Well, I admit it...

I am probably the world's worst blogger! It's just not my highest priority when I get home from classes....sorry!
The trip to Kassa was nice. We enjoyed ourselves and visited a beautiful church and museum and tried twice to visit another museum, but there was no one there, although we were told it was open. I have to admit, the best part of the trip was probably the eating out! I don't eat out at all in Kisvarda, and what I buy at the store is very limited. I am served whatever the surprise of the day is at the canteen, so getting to select what I ate was a thrill! AND, the prices were very good, even right on the main square.
Pictures are posted.

Two Tuesday's ago, I go my hair cut around noon, and as I was walking home, I ran into a teacher that I hadn't visited with much, but with whom I have been friendly. I asked her if she lived around there, and she said yes, and grabbed my arm and said, "Come on". I spent the next 10 hours !! visiting with her and her husband. He is a mechanical engineer, but is laid off work right now. He speaks pretty good English. She is a German teacher and told me she couldn't speak very good English, but she kept up the conversation the whole time. We got into their first bottles of home made apple Palinka (brandy) which is very strong and you can feel it "warm" you all the way to your stomach! We had a great time laughing and talking until too late! Babush's mom is going to teach me to make stuffed cabbage. We were supposed to do it tonight, but it didn't work out, so will do it once I return.

Last Friday and Saturday I went on a school class trip with 10E, which is Mr. Suba's class. We went to Eger and then stopped in Miskolc on our way back. We had a great time and I was quite pleased to be able to go with this class as a number of the students are very good with English and I get along well with them. I went to Eger last spring, but this time we had tickets to all the exhibits and museums at the castle and I really enjoyed seeing everything. We drove north when we left Eger and had hoped to stop in a small village in a National Park and take a narrow-gauge railroad. However, the weather was very cold and the train is open air, and we just didn't think it was a good idea after we had been outside all day the day before. The drive though was very nice and I would like to get a car when Becky gets here to drive up and through that area. Maybe I liked it so much because there were changes in the landscape and I am so used to seeing nothing but flat, flat, flat.....(Pictures are posted as well.)

On Tuesday of this past week, I got together with the Dorm teacher and many of the dorm students and we made palacsinta - Hungarian pancakes. These are a very thin, heavy on the egg, crepe like pancake that are then filled with chocolate powder, chocolate pudding, jam, nutella, and other sweet spreads. They are usually either rolled or folded into quarters. It was a lot of fun and took hours, but this counted as one of my lessons for the dorm students. (Pictures to be posted soon.)

Tomorrow we have Saturday school to make up for one of the days we missed due to the gas crisis. It will be a Monday schedule, so I will only have 3 classes, which is great!

On Tuesday, March 31, I will take the train to Budapest, overnight and catch a flight at 7am to head home for two weeks. Well, between the travel time and a stop in Anchorage for a few days to see Derek and Becky and friends, it will be about 8 days in Juneau. Hopefully Mt. Redoubt will stop blowing it's stack so I can fly into Anchorage!

I am beginning to feel sad about leaving here in June. I have really come to enjoy my co-workers and the students and will miss working with them all. I keep feeling that if I could have another 6 months or so with some of these students, I could really make a difference. I am looking forward to bringing back all types of treats for them: more Alaska postcards or bookmarks, smoked salmon for the teachers, more stickers for the kids, Easter candy and plastic eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt (they don't do them here), etc., etc. My list is long! Oh, yea, also marshmallows! One of the girls described them and asked about what they were called. She has seen them in movies.Oksham, that is all for now.

I will try, but no promises, to write more frequently.