I'm Baaaackkk! (and Hungarian)

Apologies for dropping off the face of the Earth. I've been getting ready and moving to Hungary and, as is not unusual for my life, I wasn't comfortable getting excited until I was actually here. I arrived about ten days ago and spent a few days with some friends before starting orientation.

Being back in Budapest is amazing. I alternately feel as if I have been gone forever and as though I just left a week ago. Just arriving in London, after a changed flight schedule and an extra night in the US (in a hotel in Dallas which terrified me to no end), I felt so relaxed and peaceful. Even having my luggage lost and not getting it until the next day didn't faze me. This is Hungary after all.

Orientation has been fantastic. I'm making new friends - surprising myself how much I am going out of my comfort zone to introduce (and reintroduce) myself to people - and learning a ton. I'm skipping the Hungarian lessons because I already know enough to get around but the rest of the classes are proving to be very helpful. So many of the cultural differences between the US and Hungary which I was aware of are being explained in ways which I could have never put into words. The thorough (albeit not always perfect English) lectures are fascinating. I am taking more notes than many people simply because every facet that is explained and can be transferred from inarticulate experience into something I can actually describe makes me very happy. And with nearly every facet, I find parts of myself mirrored in the culture.

I am Hungarian. Not that there has been any doubt in my mind through the last ten years but now I have "proof." Hearing explanations for the pessimism that runs in my blood, the tendency to have very little privacy about my personal life (far too many people know far too much about my life and I care far too little about this fact... clearly, I belong in a culture where people would be asking me about all of this rather than my awkward over-sharing of unnecessary blather), the generation gap (although, I often feel on the "old" side of it) while still being able to socialize with a wide variety of people, the list could go on and on.

These things don't usually bother me but occasionally I feel them highlighted and outside of Hungarian culture it can feel uncomfortable. I guess there are simple solutions (largely revolving around keeping my mouth shut when the urge to over-share strikes me... or not blogging about it) but I'm like an addict that can't seem to break the habit.

Because the majority of the new teachers have never been to Budapest, I have been playing tour guide quite a bit answering questions, giving directions, and leading expeditions. Although I make it known that my advice is not "official" CETP advice, there have been a few spats when returning teachers who are helping with orientation strongly disagree with me. While I don't mind differing opinions, it is frustrating to be told I am wrong by someone who has been in the country, not to mention Budapest itself, much shorter of a period than I have.

Lest you think this is all gloom and doom, things are going great. I'm so happy to be back in Hungary. I can't wait to move to Hajduszoboszlo on Tuesday and get acquainted with my new town. I have so many teaching strategies and ideas that I am itching to try out and I am learning more everyday during our sessions on Teaching Tips. Those are especially good because they are taught completely from the understanding that we are Americans who don't know much about the Hungarian educational system. While I have a better understanding of the Hungarian system than most of my classmates, I know much less about education in general than some of the rest. I'm so thrilled to have this opportunity (yes, even to the point of being thankful for all the crap that happened with Szoloto which lead to my leaving and ultimately coming back) and cannot wait to see what the year will hold.

WYD part 4

Thursday was the day that Papa Ben (The Pope/B16/etc) arrived in Madrid. After catechesis, I went with most of the group to the welcome ceremony. We arrived around 2pm and got pretty close -- we had a good view of a screen and could even see the stage somewhat.

People that arrived after us:

There were pilgrims from ALL OVER the world.


We had to wait from 2pm until the Pope arrived at 7:30 so we saw a ton of strange/awesome things... for example

The "Monk-arena"
(sorry it's turned sideways, I couldn't figure out how to fix that)

It was terribly hot. I'm amazed that I managed not to get sunburned. That's only because I was reapplying sunscreen about every hour. Unfortunately, some people got really nasty as well. I went to the toilet with a couple of the other girls and we had a serious problem getting back to the group. Some other pilgrims wouldn't move a few feet (they had loads of room because they were sitting in a circle playing cards) to let us past and even when a girl fainted from the heat right behind us they didn't want to move. They did finally move so that the girl could get medical assistance and we were able to fight our way back to the group.

Over all, though the atmosphere was great. So many young adults so excited to see the Holy Father. Seriously, there has to be something to the papacy. Otherwise, there is no reason for 100's of thousands of youth to be gathered in the 40+C (well over 100F) heat to see one short, 84 year old man. There is no other reason for us to be chanting with one voice (as we did dozens of times throughout the week, both in the presence of the pope and anywhere else... opposite platforms of the metro, walking down the street, you name it) “¡Esta es la juventud del papa!” ("We are the youth of the pope!") He really is our spiritual father. Forget Dumbledore's Army... I'm in Benedict's Army. Which, ultimately, is Jesus' Army.

Finally, Papa Ben arrived! And we could see him!!


Five young adults representing the five continents presented welcome gifts to the Holy Father. I didn't catch a picture of him putting on the cowboy hat from the North American representative but I did get one of him wearing the flower garland from the Asian rep.



After the gifts, there was a short prayer service with a reading from the Bible and intercessions. Papa Ben greeted the pilgrims and gave a short message in each of the "official" WYD languages (Spanish, French, Italian, German, English, and Polish) eliciting massive cheers from each language group in turn.



After the prayer service, he rode back out of the square in the pope-mobile. We were kind of disappointed because there had been plenty of space right along the fence on the street where he came in but we chose to get closer to the stage rather than stand there. Oh well... we were still there.

We waited a little while for the crowds to start to clear (hah) a little bit and then headed out of the square to find some food. On the way, we passed two cardinals walking down the road. Now, one doesn't normally see two "Princes of the Church" ambling down a city street. I caught a picture and then some of the group decided we should talk to them.



American's are often very irritating in international settings. Not everyone and not always but there is enough truth in the stereotype for me to downplay my citizenship when abroad. Because of this, I was telling people at WYD that I live in Hungary. When we met the cardinals, the rest of the group said they were from Canada and I chimed in (as I had been doing up until that point but sort of stopped afterwards) that I was coming from Hungary.

One of the cardinals looked at me strangely and asked
"Where?"
I figured that he either hadn't heard or didn't know where I was talking about so I repeated "Budapest, Hungary."
No sooner had I said that then, in flawless Hungarian, he says
"Dicsértessék a Jézus Krisztus!" (Praised be Jesus Christ!)

Now, you have to understand that for Hungarian Catholics, that is the common greeting from a priest to the people. If you're Hungarian and Catholic it's about as well known as the Sign of the Cross. Basically, if you don't know it (and the proper response), you are either not Hungarian or not Catholic or neither. When I'm in Hungary, the response flies off the tip of my tongue as easy as pie. However.... I was NOT expecting this random cardinal to be Cardinal Erdő -- the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (my home diocese) and the only Hungarian cardinal. I knew that he had to be in Budapest on Saturday for St. Stephen's day so I figured he wasn't going to be at WYD. Apparently, I was wrong. My poor brain was so befuddled with the sudden switch from English/Spanish to Hungarian. I recognized the phrase to be Hungarian, I knew it was the standard greeting from a priest, and I knew that I knew the proper response. What I didn't manage was to come up with the response. Instead, I mumbled, "igen," (yes) looking quite bewildered, I'm sure. The cardinal frowned and, somewhat sharply, gave me the response "Mindörökké, ámen!" (Forever, amen!)

I can't blame him... the poor guy was probably thinking "who is this girl and why is she claiming to be Hungarian/Catholic?!" ... Sorry, Your Eminence, I promise I'm not that thick - just wasn't expecting the language switch.

After that excitement (read: embarrassment -- at least for me) we got dinner and then headed home after a LONG day in the sun.

Stamping and fainting and belching, Oh my!

Today was one of those days where things just go well. Thank God! I've really needed one of these. To start with, I had a good conversation with a friend from school. It's not my story to tell but he's got some really good things going on right now and seeing his excitement reminds me to appreciate what I've been given :)

I actually went to immigration.... finally. It will shock anyone who knows anything about the Hungarian immigration system to find out that I left the building a mere hour and a half after entering. The lady working with us didn't seem very happy with my papers - not really sure why - but she seemed to accept them... at least she was stamping everything so that's definitely a good sign. I need to go back next month to finish some things and they need a few more documents. Everything should be fine though.

On the way to work from immigration, I wasn't entirely sure where I was but found a bus going to a familiar place pretty quickly. After a few stops, people started talking loudly about opening the windows and asking the driver to stop and open the door. When they asked for a doctor, I really started wondering what was going on. Turns out a girl had fainted barely 4 feet from me. The driver finally stopped and let her (and most everyone else) off the bus. Most of us started walking to the next stop but the driver drove past and left us. I didn't particularly mind since I was able to get another bus to the commuter train station where I had to go.

When I got to work, my class was playing outside for about another half hour before lunch. Although they were a bit wild outside and while changing (I'll have to write about work and the many differences between here and the US), they calmed down at the table and were really well behaved. I was amazed and really, really happy during lunch because I definitely heard at least 5 of the 7 say "Thank you" (after being prompted of course) when I gave them their food/drink at some point. Considering these are 2-2.5 year olds, most of whom have not been exposed to English prior to September 1, that is HUGE. And, even the ones who might not have said it in English, did say it in Hungarian showing that, even if they don't know the English phrase, they understand the concept.

Sometimes it's a little hard working with the kids because I understand so much of what they are saying but am not supposed to respond to anything (unless it's important, i.e. "I need to go peepee) when they speak to me in Hungarian. Today at lunch, Oliver, one of my little boys, belched at the table. Viki, my Hungarian coteacher, told him to say "excuse me." He did but then belched again. Then he started making himself belch. Viki had enough of that after a minute and told him to stop. His response ... "I belch to say I'm finished eating." Viki and I looked at each other and violently tried not to laugh. It worked for a minute and then we both were nearly crying.

Later, after they got up from their naps, I took the two kids who were still at the kindy outside to play. Oliver was climbing on this big grass hill thing in the yard and Ella wanted to climb as well. I was watching but didn't want to help her very much (for somethings, I feel if the kid is going to do something, they have to be able to do it themselves). Oliver started trying to help Ella and it was really adorable watching them play together. Also, at one point, Oliver was bent over with his hands and feet on the ground looking at me upside down. I asked him what he was doing and he promptly responded "upside down." Gosh, these kids are smart!

Speaking (haha) of learning languages, I've been really pleased with my Hungarian lately. Last night I was able to translate (at least general concepts) for my English coteacher, Lauren, at our parents' meeting. Today, while the kids were napping, I had an hour long conversation with Viki -- who doesn't speak any English. Then, when I got home from work, I went to Mass, actually understood most of the homily, said the "Our Father" from memory, and didn't get too tongue tied reading the responses (including the Confiteor, Gloria, and "Oh Lord I am not worthy...") from my little Mass book.

I've still got lots to write about but I'll close for now... maybe this weekend I'll try to post while taking a break from lesson planning. :)