What a week.

My weekend was super, spent at two different friends' homes being stuffed to the gills with food and presented with small, thoughtful gifts to help me remember Hungary when I leave. As if I could forget it! I also accidentally wound up biking about 40 km on Saturday, so I was feeling nice.

Then the rain rolled in on Sunday. Not a problem. I was sure I would get over the rain. Monday went well enough... just end of year tests for the kiddies, so it was like it wasn't even a work day. I gave some lessons, managed to not be totally stupid in my Hungarian lesson, and cooked us up a delicious Memorial day dinner. Balint came over so we could get some work done, so I fed him, and the three of us (Lyla, Balint, and I) chatted for awhile. It was really nice, and I felt sincerely happy. I sat down to do some grading on the couch, first opening Bencelita's door so she could come out and say hi.

After a few minutes I noticed that Benci hadn't come out of her house, so I started calling her and clapping for her to come. And she pulled herself out of her house, but she looked funny. As I was walking over to her cage to see what was up, she lurched awkwardly and fell off the second story landing of her cage in her attempts to come to me. And my baby was gone, and a totally different rat was in her place. My best guess is that she suffered a stroke, because she kept falling onto the same side.

Tuesday I was a wreck with the stress of the little ratty, and kept crying in the staff room. It was very much nem jo. I had Balint write out directives in case I needed to have her put down, knowing I would lose my ability to speak Hungarian, or any other language for that matter, should I be forced into that situation. Wednesday morning I took the little girl out, and I was one hundred percent she died in my hands. I felt relieved that she was no longer suffering, but when we got home she was alive again, and sad. We resolved that we would take her to the vet on Thursday during the evening hours.

Yesterday we got home, and Bencelita was back. Don't get me wrong... she had a stroke. At best she can crawl, she's a bit floppy, and her head is sort of angled now. But she is eating, drinking, crawling around a bit, and, most importantly, her eyes are filled with her old attitude again. So I am now the owner of a convalescent rat that must be spoon fed baby food. I'm actually fine with it.

My work week was, of course, super-busy. End of year is so insane here in Hungary... it's like the end of each term honestly sneaks up on all of my colleagues, as they all run around in a panic at the things they just realized they have to do. Every term this happens, and every term I am confused. So I've been doing a lot of grading and marking and so on, recording things, deciding the grades, sitting in interminable grading conferences all afternoon on, and the like. Now it's finally over. After my last lesson today I just sat quietly for a minute. My last actual teaching hour at Krudy. That is still super weird; I can't believe how my time is going.

The kids. I've told them all that I won't be here next year. The 3c girls wailed, the 3d kids were primarily just excited to hear me speak Hungarian, 3b was stoic, and the second graders continued to grab my legs with cries of "Don't leave!" I have received mountains of drawings and handmade little gifts. Edit and Balint have both been awesome as well. I can't even believe how much I'm going to miss the funny little place that is Krudy Gyula Altalanos Iskola. If you ask me, I haven't spent two years living in Hungary, though all that has been great too. I've really spent the last two years living in that school.

Today I walked into 3c for my last lesson with them, and they were lined up waiting for me. They then all sang "My favorite things" from the Sound of Music. Somehow I kept it together. Today one of the girls gave me a note that said, simply, "I can't wait to see you. Come home soon." I looked into a pair of eyes, and the attached mouth said, simply, "please."

How lucky I am to have more than one "home."