Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day with Americans! On my flight here, I met a family of missionaries from the US who lived in Estonia and then moved to Hungary last summer. They live in a city called Érd, which is about 30 minutes by train outside of Budapest. They invited me and any of my exchange student friends to come to their house for Thanksgiving and spend the day with them and some of their American friends!

Jill, Alex (from Michigan), Terry (from Pennsylvania), and I all took the train together from Budapest to Érd. When we got to the family's house, it was just like being at home. It truly felt like we were in America and it was such a strange feeling. Hearing their children say "mom" and just being with a real family made me really really miss mine and just being comfortable. But anyway, we drank hot apple cider (which was soooo good) and all talked about our experiences in Hungary while dinner was being prepared. We ate at around 2 and had turkey, green bean casserole, some kind of corn casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole and it was all delicious. I haven't had turkey at all since I've been here and I forgot how much I love it!

After dinner (which was actually more like lunch), we went into the basement and all the kids played Apples to Apples. We also went around and talked about our most embarrassing moments. It was really cool just hanging out with other Americans who aren't exchange students, because for once the conversation wasn't about host families or learning the language! Also, it was crazy not having the pressure to speak Hungarian. I never really noticed how much it stressed me out until I didn't have to worry about it. It was just super nice not feeling guilty about speaking English or not understanding what someone was saying. I definitely miss that feeling already.

The boys started playing Xbox, so the four of us went upstairs and had pie and talked to the mom. We talked about what living in Hungary is like, complained about our problems, and discussed what it feels like to be so far away from home. It was pretty emotional, but really nice to get to just talk about it to someone on the outside. Sadly, we didn't get to talk much because we all had to start heading for home. We all really enjoyed the day though and were so grateful for the opportunity to have a day of just relaxing and not stressing about the day to day exchange stuff.

So, obviously I've been thinking a lot about how much exchange has been affecting me. I mean, really, I don't even notice it, but I'm constantly stressed about learning the language or whether I'm spending enough time with the family or not. It's not that it's a bad thing, but it's just hard to get used to. It's hard to feel normal. I think this will get easier with time though. For now, I'm going to try to just relax and take everything one day at a time and not put so much pressure on myself!

Colleen and Bailey's visit!

Yesterday and today Colleen and Bailey were here! They're doing a year of university in France this year and were in Prague, Slovakia, and Budapest this week, so they took the train down to Szeged to see me :D.

I picked them up from the train station at 10:15 yesterday morning. My host dad met us at the train station to take their bags and then we walked around the city for a bit. I showed them my school, the university where I take my Hungarian lessons, and we ate some delicious pogácsa. We walked down to the Tisza River and sat along the edge and talked for a bit. My host dad then took us to my house to eat lunch with my family. We had a traditional Hungarian meal which was chicken with paprika and these little potato dumpling things that are hard to explain. 

After lunch, we went back into the city to walk around a bit more. We walked to the mall and looked around for a bit. When we left the mall, we met with Armando and continued to walk around. When we were walking, we saw an accident between a car and a tram, where luckily no one was hurt or anything. We went into the Votive Church in Dóm square, ate Chinese food for dinner, and ended our night in a really cool bar. We played air hockey and talked and it was just super fun. We got home at around 9 p.m. and then went to my room and talked and looked at my pictures until about midnight. 

This morning we woke up around 8 and ate breakfast before going to the train station. They needed to change their money from Euros but the station didn't have a place to exchange money. We ended up walking all the way to the center of the city to an ATM and then all the way back. There was a man asking if someone spoke English so I volunteered to help him. He was very strange and wearing a yarmulke and a bright orange safety vest with Hebrew on it and a Star of David. When I was done helping him, he thanked me by kissing my hand and saying, "God bless you." So, I walked Colleen and Bailey to their train and we said goodbye. I didn't cry like I expected to, but I'm very sad they aren't around! It was SO good to see them and talk about old times and be around people that know me!

Shopping attempts

For the past week or so I've been on a determined search for a winter coat, boots, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. Right now the weather is unseasonably warm... it's only in the high fifties and low sixties. Next week it will drop dramatically and right now I'm not sure if I'm excited anymore or not. Anyway...

Yesterday Jill and I went to pick up our Rotary allowance's and then went to Árkád. We went to a store called "dm" which is like Walgreens kind of... or part of Target. We both needed to restock on shower supplies and such since we haven't bought any since we got here. It was probably the most at home I've felt since I got here... except the prices were in Forint and we couldn't read any of the labels. Still, there's something really comforting about shopping for toiletries and I'm not sure why. After that we looked around for coats and ran into Anna and her friends. Anna left them and came with us and pretty much lead the way for us. The only thing I ended up buying was a book called The Budapest Protocol that I'm super excited to read. In the end we spent about 4 unsuccessful hours at the mall.

Today my host mom and Dori and Jill and I went shopping. We went to this really sketchy outdoor market that looked similar to the ones in China and even had Asian people speaking in Hungarian! So we wandered around that for a bit and I made Dori hold my hand because I was afraid she'd get kidnapped or something. I'm not being dramatic.. the place was creepy. Then we went to a small mall and looked around there. Everything that's cute is expensive and not warm, and everything that's cheap and warm is really ugly and puffy.  I will honestly be surprised if I find something that is cheap, warm, and I like.

Shopping in Hungary is not exactly the same as shopping in the States. For the carts you have to put in 100 Ft (about forty cents) for them to work and then you can use them. You get the money back once you're done with the cart, so I don't see why you have to pay in the first place. We also went to these stores that kind of remind me of a really small Walmart, and people there are crazy. Everyone was really determined to get to what they needed really quickly... even if that meant running into someone to make them move. I would be totally fine if I never went to another one of those stores.

So, besides all the shopping, I've been on a break from school all week! During the weekend my host family and I were in the mountains and we came home on Monday. We didn't do anything for Halloween, but Anna and I put make up on to look like cats and then sat in my room and took pictures. Tuesday I helped Dori and my host dad rake leaves (which was in vain since now there are more leaves than there were originally) and then we played outside for a bit. Yesterday and today were filled with shopping, but I think I'm going to go into the city after I clean my room. And tomorrow Colleen and Bailey are visiting me!! I'm so so so excited and I'm literally counting down the hours until they get here! They will leave Saturday morning and then Saturday night I have a Rotary party. Sunday my host dad's family is coming to celebrate my host mom's birthday (which was last week). The next few days will be really fun and I'm super excited.

Blah blah random ending about how I write too much and I'll post when something happens... I'm so creative okay bye.

Trips trips trips

Last weekend I went to Western Hungary and Venice with all the other exchange students. We spent most of the time on the bus, but it was still a lot of fun. Venice is a beautiful city with amazing food! Jill, Alex, and Annika and I walked around together, and ran into the others a couple of times. We asked people walking by where the best pizza place in Venice was and even had a bite of a random guy's pizza! Eventually we found one that was AMAZING and very cheap. We wanted to go back there for dinner, but we found a different place and had pasta. We also had gelato which tasted the same as it does in Hungary, so that was rather anticlimactic. It was really good to see everyone again!

I got home today from my club's trip to Pécs... which actually ended up being a trip to everywhere but the actual city of Pécs. We visited a lot of churches and historical sites which were pretty interesting. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet up with the exchange students there, which we were all really looking forward to. Our next big meeting with everyone is in December, and I already can't wait.

Besides all the trips, school is still school. My Hungarian is coming along slowly and I have a midterm exam for my language class this week. I really want to do well so I plan on studying a lot! The weather here is pretty cold... it's in the 50s most days. It's going to start getting much colder soon, I'm so excited. I think next week is my autumn break from school and I have no idea what I'm going to do. Hmmm okay that's all for now! Next weekend I'm going on yet another trip with my host family and we're going to the mountains. Should be fun!

Assorted thoughts and such

Right now it's Sunday morning and I've been in Hungary for 6 weeks exactly. I wonder if I'll ever stop counting how long I've been here.

So, the last time I posted I mentioned not having a social life. That's changed! Last week, Zizi and I went into the city after school and had an amazing dessert which I forgot the name of and some ice cream, and then we sat by the river and talked. Yesterday, Jill and I went over to our friend Lilla's house and played ping pong and ate probably the best dinner I've ever had in my entire life. People in school will say hi to me and I have at least one friend in every class. I really have started to love school here, as boring as it can be sometimes.

One of the problems I'm facing is that I have literally nothing to do. After school I come home, eat lunch, do homework for my Hungarian lesson, and then sit around or talk to my host sisters. It's really frustrating because I want to do things, but I have no idea what to do or what I even can do. Everyone here studies a lot and I only have Hungarian to study for (which I do, but not for hours a day). I think this will change soon, though. For any potential outbounds reading this, exchange isn't always endless hours of fun and hanging out with friends... or at least, it isn't in the beginning.

I still haven't been very homesick. I've started to miss my friends a lot more though. I talked to Maddy on the phone last night for about an hour and it was so good speaking in English and hearing a familiar voice. I've been skyping quite a bit recently with different people and it makes me feel a lot better. There's nothing more comforting than seeing Alissa make weird faces at me or video chatting with Mareya and cracking up over nothing. I miss them.

Yesterday I was going through things on my computer and read something I wrote five days before I left. In it, I said this: 

I think the hardest thing about all of this is knowing that no matter what, I'll never be at the position I'm at now. I'll never be exactly the way I am now. I'll never have the exact same friends and relationships and feelings. I won't come back from Hungary and feel the way I do now. That kind of scares me.

 Reading it again, it really freaked me out, because I realized I still feel that way and it's actually happening now. There are friends I haven't spoken to since I've got here, and people I hardly talked to at home that I talk to pretty often. I think a part of me will always miss who I was before I came here, since already I've changed a lot. But I also think I'm changing for the better.

On a more positive note, I have a lot of exciting weekends up ahead of me! Next weekend I'm going on a Rotary trip to Western Hungary (Lake Balaton, Tihany, Szombathely) and then on to Venice, Italy! We're taking a bus overnight to get there... the only part I'm not excited about. I can't wait to see some of the inbounds again though and to go to ITALY! The weekend after, my Rotary club is taking us to Pécs. I'm not sure why we're going, but I'm so excited. The weekend after that, my host family is taking me somewhere. I love having things to look forward to, and by the time all of that's finished, it will almost be November. Crazy.

I'm not sure why this post is so negative... I'm definitely happy here! I'm happy as I write this. But I guess I don't want people to think my life here is perfect and fantastic. I don't wake up everyday and think "Oh my god I live in Hungary I'm so COOL!!" There are times when I look around and acknowledge that I'm here and it's actually really humbling. Nothing puts a person in check like being in a country so old and full of history.

Life's too short babe, and time is flyin'

To put it simply: I can't believe I've been in Hungary for a month.

Looking back on the past month, it's both very clear and all a blur. I think back to my first days here and how confused I was and really do see some progress. I am much more comfortable with my family, with school, with people my age, and with where I am. 

The language:

Thanks to my Hungarian lessons, I'm learning a lot of new things about the language. I have broken the habit of saying "thank you" and "sorry" as an impulse and instead feel the need to say "köszi" or "bocsánat."I can pick out parts of sentences that I understand and sometimes even fill in the blanks/get the gist of what's being said. Sometimes I hear a word that has a familiar word ending like "-ban" or "-ok" and I can recognize that it means something is in something or someone is doing something, as the suffixes represent. It is hard to not fall back on English, but I think I shouldn't be so hard on myself. Learning a language is hard, especially if that language is Hungarian. Sure, I look and sound silly saying words like "gyertyán" and "gyönyörű,"but I have learned to be less embarrassed about making mistakes. I've definitely made up my mind though... I will continue to learn Hungarian even after I've left Hungary. I want to actually know this language inside and out (or as close to as possible). 

The culture:

Surprisingly, I haven't had any major culture shock. I've been reading up on it though to see if maybe I have and I just don't realize it. For now, I think I'm in a honeymoon stage. Everything is very exciting and I am almost constantly happy. But, I've read that after some time has passed, the things that I once considered awesome differences will soon become annoying and get old. I'm hoping this won't happen, but I do see some of it. I'm not going to lie -- there are things about the Hungarian culture that I dislike and would change if I had any say in things like that, but I don't dwell on them. There are definitely many more positives than negatives. I'm getting used to things like riding the bus, wearing slippers around the house, eating a big lunch and a small dinner, and walking everywhere. Things are different, but they feel less different than they did three weeks ago. I'm starting to feel normal.

School, family, social life:

I think I've written enough about school on here, so I'll keep this short. I will never understand why my classmates wear high heels or (un?)intentionally sit according to gender or spend 4+ hours a night studying for a test, but these are things I oddly love about school here. It's so different from what I'm used to, but I've grown to really appreciate the strange things. My host family is still as kind as they were the first night. I've gotten quite attached to them and honestly never want to leave them. My social life is... nearly nonexistent. I have made friends in school, but have yet to do anything outside of school with them, which I'm okay with. I spend most of my time with Jill and Sami and Raymond, but I don't think it's negatively effecting me at all. I feel like I talk to someone new everyday, so I'm definitely making Hungarian friends. The language barrier is hard to overcome, but I'm confident that in a few months I'll be able to start making deeper connections and actually do things after school.

Every day I spend here is wonderful, but also challenging. There are times when I wish I could stand up and yell at everyone to just speak in English so I can finally understand for once. I definitely long for the days where I can talk to anyone very quickly and with metaphors and sophisticated language and not have to worry if they had any idea what I just said or not. It's a frustrating thing, not being able to speak. Sure, I CAN speak, and I do speak to people, but it's not the same. I'm constantly editing what I really want to say in order to make it make sense to someone who hardly knows English. I've actually zoned out during class and tuned back in expecting to hear English, and was in shock when I heard Hungarian. There are days when I want to quit and just go home because it's too hard. I would never do that, though. I want nothing more than to be exactly where I am.

I'm so glad I'm where I am. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I had stayed in Fresno. I don't even want to think about it, because I know I wouldn't be happy. I am happy here. Boldog vagyok. 

Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in

More things about school...

So today at school I found out that I actually have a schedule now. At first I was really happy about it, and then I realized how horrible of a situation it is. Here's what my day looks like now:

Monday:
Spanish
English
PE
Homeroom type class
Hungarian lessons at the university

Tuesday:
Swimming
Swimming
English
Spanish

Hungarian lessons at the university

Wednesday: 

Swimming

Swimming

English

English

Hungarian lessons at the university

Thursday:

Hungarian lessons at the university

English

English

PE

Friday:

English

English

English

English

Spanish

So, since Jill and I decided it's pointless for us to go to PE or swimming, I basically only have English and Spanish classes. This would be nice, if I wasn't already used to my former schedule and I hadn't already started making friends. Also, once I get a grasp on Hungarian I won't even be able to use it at school, since the only classes I take will be taught in English or Spanish. Not so happy about it anymore, but we'll see how that goes.

I also started noting differences between American schools and Hungarian schools. Some of my observations...

• When the teacher enters the room, everyone stands up until they tell them they can sit down
• There appears to be no dress code
• The teachers only lecture with minimal class participation
• We don't have a lunch break... just a 20 minute break in the middle of the day
• There are virtually no teacher/student friendships... everything is very formal
• There aren't any counselors to help the students... not quite sure who does
• In the mornings, there aren't any announcements
• The bell is actually a really nice short piano piece. I kind of love it.

Although Hungarian school is really easy for me since I don't do much, I think I like American schools much better. I miss almost everything about Edison and regret how much I wanted out of there! I'm just glad I finished all of my classes before coming here so I don't have to worry about grades or credits or anything.

Totally not related to school, but I figure I should write about it. Last Friday night, Jill and I had a sleepover at my house! We made chocolate chip cookies and my host family absolutely loved them. Even though Jill and I were both sick, we still had a lot of fun :).

Now I'm going to read or take a nap or watch t.v. online or something. I'm so bored after school... I need a life!