Monday and Friday mornings, and blah, blah, blah

I like Monday and Friday mornings, because my day doesn't start at 7:45 am like it does on the other days. Although I have been an early riser for years, the early hours are MINE! So, when someone banged on my door last Monday morning at 7:45, I was taken aback. It was Istvan, asking me if I knew I had substitutions for the first two class periods - and no I didn't! I was still in my pj's and was on my way to shower and wash my hair! I made it to the class in 15 minutes! But it really through me off for the rest of the day, as I was using those first 2 periods for some of my class prep time.


So, on Friday when someone banged on my door a few minutes before 7:45, I was again surprised and had to holler out that I was in the bath. I recognized the girls voice as that of one of the twins in 9E, but I didn't recognize the boys voice. And, they weren't speaking much in English and I wasn't saying much in Hungarian! But I got through to them "bath" and they got through to me "10 minutes". So I quickly finished and got dressed and gathered my things for the school day. They were not back in 15 minutes, so I ran to Building B to see if there was a class that was being loud (indicating no teacher), but there wasn't, so over to the teacher's room in the main building I went to see if I had a substitution posted, but I didn't! So, back to the flat and a little more time organizing for the day, but again I was flustered. And kind of pissy. I mean, I like my slower mornings that allow me to really get ready for the day.

So, when I went to Building B for the second period class, I stopped one of the twins and asked if she came to my door. She hollered for "Adam" who came out of the classroom with a gift bag of chocolates for me, as it was International Women's Day! I was quite surprised, as although I knew it was this day, and we would have a longer break between 3rd and 4th periods for goodies in the teacher's room, I didn't realize that gifts would come my way. By the end of the day, I had collected 2 roses, 2 boxes of candies, and a crocus about to bloom! And we had entertainment in the teachers room provided by the boys of 12B, cream puffs for all the female teachers, and many teachers had nice bouquets of flowers from their home room classes. (One business sure not to fail in Hungary even during this economic crisis are flower shops.)

International Women's Day began in the US around 1920 by the Socialist Party and caught on around the world. After WWII it become more of a communist celebration day for women in the workforce, and it has continued in many ex-communist countries. In Hungary, it is more of a day to appreciate women for being women, not due to being in the workforce. For more info on this, see some of my friends blogs, or read about it on Wikepedia.

My week was pretty good, in spite of the early morning poundings! On Monday afternoon I went shopping with David and Angi for taco makings. We were able to find everything we needed at Tesco, except the seasoning for the meat and the tortilla shells. So on Tuesday, since I only have 2 classes, I went into Nyiregyhaza and went to the Tesco there and got the needed ingredients. This turned into a 6 hour ordeal, because I took the wrong bus from the train station and ended up out at the zoo...well, I stayed on the bus and rode it back. So, I saw a tiger! Also, the trip to Tesco was quite successful as I also found a thermos coffee mug that I have been wanting. As I waited for the bus back to the station, there were two young girls waiting with me. We started "talking" and passed the time. They both study English and could communicate somewhat...and I could say a word or two in Hungarian, so we did alright. Both live in the dorm of a high school there; one was from Slovakia and the other from Miskolc which is north of here but still in Hungary.


Thursday night then I made tacos in the dorm kitchen. I had 4 steady helpers -- all my regular English students -- and then many others came by to help and to eat. They were a hit! The dorm mother really checked it all out and asked where I was able to buy everything. (Oh, the meat was ground turkey instead of beef, as beef is pretty hard to find here, but turkey is a regular food item.) Glad it was a success, unlike the peanut butter that not many liked. I hope we will do another cooking night, this time with the kids leading in making a Hungarian dish!


Vivien, in my 9E Advanced class, brought in a book from her mother's bookstore for me. I had asked about a nursery rhyme book as I thought that would be fun after trying to learn some of them. It's a great book and my goal is to learn at least 5 of these, and what they are about, so I can give the book with the translations to Madeline and Dori when I return. (Yes, I paid for the book.)

I found a few ants in my bathroom this week and today discovered a few in the kitchen too. Yuk. I will let the "character" know and hopefully they can get rid of them for me!

I stayed home this weekend to relax and this morning went out shopping. I came home quite pleased with myself. Everything went fine at the grocery store, I was able to ask for my eggs in Hungarian, understood the cost of the fruits and veggies when the lady told me how much they were, and in the paper store, I was able to greet the staff when I walked in; ask the clerk how she was doing, and answer her about myself; say thank you for the purchase and say good bye --- ALL IN HUNGARIAN! Pretty basic, but still an accomplishment for me! I also saw a number of students and stopped and chatted with them...but in English.

I am tutoring two girls from one of the advanced classes who are preparing for a English oral competition. Two of the potential topics are what to do in a restaurant and information about traveling and public transit. Well, last week when I was visiting with them, I discovered one girl has never been to a restaurant, and the other one has been one time. This reminds me of our family growing up: I remember going to Mike's Place one time and to the Elks Club for the Father - Daughter banquet. So, I decided I would take them to a restaurant on our next meeting, and just order drinks and something simple for the three of us to share. This way they could at least have a frame of reference when talking about it in English. Well, two of the three restaurants that I walk by are closed! Both have handwritten signs in the window and door. I think they may have closed due to the downturn in the economy. Eating out here is pretty rare in the first place, and in a little town like this with high unemployment, I would not be surprised if they can't make it. I hope to find out this week what the story is, and hope the third restaurant is still open.

Friday evening, about 4:30, I heard a generator and jack hammer start up...it went until 9:30! Why would they work on an evening? This morning when I went to go shopping, they were working again. They were digging a ditch down the driveway to the parking lot of the apartment building next door. Interesting that they do this type of work on Friday and Saturday. I remember last year when I went to Vienna in the spring, the street crews were out on the weekend trimming the branches on trees, etc. Maybe due to less traffic...?

One last thing. We have a family of owls living in the trees in the courtyard of the school! There are at least a dozen of them. Can see them up there every day sleeping, but it's about impossible to get a photo. Also, the ground bellow the trees is getting pretty messy and I am waiting for something weird to happen one day, i.e., something aggressive to get rid of them! I hope not!

Okay, I am sure no one wants to read more in one sitting! More later.