Lauren in Budapest

I relax my brain.

2012-02-13T23:40:00.002+01:00

My brain is totally relaxed.

This is the little chant that my yoga teacher does at the beginning and end of every lesson, starting from the toes and working up through the whole body, to end with the brain. And while the concept of intentionally relaxing seems counterintuitive, it actually works. After a relaxation activity, my arms feel heavy and lazy when I try to move them. My chest and hips sort of spread open, and my legs press into the floor. It's amazing.

I started taking yoga lessons at the beginning of January. And I can think of nothing better to have done. Not that I am awesome at yoga, by any means. Today, for example, I totally fell coming out of the plow into the bridge. And then I giggled, just to be extra nonzen. I more appreciate yoga as a catalyst. I have become more aware of my body and as such have started to eat more consciously and to exercise a lot more. I stretch in the mornings and evenings. I can do a shoulder stand for about five minutes now.

And I feel more relaxed. Except at the concept of trying a head stand next week. Then, not so relaxed!

Biting the bullet

2012-02-12T23:50:00.002+01:00

I bought a gym membership. I spent tons and tons of money, so now I have to go, right?

But seriously: it has a pool, cardio machines, free weights, nautilus machines, and tons of classes. It's also super nice and clean, plus everyone speaks English! It even offers yoga, so now I won't have to travel all the way to f-all deep Buda to do yoga. Surely, this is a worthwhile investment. But still... so much money for the annual membership. So, so much money. I hope the sad feeling in my belly is a result of my abs workout!

It's a small Budapest, after all

2012-02-12T14:20:00.002+01:00

Budapest is a city of about 2 million people. It has 23 districts, and extends out over kilometers and kilometers. And yet, everyone I meet knows someone that I know.

Part of this is due to the fact that Anna knows, I think, half of the city. Then there is the expat community, which it still feels somewhat strange to include myself in. I go to a party, and later get a friend request from a few people on facebook, each of whom has two or three mutual friends with me, often from totally different friend groups. Or the same thing happens after a volunteer event, or even after just randomly meeting someone on the street.

I walk down the road and bump into people I know. I sit down at a random cafe to grab a coffee and hear, "Hey! Lauren!" I've even wound up, coincidentally, on the same train as acquaintances, only to realize it after we bump into each other upon arrival to our destination.

It's all lovely, and I feel happy to be part of this big community. At the same time, it's a bit disconcerting. I'm starting to lose my anonymity in the city. One of BP's greatest charms, for me, was the ability to walk down a street or sit down on a random bus, turn off my "trying to understand Hungarian" switch, and be totally alone in the crowd. I can still usually manage that, but sometimes not. It's an adjustment.

More and more I feel like I actually live here now.

Snow

2012-02-06T13:42:00.001+01:00

Europe is covered in snow. A bit to the north and to the east, people are literally freezing to death. Here in Hungary, things aren't quite that bad, though it is below zero even in fahrenheit now. Now, this had been an incredibly mild winter so far, without any snow that stuck. So when we woke up to snow on Saturday, we really didn't think all that much of it. When it started to stick, though, I was thrilled! I slid down our hill on Saturday, giggling like a crazy person. Now there's enough snow that the city is even starting to shut down a little bit. It's crazy... I guess the weather is making up for lost time!

Trips planned

2012-02-06T00:40:00.001+01:00

Upcoming trips and traveling joys...

Madrid to visit friends: 2-4 March (booked)
Paris with Lyla and Rachel: 15-19 March (booked)
Ukraine with Anna: 6-9 April
Sweden and Denmark: 28 April- 1 May

Mephisto

2012-02-05T15:49:00.001+01:00

Here's a fun little video featuring my roomie's cousin, Gabor, who is an opera singer with the Hungarian national opera and whom I saw in November and January. If you're interested, there are some clips from Mephistofele at minutes 3, 7, and 11. The opera had quite a production, with a massive chorus and crazy sets, and it's worth checking out. And everyone else can maybe get a kick out of listening to how DAMN MONOTONE even opera singers are in Hungarian. Monotone opera singers. While speaking, not singing, granted. Strange language.

An update on my little ratties

2012-02-01T20:48:00.002+01:00

First, let me say that I had fifteen posts during the 31 days of January. That's pretty much every other day, and definitely, thus far, in keeping with my New Year's Resolution. Go me!

I thought it would be worth an update on my sweet rattie boys, Smokey and Dexter. They are big, full-grown ratties now! Especially Dexter, who is a bit of a chubster. And it's funny how two brothers can be so different. Smokey is brash and brave, as well as a bit of a bully. He will steal treats and shove your hand to get what he wants, then grab that same hand and kiss it for a minute or two. Dexter is a shy little cuddle bug, hiding from loud noises, but always happy to have a scratch or sit on my shoulder. They can do tricks, spinning and walking on their hind legs, and answer to their names without hesitation. Even Anna has warmed up to them. Just little bundles of sunshine.

Smokey

Dexter

Mikulas Nap

2012-01-29T19:09:00.000+01:00

Now, I realize this is late. But I figure late is better than never, and this is an interesting part of Hungarian culture that I don't think I've written much about.

Here in Hungary, Christmas happens twice. On Christmas itself, families get together and exchange gifts over a large meal. Kids also get some gifts from the baby Jesus. This usually takes place on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas day. Going to church either for Midnight Mass or on Christmas morning is also a big part of the Christmas celebration for many families. Nowadays, this celebration is usually split up similarly to how it is in America: Christmas Eve with one side of the family, Christmas Day with the other side. All in all, the Christmas celebrated at Christmas itself is a quiet family affair.

On December 6th, however, the silly and public Christmas takes place. This is known as Mikulas Napja, or Saint Nicholas's Day. St. Nick's Day is the day when people wear Santa hats and, to some extent, give gifts outside of the family. St. Nick's Day, more than anything else, though, is for children. On the evening of December 5th, children put out their shoes (or in most cases, boots!) for Santa to fill up with gifts during the night. Today, most kids get gifts bigger than their shoes, but the tradition was that the gifts would fit into the shoes. It's like our stockings in America: nowadays, where most kids would be rather upset if they only got a stocking full of gifts! There is also a LOT of candy involved in this day, and little chocolate Santas are gifted and regifted for the days around it. Older kids scoff at the concept that Mikulas actually brings the gifts, and parents admonish them to be quiet around their younger siblings. Santa also has a naughty helper, Krampus, who is a little black demon-esque thing that takes care of delivering coal to bad children... and whipping people on the street with reeds, though this is more extreme in northern Europe.

The only really bad part of Mikulas is that it isn't a public holiday, so kids have to go to school! As you can imagine, very little actually gets done on that day.

When I say that St. Nick's day is for the children, I mean that it's for the children in your own life. I, for example, brought muffins into class for my home room kids. It also means that, as an "adopted child" in my roomie's family, I got invited to their house to celebrate. We had a big lunch with cake at the end, and I got my very own dark chocolate Santa to munch on. The table was all done up with red and green and on the whole it was entirely lovely.

I rather like the concept of having two separate Christmases. For one, it makes the whole month of December festive. For another, you get to focus on the two spheres of your life, the public and the private, individually and thus give them each the attention they deserve. Spain also does this, with the Three Kings bringing kids their gifts on January 6th, and so do many other countries. I know that many families are stressed about keeping Christmas separate from the commercial side of it, especially as that side becomes more and more intense and ridiculous. So maybe everyone throughout the world should do this. It doesn't have to be any particular day. Just choose another day, and have your intimate, family Christmas on one day and the fun, commercial Christmas on another. After all, too much Christmas is never a bad thing!

Travel bug...

2012-01-28T15:57:00.003+01:00

Now, as you know, I went to Istanbul in August, to Vienna in September, to Edinburgh in October/November, and then home to the States over Christmas. I have a trip planned to Paris for March 14-19. I will be going to the Ukraine over Easter at the beginning of April. I'll be going somewhere else for my four-day weekend at the end of April, and for my three-day weekend at the end of May. I'll spend a month over the summer either working at a camp somewhere or spending some of my Americorps money studying in Salamanca. I am, in all honesty, set for traveling.

And still, my bug is nibbling at me. I have to get somewhere in the next few weeks. Mid-March is just too far away.

Beyond that, my deep desire to head to South America has taken over again. I've been checking out flights, and it is just ridiculous... 600.000 HUF for the flights alone! Granted, that is Budapest to Rio, then to Lima, then to Santiago de Chile, then to Buenos Aires, then to Newark to visit my family. So it's a lot of flights. But it's also a lot of money! And I want to go so badly and spend a month traveling around South America. I need to do it, I've wanted to do it for so long.

Never mind all the other places: Russia, India, Thailand, China, Egypt, a safari.

Ah! The world is just so big and awesome and I just want to see it all!

Hungarian Medicine...

2012-01-27T12:46:00.001+01:00

... is remarkably easier to deal with when you actually speak some Hungarian.

So I've spent the last two weeks feeling as if my ears were full and with sinus pressure. Wednesday I could barely breathe, but I still went into work because I had an open lesson. (Incidentally, it was an awesome open lesson! My boss, when I asked her if she had any advice for me, told me to keep doing exactly what I was doing. Yay.) Wednesday afternoon led to general feelings of awfulness, and then I started to cough, so I decided that I definitely needed to head into the doctor.

On Thursday I walked the 15 minutes to the nearest city health center. After some trouble with paperwork, I amazingly didn't even have to wait to be seen. An ENT doctor and a nurse took care of me, and tutted over me, and scolded me for not having come in sooner. I even got my face x-rayed, which was sort of awkward as I had to sit perfectly still with my nose against a board and my mouth hanging open.

The eventual diagnosis was, in the words of my doctor, the "háromság," which means the trinity. I had acute maxillary sinusitis, a middle ear infection, and inflamed tonsils. The coughing, it turns out, was just from a mild chest cold. An hour after I walked in, I was out the door, clutching a variety of prescriptions in my hand.

I know I've discussed this before, but in America we tend to have one or two medicines that combine different medications. Not so in Hungary. So, to treat my general face infection, I have to do the following:

take an antibiotic pill twice a day
take an ampule of probiotics twice a day, to prevent the killer antibiotic from wreaking too much havoc on my system
use a dropper to place three drops of a serum into each nostril three times per day
gargle with a certain syrup, diluted in water, three times per day
take an expectorant syrup that tastes of thyme three times per day
point a hair dryer at my ears for five minutes per ear, three times per day
take ibuprofen as needed

It's all a bit of a headache, but it was also all totally free. I also have to go back next Thursday so that she can check out my right ear when it's not infected. I just hope this all gets taken care of soon and my ears can be permanently empty-feeling for once!

The Metric System

2012-01-24T23:43:00.001+01:00

One of the most notable changes, when leaving the United States, is that the whole rest of the world uses a totally different system of measurement. Food is weighed in kilograms (decagrams for smaller amounts), liquids in liters, and temperature in celsius. And, like most things, this starts to become normal to you after awhile. I now naturally say "I drank two whole liters of water during second lesson!" or "I'd like a half kilo of tomatoes, please." This year, finally, I've even started to recognize and understand celsius.

I've been trying to watch what I eat recently, which has lead to two observations. First, in Europe, nutrition facts are much less stringently applied. They also include, in addition to the calories, the kilo-joules in a food. Who uses the kJ when the calories are right there? Anyone? Secondly, hopping on the scale after a week of careful diet and exercise is rather disappointing in the metric system. There's just something a lot less satisfying about losing 1.3 kilos compared to losing 3 pounds!

I would also like to promise that this blog will not turn into one of those obnoxious blogs where I discuss diet, exercise, "personal goals," "fitness achievements," and the like. Yuck. Just making an observation that really struck out at me... the only way the metric system has ever disappointed me!

3-day weekend

2012-01-23T12:19:00.000+01:00

It turned out very suddenly (as in, we learned about it on Wednesday) that this weekend is a three day weekend. The first semester ended last week, so today is the mid-year meeting. Our coordinator could not get ahold of our boss, so she made the call that, as the meeting will be held in Hungarian, we don't have to attend. Which meant that we all of a sudden had a three day weekend coming up, and no time to plan a trip.

So, what does a young expat do when faced with a three-day weekend at home? Lots of things, as it turns out.

Friday: buying a new big fridge, napping, catching up on tv, and going to her roomie's brother's birthday party
Saturday: making brunch, going to see the Muppets, having a long walk, buying some clothes, and going to a Spanish friend's birthday party
Sunday: going to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, making fajitas, skyping family, and playing pool
Monday: sleeping in, getting delivery of the fridge, getting work done, and going to yoga

I had planned on a trip to the baths this weekend, but now virtually everyone, myself included, has come down with a sinus infection. Or at least sinus pressure. So, getting some work done instead. I feel so relaxed and well rested! I wish every weekend could last for three days.

The Opera

2012-01-19T17:59:00.001+01:00

In Hungary, the Opera has a capital letter not because it's fancy, but because there is only one. It is a gorgeous old building and incredible world-class performances are put on here, both by Hungarian troupes and international ones as well. There are also ballet and orchestra shows.

Anna's cousin is an opera singer with the National Opera. Tonight is the dress rehearsal of "Mephistophole" and I got free tickets. For the ground, row 9 center.

My life is awesome. Let the show begin.

I passed!

2012-01-19T15:52:00.001+01:00

I just went to the stationer's to buy a card for my grandma, who had back surgery. The lady working there was incredibly friendly and helpful. We chatted about the crazy weather for a few minutes, then she showed me the get well cards. I looked through them and then decided a blank card would be better, since my grandma can't read the printed greeting.

The shop lady was confused and asked me why I was sending a card if my grandmother couldn't read. I stared at her, confused, and said that she could read, just not Hungarian.

The lady said, "Oh, ok, your grandmother isn't Hungarian!" I said, "Well, I'm not Hungarian?"

And then the woman said, "Really?!?"

Ahhh. I'm so self-satisfied right now. And now off to my Hungarian lesson, so I can continue tricking people!

Snow

2012-01-15T10:28:00.000+01:00

The weather this year has been decidedly weird. When I arrived in July, it was gray and rainy, along with temperatures in the 60s. Then, mid August brought incredibly hot weather that lasted into October. In November, every thing seemed like it was starting to be normal again. But then, it stayed that way. And all through December and since I've been back in January, the weather has been dry and only in the 40s. No snow. No beautiful winter weather. This week, it became incredibly windy, but still no snow.

But last night, it snowed. Just a little bit, and I'm sure it has since melted. Still, coming home last night with the city lights on and a light dusting making everything more beautiful... it was gorgeous. Budapest is so beautiful!

Evil clown and office pranks

2012-01-12T18:12:00.001+01:00

Now, as most of you know, I hate clowns. I'm not scared of them exactly. It's more that they make me uncomfortable. Now, my desk mate, David, received a porcelain clown recently. It's been slowly creeping toward my desk over the past week. Today, I came back to find it lurking behind my sandwich with a note that said "Share... or die!"

The answering salvo has been sent. Some days, I love my job!

Sorry it's sideways... Must figure out how this works!

Two trees

2012-01-11T21:57:00.000+01:00

The top picture is of my American Christmas tree. It is old (my family has had it for as long as I can remember) and I love it. It's absolutely covered with ornaments, each one holding a memory. It's big and shiny and amazingly beautiful. The bottom picture is of my Hungarian Christmas tree. Each year my tree is different, because I get to choose live trees here. The decorations are a bit slapped together, it's a bit messy, and I still haven't quite figured out how to keep it alive, but it's an adventure every year, especially the midnight run to throw it away.

People here in Hungary often ask me how I could give up America to live here. How it is that I gave up a big car, a big apartment, and an easy life in my own language to come and ride a bike while struggling in Hungarian. Most importantly, they don't understand how it is that I'm not paralyzed with longing for my home.

But the amazing thing is, I didn't give up America. It's there waiting for me if I want to go back. I could go back next week if I wanted to, but for now I'm good on the adventure. Plus, with the power of the internet and jet engines, I don't have to choose between the one and the other. I can have two countries that I call "home" at the moment, and I can have two Christmas trees, too. They couldn't be more different, but I think they're both pretty special.

Back on the bike

2012-01-09T16:51:00.002+01:00

It's been in the mid-forties (around 5 C) here for the past week and transit has been driving me particularly crazy. Plus, I just made my shiny new resolution, so I needed to keep away from public transit for at least a few days if that was going to survive. These two things led to me lugging Tiff down to the street this morning and biking to work.

I arrived to work sweaty and breathless, already depressingly out of shape after less than two short months away. Granted, those two months included Christmas, but still. Everyone asked me why my face was so red, and I could only smile. I was totally zenned out after my half-hour ride inside of my own head. As I buzzed about on my endorphins, I couldn't imagine feeling any better. I swear, I need to bike to work every day.

New Years Resolutions, again

2012-01-08T16:41:00.001+01:00

A website I read put up a really nice list of potential New Years Resolutions, including things like "stop pursuing an emotionally unavailable person" and "respect your own boundaries." The one I like the best, however, is the suggestion to let other people be idiots.

This one is hard for me. For one thing, I'm sort of overly self-confident sometimes, and I convince myself that my way of doing things is the best way. For another, I'm a fixer, and everyone around me knows this. When they need help, I will fix their problems for them and get them out of a jam. So, if I prevent people from getting into problems in the first place, I save myself future work. This has always been my justification.

But you know what? What other people do, assuming that it doesn't impact me, really isn't any of my business. I'm not the boss or manager of anything, I'm not in a serious relationship, and I don't have children. I'm not responsible for anyone but myself.

So my second New Years Resolution this year is to let it go and chill the hell out. When I see other bicyclists tooling around without helmets on, I will try my damnedest to not sigh angrily at them. When I am in airport security and a woman is suddenly surprised that she has to take her shoes off, I will attempt to find my own personal zen. When one of my colleagues tells me that they haven't planned anything for one of their lessons, I will endeavor to simply nod. I will try very hard to not bitch about anyone or complain about things that I generally perceive as stupid. In fact, every time I feel the urge to say something negative, I will try to replace that with a positive statement. And in doing so, I will hopefully become a better person.

This is going to be the most difficult thing I've ever attempted to do. I've moved to two foreign countries on my own, survived a year in the Americorps, gotten a masters in another language while working full-time, and spent 7 weeks traveling in Eastern Europe with no itinerary. Those were all cake walks. This? This will be hard.

My New TV Obsession

2012-01-06T01:36:00.000+01:00

I watched a few episodes of Parks and Recreation during its first season and really was not impressed with it. People kept recommending it to me, however, so I sat through the (not awesome) first season and it was totally worth it. It's hysterical and also super sweet. Between the earnestness of Leslie, the ridiculousness of Ron Swanson (that amazing face up there), and how damn adorable Andy is, I am totally hooked. And, as such, I am up late watching episodes when I should be sleeping. Oh well. I'm having fun, and the morning is still a while away!

Aerial Photography

2012-01-03T18:22:00.000+01:00

While at home over Christmas, I got to go up in my dad's little plane with him. It's an adorable little prop plane and we had a great time together. Dad did some twists and turns, and it was a bit bumpy, but I wasn't scared. I even took the controls for a minute while up in the air.

me in copilot mode

a duck-shaped lake

our house from the sky

Elk mountain, the nearby ski resort, from the sky. People stopped and waved at us from the slopes.

the nearby Nicholson bridge

Your pilot and copilot wish you a good day!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T05:44:00.001+01:00

After my father's annual epic fireworks display, we are ready to ring in the New Year. I will kiss my puppy and drink a mini bottle of cava, as is traditional. And tomorrow I will head back home to Budapest. Silly short break this year.

My New Year's resolution this year is to blog at least three times per week. My life is amazing and worth documenting, and I need to remember that. So I hope to see much more of you in 2012!

Happy New Year, Boldog Új Évet, ¡y Feliz Año Nuevo!

Copyright Infringement at its Best

2011-12-21T21:31:00.004+01:00

Pop rocks, featuring Thumper on acid... oh the fantastic things that can be found in Central Europe!

How beautiful is Budapest?

2011-12-16T19:22:00.001+01:00

This is the famous Lanchid, the Chain bridge. It's a ten minute walk from my flat, and I go through the square (that is actually a circle) twice everyday on my way out and in to my home. I snapped this one on my phone on the way home Wednesday, with the twilight all purple and the twinkling lights. Love it.

A late Thanksgiving...

2011-12-13T22:45:00.000+01:00

... or an early Christmas. Tonight I had Anna's family over for dinner. I made free-range chicken breasts sauteed in organic goose fat, green bean casserole, stuffing, gravy, and sweet potato pie. Anna made sweet potatoes with apples and cranberry sauce. And we ate and ate and drank wine and it was lots of fun. Anna's family has been so kind to me, both when I lived here before but especially now. They have me over for meals all the time, bought me a chocolate Santa for St. Nick's day, look after me, and so on. It was nice to make them something in return.

Butter Normal-Cookie-Shapes

2011-12-12T22:23:00.000+01:00

Every Christmas my grandmother used to make butter balls. Essentially the Polish version of Mexican wedding cookies, these little treasures involve tons of butter, walnuts, and powdered sugar. And they are awesome. I've made a batch once before, for Christmas two years ago, and they were a big hit. I'm pretty short on time this year so I won't be able to spend hours and hours making and decorating sugar cookies, so I decided to just make butter balls.

When I told my mom this, she asked me to bring her some back for Christmas. I guess it makes perfect sense now. My sister had been helping Grandma the last several years, but she is in Arizona now. Nobody can make the butter balls. So I spent the last four hours mixing, rolling, baking, and powdering. The tips of my fingers are bright pink and my hands are soft from all the butter. The last batch is in the oven now. I made about 140 butter balls. Or, since they wound up not-so-round, 140 butter normal-cookie-shapes.

Some of them will make the journey with me across the Atlantic to Pennsylvania, as their forebears so often made the trip to wherever we were living from Pennsylvania. I like how traditions change, but still continue on.

Scotland, the food!

2011-12-11T20:17:00.001+01:00

Now, because my visit to Scotland was also a visit to Lyla, a lot of our time involved sitting around, drinking a pint, catching up, and eating. And we ate SO MUCH delicious, really just amazing food. I managed to take pictures of most of it. Om nom nom.

tamarind-scented sweet curry pork with thai naan

spring rolls and chicken puffs

rhubarb pie with clotted cream and a cappucino

pitas with chili cheese dip, green pea and wasabi dip, and homemade pesto

burger with sweet potato fries and garlic mayo... perfect after the big night that was Halloween!

meat pies

seafood chowder, complete with fish, smoked fish, and clams

one half kilo of mussels in herbed butter, and easily the freshest and sweetest mussels I've ever had... plus they were only like 8 pounds (12 dollars) and still had bits of kelp sticking to them!

fish and chips (this was the second time we had fish and chips!)

mussel carnage

miso soup, edamame, and dumplings

sushi and stir-fried udon with veggies

manzanilla wine with lemonade

tapas sampler: honeyed eggplant, breaded cheese, paella, patatas bravas, setas al ajillo, pollo al ajillo, and salad

croquetas

Not pictured: the first serving of fish and chips, the sausages we cooked at the hostel, the second awesome burger we ate before I had to leave on Friday, a big bowl of French onion soup, the couscous salad we made at the hostel another evening, an order of baked canelloni, ginger beers, ciders, ales, or any of our breakfasts (which were generally toast, to be fair).

Edinburgh, Part Two

2011-11-23T00:07:00.001+01:00

Thursday wound up being the most beautiful day, full of sunshine and puffy white clouds. So we walked around for a bit and enjoyed the sunshine before heading over to our original plan of visiting the newly renovated Scottish Museum. The museum is totally free, takes up two distinct buildings, and includes a ton of stuff, so I can really recommend it to anyone. It's definitely one of those fun museums that doesn't get boring.

the Scots Monument

the view of the city from the rooftop of the Scottish Museum

another lion statue for the photo collection

Lyla and I played this game where we had to try to repopulate Scotland with wolves while keeping them from harassing farmers. We won! Whoo!

Because nothing says Scotland like a stegosaurus.

Apparently hippos are very closely related to whales, so floating in the sky with all the sea life was this hippo.

a house, with a Lyla for scale

Ahhhh!!! I've been stabbed!!!

Dolly, the cloned sheep

Friday morning we had just enough time to do some quick souvenir shopping before I had to catch the airport bus. And there was also this bus stop ad of a crazy moose.

A thank-you to Scottish soldier from the USA for their help in WWI.

Me and the castle again... Goodbye Scotland! It was really awesome and you are sooooo pretty and classy!

Highlights of the Scottish Highlands

2011-11-21T23:36:00.001+01:00

On the Wednesday of my trip to Scotland, Lyla and I piled into a little van full of other tourists and headed out on a highlands tour. We took the "Oban, West Highland Lochs, and Castles" tour offered by Timberbush. (Seriously, click on that link, because I saw that and their camera is so much better than mine, but I saw that!) Our guide was an extremely talkative lady who regaled us with stories about the sights we passed, Scottish history, and nothing as we drove along, through the highlands and out to the western coast. This is the field where William Wallace won his first battle against the English, and that little tower on the smaller (left) hill is the national monument to him.

We stopped to admire the rolling fields and this statue, to the founder of something to do with the RAF.

This is Doune Castle, where all the castle scenes in Monty Python's The Quest for the Holy Grail were filmed.

This is me, galloping in front of the same castle, making clopping sounds with imaginary coconuts. I think this picture sums up how excited I was to just stumble upon this place.

pretty fall colors

meat pies

We stopped in the little town of Kilmahog for pies and a break. The river was flooding and the ducks kept zooming by, looking mildly alarmed by their own speed. As soon as we sat down, though, the ducks all swarmed us and looked pathetic until they got some pie crust, while Lyla freaked out about her distaste for water fowl.

We continued through the highlands, learning about various clans and battles, until we reached Oban on the coast. I heard people speaking Gaelic! And I thought Hungarian was weird...

This is McCaig's Folly, which was intended to be a museum but wound up being an unfinished monument some rich businessman built for himself.

More of pretty little Oban and its bay. I also ate a pound of mussels here. Nam.

Also, there were lochs.

Then we traveled to Dunstaffnage Castle, this one built on top of an enormous f-off rock. I guess when nature's given you an enormous rock in the middle of a field next to a loch, you build a castle on it.

loch self-portrait

We backtracked a bit and got to see some magnificent sky.

loch + castle + mountain + fog = Scotland

I think we're just a little bit too excited about the whole thing! Seriously, it was a great day. It's not a coincidence that this particular place is called Loch Awe. The castle is Kilchurn. Not pictured because I couldn't get a decent picture from the van, we also saw elk, deer, enormous black cows, hairy highland cows, waterfalls, and even more gorgeous mountains, castles, ruins, and sky-scapes.

Our final stop was the Inveraray Castle, which was closed for the winter. Luckily, our guide was a crazy person and essentially broke us onto the grounds by driving us over ditches and up sidewalks through the back. It was awesome, because while the other castles we saw were tough and Scottish-looking, this one looks like something out of a Disney movie. Even cooler was that we got caught sneaking in! We got to jump out and take pictures until security came and chased us back to the van, whooping and laughing. By then it was dark, so we didn't get to see much of bonny Loch Lomond, so I just listened to our guide's stories for the rest of the way home. It was a fantastic day for sure and I'm so glad I managed to get out Edinburgh and see a bit of the rest of Scotland! It was so, so beautiful, and it was also great fun to learn about all the crazy things these different clans have done and had done to them.

The Power of Eyeliner

2011-11-20T18:30:00.001+01:00

Recently, every little thing has been irritating me. Students. Colleagues. The weather. The destructive little demon kitten. Inefficiency. Immigration. The bag my flatmate keeps her cleats on. The blue dust that comes out of our radiator. The fact that someone stole the tail light off of my bike. Everything.

On Saturday I was invited to a party by someone I barely know. I went by myself, danced, talked to strangers all night, and had a merry time. Sometimes it's just good to be alone, free of everyone who knows you and has expectations of you, and dance like an idiot. Sparkly eyeliner also helps.

Edinburgh, Part One

2011-11-20T16:36:00.001+01:00

During Fall Break, I headed to Edinburgh to visit Lyla. Lyla has been staying with her grandmother there since she finished her masters program in September. Her whole dad's side is from Edinburgh, and her dad grew up there as well, so Lyla has been there to visit several times and knows it pretty well. I left Budapest on Saturday evening, just in time for an amazing sunset over the clouds. After running to make my connection in Amsterdam, I arrived to Scotland with no problems. Lyla and her cousin picked me up at the airport, and I spent Saturday evening chatting with Lyla's grandma and watching British TV.

On Sunday I chatted with Lyla's grandma some more, and then we headed into Edinburgh and checked into our hostel. We relaxed for a bit, then took a walk around the city and finally wound up going to get some pub food. I had fish and chips, cider, and even ginger beer. It was awesome. After that, we decided to catch a movie and went to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was a rather slow spy movie. Oddly enough, though, a lot of the action took place in Hungary and there was a whole lot of Hungarian being spoken throughout the film. It's a small world!

Monday we woke up for sight-seeing in earnest. It's worth mentioning that I was blessed with some uncharacteristically awesome weather for Scotland in the last few days of October and first few days of November. It only rained on my last day, and even then only when I was waiting for the bus to the airport, and it was actually quite warm. I only had to wear my heavy coat on a few occasions, otherwise my jacket was plenty. Anyway, here is the old town of Edinburgh atop the hill.

Me with the castle in the background. The castle was built on a f-off big old rock so that it was only accessible from one direction and thus extremely defendable. Lyla and I made quite a few boiling oil jokes on the way up the hill, because we are both nerds currently reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

It was a long walk up the hill, but so green and pretty!

Once we got up the hill and realized they were charging 12 entire pounds to just go in and walk around the castle, we were offended and decided to skip it. As you all know, Lyla and I have seen plenty of castles. We did go around the outside a bit, though, and check out the views.

me, all my enormous hair, and the castle gate

just two girls with flowers in their hair

After playing around the castle, we wandered on down the royal mile and checked out the architecture. This is the Saint Giles' Cathedral, which we also went inside.

the back of the cathedral, with Adam Smith

I actually did not try any whisky while in Scotland, but I did bring a bottle home with me. I took this picture because THIRTY POUNDS (about 45 dollars) for a nip of whiskey! Eep!

This is one of my favorite streets, because it curves and all the buildings are so similar and lovely and old-timey looking.

I love this! It's a tartan-wearing stuffed tiger also sporting highland fluffy cow slippers. Awesome. Mo is so jealous.

A cute tote bag covered in little Loch Ness monsters, each displaying a different emotion such as "Happy Ness" or "Sleepy Ness." I love puns.

This is the new Scottish Parliament. I did not love the building.

Monday night was also Halloween, so Lyla and I dressed up and headed out for a night of crazy fun. It was awesome.

The next morning we somehow drug ourselves out of bed and headed for our tour of the Mary King's Close. This is a tour of one of the old streets of Edinburgh, similar to the underground tour in Seattle. Essentially Edinburgh has been built on top of itself a few times, and one of the old streets was somehow preserved. Now you can go down with a tour guide "from the 1600s" in traditional garb and learn about life at the time, the plague, and other such things. It was really cool and delightfully cheesy.

Here is a perfect example of how Edinburgh was built atop itself. On the level we're on are a bunch of shops, and above them there is a road and more buildings.

Ha.

Well, thank you Mr. Seal! We saw this fellow on the way back from seeing Contagion, the creepy new plague movie. So between the Close and the movie, Tuesday was basically classified as Plague Day. Which might not have been the best choice before spending Wednesday on a tour bus full of people with colds! On Wednesday we headed out for our Highlands tour, which will be in the next blog post. Stay tuned!

Scotland and Lyla

2011-11-06T18:44:00.000+01:00

I am back from a gorgeous week spent in and around Edinburgh. A proper post with photos and such will soon follow, but I just wanted to say now, while I still remember, how happy and relaxed I am. It was so good to have a chill vacation, eat amazing food, and relax. Even better was to spend time with Lyla, whom I miss so much every day. This school year has been rather stressful thus far for reasons I am not going to elaborate online. Fall break came at the perfect time and I must say I feel so much better for it. I am so happy that Lyla and I have managed to stay in touch and continue to see each other every three months or so, because she is like family, and so important to me. Plus we always have ridiculous fun together!

Aerobic Dance Competition

2011-10-25T21:36:00.002+02:00

So the whole world knows that gymnastics is a thing. What you may not know, though, is that aerobic dance is also a thing. It is, essentially, the child of gymnastics and break dancing, floor routines with a bit more dancing and fewer flips. On Sunday I traveled all the way out to Budaors to watch the International Aerobic Open, held here in Hungary, because my old teaching partner, Edit, was competing in it with her group. And it was a little bit crazy, and a lot bit awesome. The costumes were in your face, the techno beats were pounding, and everyone was walking around with an enormous grin. Enjoy.

You can compete individually, in trios, or in groups.

This being an aerobics competition, some people also brought steps to better show off their skills.

Edit's group breaks it down.

Some groups started with some pretty snazzy movements.

There were even men and male groups. Most of the men were from Eastern Europe. This is the only Western European men's group, naturally from France.

And this being Hungary, a folk dance group showed up as well for the closing ceremonies.

So sweet

2011-10-18T23:42:00.001+02:00

Today I had the rattie boys out on the bed with me while I watched The Walking Dead. They were running around and doing their thing, occasionally coming over to sniff my face. Suddenly, I heard a plaintive little squeak. I looked down, and tucked into the nook of my arm was Dexter. He was laying on his back and looking up at me, and squeaked again when I looked at him. So I rubbed his belly, and he bruxed away.

Rats are just the greatest pets!

Vienna

2011-10-11T18:05:00.000+02:00

The first weekend in October, I headed to Vienna. Now, Vienna is only three hours away by train, and I had never been before. Which is a bit embarrassing, but I always sort of figured I would make it there some weekend, and then I never did. Plus, everyone always says Vienna is "like Budapest, but cleaner," so my desire to go wasn't the strongest. Budapest's dirt never really bothers me. I was starting to feel that I should definitely visit, thought, and through happy coincidence my new friend, Rachel, has a friend who lives there and had invited her to come visit.

Of course, I woke up on Friday morning and got ready for work, and then was sick at the bus stop. A day of sleeping somewhat prepared me for the trip, but I was still feeling pretty nasty when I got on the train. I slept for the whole train ride, which I think made Rachel feel somewhat lonely. Happily, our host was very understanding, and we grabbed a quick dinner (yummy, yummy Turkish food) and headed to bed.

Saturday morning our host made us breakfast. I went out to get bread for us, and wound up taking quite a bit of time due to the lovely little neighborhood market that was going on.

After breakfast we headed out to do some sightseeing. When we got off the tram downtown, almost exactly as my feet touched the ground, this incredibly loud siren started to go off. It went off for at least two minutes, and actually hurt our ears. I guess it was a test of the air raid alarm system, which everyone else knew about, and thus did not react to. It was surreal, that everyone else was walking by calmly while we were freaking out. If Rachel hadn't been there also freaking out, I think I would have easily thought I was going crazy!

Then the siren stopped, and we realized we were looking at the gorgeous Rathaus, or city hall. Mom will be pleased to know that I was able to last-minute download a Vienna city guide, complete with maps and building descriptions and histories, to my Kindle for only 99 cents. Best birthday present ever!

Our next stop was the Votive Church.

I jay-ran across the street to get a photo of this magnificent lion statue.

Another view of the Rathaus, with a circus in front of it. Awesome building, really.

Parliament

a griffin statue

museum quarter

Guten Morgen. I will be speaking German in all of my photos because I discovered that I SORT OF CAN. Really horribly. But I guess all the passive German I've had throughout my life has worked its way into my head, because I could read menus, buy things, and even get directions in German. I was so pleased.

the Royal Butterfly House and the Volkspark

a pretty painted church

Mozart the bear

the tower of Stephensdom

Stephensdom- St. Stephen's Cathedral- again... notice the awful pollution staining the building. So sad.

the tiled roof of Stephensdom

horse-drawn carriage around the back of St. Peter's Church

Petersdom

beer clinic!!!

horses again

Guten Tag.

I love the street light for bikes!

Karlsplatz: a fountain and an oddly Communist statue, with Cyrillic on it

weird music-playing sculpture in Karlsplatz

Hallo, liebchen.

The amazingly detailed signage continues: the bicyclist leans to the side while waiting for the light. Love.

Karlsdom is epic.

Guten Abend.

For dinner, I finally pulled myself together and ate an enormous plate of food. Wiener Schnitzel, of course! Then we headed back to our host's, where I watched an entire team's worth of Austrian baseball (yes, baseball) players get wasted and have an impromptu, and only a little homoerotic, dance party. It was pretty awesome. I then accompanied the boys to a nearby bar/club, where they were promptly kicked out for dancing like obnoxious idiots and flapping their sweaty, unbuttoned shirts at the bouncer. I then walked our host's roommate home. At one point, we passed a bunch of Turkish guys, one of whom was lying on the ground. The roommate went up to them and "spoke Turkish" by going "Bibadebibade." Luckily no one was stabbed, and we made it home safe and sound. Usually it's annoying, but sometimes it's really really funny to be the sober one.

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed to the Schonbrunn Palace. Schon means "lovely," and it really was, and also a bit creepy and imperialistic, if full of beautiful flowers and sunshiney. I love how these things so often mix, and how you can understand a place more if you know a bit of history, and history more after you see a place. Austria-Hungarian Empire, what? I also really enjoy how many attempts I've seen now at besting Versailles.

lovely fountain

fountain peeking from the trees

the castle and a view of Vienna

the arch atop the hill

The ducks were not so keen on my photographing them.

ducks and a panorama

Auf Wiedersehen!

After the castle we had some ice cream, grabbed our stuff, and caught the train back. All in all it was a lovely little weekend away, and definitely came at the right time. I still can't believe in my two years here before, I never made it to Vienna, but now I am very glad that I did. It was beautiful, clean, and organized. The people were friendly, the food was delicious, and I had a great time with that crazy baseball team. I could communicate reasonably effectively and had no trouble navigating the city. I would recommend Vienna to anyone... after they've visited Budapest. Because while the two cities are quite similar, and Vienna is definitely more tourist friendly, Budapest still wins in my heart.

Meet the boys

2011-10-10T23:42:00.004+02:00

I have two new additions to the family. Their names are Dexter and Smokey, and they are 8-week-old baby rats. They're still a bit skittish in their new home, but we're getting to know each other. We only met yesterday, so it's to be expected. Dexter is the mainly white one with the gray hood, and Smokey is the totally gray one, though he has a white belly. Dexter is definitely the more shy of the two, and Smokey sort of bosses him around even though he is smaller.

Anna also got a kitten yesterday, so now there is definitely an interesting animal dynamic brewing in the flat. The kitten is not yet named, and was a rescue. Cats and rats can be good friends if they grow up together, so we shall see what happens. For now, though, the boys are safely in their cage or out in my room, away from kitty.

Awesome

2011-10-06T21:20:00.001+02:00

I went to a sports shop today to try to get an LED light for my bike. A shop assistant popped right up and asked if I need help. Normally I just say that I'm only looking and then I get left alone. Today, though, I was feeling bold.

"Yes, I need a bike light, an LED one (said el ay day, magyar style)."
"What? El ay day?"
AHHH! My brain went. How could that not work? "Um, yes. It's a type of light. El ay day."
He stared at me.
I stammered, "El ay day. A bike light. A type of bike light. Maybe we could just go and look at them?"
He stared some more. I stared back. The gears visibly ground in both our heads.

After what seemed like three weeks, he jumped slightly and near shouted, "AH! LED-es! (led like Ted, plus esh)."
I was thrilled. "Igen!! LEDes!!"

And then we spontaneously high fived. Life is pretty awesome sometimes.

Cooking

2011-10-05T21:48:00.002+02:00

I have a tiny little dorm fridge. This is pretty standard here, but I must admit I've been spoiled for the last two years by having a larger fridge. They weren't anywhere approaching American size, but still. The little fridge has a crisper drawer, and a shelf. That's all. Well, plus the door shelves. And, really, I don't need anything more and it's totally sufficient for two people's needs.

It does really change the way you cook and think about food, though. I would guess that between Anna and I, we go food shopping pretty much every other day. Part of this is due to the size of the fridge, and part of it is due to the fact that food simply goes bad more quickly here. I'm sure there are less preservatives, and my insides are happy for it.

Yesterday I was food shopping, and I really wanted sloppy joes. So I bought a bit of ground meat, but the only available package was for a half kilo (a pound). I took it home, and made myself a portion of sloppy joe. It was delicious. But then I was left with all this extra meat, and it's not like I can just stick it in the freezer. So I made pasta sauce. I haven't made pasta sauce in so long, and I've forgotten how soothing it is. With everything that's going on right now to make my life more intense, it was so lovely to dice onions, chop herbs, brown meat, and smash tomatoes.

The sauce turned out fantastic and it was even better today after sitting overnight. After cooking, I always feel like things are going to be better. And I think they will be.

our baby fridge

Lauren in Vienna

2011-10-01T20:58:00.001+02:00

My stomach is making scary noises, but I am happy as a clam.

Hot Toddy

2011-09-28T22:34:00.000+02:00

When feeling under the weather in Central Europe, there are a few accepted solutions. One is to stay home for work for days and days. I don't like this option, because it seems rather extreme for a baby head cold. Plus, I get bored. Another option is vitamin C tablets. I do like this option, because I can buy the alkaselzer type ones that you drop into your water, thus turning it into a fizzy orange drink.

Tonight, though, the hot toddy won out. It's a cool night, my ear is full and my tummy is a bit upset, and there's some stress going on as well. So:

one bag lemon-ginger tea
one tea holder filled with fennel seed and mint
one smashed clove garlic

Pour hot water over these, and let seep. Remove the materials and add some honey and lemon juice. Finish off with a healthy splash of Polish vodka.

My preferred method here is to take my Nyquil with the hot toddy. And then set two alarms.

Alice Cooper loves Budapest

2011-09-22T22:37:00.000+02:00

This is priceless. Also, Alice Cooper is so... almost cute now, in the old man sort of a way.

Katapult kavezo

2011-09-22T08:57:00.001+02:00

I first came here with my Hungarian teacher, way back when I was studying at the Hungarian Language School. We would often see one of our old teachers here, drinking her beers one after the other. I saw her the other night as well, and she was happily getting sloshed at the bar. But now I can speak to her, at least!

Some things change, but most things just stay the same. I love that.

Favorite Memory?

2011-09-20T20:42:00.002+02:00

Dad making whirlpools in the pool, and Jackie and I colliding into the center vortex.

Tiffani

2011-09-14T18:05:00.000+02:00

For those of you who don't know, Tiffani (or Tiff, more often) is my bicycle. And I love her. She's not much of a bike, really. I got her used and have since used her hard. Granted, I did just buy her new tires, lights, and brake and gear lines. So now she's like new again. But still. She has some rust patches and chipped paint, and horrible 90s font writing for which she was named. But she's just my favorite possession.

Every morning I wake up 20 minutes before I need to leave for work, pull on some sweats, tie my stuff onto Tiff's back rack, and am out the door. I strap on my helmet and fly down the big old hill I live on. After a quick journey through the tunnel, I burst out into the sunshine. One tricky intersection later, I'm on bike path for almost the entire rest of the way to school, cruising north along the Danube. I travel under the famous chain bridge, then the Orthodox church flashes by on the right. I have time to enjoy the view of Parliament before Margaret Island blocks it. And then just a few minutes later, I'm at work. It takes me 30 minutes instead of the 45 that public transit demands, and I get to be inside my head the whole time.

I get to work steaming and change my clothes, then teach for the day. At the end of the day, I change back into the sweats, or just ride home in my work clothes. The trip home is the best, because I'm relaxed and never in a hurry, and as I take the corner around Margaret Island I get to see the greatest view of Budapest: Parliament to the left, the Danube curling away to the left in the center with the Citadel above, and the Castle and Fisherman's Bastion to the right. It's gorgeous. Every day, it is beautiful.

I just love biking in Budapest.

Also, Happy Birthday Dad!

Buda Castle Wine Fest

2011-09-11T16:18:00.001+02:00

So way back a thousand years ago (people tell me it was only three years ago, but it must have been a thousand, surely), I went to a wine festival up on the Buda Castle with Lyla and had an awesome time at one of my first Hungarian events. We went back our second year, as well. This wine festival is a lot of fun, if a bit snobby and expensive. I always have a great time, though, because you get a bit of extra love as a foreigner, and get to taste lots of delicious wine and food. Last night's wine festival had the added benefit of taking place on possibly the most gorgeous night of the year. It was warm, with a cool breeze, and the full moon floated lazily over the castle. And I along with some new American friends got all emotional about it. Because Budapest is so gorgeous, and so special, and where else in the world can you sit down on the floor of a castle's courtyard to eat potato pancakes and drink wine?

Kriszta, me, and Anna... notice the neck-pouches for the wine glasses!

crowded

beautiful pink over Pest at sunset

the castle and the moon

Parliament is all lit up now, which I love, plus the Chain Bridge.

the castle and the moon, again

Personality Tests are eerie

2011-09-06T21:06:00.002+02:00

So I took a two-question personality test (an enneagram, google it!) and the results are a bit creepy. Huh.

AY - your Enneagram type is EIGHT (aka "The Challenger").

"I must be strong"

Asserters are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.

How to Get Along with Me

• Stand up for yourself... and me.

• Be confident, strong, and direct.

• Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.

• Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side.

• Give me space to be alone.

• Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.

• I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack.

• When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am.

What I Like About Being a EIGHT

• being independent and self-reliant

• being able to take charge and meet challenges head on

• being courageous, straightforward, and honest

• getting all the enjoyment I can out of life

• supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me

• upholding just causes

What's Hard About Being a EIGHT

• overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to

• being restless and impatient with others' incompetence

• sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it

• never forgetting injuries or injustices

• putting too much pressure on myself

• getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right

EIGHTs as Children Often

• are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit

• are sometimes loners

• seize control so they won't be controlled

• figure out others' weaknesses

• attack verbally or physically when provoked

• take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings

EIGHTs as Parents

• are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted

• are sometimes overprotective

• can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

Out of the mouths of babes

2011-09-03T00:45:00.001+02:00

I went to a jazz concert this evening with my flatmate, Anna, who is a stealth Hungarian (most people guess she is Canadian or American, since she lived in the States for many years, but she is actually Hungarian). Some of her second cousins were there as well, two boys of ten and twelve years old, and I wound up chatting with them at the end of the evening. One of them asked me a question, and the following exchange took place (in Hungarian, naturally):

Me: I'm not sure. I don't understand everything.
Boy: You don't understand everything in Hungarian?!
Me: Well, I'm not Hungarian.
Boy: But how can you LIVE when you don't understand everything?!?!

Seriously, he was just so shocked and appalled at the whole concept. I tried to explain that you just kind of get used to it, but the concept was just too foreign to him. I guess I could have told him that I actually live quite easily. That being able to tune out side conversations and bus noise makes my life happier. That sometimes the food, or whatever else, I order winds up being not exactly what I expected, but that I've learned not to be picky, and was never really that picky anyway, and have thus discovered new things to love. That people generally approach any conversation they have with me with an attitude of "Oh, she's so cute," which tends to lead to my own benefit. That sometimes I can get out of trouble by saying, "I'm so sorry. I didn't understand." That I have to be more careful with my words. That it makes me really listen to the people that talk to me: stop what I'm doing, look them in the face, and listen. That I learn new things each and every day, and never cease to be fascinated and infatuated with this weird, gorgeous little language.

Instead I just laughed and said, "Ahh, it's not so bad!" And he boggled at me. Kids!

First day teaching in the upper school...

2011-09-02T19:34:00.000+02:00

This is my fifth year teaching, and yet I still feel nervous every year on the first day. In fact, I always have the same dream: that my students turn into octopi and eat me. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Yesterday was the opening ceremony, and then I went up to my "homeroom" class. So, I'm not their homeroom teacher, nor am I their official assistant homeroom teacher. I am their main English teacher, though, and their "Class Year Leader." So. I went up and told them the new expectations for the year and it went fine.

Today was the first day teaching, and I made a mistake in the Geography lesson. Context: the first two weeks of Geography is actually like Geology. And when the students said one type of mountains were older than the other, and they were wrong, I was all like "Yeah!" until my Hungarian partner teacher essentially said "Wa wa." And I was embarrassed. That sucks! What an awful thing to do in one's first lesson with a class.

But then I had to teach a Spanish lesson at the last second, and I just winged it, and it went beautifully. And I felt better about myself again.

Happy New Year! For me, at least, the new year starting in September is always the one that really counts. It probably doesn't hurt that it falls so near to my birthday!

Istanbul, take two

2011-08-30T20:48:00.000+02:00

The second weekend of August, I headed to Istanbul. I've been to Istanbul before, during an action-packed long weekend with Lyla back in May of 2009. Now, it's not often that I will return to a place I've already visited, especially if I don't know people who live there. But Istanbul was different. I loved it the first time, and I was excited to return. I maintain that Istanbul really is a special place. It has such an energy to it, such an interesting mix of cultures and peoples. This time, we were also visiting during Ramadan, which led to enormous groups of actual Istanbulians gathering at night to eat, dance, and socialize. I arrived Friday evening and met up with Mary, Juliet, and Chelsi from my masters program.

Upon checking into our hostel, we found Juliet curled up in one bed and this little kitty curled up in another. It seemed to be all part of the socialist cat experiment going on in Istanbul. All these cats were, ostensibly, strays. Nevertheless, they were all well fed and seemed rather healthy. We even saw one stray cat wearing the cone of shame, presumably after a recent vet visit. The cats seemed to have their own little hang outs, and the owners of the various businesses took care of them.

The first thing we did was climb up the stairs to a roof top balcony and get a drink while the sun set.

other roof tops and the Bosporus

After getting a quick bite to eat, we decided to sit in an outdoor cafe, befriend the staff, and enjoy a nice fish bowl with a nargile.

Silliness ensued.

The next morning we woke up, and decided to go for a walk. Since I've been to Istanbul, Juliet was returning, and Mary had already been there a few days by the time we arrived, we felt pretty chill about making it to the big tourist sites and were instead content to have a nice, calm day. This is the Hagia Sofia.

The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet) was all decked out for Ramadan.

Chelsi and I did pop into the courtyard of the mosque, though, to admire the five cascading domes.

Hello.

The weather was gorgeous. It was hot, but not too hot, with lovely, flower-scented breezes.

This pretty dome, on the old Roman forum, was where we sat to enjoy a bit of shade. We then hit a little market of traditional goods and crafts that had been set up in honor of Ramadan. Shockingly, I bought earrings.

We walked through a lovely, enormous park that had been part of the gardens of the Tokapi palace. Eventually we wound up at the sea, where we watched fishermen work and wandered back along the sea wall.

The girls liked the sea wall.

Four people in a self-portrait? Of course it can be done!

On the way back to the hostel, we walked through a more working-class neighborhood and this little fellow came running out to greet us. His eyes were barely open. Now, the previously mentioned socialist cat experiment hasn't taken away the capitalist urges of the people. When I scooped him up, a nearby group of men laughed and called out "One Euro!" He made me think of little Puha, the super-friendly kitten from last visit. Isn't he so cute?

We ended the day on the terrace of our hostel, which afforded us some fantastic views. This is the Hagia Sofia.

This is the Blue Mosque, complete with Ramadan lights.

Meze Plates are a fantastic way to eat in Turkey. You get various dips, such as these yogurt and tomato dips, and little snacks, such as these cheese rolls and dourma, plus a basket of pitas. Yum!

The amazing full moon over the bay. Later we went for a walk around the main square, and saw whirling dervishes performing/praying. Traditionally, they prey by dancing, spinning around and around for hours until they reach a higher plane. It's insane to see... one of those things that just catches your breath in your throat. Amazing.

The next day we hit the spice market, where I stocked up on spices and teas to bring back to Hungary with me. Then we hopped on the ferry and headed across to the Asian side, where we had a delicious lunch on a floating restaurant. This appetizer of pastrami, cheese, and fresh herbs wrapped up in phyllo was transcendent. It was SO GOOD.

And, of course, I ate a fish. And Mary pretended to put its eye on Juliet.

the famous Bosporus bridge

Sunday afternoon was spent at the baths, steaming ourselves. We got the exfoliating massage, at which point they somehow managed to remove enough skin from us that we all looked like snakes, pink and shiny with little bits of skin clinging to us. It was actually somewhat gross. But then we got massages, which cleaned the grossness away. We walked back and grabbed dinner on yet another rooftop cafe. I got a Mezze Plate again, this one including 8 dips, dourma, and four little fish rolls. Washed down with a nice beer, it was so delicious.

Sunday night, Juliet and I stayed up with Mary until she had to catch the 3 AM shuttle bus to the airport, somehow befriending two Turkish guys who didn't speak any English but were very good sports about it. We had a great time playing cards and laughing. On Monday Chelsi and I dashed to the great bazaar to buy some souvenirs. I had very, very awesome success with my haggling, getting what I wanted for a third of the original price. Then it was onto the shuttle bus to the airport to catch my plane back to Budapest. What a great weekend! Istanbul is such a fun and exciting place, and I know I'll be back again.

Magda's Wedding

2011-08-29T23:29:00.000+02:00

So as most of you know, I headed back to Europe from the States a bit earlier than I actually had to do so for work. This was because my very good friend was getting married. Magdalena and I have been friends since we met at Hungarian Language School almost three years ago, and have bonded closely in the way that expats do. Magda is Polish, but lives here in Hungary with her Hungarian now-husband. I was invited to her wedding this summer and I was super excited to attend, experience a bit of central European culture, and have a ton of fun.

First, of course, I had to get to the wedding. This involved a seven hour bus trip through beautiful Slovakian and Polish countryside on Friday. I spent a quick night in Krakow, then woke up early on Saturday morning. After meeting Lyla at the train station, we caught the train to Debica, then a taxi to the hotel. We laid about for a bit before then getting ready and catching a bus to the wedding.

Sadly, the weather was not very cooperative, but it was still a lovely day. This is the church.

There was a polka band! Polka!

the altarpiece

The ceremony itself was beautiful. The priest switched back and forth from Hungarian to Polish and back again. It was just lovely, the thought of two such different people coming together, and bringing all of their friends and families together with them.

After the wedding, there were people in crazy costumes everywhere. I guess it is local tradition to dress up and essentially harass the bride and groom for vodka, cake, coins, and other treats. They also poured potatoes on the ground (like hundreds of potatoes) and made Bela gather them up to prove that he can be a good provider.

After the bus kept getting stopped by the local revelers, we arrived to the reception tent at Magda's childhood home. We were greeted by balloons in both the Polish and the Hungarian colors.

This being central Europe, the first thing done upon entering the tent was a ceremonial shot-taking. They then had to throw the shot glasses behind them. They didn't break, though, so Bela then had to stomp each of the shot glasses. The happy couple then swept up the broken glass together while their family swatted at them.

Dinner was served family-style, and it was pretty darn delicious. Not pictured: bottles and bottles and bottles of vodka and other alcohols.

Lyla and I were very pretty, if I do say so myself.

The night continued. There was a lot of dancing, both of the more Central-European variety and of the Chicken dance variety. There was a slideshow of the couple's life, and many toasts, and oh so much vodka. At one point, I went on a quest for water. "Voda?" I asked several servers. "Tak, VODKA!" they all replied, pressing bottles into my hand. It was an adventure. Dogs showed up, and we played with them. Cake was served. Many conga lines went around. I somehow had full conversations with people who only speak Polish. And when, late late at night, the above-pictured meat jello (aspic) was served, I even tried some. And then more dancing, and more buffalo grass, and telling everyone in very excited Hungarian that "THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING." Finally, I started a movement around six in the morning, linked arms with Lyla and some strangers, and fell asleep on a table. The groom came and woke us up, shouting that there was important dancing to be done, but we demurred and asked for a ride back to the hotel instead.

The next morning there was a brunch, where most of the guests were wearing sunglasses despite the cloudy sky, and then Lyla and I spent the day in the weird little hotel, eating cake and catching up on life.

This American got to be one of only a handful of foreigners in attendance, and experience a totally different, yet totally familiar, Very Important Day. It was beautiful, to see all these people coming together, and communicating somehow despite language and cultural barriers. It was beautiful to be a part of it. And so much fun! My life is pretty awesome.

Bad bad blogger, redux

2011-08-21T20:26:00.000+02:00

Sigh. I know I've written this entry a few time before, but this time it really wasn't my fault, due to several weeks with very limited internet access. In the meantime, I've been to a wedding, settled into a new apartment, gone to Istanbul, and had a week-long visit from a friend from my master's program, complete with the requisite exploration of Budapest and trip to Eger. Eventually I will blog about all these things and put up photos and so on. I promise!

Yesterday was the 20th of August, which is Saint Stephen's day here in Hungary. He was their founder, so to speak, and the 20th of August is sort of their equivalent of the 4th of July in the States. Everyone is happy and out of the house, there are snacks and food stands, and there are fireworks. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I first came to Hungary on the 20th of August, so it has something of a special meaning to me as well. Last night Balint, my new flatmate Anna, and my houseguest Juliet wandered down to the river to watch the fireworks and wound up staying up until two playing cards. At a certain point in the night, walking down to the fireworks, I just kind of sighed. When Anna asked what was up, I really didn't have an answer. I was just happy. And while the fireworks were going off, I just pondered how much my life has changed in three years. I've been abroad for three years now, and it's been an amazing three years.

Of course, the one thing missing from the weekend was the Red Bull AirRaces, which used to be held in Budapest this weekend. Sadly, they were canceled this year, and possibly last year and probably forever, due to safety concerns. But they used to be awesome. They started and ended by flying UNDER THE CHAIN BRIDGE. It was epic. Rest in Peace, Red Bull Air Races. I did miss you.

Moving into the flat today

2011-08-10T11:55:00.002+02:00

Everything is mostly set up, and tonight will be my first night at the new flat! And then I will have two nights, and on Friday I head to Istanbul for a long weekend with some of the girls from Spain.

Internet, photos, and blogs hopefully to follow soon.

Svedorszag

2011-08-06T23:47:00.000+02:00

That, readers, means Sweden. And that is the jist of Ikea's current big advertising push: that going to Ikea is like going to Sweden. The billboards all say "Sweden this way!" with arrows and such. Of course, for me, going to Ikea is not anything like going to Sweden. Going to Ikea is like going to heaven. And going to Ikea is like going to hell. Because I want everything I see, and suddenly I've spent just hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Or tens of thousands of forints, to be more dramatic.

Today marked my fourth annual Ikea trip, where I go and buy just everything I need for a new apartment. In this case, this included a bed. And I figured, since I'm going to be sleeping on it every single day, it should be a nice bed. So I got the one I liked, with simple clean lines, even though it wasn't the cheapest. It wasn't that much more than the cheapest, but still. And I got a nice mattress for it. Plus a big fluffy duvet, three big pillows, and new sheets. And all sorts of silly other things were purchased, like a red mop and three dozen clothes hangers and a shower curtain with angry fish drawn on it.

This moving every year thing is expensive, but at least it gives me a chance to dawdle for hours in housewares stores!

My blog's title once again matches its address

2011-07-29T22:21:00.001+02:00

Yes, folks, I am back in Budapest!! Well, right now I am in Krakow, spending a quick night here before heading to Debica for Magda and Bela's wedding tomorrow. But I arrived in one piece and with all my things to Budapest on Monday, and it's good to be back. Even if the summer appears to have "failed loading" as so many facebook statuses say.

I'm currently staying with Anna out in Budakeszi (a suburb) while she house sits. But I've already found a flat, and will start moving in next week with any luck. I've also seen Balint and gone to a Hungarian metal band's concert. Internet is iffy, but I will give more details on everything at a later date.

But now it's off to have a drink with Lyla and then get a good night's rest. Apparently four bottles of vodka await me tomorrow at this wedding!

It takes the shape of a place out west

2011-07-21T23:08:00.000+02:00

Almost exactly four years ago, give or take a week, I headed out to California to start my adult, post-undergrad life. I was going to volunteer for the Americorps, teaching kids English and running an after-school program. This was a rather big revelation for most people I knew, as I had spent the past eight or so years certain I was going to be a lawyer, as well as announcing this fact to everyone I knew. Studying abroad, to be totally cliche, changed me, though, and to my dismay I found myself wanting desperately to work with languages rather than with law. With graduation looming, though, I found myself with few options. So I decided to go volunteer. I figured a year of goofing off and teaching language would get it out of my system, and then I would be champing at the bit to head to law school, with a nice little experience on my resume.

Of course, this year was probably the most intense one of my life. The kids came from such a difficult place, avoiding gangs and immigration officials all at the same time. Their parents were generally illiterate even in Spanish, and spoke little to no English. And I had around ten bosses who each seemed determined to make my life difficult. Nevertheless, I discovered I loved teaching. I still wasn't ready to call myself a teacher, though, so I grasped at straws and came up with Hungary.

And I went to Hungary, and fell in love with it, and now I am a teacher.

Tomorrow my little sister heads from home. She is going to Arizona to teach high school biology. I can only hope her journey takes her as soundly to where she needs to be and she is happy.

Good luck, Weasel.

Cleaning the closet

2011-07-13T19:46:00.001+02:00

And no, that's not a metaphor. I am literally cleaning out my closet, and it's disconcerting. For one, how did one person possibly accumulate so many clothes in ten or so years? (I say ten years because I don't think I have anything from before the middle of high school.) And it is just a remarkable amount of stuff. I have already filled 6 full-sized garbage bags to donate and there is more to go. This doesn't include, by the way, my three suitcases of general stuff that actually travels with me.

Another discovery is how SHORT everything is. Style has definitely changed. My style, also, has definitely changed, from jeans and casual tops to skirts and dresses with more tailored shirt options. I guess I grew up a bit.

Nevertheless, it's a bit sad to find old relics from high school or college and shove them into a trash bag. I hope most of them can be reused by somebody who needs them. They have some memories, that's for sure. Isn't it strange how much things, inanimate and seemingly meaningless items, grow to have feelings and history attached to them? I wore this shirt when x, I got this while visiting y, this was a gift from z. And then this thing, which is really nothing at all, becomes so important. Nevertheless, it's pretty much time to let go. And an empty(ish) closet will be lovely.

Fireworks!

2011-07-07T19:37:00.000+02:00

On Sunday my sister had her graduation party. And while it was lovely to eat junk food and see some family members and family friends I haven't seen in awhile, I must admit that the best part, as always, was Dad's enormous semi-legal fireworks display. It's amazing what you can get to shoot out of a little cardboard box nowadays. All of the below is courtesy of Dad, and exploded over our little lake. Awesome.

Back in America

2011-07-06T21:12:00.000+02:00

I am back in the States, safe and sound. I am slowly falling into the stupor of doing nothing at home, embracing the utter laziness it offers. Which is fun, because this is really the first day I've been lazy. Friday I arrived in the evening, Saturday we spent the day getting ready for my sister's graduation party, Sunday was the graduation party, on Monday Dad and I went and played mini golf and gokarts and batting cages and all that stuff, and yesterday Mom and I went to the DMV to get my new (horizontal, adult!) drivers licence and to the movies. I've been running around, and it's been pretty awesome. But today everyone but me is at work, and I've been so lazy. I took the dogs out to play, fixed some dinner, and that's all. I haven't even had the energy to pick up my book, just to laze about and watch food network.

Tomorrow I'll get back to it. I'll work on cleaning out my disaster of a closet and drawers, and do a bit of curriculum planning. In the meantime, though, this summer laziness at home is so, so nice.

Leaving Spain

2011-06-30T23:01:00.000+02:00

No matter how rough your time has been in a place, and no matter how excited you are to go on to the next thing... it's always a little bit sad to pack up your things and leave. To take all your life down from the walls and leave them blank and white. To cram a year's worth of life into two bags. To say goodbye to the sights you've seen every day for a whole year.

I've already said goodbye to everyone I cared to say goodbye to. I've given Yoichi cat a good cuddle. But saying goodbye to my year in Spain, and all that it represented, and all that I hoped for it that it didn't turn out to be still remains. And it turns out I don't know quite how to do that.

It's not goodbye to Spain forever. Spain continues to be Spain, and I continue to be me, and I know that I will be back to visit it sometime in the not-too-distant future. It is, though, goodbye to Spain as a place I've lived. I don't think I'll ever come back here to live. Never say never, but still. So, farewell, Spain. Once again, you've forced me to grow and to discover new things about myself. And for that, and for the beauty of your people and cities (especially outside of Madrid, heh) I'll always love you. But now it's time to move on, and go back to where I think I am supposed to be.

I've graduated!

2011-06-28T16:04:00.000+02:00

Well, the ceremony was all rather chill and somewhat disorganized, and they totally got our graduation date wrong on our completion letters (say it with me... Spain!), but I have graduated, and with a 9,53/10 average at that. I have the certificate and transcripts. It's done! Hooray!

Me with my graduation certificate. Actual diplomas take up to a year to process in Spain.

After lunch, we got to visit the room where they award the Cervantes Prize to excellent Spanish-language writers.

Thanks, Girls.

2011-06-24T15:54:00.000+02:00

In one week I'll be in America, and for the past week I have done... nothing I'm willing to discuss on my blog! No, no, I kid. It hasn't been anything too crazy, just a whole ton of parties and laying in parks, saying goodbye to the friends I have made this year. It's weird to think that I got here less than a year ago, or that at this time last year I was packing up my flat in Budapest, burying Bencelita, and saying goodbye to my friends there. I was also sobbing hysterically pretty much nonstop. In the past year, I have obtained a masters degree and figured out quite a few things about teaching and life in general.

All of my friends here are American. I spend my free time almost exclusively with girls from my master's program. It has created a different sort of dynamic, one that is temporary and foreign and intense. And this year, while I am certainly sad to say "hasta luego" to those friends, it seems almost natural. Everyone is going on to something new and exciting, a new adventure in a new place, and this is how life should be. We have been camp friends to each other: thrown together in an intense situation to become impossibly close for a limited amount of time, always knowing that real life would come back some day and separate us again. And I'm sure that we will keep in some sort of touch, because I really do love these girls, but it feels natural to split up and move on without each other to the next thing.

My "year off life" is almost over, thank God, and it's almost time to go back to the real thing. But parts of it have been like a dream, almost exclusively thanks to the awesome American women I've gotten to spend it with.

Carissa

Juliet

Katie

Chelsi

Jessica

Mary

Megan

Dad's visit

2011-06-21T17:56:00.003+02:00

Last week, Dad came to visit me. He arrived Thursday morning, and I brought him home before letting him rest while I went to work. Thursday afternoon we had Italian food and then visited the monastery, which Dad was quite impressed with, as well as walking all over the park and down to the lower town. On Friday morning, Dad came into work with me, and the kids were misbehaved. Oh well. I couldn't be too upset, because that afternoon we were heading to the best place in Spain: Salamanca. Dad wasn't able to visit me when I studied there before, so this would be my first time sharing it with him.

Castilla from the train

us in Plaza Mayor (the best Plaza Mayor in Spain)

Dad in front of the cathedral.

After walking around the old town a bit, we also headed to the river. Salamanca continues to be gorgeous.

the old Roman bridge and I

Hmmm...

the two cathedrals over the Rio Tormes

Dad and the cathedrals... this is the same spot where a very sleepy and jet-lagged me came to watch fireworks on one of my first nights in Salamanca. Cities like to celebrate my arrival with fireworks!

We walked around some more, and then decided to get some dinner. We started with gazpacho and salmorejo (cold tomato-based soups, the later thickened with bread), and the waitress laughed at how clean Dad's plate was. The main course was the Iberian sampler, which was this beauty: steak, pork chops, lamb chops, lomo (pork loin), and sausage. It also came with a big plate of roasted potatoes. Only one piece of steak survived, and we took it to go and played a game of pretending to offer it to people for their dogs before we eventually left it in a little park for some doggy or kitty to find and enjoy.

Naturally, I was so hungry that I ate almost everything myself. Poor Dad. Look at him up there, hungry and just wanting a piece of meat! (Note to any non-family readers: whenever a meal has bones, Dad likes to pile all of his bones onto either my or my sister's plate. It's a running joke.)

After dinner, we wandered Salamanca some more and enjoyed the beautiful Plateresque city in the cool evening. This is the new Cathedral. Salamanca has two, and the new one was literally built around the old one because they didn't want to knock it down.

me and one of the Cathedral facades

This sign says, "Salamanca, a city which bewitches all who have enjoyed the pleasure of living there to return." It's true. I've written a lot about Salamanca before. It was my first real experience abroad and in another culture and language. I really think it majorly shaped who I am today. I'm always so sad to leave it. This time, though, I wasn't sad, because I'm going back to Budapest at least semi-long term. I know I will see Salamanca again.

Plaza Mayor and the Moon

me in Plaza Mayor

Dad in Plaza Mayor

After watching one of the Die Hards on Spanish TV and getting a night's rest in our (admittedly awesome and quite cheap, I was pleased with the find) pension, we were up Saturday morning for chocolate con churros at my old stomping grounds of El Colonial. After that, we headed to the Cathedrals for a bit of sight-seeing.

new Cathedral

old Cathedral

a chicken for LuLu

We spent a long time visiting the Cathedral and then, of course, stopped by the university so that Dad could find the little frog carved onto the facade, a tradition meant to bring good luck. For lunch, we had a Balkan Platter at my favorite kebap place in town. We also saw Mike Wyzowski from Monsters, Inc.

I made sure to bring Dad to the Museo del Toro, which is a fun little museum basically consisting of a crazy bull-fighting aficionados' personal collection, all crammed haphazardly into a few cluttered rooms.

A toro... note the missing ear. If the bullfighter does well, one or two ears or even the tail of the bull will be cut off and rewarded to the bullfighter. These are typically mounted on little plaques, several of which can be seen at this museum.

Dad has also, apparently, learned the art of photo bombing. The final shot of this series is me with his jacket on my head, thrown perfectly as I took the shot. After some more wandering, and a few siesta frustrations, we headed back to San Lorenzo. I made us stir fry for dinner so we wouldn't die of scurvy after too many consecutive meals in Spanish restaurants, and we chilled out and watched Archer. Archer is a very, very funny show, by the way.

On Sunday we headed into Madrid and did the full sight-seeing round. It was a very hot day, and by the end we were quite worn out. Here is Dad in the Retiro Park.

We saw some unhappy police horses nervously going down the stairs in the park.

After the park, we wandered toward Sol, checking out the dirty hippies while drinking lemon slushies. We got Indian for lunch in Lavapies while Dad laughed about how he was going to exaggerate his description of the area (it's an immigrant-heavy area) to torment Mom.

After lunch, we headed to Plaza Espana. Here is Dad with Quijote. Dad essentially is Quijote, so I found this photo fitting.

We also checked out the Temple of Debod and the view from there. Finally, we visited the outside of the Royal Palace, popped into the Cathedral de la Almudena, and saw Plaza Mayor before surrendering to the heat and the siren call of more episodes of Archer and heading home to relax a bit.

On Monday morning while I was at work, Dad climbed the Abantos mountain behind my house, unwilling to let Balint have been my only guest to have done so. I had planned to perhaps visit Segovia or Toledo in the afternoon, but we were worn out from so much sightseeing that we just relaxed and played cards, as well as continued to torture Mr. Yoichi cat with the catnip mice (this time on a fishing rod!) that Mom sent for him. I also helped Dad pack his suitcase with a ton of my belongings to bring home.

Last night's dinner: Dad's tuna.

My sardine fillets with potatoes and Padron peppers. Cheesecake was also involved.

On Tuesday morning, it was up early to head to the airport. Happily that went painlessly, except for poor Dad who had to deal with my suitcase that is missing a wheel. We had breakfast at the airport, and then Dad had to go through security. It was a great visit where we saw a ton, ate delicious food, and had a lot of fun. I really, really enjoyed the visit. It was also so different from Mom's also great visit, so it was fun to experience my parents individually in separate visits. Dad's visit was also basically my last "thing" here in Spain, and marked the beginning of the end. So so soon, I will be in America and then in Hungary again, but first it was wonderful to show Dad "my" Spain.

Malaga

2011-06-07T23:36:00.000+02:00

I must say that having turned in my thesis was a remarkable thing for me. It's as if my life changed over night. I had no more classes, my paper was done, and my classes switched to mornings-only (apparently it's too hot for the kids to go to class in the afternoon, despite the fact that I've had to break out my jacket again this week, but I'm not complaining!). On top of that, my private lessons are kind of winding down as the end of the year approaches. All in all it's rather lovely!

This weekend I also took a quick trip down to the southern coast of Spain to visit Malaga with Carissa, Katie, Juliet, and Leslie. Juliet and Leslie lived there a few years ago, so we stayed with some of their friends, who were lovely and generous people. And I have to say that I did no sightseeing. I partied all night, slept all morning, and spent all afternoon on the beach. And there was a distinct moment where I was lying in the sun, and my body just sort of relaxed. I consciously felt all the badness of this year just sort of flow out of me. My shoulders dropped, my breathing slowed, and my jaw unclenched. And I must admit that until that moment, I was rather unaware of how much this year was affecting me. I mean, I was physically wound up from all that I had going on. But in the sun of Malaga, I closed my eyes and my body opened again. It was fantastic. And to top it all off, I managed to escape with a sunburn on only my nose and the outer half of my right foot, despite hours in direct sunlight. A true miracle.

our view
(The tower is the Cathedral.)

the river

tropical flowers

hibiscus

palms

beach

amazing salad with jamon, goat cheese, caramelized onions, apples, walnuts...

the other beach on the second day

me, only mildly pink and happy

One month

2011-06-01T20:57:00.000+02:00

Oh my goodness, it's June. And my masters is completed, excepting 16 little half-days of teaching. In a month, I will be in America to spend a few weeks with my family, and then I head back to Budapest for Magda's wedding and then flat-hunting!

And the thing is, I'm so excited. If you head back to the archives from May of last year, I was so so sad. I'm sure there are things about Spain that I will miss (fluency, my girlfriends, Yoichi, croquetas, and 100 Montaditos all spring immediately to mind), but I am just so excited to spend some time at home and then get back to Budapest and Krudy.

Thesis highlights

2011-05-30T22:18:00.000+02:00

Ok, I know that most of this will not be interesting for anyone reading this blog, but I am a teacher and this blog is about my teaching abroad, so. While I don't think my thesis itself would be an interesting read, some of the information I discovered while writing it IS very interesting, either as an educator or as a language learner.

I had noticed when I first lived in Hungary, and when I first came from Hungary to Spain, the tendency of Hungarian and Spanish to interfere with each other in my spoken language. This would either take the form of words from the other foreign language invading while speaking, or (and much more interestingly) grammatical concepts from one language making themselves known while speaking the other. The most famous example of this is when I visited Spain from Hungary and said "Dos cervezaT quiero, por favor." This has the combined fun of Hungarian word order and the Hungarian accusative ending working their way into my Spanish. However, when I speak either of my foreign languages, I have very little English interference. That isn't to say that I don't think of English words when I'm missing a piece of vocabulary, or that I never use awkward anglicisms, but rather simply that I don't have unconscious interference. My use of English was almost always deliberate (if unwanted, because I want to be fluent!). And, it turns out, this is totally a thing. It's called "the talk foreign phenomenon," which is a horrible name, and it has to do with our cognitive centers apparently storing non-native languages in the same place. It's simply more easy to "deactivate" our native language. So, all you third language learners, rejoice! It's totally a thing!
Partner teaching is completely best practices. It's ideal (when the two teachers get along, of course) because it offers so much more to the students, and allows for the use of different teaching strategies. World, get on this. I'm so excited to go back to Krudy and partner teaching.
Immersion teaching may well only be the most effective teaching practice for young students, as adolescents and adults can benefit greatly from connections between languages and all of that fun metalinguistic stuff.
Code-switching (the practice used by bilinguals, mostly unconsciously but according to rather strict rules, of changing languages in one turn of speech) is not a sign of a lack of proficiency in the non-native language. In fact, it is more likely to be used by people who are comfortable, if not fluent, with both languages. It is also much more likely that bilinguals switch into the language which they HEAR most often, even if that is not the dominant language of the pair! This is fascinating. It also gives us expats a bit of an excuse for our obnoxiousness of using scattered words and phrases of the local language when speaking English. We're not showing off... it's science!
Actually, very very few people are forced to learn a third (or subsequent) language with a non-native language as the language of instruction. Very, very little research exists on the subject, and it all seems to deal with either the Basques (whom I can't seem to stop visiting this year) or the Hungarians (whom I love). So that's interesting. I'll have to write about it in a few years.