hungarian revolution number 3

since i've been in hungary there have been 3 holidays commemorating what my kids call "hungarian revolutions." since i have little to no interest in history and i figure the story will include some sort of war and the hungarians eventually losing, i don't bother to ask what kind of revolution any more. on friday last week there was an assembly in the gym in which one of my favorite classes (10d!) performed dances, recited poems, and sang patriotic songs. i didn't know about the assembly until friday morning when i got there and everyone was wearing all balck and white... everyone but me, that is. oh i was wearing jeans and a blue sweater. i was the only person in the whole school not in the traditional black and white. greaaaat. i scolded a couple of colleagues for not passing along the wardrobe memo, but just chalked it up as another result of "well, this is hungary" and moved on. there was a cockade on my desk when i got to school, though. dear sweet english teacher agi had remembered me and brought me one so i would match the rest of the school. i'm not pictured, but mine looked like everyone else's.

the cockade

this is our principal - our "head mistress" ibolya (ee-boy-uh)
when i speak better hungarian i want to have a conversation with her. it's my goal.

those white shirts with blue trim are the school uniform which the girls only wear on holidays or special school events. i've seen them like 4 or 5 times, i think. the boys all wear suits on those days. they look all grown up; it's precious. of course the girls hate those shirts. but, oh well.

scarf dance

here they are singing about freedom and love

zrinyi things

a typical week in the life of christie

i gave a test and let this class take it in pairs. come on, how easy is that? these sweet girls who like me a lot but who can stand to improve their english wrote this on their test paper:

if you can't read it, click it. it's pretty silly. (sadly, they only got a 4)

here is a private student of mine (on the left) erika. she and her friend are school-leavers (aka seniors) and i saw them with their ribbons. they got those ribbons because they are leaving school and it's a thing of pride, i think, to have the ribbon and wear it around.

here is a close-up of the ribbon

aniko' takes me home a lot. so i see this sight all the time.

i was bored in the teachers' room.

actually, this is the teachers' room kitchen. in there people can heat up their food, eat, have a cup of coffee, talk on the phone, or just get away.

lunch one day. (bread soup YUM!, chicken, rice, and veggies - all delish)

when i came into the teachers' room on monday, all the women's desks had flowers on them - including mine. luckily people told me about women's day before it actually happened, so i wasn't so surprised. however, i got flowers, kisses, and chocolates from friday to tuesday. that's a gooood holiday, i'd say. (oh - it was international women's day and you can read about it HERE)

a borderline artsy picture of a typical bouquet of flowers given to a teacher by her students.

sometimes i'm late to class because of... well, life. (bus, late from lunch, potty break, meeting, etc.) today was one such occasion. so the kiddies drew me this on the board. click it if ya want.

this class beggggggged me to not do the whole lesson because they NEEEEDED to study for a chemistry test. i gave in and only did half the lesson with them (shh, don't tell my bosses) and while most kids studied chemistry, a few forced me to read in hungarian. i brought some hungarian material and they chuckled as i read aloud to them. two of the three recorded a video of me reading on their phones because they said it's just so cute. these are two silly and fun girls who were encouraging me to practice my hungarian. they both disapprove of this picture, but this is my blog, so here it is:

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

farsang

this week was farsang (far-shong) at ZIG (my school). it's a celebration of sorts where kids dress up to scare winter away/welcome spring/just have fun. it's like halloween in america, except high schoolers still dress up and go to school... and there's no candy.

when i got to school that day one of my kids (the kid in the hat behind the cowgirls) was in the hall waiting for me. i got close to the classroom door and he flashed me! all he was wearing under his trench coat was an undershirt and some tighty whities (that were aqua). what the!?!?

9A

this is one of the assistant principals.
later he was joined by a group of playboy bunnies.

some students of mine... nuns and playboy bunnies.

some 12Cers... they are the cleaning ladies (aren't they cute?)... and a scary fairy.

these kids - dressed as the #10 bus - came into a few of my classes to count how many students dressed up. they even made beeping sounds when they backed up.

this is gabi - one of two teachers who dressed up.

here are laci and aniko'. laci found someone's sword and tried to kill aniko' with it. she doesn't seem to mind. they are so freaking funny!

here i am with agi on farsang. we are not trying to scare winter away. we're just sweeties.

here is 11E (wind up doll, gogo girl, part of the scooby gang - the rest are in another class - and a certain cowboy who makes me laugh so much in class)

aww, velma and daphnie from scooby doo. (later these girls and i went to a costume shop so i could scout the wig selection available for drama festival)
11A - balasz and david didn't really dress up, one had fake tteth, the other a sign pinned onto his hoodie. a school girl, devil girl, wizzardess, bunny, and little kid. good bunch, i like 'em.

how does he even know who that is?


all in all, farsang was fun. there was an hour-long contest in the gym during school to decide who had the best costumes. i wasn't in a place to get some great pics, so i didn't take pics of the winners. JOKER was the best one... he was terrifying. if i can get the school's photographer's pics, maybe i'll post some another time.

culture shock

sorry i haven't updated in a while. i've been having a rough time with what i have diagnosed as culture shock. i don't know why it has taken me six months to get there, but it has, and i'm there.

the reality of my life here is that it's really not bad at all. i have a job, friends, even a family i get to be a part of on weekends. i'm not entirely alone at home since i have xander. though i can't deny how lonely i feel at home every night by myself. there is a sub-reality, too. that is that even when i'm with people (which is at least all day 4 days a week) i feel distant. of course there is the ever-present language barrier, but i'm able to cope with that one for the most part. there is also a cultural barrier that is significant and usually obvious to me. that's stuff like i don't get (most) hungarian jokes and hungarians don't get (some of) mine. there is also the homesickness barrier which involves the isolating fact that even the people who know me best in hungary have only known me for six months. i miss being surrounded by people who know me and my life and my past and my personality already. no offense to my hungarian peeps, they're doing well to get to know me and let themselves be known, but it's just... different.

[edited out because i want to keep my job]

so while i was home (sick) today i cleaned the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. i think it was the first time in about 3 weeks. i'm not proud of the state i let the apartment get to, but i don't apologize for it either. when i'm bummed, it doesn't help me to clean. today i forced myself to do it. i took out three bags of trash (don't get crazy, they are like midget trash can bags), washed every dish and piece of cutlery i could remember using, did the stovetop, bathtub, vacuumed, and did 3 out of 4 loads of laundry. and i listened to my iPod all the while, singing with all my heart as i revamped my apartment life.

oh, when i took the trash out i saw a black person on the other side of the street. i stared a little.

i was supposed to have a private lesson with some sweet girls this afternoon, but as i got ready to leave to meet them i looked at my phone and saw i had received a text from one of them which cancelled the lesson. i was happily surprised and even a little glad that something had tricked me into getting dressed for the day.

prayers are certainly welcome for my state of mind. i can't wait to think the differences between american and hungary are funny again. right now i just find them irritating.

when i googled "culture shock" and read a few articles, it suggests getting back in touch with my american-ness. watching movies or t.v. from america, eating american foods (which i miss much more now than i have since i've been here), talking to friends and family, hanging out with other ex-pats from USA (there aren't too many around these parts) should all do me a world of good. oh, i should also get involved in some regular activity and maintain my language learning. i should go to the same shops all the time and become a regular somewhere. i should say hi to my neighbors.
things i'm supposed to avoid isolating myself, figuring out ways to go home, talking/thinking negatively about hungary/hungarians, and trying to deny that i'm having culture shock.

some sights that have been helping me out by making me laugh are:
passiveaggressivenotes.com
cakewrecks.blogspot.com
failblog.org
postcardsfromyomomma.com
postsecret.com