sometimes and has temper tantrums... yes
• acts shy around strangers... I spoke to a colleague for the first time today. The first time.
• comforts a distressed friend or parent... Today I had to correct a few things on a test Balint wrote. I felt like I was shooting him in the heart. I left a cheer-up note.
• refers to self by name... "So Ms Lauren.... do I have an s?"
• uses the words "me" and "mine"... and in Hungarian, being that there are about a dozen different forms of "me," confuses them!
• enjoys looking at picture books... called the free newspaper
• tries to do many things by herself... wind up calling someone for help often. Occasionally I succeed.
• enjoys adult attention... successfully talked to a colleague on the bus, glowed all day
• enjoys simple pretend play like wearing hats and talking on phone... God, if I could talk on the phone without going into shakes...
• enjoys exploring, gets into everything, and requires constant supervision... yes. This one.
• generally unable to remember rules... which side do I kiss? Say "jó étvagyat!" when I see someone eating. Use the formal you...
• shows affection by returning a hug or kiss... on the wrong side
• may become attached to a toy or blanket... or a phrase. "Intenszív hávazás!"

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

• has a vocabulary of several hundred words, including names of toys... and all food items
• uses 2-3 word sentences... ha! I beat the 18-month olds there!
• echoes single words that are spoken by someone else... and then walk around mumbling them to myself all day long...
• talks to self and "jabbers" expressively... Na. Mit kell csinálni...?
• likes to choose between two objects... or just choose
• hums or tries to sing... Petőfi radio, the strangest radio ever
• listens to short rhymes or fingerplays... and therefore remembers in what order the colors are in the Hungarian flag.
• points to eyes, ears, or nose when asked... and most other things. "That. I want... that."
• uses the words "please" and "thank you" if prompted... and, especially, sorry/excuse me

Yes. It seems that I am pretty much exactly an 18 month old child. And I think that maybe I'm ok with that. To celebrate our birthday, Lyla and threw a little party at a bar. Some colleagues came, some friends, some private students, our friend's baby... it was lovely. We chatted, acted a bit irresponsibly, and played fuzball. Foozball? Eh, whatever... csó-csó!