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.

package!

these are so cute i just had to put them first!

liz sent me a package!

inside was the cutest book she made of the pictures of our vacation. it's a real book (like bound) and has narrations/captions on all the pages. so fun! it's my favorite!

some conversation hearts so i can share them with my kiddies, a box of brownie mix which i gave to a colleague b/c hers wouldn't rise, chalk holders because i HATE having chalk dust on my hands all day everyday, scooby doo mac 'n' cheese because... well because it's wonderful! a necklace, biore strips, tampons with applicators (sorry if it's TMI, but it made me happy), flossers - you know, those little plastic things, a CD of some music she likes, the first season of "the big bang theory" which is said to be pretty funny, a CD of the pictures from our trip, some cute dishes - a bowl and a plate - plastic, my favorite! (first picture), and some drink mixes that i can add to bottled water - yes!

wanna see?

the book!
the chalk holders! no more chalk dusty hands!

the brownie mix with a note to colleague rita

thanks, beenie!!

also, if you want to send something, here's my address again:

Zrínyi Ilona Gimnázium (or just ZIG)

Christie
4400 Nyíregyháza
Széchenyi út 29-37
HUNGARY

well stocked

omg, i've been getting care packages left and right! thanks people! (specifically, i have received AMAZING packages from: katy (variety), liz (2!), dad and tara (huge!), bob and pam (yummy), marlena (healthy)

some favorite things in them: gum, markers, games, vocab books!, soups, cottonelle toilet paper, nail polish, jewelry (i can alllllllways use more jewelry since i didn't bring any!!!!), good soft tissues, a lint brush!, magazines, PEANUT BUTTER (impossible to find here so most hungarians have never tasted it), candy, sheets, hanging organizertoys for xander, and index cards

i usually can't wait to open a package all the way until i get home, so here's what happens. i open it at my desk at school and get all happy and stupid in front of a number of coworkers (or as they say, "colleagues"). if there is anything in the box which i will use in class or at school, i take it out and leave it there. for example, my desk drawers are FULL of index cards, candy candy candy, peanut butter, taboo, a pencil sharpener, dry erase markers, permanent markers (it's important not to mix the two kinds up, as some teacher did in room 25 and i was accused of writing on the board an english text in permanent marker - but i swear it wasn't me!), and snacks. i hardly ever have my camera at school but the next time i do i'll take a picture of the drawers again. full, full, full, i tell ya. full.

then i carry the parcel home on a bus, usually the number 10 which goes from my school to about a block away from my front door. if not, the number 8 or 8a bus will be along soon and it's kind of close. i have to walk about 5 blocks from that stop to my flat. i've done it a billion times though 'cause the 8 buses are much more common than the beloved number 10.

then i get home with the gift and xander sniffs the heck out of it and me. we unload it pretty soon after i get home and try to put things in their proper places. here are some pictures of my food supply.
haha, at this rate, i'll hardly ever taste hungarian foods!

other stuff

CHECK OUT THE BLOG ENTRIES AFTER THIS ONE. I MADE 4 BLOG ENTRIES TODAY.

xander was gettin' all comfy in MY bed! little squirt.
UNCLE BOB and AUNT PAM sent me a package. a heavy, heavy one. i wondered what made it so heavy. how about 50 pounds of candy!? in the card it said they wanted to help me out with the not-so-sweet-sweets-situation here. well, they certainly did. i'm sure i'll have to share all this with some well-behaved students.
there was just so much!
this is a meal i had in budapest. some potatoes, tomatoes, roasted garlic, and chicken.
another meal. this is some bean goulash, mmmm.
AWW, AGI! this is one of my colleagues. a fellow english teacher, she and i teach some of the same students. we both stay really late at school on fridays to teach a few kids. anyway, agi teaches me hungarian words all the time so she is indispensable to me. i pronounced something correctly and she was so excited she hugged me. thus, my first hungarian hug!
a two liter - tastes the same but looks a little different. and i found some already-sliced bread. and so - this is my "communion" picture.
uh, i was in a phone booth in budapest.
some more food. i don't really remember this meal.
ah, but i remember this one! i didn't eat it; it belonged to the girl across the table from me. it was a meat platter. and wow, it was huge.

SCROLL DOWN. THERE IS MORE TO SEE!!!

Mail time

i got my first care package this week!

it was from my middle sister katy/paisley.

wanna see?

sheets, towels, powdered drink mixes, an eco-friendly reuseable bag for grocery store purchases, a can of my favorite soup, honey, pumpkin seed, peanuts, poptarts, cheezits, breakfast cookie, and instant soups - yummmmm, i love soup! (dog not included in package)

here we have some skin care products, bath solution, nail polishes, blister preventer, advil, and purell - i can't wait to take a nice warm bath and then pamper myself with this stuff :)
xander kept nuzzling his way into the towels and sheets while i was looking through my loot.

not pictured is the necklace and earrings katy made me (yellow and precious!), a stuffed squeaky fox for xander - he is in love with the thing, some treats for him (he says thank you!!), and a pack of cheezits i ate on the bus.

THANK YOU, KATY! WE LOVED THE PACKAGE!