It has been to the day, three months since I last posted. For my fellow readers, do not fear! This is good news. It means I've been really busy and really happy. Now with good news, comes some bad. Since I have to catch you up on three months of my exchange, it means this post is going to be a longggg one. Actually, I'm going to make two posts instead, but they are still both going to be very long. This one, will be about the traveling I've done.
I spent the majority of the months of April and May traveling around Europe. I went on a southwestern Eurotour (April 23rd to May 13th) and on a Northwest Eurotour (May 13th to May 23rd). In between those 2, I went on a trip with my class from the high school that lasted three days to Slovakia. And finally the weekend after the second Eurotour, I went to Vienna on my own for a 4 day long weekend.
These are the cities we visited on the Southern Eurotour:
Venice, Italy
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Pisa, Italy
Monaco
Nice, France
Luzern, Switzerland
Innsbruck, Austria
We had about 32 Rotary students (all from Hungary except 2) on this trip and 3 tour leaders. All of the travels were done by bus. Venice was absolutely beautiful. It was exactly what you would expect. The weather was wonderful when were there, and everything from the food down to our gondola ride was incredibly picturesque. Something not so picturesque was when a pigeon pooped right on my noggin. Some would call it karma, as the tour guide was warning us about pigeon poop and I thought 'HA that only happens in movies'. WELL. I was proved wrong by the Venetian pigeons. Thankfully my friends had my back and we got it sorted quite quickly. But be careful when in Venice, ladies and gents. Never doubt the power of the pigeon. We also met some German exchange students with Rotary on their Eurotour. Small world. Florence and Rome were absolutely beautiful as well. we stayed in cool hostels where the rooms were little bungalows. We ate ice cream everyday. We got cheaped out on ice cream at Vatican City. We ended up paying close to 12 dollars for 2 scoops. It was good ice cream, but not thaaat good. I also learned that the beauty of Pisa is well kept hidden. Everyone talks about Venice and Rome...not so much Pisa. But it ended up being my favourite Italian city that we visited. And get this....the tower REALLY leans! We had a really fun night in Pisa even partying with our bus drivers! Now if there's one city on this tour that beat Pisa it was definitely Nice. Nice was like a dream. It was the first time I had gone to the beach in a very long time and I didn't even realize how much I had missed it. We got lost a bunch of times but we ended up discovering a gem of a restaurant right on the beach! The last couple of days involved a lot of time on the bus but we ended up getting really close as a group under those circumstances so it was certainly worth it.
Fast forward a couple of days and I'm in Slovakia with my class. Now, being on a trip with Hungarian teenagers is very different from being on a trip with exchange students. I don't think there's a better immersion into the culture of kids your age in another country than going on an overnight trip with them. I shocked them a little with my love for hockey (one I didn't know I had) and how I couldn't take my eyes off the screen when a game was on and the girls couldn't fathom the fact that I wash my hair everyday. Definitely proved how different our cultures are, but we all embraced our differences. My classmates love asking questions about where I come form and getting to know me and my country that way.We did a lot of historical sightseeing and I really did feel myself getting closer to some of my classmates. People who had never talked to me before, did. The language barrier was ever apparent though as I struggled to understand what was going on a lot of the time and I realized one of the most difficult things to convey is humour. I am definitely notttt funny when I speak in Hungarian. (I like to think I'm funny in English :D) That's one of the obstacles to overcome though, when you're on exchange and I'm proud to say that I can have whole conversations with my classmates (albeit, slowly but surely) in Hungarian. I was skeptical about going on my class trip since I didn't think I was close enough to them to really enjoy it, but I'm really glad I went.
Andddd one more week and we're on Eurotour numero dos.
Prague, Czech Republic
Cologne, Germany
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
London, England
Brussels, Belgium
Paris, France
Strasbourg, France
Munich, Germany
This Eurotour was very different in many ways. We had around 15 more students on this one, making everything pretty hectic. We had 6 or 7 students from Italy joining us too! They were a great addition to our group and I'm really glad they came along with us. It was rainy for the majority of this tour which was too bad and we spent a lot of time on the bus, even during tours. I still wouldn't change it for anything, I had a wonderful time and I will always remember and cherish it. London and Amsterdam (...) were breathtaking and I've sworn to myself I'll be back there someday.
Lastly and most recently, I traveled to Vienna for 4 days to visit Hannah, the Austrian inbound to my Rotary club in Calgary next year. She and her family could not have treated me with more kindness. We went to see musicals and we ate out at delicious places and we sightsaw despite the rain and we went to little cafes and I know I'm rambling but a summary of all we did can never explain how much fun I had there. I felt like I had known Hannah forever and my urge to visit Vienna was finally calmed. I am so satisfied with all the traveling I've done and I am so so lucky to have had the opportunity.
It's funny because before exchange I thought that's what it was all about: exchange in my mind was one long trip with a bunch f traveling sandwiched inbetween. Coming close to the end of my exchange I can say that's definitely not it. Exchange is about learning and growing and living so many different experiences than you would at home. All the traveling I got done lately...that's just been a bonus!
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Március tizen kilenc.
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Hello everyone it is I, the most undedicated exchange blogger in the whole wide world. In my defense, I made a video blog post when I was skiing in Austria in January, but despite my biggest efforts the video would not upload to my blogspot page. So, alas. It is now the middle of March and I'll catch you up a little bit on what I've been up to....
The month of February wasn't all that exciting. The new exchange students from Australia and Argentina arrived to Hungary and in the second week of February we had a fancy ball where we got to meet them. They're all incredibly nice and I'm actually kind of sad that I won't be able to spend that much time with them, seeing as we won’t have more district conferences or anything. But I am really grateful that I got the opportunity to meet them.
I went skiing for a week at the end of February with some fellow Rotarians and exchange students and it was one of the best weeks of my exchange thus far. I had an amazing time and got closer with the people there.
I have decided that I never really got culture shock when I first got here, other than the whole everyone is speaking in a language you don’t understand. However, 7 months later I can safely say that the Hungarian culture is completely different from anything else out there. It’s all in the little things. If you were to visit Hungary for a week or two, you might not notice all that much, especially if you’re in tourist mode. But when you’ve been here as long as I have, you start to notice all the things that make this country so unique. Maybe I blog too much about my feelings in regards to exchange and not enough of the physical aspects of exchange. So, I wanted to make a little list of the things that stand out to me here on a daily basis and maybe give you a bit of a feel of what quotidian life here is like.
Hello everyone it is I, the most undedicated exchange blogger in the whole wide world. In my defense, I made a video blog post when I was skiing in Austria in January, but despite my biggest efforts the video would not upload to my blogspot page. So, alas. It is now the middle of March and I'll catch you up a little bit on what I've been up to....
The month of February wasn't all that exciting. The new exchange students from Australia and Argentina arrived to Hungary and in the second week of February we had a fancy ball where we got to meet them. They're all incredibly nice and I'm actually kind of sad that I won't be able to spend that much time with them, seeing as we won’t have more district conferences or anything. But I am really grateful that I got the opportunity to meet them.
I went skiing for a week at the end of February with some fellow Rotarians and exchange students and it was one of the best weeks of my exchange thus far. I had an amazing time and got closer with the people there.
I have decided that I never really got culture shock when I first got here, other than the whole everyone is speaking in a language you don’t understand. However, 7 months later I can safely say that the Hungarian culture is completely different from anything else out there. It’s all in the little things. If you were to visit Hungary for a week or two, you might not notice all that much, especially if you’re in tourist mode. But when you’ve been here as long as I have, you start to notice all the things that make this country so unique. Maybe I blog too much about my feelings in regards to exchange and not enough of the physical aspects of exchange. So, I wanted to make a little list of the things that stand out to me here on a daily basis and maybe give you a bit of a feel of what quotidian life here is like.
1)
Elbows on the
table is a-okay here! (Take that, mom.)
2)
In school, when a
class starts everyone stands up while the teacher is entering; it is a sign of
respect.
3)
Eye contact
towards strangers is not okay. I’ve asked Hungarians about this and most of
them say it is considered either threatening or, someone told me that if a
foreign man makes eye contact with a Hungarian woman he doesn’t know, it is
considered inappropriate kind of in a sexual way. Anyway, no one is comfortable
with it. My second host father told me this kind of behavior could also be due
to an inferiority complex leftover from being under Soviet occupation for so
long. In that time, you could trust no one and I feel like Hungarians are just
starting to get over this. You can imagine how strange it was for me to come
from Canada where you smile at every stranger you see and realize that it’s
frowned upon here. It does make me happy that Hungarians realize this is not
ideal and are trying really hard to fix it.
4)
Everyone blows
their noses loudly, all the time. You know how at home we’d run to the bathroom
or wait till we got off the bus to blow our noses discreetly? It’s not an issue
here! I’m going to try to implement this back home.
5)
Soup, soup, more
soup, and bread. And more bread. (Gyümölcsleves, zöldségleves, frankfurti leves, húsleves, gulyásleves, halászlé, kifli, kalács, pogácsa, vekni….….I could go on
and on)
6)
Most families,
regardless of wealth, do not have a clothes dryer in their house. Everyone
hangs their clothing to dry.
7)
When you greet
someone you’ve met before, girls with girls and boys with girls greet with 2
cheek kisses.
8)
High school
classes are organized into different “specializations”. So you may enroll into
a math/physics or an English/German course and your classmates will be your
classmates for the next 4 years, they don’t get to pick and choose lessons like
we do back home.
9)
If it’s over 0
degrees and there isn’t a lot of snow, everyone is riding their bikes
everywhere.
10)
In both high
school and university, the students call their teacher “tanár”which means
teacher), and not Mr. or Mrs. so and so, as we would.
11)
Hungarians aren’t exactly racist, but I have
noticed on several occasions that foreigners are not very well liked. In
Szeged, since it’s a University city and there are a lot of foreigners, it’s
not as visible but in other cities, definitely. When the exchangers are walking
around in a big group we often get disapproving looks from people and the
Asians in our groups get degrading comments quite often.
12)
A lot of
Hungarians are reserved, until you get to know them well. Then, it’s buli (party) time.
I have recently switched host families as well, just last
week. It’s really strange being in a new house afyer having been in the same
one for over 5 months, but I really like it here. The family is incredibly
kind. They have a daughter going out to Australia next year and I hope her host
families treat her with as much kindness as they have treated me with!
The next 2 months are going to be incredibly busy, traveling
and such. What a life! I promise I’ll try to blog again soon(ish)!!
Daniela
Saturday 26 January 2013
Stories and thoughts and stories and thoughts.
Boldog Karácsonyt és Boldog Új Evet kívánok! Or as most of the people
reading this would know it...Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I guess I'm a little late on that one, but it's the thought that counts, right? Anyhow, I'm coming up on having been here for five months and I actually cannot believe it. It's ridiculously difficult to comprehend how time goes by so quickly. This post will be about my Christmas season, among other things. If it sounds a little depressing, it's because it was. But it can't be perfect all the time, now, can it?
So, the Christmas season started off nicely with Christmas baking, Christmas markets and things like that as I mentioned in my last post. The Christmas spirit in this city was amazing. On Christmas eve, we stayed home and exchanged gifts. I felt quite bad because the presents I had sent from Canada way back in October still hadn't arrived by Christmas eve. My host family was super understanding though and when the package finally came on December 28th, they loved their presents nonetheless. On the 25th, we left bright and early to Gyula, the town where my host grandparents live. We stopped for lunch by my maternal host grandma's house. There, I met some of my host extended family that I hadn't met before. The food was delicious! After that, we went to my paternal host family. We exchanged some more gifts, watched home videos and just enjoyed each other's company for a while. We didn't really do much besides that for the next couple of days. My host parents have a lot of friends in Gyula so we did some visiting, everyone was very kind.
On our way back to Szeged, we stopped in a little town called Hódmezővásárhely (try sayin' that ten times fast). We were there to rent out some ski equipment for our ski week in Austria. We rented it all from a couple whom apparently are family friends. They invited us over to their apartment for a bite to eat after. They were some of the kindest people I have met while I've been here. They kept giving me food, convinced that I hadn't eaten enough even after a huge slice of pizza and a bunch of appetizers. They were genuinely curious about me and asked a lot of questions and were very patient when it came to my Hungarian. They also had 2 little kids. The ten year old boy was just starting to learn English and he proudly introduced himself in English to me. He showed me some of his school workbooks as well, and I have to say he was very smart! His younger sister, Greta, only spoke Hungarian, so we tried to communicate that way.....emphasis on tried. They also tried to teach me how to play a card game using Hungarian cards, which proved to be difficult and after a little while of miscommunication we gave up and played on the computer. At the end of our visit, the kids gave me the pack of cards as a keepsake and invited me to play another day. It was such a sweet gesture.
We got back to Szeged on the 28th of January and didn't really do much until school started on January 4th. My host parents work very hard and whenever it is possible for them to relax, they take the chance. So, they were tired from getting ready for the Christmas season and wanted to relax during the break. That was quite difficult for me because I wish I had been occupied, that would have definitely helped with the homesickness. I had a lot of time to think, and consequently came to a very sad time in my exchange where I seriously contemplated going home. I was being immature and looking at the bad and just wanting to throw in the towel. A call from my aunt made me wake up and realize that I was about to give up on one of the greatest things I've ever had.
I think the holidays mixed with a lot of emotions made me vulnerable to that, but I am very glad I've woken up a little bit and have been able to truly understand and see what a gift my exchange is, no matter what.
Since Christmas, I was really sick for the first two weeks of January so I had to stay home and recuperate. And then, on the 19th of August we went skiing for a week in Bad Kleinkirchheim, a ski village in the south of Austria. I went with my host family and it was absolutely wonderful. A week full of improving my skiing abilities, walking around the village, practicing Hungarian with the family, relaxing and overall having a great time. More to come...
I guess I'm a little late on that one, but it's the thought that counts, right? Anyhow, I'm coming up on having been here for five months and I actually cannot believe it. It's ridiculously difficult to comprehend how time goes by so quickly. This post will be about my Christmas season, among other things. If it sounds a little depressing, it's because it was. But it can't be perfect all the time, now, can it?
So, the Christmas season started off nicely with Christmas baking, Christmas markets and things like that as I mentioned in my last post. The Christmas spirit in this city was amazing. On Christmas eve, we stayed home and exchanged gifts. I felt quite bad because the presents I had sent from Canada way back in October still hadn't arrived by Christmas eve. My host family was super understanding though and when the package finally came on December 28th, they loved their presents nonetheless. On the 25th, we left bright and early to Gyula, the town where my host grandparents live. We stopped for lunch by my maternal host grandma's house. There, I met some of my host extended family that I hadn't met before. The food was delicious! After that, we went to my paternal host family. We exchanged some more gifts, watched home videos and just enjoyed each other's company for a while. We didn't really do much besides that for the next couple of days. My host parents have a lot of friends in Gyula so we did some visiting, everyone was very kind.
On our way back to Szeged, we stopped in a little town called Hódmezővásárhely (try sayin' that ten times fast). We were there to rent out some ski equipment for our ski week in Austria. We rented it all from a couple whom apparently are family friends. They invited us over to their apartment for a bite to eat after. They were some of the kindest people I have met while I've been here. They kept giving me food, convinced that I hadn't eaten enough even after a huge slice of pizza and a bunch of appetizers. They were genuinely curious about me and asked a lot of questions and were very patient when it came to my Hungarian. They also had 2 little kids. The ten year old boy was just starting to learn English and he proudly introduced himself in English to me. He showed me some of his school workbooks as well, and I have to say he was very smart! His younger sister, Greta, only spoke Hungarian, so we tried to communicate that way.....emphasis on tried. They also tried to teach me how to play a card game using Hungarian cards, which proved to be difficult and after a little while of miscommunication we gave up and played on the computer. At the end of our visit, the kids gave me the pack of cards as a keepsake and invited me to play another day. It was such a sweet gesture.
We got back to Szeged on the 28th of January and didn't really do much until school started on January 4th. My host parents work very hard and whenever it is possible for them to relax, they take the chance. So, they were tired from getting ready for the Christmas season and wanted to relax during the break. That was quite difficult for me because I wish I had been occupied, that would have definitely helped with the homesickness. I had a lot of time to think, and consequently came to a very sad time in my exchange where I seriously contemplated going home. I was being immature and looking at the bad and just wanting to throw in the towel. A call from my aunt made me wake up and realize that I was about to give up on one of the greatest things I've ever had.
I think the holidays mixed with a lot of emotions made me vulnerable to that, but I am very glad I've woken up a little bit and have been able to truly understand and see what a gift my exchange is, no matter what.
Since Christmas, I was really sick for the first two weeks of January so I had to stay home and recuperate. And then, on the 19th of August we went skiing for a week in Bad Kleinkirchheim, a ski village in the south of Austria. I went with my host family and it was absolutely wonderful. A week full of improving my skiing abilities, walking around the village, practicing Hungarian with the family, relaxing and overall having a great time. More to come...
Tuesday 4 December 2012
The three month mark.
This is me realizing that I haven't posted in a month and a half (again) and that all my loyal readers (my mom) are probably getting impatient. Since the last time I posted, it doesn't feel like a lot of time has passed, or like a lot has happened. Yet it really has. Last week, it was my 3 month anniversary of sorts since I got here. That's a long time considering my exchange goes for less than a year. Time is a funny, funny thing when you're on exchange.
So, since we last spoke, I have switched to my second host family. My new host family is great and they truly make me feel like I belong with them. At the beginning of November, I had az ősz szünet (autumn break). I didn't do a lot the first few days, just sat around, ate some food, typical exchange student things. Then, for the last 5 days of break, we drove to Mátraháza, a tiny mountain/ski village in the northern part of Hungary. And when I say tiny, I mean TINY. Anyway, we relaxed and hiked up some mountains with really amazing views, it was beautiful! I also ate nutella palacsinta 5 days in a row and tried langos, a traditional treat that consists of deep fried dough, sour cream and different toppings, most commonly onions and cheese. It was delicious and could have easily fed two people. (I am basically asking the kilos to start piling on, I know.) So that was a wonderful week which also gave me some good bonding time with my host family.
Since then, I've seen the exchange students a couple of times. The rebounds and rotex that I had talked to were definitely not lying when they said that those times would be some of the best of exchange. We're like a big family and when we get together it's the craziest of shenanigans. It was my American friend Judith's 18th birthday about 3 weeks ago, so we drove up to Kecskemét, where she lives about an hour north of Szeged, for her surprise birthday party. Her host parents worked really hard on planning it and it came out wonderfully. I think she was really happy. The day after, about 8 of us exchange students met up in Budapest for the day. It was wonderful to just spend some time with all of them, without really having a set plan in mind. The weekend after we had an amazing time in Pécs, a city about 3 hours away by bus. We saw some delightful sights in Pécs, stayed up late (...), went to a waterpark and castle, things like that. It seems crazy that doing things like going to 500 year old castles is a normal activity in my life now. Next weekend, there is another exchange student meeting in Győr, and it goes without saying that I am beyond excited for it.
I have really gotten to know a lot of these people well, and I am in awe everyday at the fact that we all come from such completely different places, and are such completely different people brought together by such a powerful thing. This bond that we have and the fact that we are all going through the same experiences together defies all cultural and linguistic differences we may have, and that's a pretty amazing thing. Some of these exchange students, I could picture myself still being friends with ten years down the road. And the fact that I will have an amazing friend in pretty much all corners of the world after this year warms my heart endlessly.
I also spend a lot of time with the exchangers in my city and our mentors from the Agora foundation (a program funded by the EU to offer activites to foreigners in cities all over Europe). We do little things like going to ballets and concerts and making crafts and things like that. They are all super nice and always take what we would like to do very seriously and try to make it happen. This week we will go bowling and the week after, ice skating! Thanks to my mentor I will also soon be able to volunteer at the children's wing of one of the hospitals here. Not only will it be a good opportunity for me to practice the language but also it will just be a good thing for my heart and mind. However, I don't doubt at all that all the 6 year old's crafts will be a thousand times better than mine.
School is still going well, it gets to be really boring at times as I thought that at this point I'd be able to understand more and that doesn't seem to be the case. Not getting the language as quickly as I'd like is definitely frustrating. However, I keep trying (en próbálok). Thank goodness for my wonderful classmates.
The Karacsony (Christmas) season is coming up here and it is going to bring a lot of different experiences and emotions. It will be the first Christmas that I spend without my family and that;s not going to be easy. I know that I will get homesick, but I'm also looking forward to finding out how Christmas and the New Year ork here and what sort of Christmas, quirks, if you will, Hungarians have, My host mother has already told me of a lot of things that we will do and cook (om nom) and it sounds pretty magical (that's for you, Shelby). There are also two Christmas markets in the city that run all month long, complete with lights, music and forro csoki (hot chocolate). It is such a neat thing to be able to see. This Christmas will be very different from all the ones before, but one to remember without a doubt.
So this is the part of the post where I stop recounting everything I've done and reflect. Enjoy this peek into the depths of my thoughts. Writing it all out and reading back on everything makes me fee lincredibly blessed, but in my day to day, I've become painfully aware of something that I can't seem to shake and could become a problem. This is the fact that I am not enjoying and cherishing the moments that make up my exchange like I should be. I am always worrying about something. I worry about the fact that my Hungarian is coming along at snail's pace or whether or not I'm spending enough time at home or with my exchange friends, whether I'm making enough Hungarian friends, about having to apply for university and make decisions that will affect the rest of my life or I'm worried about home. Or simply asking myself if I'm doing this whole exchange thing right. I think entirely too much instead of enjoying what I have in the moment. When I look at the way the Dom Cathedral lights up the city and the river or when I'm in a cafe people-watching for hours, I realize that what I have been given is the opportunity of a lifetime and I have to start appreciating it more andgetting the most out of it. I also need to stop comparing my exchange to anyone else's. So, the goal for this month is to alter my way of thinking about exchange and my approach a little. Someone wise once told me that "my exchange is what it is but I decide what I do with what I have." There will be rough spots but how I deal with them determines my overall happiness and state of mind. I know in a year's time I will regret it so much if I don't make this change now.
So, my loyal readers (mom), the next couple of weeks should be pretty busy but I will update as often as I can and let you know the happenings of my crazy life, one that I am neverendingly privileged to be living.
PS. I feel like I don't blog for ages and then just end up writing novels...oh well?
-Daniela :)
So, since we last spoke, I have switched to my second host family. My new host family is great and they truly make me feel like I belong with them. At the beginning of November, I had az ősz szünet (autumn break). I didn't do a lot the first few days, just sat around, ate some food, typical exchange student things. Then, for the last 5 days of break, we drove to Mátraháza, a tiny mountain/ski village in the northern part of Hungary. And when I say tiny, I mean TINY. Anyway, we relaxed and hiked up some mountains with really amazing views, it was beautiful! I also ate nutella palacsinta 5 days in a row and tried langos, a traditional treat that consists of deep fried dough, sour cream and different toppings, most commonly onions and cheese. It was delicious and could have easily fed two people. (I am basically asking the kilos to start piling on, I know.) So that was a wonderful week which also gave me some good bonding time with my host family.
Since then, I've seen the exchange students a couple of times. The rebounds and rotex that I had talked to were definitely not lying when they said that those times would be some of the best of exchange. We're like a big family and when we get together it's the craziest of shenanigans. It was my American friend Judith's 18th birthday about 3 weeks ago, so we drove up to Kecskemét, where she lives about an hour north of Szeged, for her surprise birthday party. Her host parents worked really hard on planning it and it came out wonderfully. I think she was really happy. The day after, about 8 of us exchange students met up in Budapest for the day. It was wonderful to just spend some time with all of them, without really having a set plan in mind. The weekend after we had an amazing time in Pécs, a city about 3 hours away by bus. We saw some delightful sights in Pécs, stayed up late (...), went to a waterpark and castle, things like that. It seems crazy that doing things like going to 500 year old castles is a normal activity in my life now. Next weekend, there is another exchange student meeting in Győr, and it goes without saying that I am beyond excited for it.
I have really gotten to know a lot of these people well, and I am in awe everyday at the fact that we all come from such completely different places, and are such completely different people brought together by such a powerful thing. This bond that we have and the fact that we are all going through the same experiences together defies all cultural and linguistic differences we may have, and that's a pretty amazing thing. Some of these exchange students, I could picture myself still being friends with ten years down the road. And the fact that I will have an amazing friend in pretty much all corners of the world after this year warms my heart endlessly.
I also spend a lot of time with the exchangers in my city and our mentors from the Agora foundation (a program funded by the EU to offer activites to foreigners in cities all over Europe). We do little things like going to ballets and concerts and making crafts and things like that. They are all super nice and always take what we would like to do very seriously and try to make it happen. This week we will go bowling and the week after, ice skating! Thanks to my mentor I will also soon be able to volunteer at the children's wing of one of the hospitals here. Not only will it be a good opportunity for me to practice the language but also it will just be a good thing for my heart and mind. However, I don't doubt at all that all the 6 year old's crafts will be a thousand times better than mine.
School is still going well, it gets to be really boring at times as I thought that at this point I'd be able to understand more and that doesn't seem to be the case. Not getting the language as quickly as I'd like is definitely frustrating. However, I keep trying (en próbálok). Thank goodness for my wonderful classmates.
The Karacsony (Christmas) season is coming up here and it is going to bring a lot of different experiences and emotions. It will be the first Christmas that I spend without my family and that;s not going to be easy. I know that I will get homesick, but I'm also looking forward to finding out how Christmas and the New Year ork here and what sort of Christmas, quirks, if you will, Hungarians have, My host mother has already told me of a lot of things that we will do and cook (om nom) and it sounds pretty magical (that's for you, Shelby). There are also two Christmas markets in the city that run all month long, complete with lights, music and forro csoki (hot chocolate). It is such a neat thing to be able to see. This Christmas will be very different from all the ones before, but one to remember without a doubt.
So this is the part of the post where I stop recounting everything I've done and reflect. Enjoy this peek into the depths of my thoughts. Writing it all out and reading back on everything makes me fee lincredibly blessed, but in my day to day, I've become painfully aware of something that I can't seem to shake and could become a problem. This is the fact that I am not enjoying and cherishing the moments that make up my exchange like I should be. I am always worrying about something. I worry about the fact that my Hungarian is coming along at snail's pace or whether or not I'm spending enough time at home or with my exchange friends, whether I'm making enough Hungarian friends, about having to apply for university and make decisions that will affect the rest of my life or I'm worried about home. Or simply asking myself if I'm doing this whole exchange thing right. I think entirely too much instead of enjoying what I have in the moment. When I look at the way the Dom Cathedral lights up the city and the river or when I'm in a cafe people-watching for hours, I realize that what I have been given is the opportunity of a lifetime and I have to start appreciating it more andgetting the most out of it. I also need to stop comparing my exchange to anyone else's. So, the goal for this month is to alter my way of thinking about exchange and my approach a little. Someone wise once told me that "my exchange is what it is but I decide what I do with what I have." There will be rough spots but how I deal with them determines my overall happiness and state of mind. I know in a year's time I will regret it so much if I don't make this change now.
So, my loyal readers (mom), the next couple of weeks should be pretty busy but I will update as often as I can and let you know the happenings of my crazy life, one that I am neverendingly privileged to be living.
PS. I feel like I don't blog for ages and then just end up writing novels...oh well?
-Daniela :)
Sunday 21 October 2012
One month and a half in a nutshell.
It has been a while since I
posted anything on my blog and since then, a lot has happened. It’s interesting
because while you’re living it, it doesn’t seem like a whole lot is happening,
but looking back on it, it definitely is. Three weekends ago I went up to
Budapest to visit my friend from Wisconsin, Ellie. I had a fever of 100 degrees
but hell or high water I was going to visit her. Turns out that taking the
train by myself was not as terrifying as I thought it would be and thankfully I
got there no problem. That night we went to a huge mall in the middle of
Budapest and we watched Lawless in English with Hungarian subtitles. It was the
first movie that I have watched while here and it was such a strange experience
for me. It was phenomenally well done in my opinion, and for a good hour there,
I completely forgot where I was. For all I knew I could have walked out of the
Chinook theatre back in Calgary. And
when we finally walked out of the theater I had the realization for the first
time since I got here “wow, this is my life now. I don’t get to go home anytime
soon”, and I realized that I am very much okay with that.
Ellie and I walked till we dropped around Budapest for the
next two days and I still don’t think I saw even 10% of that beautiful city.
Guess that means I have to go back and visit again soon…We did a bunch of touristy
things, drank tea and ate pad Thai and had a wonderful time. I got to know
Ellie a lot better and I can’t wait until the next time I see her. Her host
family treated me with a ton of kindness and I am so grateful for that weekend.
Budapest is absolutely without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities in the
world and I fell in love with it that weekend. The sights and sounds and the
life in the city are like nothing else I have ever experienced.
I came home and life continued on in Szeged. Unfortunately
the Monday after I got back, my wallet was stolen on my way to school. It’s
really too bad because apart from all the material loss, I had a lot of things
of sentimental value in there that I’m not getting back. At the moment all I
wanted was to have my mom there with me but I had to deal with it on my own and
in the end, it wasn’t that bad. I went to the police station and gave a
statement (it was quite a different ordeal!) and hoped for the best. It still
hasn’t been found but the experience taught me that things will happen and as a
grown girl I have to learn how to deal and not lie down and die because of it.
In other news I’ve done some things with my classmates and that
makes me beyond ecstatic. I love hanging out with all of them. I’ve gone
to a couple of parties with them and they’re all so nice to me. I also went
skating with a couple of my classmates, Patri and Vivi. They are incredibly
sweet girls. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had since I’ve been
here! The rink is like a disco on ice, SO different from the ones at home.
There is music and a DJ and lights and everyone is dancing on their skates.
It’s quite a hoot! Hungarians are surprisingly excellent at skating, too. It
was actually them teaching the Canadian a lot of things! Go figure. I’m going
to Budapest at the end of October with my class to see a Moliere piece that I
studied pretty in depth on high school so I might understand some of it even if
it is all in Hungarian. I want to work really hard on making more Hungarian
friends because not only are most of them so kind and open to foreigners, but
what better way to get a super cool cultural experience.
Speaking of Hungarian…it’s a
challenge. I (and anyone who has ever been on exchange or learned a new
language will understand this) wish I could just snap my fingers and be able to
speak, or at least understand what’s going on. It gets truly frustrating
sometimes but I also admit that I could be putting in more effort than I am.
It’s just that sometimes I get exasperated and English is everywhere so it’s
just a lot easier. But now is the time to change my ways and this way of
thinking before I can’t catch up to the language anymore. In Hungarian classes,
though, it’s helping that I am starting to notice rules and patterns. The
language, while difficult, turns out is not as erratic as I thought it would
be. I have come to find that Hungarian is a very phonetically focused language
and the way things are said and
pronounced basically determines if you will be understood correctly or not. For
example, the other day at the train station dropping Judith off, I asked a
woman “beszélsz angolul?”
(which means ‘do you speak English?’). She looked at us really funny and just
walked away. At my next Hungarian lesson I asked my teacher if I was
pronouncing it wrong, and she told me that while I was pronouncing it correctly
I didn’t have the correct intonation when asking to make it a question so the
woman thought I was simply stating ‘you speak English’. A lot of questions in
Hungarian are also just statements depending on the intonation. The alphabet is
44 letters long (I think…) and Hungarians never really learn how to spell
because EVERY word, even though a lot of them are long and convoluted, sounds
exactly like it is spelled. There’s nothing like having to know that in ‘knee’
the k is silent. Because of this though, every letter has to be pronounced
almost perfectly or else people won’t know what the heck you’re saying. So
these are all things that are small details but make a huge difference when it
comes to communicating. My new host family is helping and encouraging me to speak a lot so I keep trying...
Last weekend, 5 other exchangers
came down to Szeged to visit us. Judith and Paige are from the US and Yago,
Stephannie and Maria Eduarda are all from Brazil. It was a fantastic weekend.
We talked about anything and everything and really got to know each other. Being
with them really put a lot of cultural differences into perspective. It was
super interesting to see how different we all are but now we have this one life
changing experience in common. I truly
love my fellow exchangers and it’s kind of crazy to think about the fact that
the only reason I even know them is because of exchange. It’s surreal for me to
think that there are so many people in my life now that I wouldn’t know if it
wasn’t for exchange. I can’t imagine my life without them. I hope they come to
visit soon! I also have an Autumn break for a week at the end of
October/beginning of November. I don’t know if my family has anything planned
yet but I want to make time to visit some of my exchange friends. I think this
year I may celebrate American Thanksgiving. Hmm.
Last Friday I made Shepherd’s pie with the exchange students
in my city. It was quite the process. It actually turned out pretty good though
and the Hungarians loved it. Yesssss. My host family also really wants me to cook for them. Am I a good cook? No. Will I try just for them? I will try my best.
Speaking of, I switched to my second host family earlier this week. It had been a good couple of months with my first family, and I will
always be so grateful that they have opened up their home to me but now it’s
time to go to another! My host mom and host dad are named Anita and Daniel and
I have two host sisters: Anna who is 15 and Dori who is 11. I’m super
excited to become a part of their family and see this culture from another
perspective. They have made me feel incredibly welcome and I haven't been here a week; they treat me as one of their own :) It’s also very convenient that they live 2 blocks away from my last home so I already know how to get to school and all those formalities
will stay the same. On Wednesday, the other Rotary club in Szeged had us as
guests to plant a tree in a beautiful Rotary garden and then we got to go to a
restaurant (free Hungarian food? Heck yeah.) I ate game for the first time. On Saturday and Sunday we went to Gyula, a town approximately 2 hours from Szeged where I met my host mom and dad's parents. Guyla was beautiful and both sets of my host grandparents were nothing but kind to me. I had a wondeful time and got to go to visit a 600 year old castle right on the Romanian border. It was a wonderful weekend. Also, I realized that I know a lot more Hungarian than I thought I did. Would I say I'm fluent? Nem meg (not yet.) But...baby steps! We have a 4 day weekend so I have two more days...I dunno what I'll do yet but I'm excited to have the time off school. I have to study for my Hungarian midterm. Yikes! On Thursday, I have to present a
little PowerPoint talking about my life in Canada to my Interact and Rotary
clubs. I will use as much Hungarian as I can, but English will also play a
part. For my final presentation, I have promised myself not to have to use any
English at all! Then BP Friday and a week long break! My life is soooo difficult...
As I love this city and this
country more and more every day, I also have a newfound appreciation for Canada
every day. I miss home, but my
life here is pretty awesome. Every day here is a roller coaster, and I’m so, so
lucky to be on it. I wouldn’t give my ride up for the world.
I promise to post again soon!
PS: I don't post photos on my blog because....I don't know why, but I have albums dedicated to my time on exchange on my Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/daniela.galindo.52
PPS: Sorry this post is so all over the place...I kind of just wrote things as I thought of them. I hope it's at least semi-understandable!
-Daniela :)
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Penny for your thoughts?
Disclaimer: I wrote this a couple of days ago when I was sitting in a big hall at school. This is straight from the source, raw emotion that I'm giving you here, people. Enjoy. (My blog is gonna be an honest account of all the stuff that's happening and how I'm feeling about it because I want to be able to look back in a year's time and see how I felt in that moment and how I grew as a person because of it.)
It's really difficult to describe what I'm feeling right now, mostly because I've never felt anything like it before. It's a feeling of euphoria mixed with fear mixed with frustration mixed with incredulousness (if that's even a word). I'm currently sitting in the big student hall of Ságvári, the school that will be mine for the next year. The school is old but beautiful, it has a huge courtyard and is a 5 minute walk from the city centre. My class is in a Hungarian history course that I can't understand (yet) so I came here.
It's so easy to say before exchange "I'm not going to be one of those exchange students, I'm going to learn the language so quickly and make a ton of friends and know the city, etc etc." I've come to find out, however, that it's much easier said than done. I have confidence that I'll get to that point eventually, but for now, it's a long process that requires a LOT of patience and determination. On the first day, there was an opening ceremony where we all dressed in fancy black and white attire. I was introduced to my class (which is pretty big; around 30 people) and it was over quite early. Then, yesterday morning I woke up at 6 (SIX IN THE MORNING, UNHEARD OF) and went to an English class. It was kind of strange for me, so I found a really nice group of girls that showed me to their French class. It was super refreshing to be able to communicate well, if only for a little while. I ended the day with biology in Hungarian; it's kind of fun to try and decipher what people are saying sometimes. It's weird, because sometimes I think I finally get something and someone will translate what was said and I realize I was VERY wrong.
School is still something that I'm trying to figure out. The timing of classes and breaks is so different from what I'm used to and I don't have a set schedule yet, but I'm sure I will get into the routine soon. I'm incredibly anxious to start Hungarian lessons (which I registered for today) because I have a burning desire to communicate or at least understand a little bit of what's happening around me. This is definitely the hardest part. There is so much that I want to ask people, and tell them, and be able to order things and wish people luck and just everything but I search my brain and it's not all there yet. I want to know more about my classmates and just everything but this language barrier is not easily broken. Speaking of my classmates, they're pretty great. A lot of people have tried to talk to me and make conversation, they're so open to me, something that I definitely wasn't expecting. When people realize that they're speaking too much Hungarian, they always translate and even though it must be tough for them too and not convenient to translate everything, I appreciate their kindness more than they'll ever know.
I'm starting to notice little cultural differences also like the fact that Hungarians bring everything to the table to serve it there instead of serving it before the plate hits the table. Also, once you've previously met someone, the next time you see them you greet them with 2 or 3 cheek kisses. Also, every time the teacher enters the classroom, the students stand out of respect. Different, eh?
In the middle of my foreign-ness, I tend to forget that there's a ton of awesome things that I've done and some to look forward to as well. This weekend, we hung out with the exchange students from Kecskemét at a fish soup festival. It was so much fun, we tried new things and got to go to a beautiful cathedral built in the 1800's in Szeged. I got to explore the town some more this weekend and I finally feel like I can get around a little bit more. On Friday I'm leaving to Budapest with the other exchangers from Szeged to our first district orientation. Am I excited, you ask? HECK YEAH. It's gonna be great to meet allll the other people that are gonna be experiencing this year with me.
Hmm, that's all for now but as I continue my adventure I'll be posting more to update everyone :)
Daniela
PS: The food is still good. My host mom made Shepherd's Pie and it tasted like homeeee (except the cheese is better here).
PPS: It's still hot.
PPPS: TOO hot. (Try 35 degrees).
PPPPS: Sometimes I look around and remember just how lucky I am to be here.
It's really difficult to describe what I'm feeling right now, mostly because I've never felt anything like it before. It's a feeling of euphoria mixed with fear mixed with frustration mixed with incredulousness (if that's even a word). I'm currently sitting in the big student hall of Ságvári, the school that will be mine for the next year. The school is old but beautiful, it has a huge courtyard and is a 5 minute walk from the city centre. My class is in a Hungarian history course that I can't understand (yet) so I came here.
It's so easy to say before exchange "I'm not going to be one of those exchange students, I'm going to learn the language so quickly and make a ton of friends and know the city, etc etc." I've come to find out, however, that it's much easier said than done. I have confidence that I'll get to that point eventually, but for now, it's a long process that requires a LOT of patience and determination. On the first day, there was an opening ceremony where we all dressed in fancy black and white attire. I was introduced to my class (which is pretty big; around 30 people) and it was over quite early. Then, yesterday morning I woke up at 6 (SIX IN THE MORNING, UNHEARD OF) and went to an English class. It was kind of strange for me, so I found a really nice group of girls that showed me to their French class. It was super refreshing to be able to communicate well, if only for a little while. I ended the day with biology in Hungarian; it's kind of fun to try and decipher what people are saying sometimes. It's weird, because sometimes I think I finally get something and someone will translate what was said and I realize I was VERY wrong.
School is still something that I'm trying to figure out. The timing of classes and breaks is so different from what I'm used to and I don't have a set schedule yet, but I'm sure I will get into the routine soon. I'm incredibly anxious to start Hungarian lessons (which I registered for today) because I have a burning desire to communicate or at least understand a little bit of what's happening around me. This is definitely the hardest part. There is so much that I want to ask people, and tell them, and be able to order things and wish people luck and just everything but I search my brain and it's not all there yet. I want to know more about my classmates and just everything but this language barrier is not easily broken. Speaking of my classmates, they're pretty great. A lot of people have tried to talk to me and make conversation, they're so open to me, something that I definitely wasn't expecting. When people realize that they're speaking too much Hungarian, they always translate and even though it must be tough for them too and not convenient to translate everything, I appreciate their kindness more than they'll ever know.
I'm starting to notice little cultural differences also like the fact that Hungarians bring everything to the table to serve it there instead of serving it before the plate hits the table. Also, once you've previously met someone, the next time you see them you greet them with 2 or 3 cheek kisses. Also, every time the teacher enters the classroom, the students stand out of respect. Different, eh?
In the middle of my foreign-ness, I tend to forget that there's a ton of awesome things that I've done and some to look forward to as well. This weekend, we hung out with the exchange students from Kecskemét at a fish soup festival. It was so much fun, we tried new things and got to go to a beautiful cathedral built in the 1800's in Szeged. I got to explore the town some more this weekend and I finally feel like I can get around a little bit more. On Friday I'm leaving to Budapest with the other exchangers from Szeged to our first district orientation. Am I excited, you ask? HECK YEAH. It's gonna be great to meet allll the other people that are gonna be experiencing this year with me.
Hmm, that's all for now but as I continue my adventure I'll be posting more to update everyone :)
Daniela
PS: The food is still good. My host mom made Shepherd's Pie and it tasted like homeeee (except the cheese is better here).
PPS: It's still hot.
PPPS: TOO hot. (Try 35 degrees).
PPPPS: Sometimes I look around and remember just how lucky I am to be here.
Friday 24 August 2012
Szia, sziaaaaa!
Sorry about not posting for the past few months, nothing too exciting happened in regards to exchange. And then about 4 days ago, that changed and so much started happening so quickly. Two days before my departure, I had a going away party with all my friends, my family and a few Rotarians from my club. It was an absolutely wonderful day, and I'll never forget it. It made me realize how much I am going to miss home and how much I had been taking everything for granted. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to think about that because 2 days later I was hopping on a plane to Hungary. It was hard to say goodbye, and I miss my family and my home so much more than I thought I would. This homesickness part is not fun. But, this is going to be a very positive experience in my life.
The traveling part went down without a hitch, a lot of running around from one plane to another but not a problem other than that. I got to Budapest at 2:15 PM on Wednesday, August 22nd (22 hours after I had left with the time difference). My host mom, host dad and my oldest host brother were there to meet me. They brought me a cute little flower and we were on our way. One thing about Hungary at this time of year: it's really hot. But it's a nice change to finally feel like I'm experiencing summer! So we left the airport and went to IKEA in Budapest. Everything is exactly the same only I can't understand anything on the signs! After that, we drove around Budapest for a bit, and I got to see some of the city, which is absolutely beautiful. I think they saw that I was very tired and so we drove down to Szeged. I was exhausted so I slept the entire way. We got home at around 9PM, I unpacked and ate and then I went to sleep again and slept for a good 11 hours!
My host family is pretty great. My host mom (Szusie) and the oldest host brother (Richie), speak English so I've been able to communicate with them. My host dad (Szoly) and smaller brothers don't speak English. I think it's a good balance because I can communicate but still have motivation to learn Hungarian. Motivation. I need a lot of that. Hungarian is notttt for the weak. It's a super hard language and when they speak it sounds like it's all one continuous word. My host mom gave me a couple of kid's books with some basic words in them to start learning. It'll take a while but I'll get there! It's a little strange being in a house full of boys, something I'm not used to! But they're a lot of fun, and we're becoming good friends :)
The day after I got here, we stayed inside all day because I was still super jetlagged and it was seriously too hot to go outside. I spent some time with the family, we watched Home Alone with English subtitles and Benny, the youngest in the house, got over his shyness and we played with his train set. Today, my host mom and I went across the bridge to Szeged (we live in Ujszeged which translates to 'New Szeged') and we went to a mall and to buy a bathing suit for me. After that, I met the Australian on exchange here, Matthew, and he took me to walk around Szeged. We walked around, got some pizza which was super good and then we came back home. Using transit here is really nerve-wracking because sometimes the bus drivers will ask questions and I don't know what they're saying and ahhh.
But hey, it's a part of it.
I'll update soon!
Daniela
Sorry about not posting for the past few months, nothing too exciting happened in regards to exchange. And then about 4 days ago, that changed and so much started happening so quickly. Two days before my departure, I had a going away party with all my friends, my family and a few Rotarians from my club. It was an absolutely wonderful day, and I'll never forget it. It made me realize how much I am going to miss home and how much I had been taking everything for granted. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to think about that because 2 days later I was hopping on a plane to Hungary. It was hard to say goodbye, and I miss my family and my home so much more than I thought I would. This homesickness part is not fun. But, this is going to be a very positive experience in my life.
The traveling part went down without a hitch, a lot of running around from one plane to another but not a problem other than that. I got to Budapest at 2:15 PM on Wednesday, August 22nd (22 hours after I had left with the time difference). My host mom, host dad and my oldest host brother were there to meet me. They brought me a cute little flower and we were on our way. One thing about Hungary at this time of year: it's really hot. But it's a nice change to finally feel like I'm experiencing summer! So we left the airport and went to IKEA in Budapest. Everything is exactly the same only I can't understand anything on the signs! After that, we drove around Budapest for a bit, and I got to see some of the city, which is absolutely beautiful. I think they saw that I was very tired and so we drove down to Szeged. I was exhausted so I slept the entire way. We got home at around 9PM, I unpacked and ate and then I went to sleep again and slept for a good 11 hours!
My host family is pretty great. My host mom (Szusie) and the oldest host brother (Richie), speak English so I've been able to communicate with them. My host dad (Szoly) and smaller brothers don't speak English. I think it's a good balance because I can communicate but still have motivation to learn Hungarian. Motivation. I need a lot of that. Hungarian is notttt for the weak. It's a super hard language and when they speak it sounds like it's all one continuous word. My host mom gave me a couple of kid's books with some basic words in them to start learning. It'll take a while but I'll get there! It's a little strange being in a house full of boys, something I'm not used to! But they're a lot of fun, and we're becoming good friends :)
The day after I got here, we stayed inside all day because I was still super jetlagged and it was seriously too hot to go outside. I spent some time with the family, we watched Home Alone with English subtitles and Benny, the youngest in the house, got over his shyness and we played with his train set. Today, my host mom and I went across the bridge to Szeged (we live in Ujszeged which translates to 'New Szeged') and we went to a mall and to buy a bathing suit for me. After that, I met the Australian on exchange here, Matthew, and he took me to walk around Szeged. We walked around, got some pizza which was super good and then we came back home. Using transit here is really nerve-wracking because sometimes the bus drivers will ask questions and I don't know what they're saying and ahhh.
But hey, it's a part of it.
I'll update soon!
Daniela
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