So, I figured I had to get over my uneasiness today and go figure out how to ride the train! Okay, so I knew how to ride the train, but reading the schedule and buying the ticket were making me nervous and the anxiety was growing!
There are two train stations here, but as I wrote earlier, only the one that is the farthest away from me sells tickets on the weekends. I spent about a 1/2 an hour before I left the apartment, reading over the travel sections in some of my travel books and wrote out key words in my notepad. The walk to the station was beautiful this morning with not a cloud in the sky. The ticket seller did not speak English, as I suspected the case would be. I asked for a roundtrip ticket to Nyiregyhaza (jegy Nyiregyhaza oda-vissza) and then showed it to her in writing. She showed me on her computer screen how much it wa, and then started signing that I only had a few minutes until the train arrived. And then before we finished, the train came! So I grabbed my change, threw it loose into my bag and ran for the train. I made it. It was a local train, 2nd class only, and I found an area to myself.
The countryside was beautiful. I tried to get a picture of a farm wagon being pulled by a horse along a road, but missed it. Some of the fields are plowed under and others still had dead sunflowers and corn stalks standing. The apple trees were loaded with apples still. The small personal gardens in the back of homes also had quite a bit of produce in them.
It was a 45 minute ride to Nyiregyhaza, the nearest larger city (around 120,000). There was a huge Saturday market in the town right before Nyiregyhaza - would have been very interesting to see, but there wasn't a stop nearby.
When I got to Nyiregyhaza, I chickened out, and did not go explore the city!!!! I was concerned about getting back during daylight, as they did not announce any of the stops on the train on the way there, and I didn't want to screw up and miss my stop in the dark. Also, I couldn't figure out if all the trains went every day or just on weekdays. The Ma'v (train company) website has been down for about three days, so I couldn't look on line and take my time figuring it all out in advance.
(On Tuesday of this week, the headmaster and Edit will take me to the immigration office in Nyiregyhaza to get my work visa. This will be the last step of becoming an official teacher. No, there might be one more step, and that will be gettin my insurance card! So, anyway, I will see the town a bit then, and gain more confidence. I like traveling alone, but it can also be sooo uncertain.)
Of course, I made it back hours before dark. I stopped at a store I hadn't been to yet, the Lidle, on my way back to the apartment to do some shopping. This store did have a different variety of things, including clothes, then the other stores I have been in, but still no peanut butter. (I really don't expect to find any, but thought I would look anyway!)
I later went to the Tesco and picked up a few other things. Except for the first store I went to, all of the others are about a mile from the apartment, so I have to limit what I buy at what time to what fits into my bag, which really isn't a big deal, cause I really don't need that much. Many of the products at Tesco have English on their labels which sure helps take the guessing out of it. The store that is a block away from me was already closed when I got back this afternoon from Nyiregyhaza, as they all close early on Saturday. Got to remember that so I don't have to carry the heavy items so far.
I also found an all-in-one, printer, scanner, copier at the Tesco for around $85.00, so think I will get it. It will surely make my class prep easier as I will be able to do it in my own time, instead of having to put the documents on my thumbdrive and take that into the teacher's room to use the printer. Problem was that it was on the top shelf and I didn't see anyone around to help me. Think I will ask one of the teachers for a ride next week and their assistance in getting someone to get it down for me!
There are two train stations here, but as I wrote earlier, only the one that is the farthest away from me sells tickets on the weekends. I spent about a 1/2 an hour before I left the apartment, reading over the travel sections in some of my travel books and wrote out key words in my notepad. The walk to the station was beautiful this morning with not a cloud in the sky. The ticket seller did not speak English, as I suspected the case would be. I asked for a roundtrip ticket to Nyiregyhaza (jegy Nyiregyhaza oda-vissza) and then showed it to her in writing. She showed me on her computer screen how much it wa, and then started signing that I only had a few minutes until the train arrived. And then before we finished, the train came! So I grabbed my change, threw it loose into my bag and ran for the train. I made it. It was a local train, 2nd class only, and I found an area to myself.
The countryside was beautiful. I tried to get a picture of a farm wagon being pulled by a horse along a road, but missed it. Some of the fields are plowed under and others still had dead sunflowers and corn stalks standing. The apple trees were loaded with apples still. The small personal gardens in the back of homes also had quite a bit of produce in them.
It was a 45 minute ride to Nyiregyhaza, the nearest larger city (around 120,000). There was a huge Saturday market in the town right before Nyiregyhaza - would have been very interesting to see, but there wasn't a stop nearby.
When I got to Nyiregyhaza, I chickened out, and did not go explore the city!!!! I was concerned about getting back during daylight, as they did not announce any of the stops on the train on the way there, and I didn't want to screw up and miss my stop in the dark. Also, I couldn't figure out if all the trains went every day or just on weekdays. The Ma'v (train company) website has been down for about three days, so I couldn't look on line and take my time figuring it all out in advance.
(On Tuesday of this week, the headmaster and Edit will take me to the immigration office in Nyiregyhaza to get my work visa. This will be the last step of becoming an official teacher. No, there might be one more step, and that will be gettin my insurance card! So, anyway, I will see the town a bit then, and gain more confidence. I like traveling alone, but it can also be sooo uncertain.)
Of course, I made it back hours before dark. I stopped at a store I hadn't been to yet, the Lidle, on my way back to the apartment to do some shopping. This store did have a different variety of things, including clothes, then the other stores I have been in, but still no peanut butter. (I really don't expect to find any, but thought I would look anyway!)
I later went to the Tesco and picked up a few other things. Except for the first store I went to, all of the others are about a mile from the apartment, so I have to limit what I buy at what time to what fits into my bag, which really isn't a big deal, cause I really don't need that much. Many of the products at Tesco have English on their labels which sure helps take the guessing out of it. The store that is a block away from me was already closed when I got back this afternoon from Nyiregyhaza, as they all close early on Saturday. Got to remember that so I don't have to carry the heavy items so far.
I also found an all-in-one, printer, scanner, copier at the Tesco for around $85.00, so think I will get it. It will surely make my class prep easier as I will be able to do it in my own time, instead of having to put the documents on my thumbdrive and take that into the teacher's room to use the printer. Problem was that it was on the top shelf and I didn't see anyone around to help me. Think I will ask one of the teachers for a ride next week and their assistance in getting someone to get it down for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment