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 :)
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