cherries

cherries are much more common here than in the US... i think. maybe they're common in the states but i was just never around them or maybe they weren't around me in florida and texas. meanwhile, they're everywhere here. they're not expensive but they are delicious!
people put them in pastries:
pies/cakes:


jams/jellies/marmalades:


and soups:

since i've practically been here forever i've really gotten used to/gotten into hungarian food and traditions. so i was psyched to have a chance to magyar it up. (magyar=hungarian)

i don't know what i'm going to do with mine since i have a jar of homemade jelly already (thanks, kathy!) but i'm sure i'll find a use for them. my favorite thing about them being commonly consumed is that when they're served with lunch you are often given a small plate to spit/elegantly place the seeds on. it's not at all unacceptable to be digging around in your mouth with your fingers trying to collect all the pits. gotta love that. :)

since summer started

ok so this has been going on since spring, but it's getting out of control nowadays. ICE CREAM is obviously the hungarian source of life or something. not only are there shops all over town (and in villages) but there is usually a line at the shop. it's not too crazy like in the US where there are 32 flavors and all sorts of other things you can do to/mix in/put on your ice cream/sorbet/sherbet/frozen yogurt. you just go there and get a scoop or two or three on a sweet cone, possibly with sprinkles stuck to the rim by honey. there are usually maximum 15 flavors. some common flavors here that are not in the US as much are lemon, punch, tiramisu, and what translates to "bird milk." that last one is very sweet, white, and creamy. anyway, i don't think a day has passed since mid march that i haven't seen at least 10 people walking down the street nursing a cone. and don't think it's only on hot afternoons after a long day's work, because it is as early as 9am on rainy, cool, warm, windy, or normal days, and into the evening.
these people are my heroes.


final grades are due. here is what the kiddies get to take home to their parents.

here is one class's pile of little grade books.

i went to a couple language schools around town looking for work this summer. basically i walked in with a name of someone who works there (compliments of my hungarian teacher) and my native english. i talked to whomever i first encountered and told them i'm here for the summer and don't want to be bored so do they have any use for an american or what. one school said give us your CV (which i had already done via email) and the other school's director sat down with me to chat. we laughed and had a nice conversation and she agreed to try me out there since their resident briton just moved back home and she would now have an opening for a native speaker. yesterday and today i went to the school to teach a 3 hour conversation lesson.
here are the boys: laci, alex, peti, and tamas
at first they seemed a bit timid because i was a scary native speaker who can easily see all their faults. that wore off as soon as i said a few silly things in hungarian and behaved as i normally do in a class. after two or three activities it was obvious that they all speak well and have good senses of humor. we played a detective game, wrote funny poems, did some listening tasks, did some improv, drama, dialogues (with only questions, with sentences following alphabetical order, using common internet acronyms, etc.),
WERE INTERRUPTED BY A CRAZY FLASH HAIL STORM:

told stories from our childhoods, talked about the perfect job for us that we wish existed, and played games like taboo, i'm thinking of a...., and word descriptions. these guys are good kids, good speakers, and great fun. i'm glad i got to see for myself the difference between high school and language school. and what a difference it is. they did EVERYthing i asked them to do. no whining or complaining, even if they didn't want to or thought it was hard or stupid, they didn't let on. they all participated and were happy to do so. mmm mmm mmm.

done.

today was the last day of school... well, last day of teaching... well, last day of teaching in ZIG... well, for now anyway.

this week has been surprisingly normal. the kids all behaved like it was a regular week. they don't have exams in every class during the last week like we do in america. they don't take a ton of pictures or go crazy getting people to sign their yearbooks or discuss summer plans.

i have a theory about why. the class called "10A" this year will be called "11A" next year. the same exact kids. these same kids were "9A" last year and most have been in the same class since elementary school. they know everything about everyone in the class. they know how many brothers and sisters each classmate has, they know where they were each born and what all of the other kids' parents do. they hang out with each other after school and in the summer, so there's no need to go nuts trying to stay in touch. they're certain to stay in touch... they have no choice. well, that's what i think anyway.

there are some end of school exams, but not for everyone. many students were on trips this week so i didn't see them for our last class. i expected to be sad about leaving these kids, most of whom i really enjoyed getting to know, but i really wasn't. i won't see them again as a class, but i expect to see them in the city some time, so really it's all good.

some students asked me when i'm going home, what i'm doing in the summer, where i'll be next year. a few students were shocked/sad when i told them i wasn't coming back to ZIG next year. it's nice to know i'll be missed, i guess. some students lingered around after class was dismissed to chitchat with me, coerce me into doing stupid human tricks for them, or give me hugs, kisses, presents, and well-wishes. those were the good-memorable kids.

the others, the kids i won't miss at all, were eeeeasy to dismiss for the last time. i perfected my "we'll never meet again, i'm happy to have met you, have a nice life" speech and tried not to beam too brightly when letting them go. my least favorite class didn't even show me the courtesy of coming to our last class (empty classroom pictured above). i mean, it was the last class of the day, the week, and the year so i guess they had better things to do. they are only about 1/2 awful but the bad half makes me not really appreciate the good half. sorry good people. then again, the "good" people didn't come to class either, so deduce from that what you will.

anyway, one year down. overall rating: 8 out of 10.
the 2 points were lost to culture shock and everything that includes, winter, missing home, bad kids, and personal life.
the 8 points were from accomplishing what i've always wanted to do (teaching english in another country), surviving all the stuff the 2 points were lost to, making new friends (like real friends, not just in-passing friends), becoming a real teacher, completing a whole hungarian language book, spring, hungarian culture, and absolute independence.

things gone but not forgotten

things happened and i didn't blog about them. things like...
i went to a circus.
i saw "12 angry men" in the theater in hungarian.
i went to a raising bilingual children conference.
i got 2 awesome packages (from DANA T and LEIA).
it was my first "teacher's day."

all of the previous things were great, memorable, but have now been covered up with memories of less important things/times and are so far away in my head that if i tried to muster up a blog about them i would fail them all miserably.

instead, i'll tell you my favorite things about them each:
the circus: a multi-functional cast. one lady juggled, hula-hooped, sold concessions, did a raffle, was cut in half, and disappeared. the same lady.
the theater/theatre: though i could only understand about 30% (even being familiar with the story) i learned some new words, identified words i had recently learned, and didn't get a headache!
bilingual conference: i was playing with a little kid and asking him questions in hungarian. his mother was listening near by. we talked for about 5 minutes before i wasn't sure about the grammar of a sentence i wanted to say, so i asked the mom. she told me and then stared at me for a few seconds. i said thanks, thinking that's what she was staring for. she said oh you're welcome, i was just surprised. you speak hungarian without an accent and i just thought you were hungarian.
DANA T package: she put post-its on every single thing she sent me with notes about why she put that, questions about hungary, or random thoughts of hers. i could tell she really put a lot of time and thought into it and i teared up a tiny bit just feeling overwhelmingly loved.
LEIA package: how i met your mother season 1 (the only one i didn't bring here) and a shamwow both made my day. i can't wait to spill something!
teacher's day: kids gave me presents all day long! flowers, candy, a pizza dish. even kids i didn't teach on actual teacher's day came and found me to give me a gift. loved all the cheek kisses, too.

that little dog of mine

xander is my little baby. ok, he looks kinda fat laying down. omg, i love him so much!

next year

i signed all the contracts and legal stuff so i can teach here next year. i will be changing schools, in fact i'll be teaching in two different schools than i am right now. so i met with someone from one of the schools, we had a few nice trips to the immigration office and the school, and now - if everything goes as we hope - the paperwork should be returned with approval by the end of june.

this summer i'm staying in hungary. i'll move from my current apartment to the small house i'll live in next year in june/july. i'll keep doing some private lessons and hopefully work in a language school. i hope to travel some, too. i'm sad not to come home and see everyone, but i'm glad not to forget any hungarian on the summer break.

i feel like i learned a lot about being a high school teacher this year. i know the system better and the language and the randomness that is hungarian life better. i'm glad to be changing schools and have a fresh start. i know i'll miss my colleagues and students tremendously, but my town isn't so big that i'll never see them. in fact, i see someone i know every time i go to the city center, no matter what day or what time. whenever i feel alone here i can just walk around town and i'm bound to run into one of my 331 students or 50 colleagues. and next year i'll just about double the number of people i know. i really do like it here.