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...
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