In Limbo

Sziastok!

Not a whole lot has happened since my last blog post in terms of transitioning to my new school. I am still here in Kecskemét while my program works on processing the paperwork for my replacement teacher. In the mean time, I'm trying to enjoy each day and work on some creative lessons in these last few days with my students here. This week my little guys (1st and 2nd graders) learned the months of the year through a song sung to the tune of "Michael Finnegan." We've also been reviewing what I've taught them (shapes, colors, days of the week, opposites) and its rewarding to see that they are catching on! Its so hard having them for such a short amount of time because I never really know how much they're retaining. I'm learning that it's all about repetition and routine. We start every morning by singing our days of the week song and going over what day it is today, what day it was yesterday, and what day it will be tomorrow. I think they really like the familiarity and knowing what to expect...and it gets their juices flowing. As for my older kiddos, we have been working on ordering at restaurants. This week they made menus for their own made up restaurants. As an example I made this:

 Again, I got a lot of very creative ideas, including "Cafe Expensive," where everything costs upwards of $1,000, "The Happiest Cafe of the World," where the slogan is "Don't worry, be happy," and "Viktor's Pizzeria," where everything on the menu begins with the name "Viktor." It's so much fun to see these kids take an idea and run with it. 

Last weekend I made my way into Budapest again, where I met up with my friends Kate and Jenn. One of the other English teachers needed a dog sitter so we spent the weekend at her beautiful apartment overlooking the Danube and Parliament and cuddling with her adorable Dachshund dog, Bobbi.

On Saturday the three of us met up with some other friends on our program and went to a real-life, legitimate hamburger joint! One can only take so much paprika chicken before a true American burger fix is needed. From there we spent the day roaming the city and exploring before heading out for a night on the town later that evening. We spent Saturday night at a huge bar that had a rooftop terrace and a porch swing! Kate and I also found a place that sold steins of beer for 225 forints (Basically a dollar). Win. On Sunday we had a lazy day walking around Maragaret Island. It is a beautiful park with a musical fountain, a huge grass area, and running trails. To make things even better it was an absolutely picture perfect crisp fall day.

Jenn and Bobbi enjoying a stroll on Margaret Island

Crossing Margit Híd to the Island

My days in Kecskemét are slow and more lonely compared to my time spent in the city, but I am trying to make the most of the rest of my time here. I've gotten into the groove of Hungarian grocery shopping (the first few times took me about two hours because I was translating everything on my phone). But I'm learning a lot of Hungarian words this way, and most of the cashiers know me as the silly American who only knows the phrase "Nem beszélek magyarul." (I don't speak Hungarian). 

Anyone who knows me knows that I can't cook to save my life. This has been interesting, however, what I lack in cooking skills I make up for in salad preparation. I can make a MEAN salad. Which has been a plus for me considering the veggies and produce here are super fresh. When I say fresh, I mean feathers fly out of the box when I open my eggs. So this is basically what I've been living off of. Its delicious, nutritious, and most importantly, doesn't involve me using my scary gas oven. 

This week I have also taken time to explore some of the outskirts of the city. I went on a quest to find a great place to run, and low and behold I found one! It's a dirt track about a 15 minute walk from my house. It is across from this pretty park and runs around a grassy field. At sunset its gorgeous and I really get into my groove. I've been running distances I've never been able to run before. People play with their dogs off the leash in the grass, so sometimes I'm interrupted by a furry friend, which is always a plus :)

Since I spend a lot of time alone, whenever anyone asks me to do anything I jump on the opportunity. Eszter invited me to the theater to see a Hungarian opera this past Tuesday, and while I knew I wouldn't understand anything, I wanted to go anyway. We had a great time. The singing was great, Eszter did an amazing job stepping in and translating when I got lost in the storyline, and we enjoyed some great espresso during intermission. As a plus, her father Andras has a lot of connections with the city, and I was able to go in and explore the theater backstage before the performance. The whole place is really gold and ornate and fancy. 

Illegally trying on the Costumes Backstage...ssshhh!

 

 

 

 

 On top of dealing with the logistics of changing schools these past two weeks, I've also had the headache of dealing with the immigration office. Its been a nightmare trying to process health insurance, salary, and residency issues when in an entirely different language. Luckily in this midst of this craziness, I made a new friend! Her name is Veronika and works in the secretary office at my school. She took me to process all of my documents and tried her best to translate everything that was going on. After this nightmare was finally settled, she and I had coffee and cake together. She knows a LOT about history, and was telling me all about the history of the city, which was great because I have not gotten a lot of that since I've been here. She has also been telling me about Hungarian pop culture, and how even Hungarian rappers throw up the "West Side" sign. Pretty funny. Since there is a bit of a language barrier between us, we have to use my iPhone dictionary a lot. While I think she gets frustrated when she can't remember certain English words, I actually enjoy having to look things up because it helps me expand my Hungarian vocabulary. We get along really great and she had even offered to give me some Hungarian lessons before I leave for Budapest!

That's about all I've got for now...I think I've rambled enough. Now its off to pack for my fun-filled weekend... a blitz trip to Oktoberfest! Beer Steins, Dirndls, Drunk Germans, and Preztels here I come!

Kate + Shannen = <3