Winding down in Debrecen and Hajduszobozlo.....

On my first morning in Debrecen, I was luxuriating and lingering in one of the most comfy beds I have slept in, for many months, listening to the chiming church bells in the distance, it occured to me how many different "wake-up calls" I have experienced this past year. Not once have I missed that high pitch buzz of an alarm clock :) .... more organic to hear the randy roosters in Rarotonga although perhaps 4 am was borderline early! .... or the waves and wind storms in New Zealand, or Sydney's chiming church bells .... although the freak storms that hit Okinawa, causing pelting rain, strong winds and crashing waves for two days was a bit frightening to wake up to, wondering if I was about to experience my first hurricane! .... from storms to Mongolia's surreal, oh so vast, open air silence of the Steppes, (that view and the silence is one of my favourites) and on to Vietnam's incessant hullabaloo of a zillion motorbikes; the somewhat mystical mosque calls to prayer in Jordan, Dubai and Egypt, India's early morning (and indeed all day!) chaotic cacophony blew my mind!! .... but I loved it nonetheless and miss it to this day ..... I woke to more church bells and birds a chirping in Greece, together creating quite the morning symphony and with spring in full bloom by the time I made it to Hungary, more birds! ..... awesome that I have finally slowed down enough that such simple pleasures as the behaviour of birds fascinates me :) .... there was a large beech tree, (I think it was beech), by my window in Hodmezovarsarhely .... as I lay in bed, planning my day's classes, I would listen and watch as the birds provided my morning entertainment, flitting about, cheeping and chattering .......... I was perpetually late for breakfast and Milt and Rick thought I was sleeping in! Ha! .... wonder what will be my wake up call in Hamburg? My niece Kellie perhaps? .....

Happily zoned out in Thermal Spa country .....

Enjoying the Great Plains region of Hungary, home to hundreds of thermal hot springs .... joining the locals and partaking of the waters at various villages with the springs being their only claim to fame ..... truly a tonic for the body, and as it turns out, for the mind and heart as well. Hungarians swear by the curative effects .... a good soak can apparently heal all sorts of ailments .... arthritis ..... skin, joint, nerve and gynecological disorders ..... the list I read at one spa, was a page long! ..... many use the waters as a preventative measure ..... I have been adverse to using hot tubs and public ones in particular and normally avoid them like the plague ... have been known to say, 'I don't care to soak in other people's bath water' :) ..... but I may have to revise that stance somewhat here in the wilds of Hungary. It is very quiet in many of the smaller villages and towns, as I venture out in the early morning ..... the water is fresh, the pools clean. Some of the springs are in small wooded areas .... my favorites ..... the long leisurely soaks are peaceful and relaxing ...... a quiet stillness permeates my usual chitter chattery mind ..........

Pedro's Pizza Palace Wind Up ......

Well, the restaurant is actually called Don Pedro's ..... decided to add a little Hungarian flair :) ......... A superb wind-up party ..... we totally rocked the place Friday night after our pizza and delicious homemade fruit pies courtesy of Aranka and Karolyi ........... missed the cheerful smiles of Nora, Eniko, Julia and Ilona who could not make it for various reasons ........ Kinga's husband, Csaba entertained us royally with his guitar and singing. We had no idea that this talent lurked in our evening classes!! .... Csaba sang both Hungarian and English folk and rock music ..... just such a cool cool night .... as we walked back to Hotel Fama, Rick, Milt and I discussed how we could not have planned a better end to our stay in Hodmezovarsarhely!! Great spontaneous fun ........ I sang my heart out ......... another surprise earlier in the evening was a parting gift of a beautiful book on Hungary from my group of intrepid learners ..... inside was a group-signed happy face card .... Aranka said I seem to smile all the time and she could not resist buying the card .... personally, I think it is a symbiotic thing, smiling! There was not a grump in my class, ( Ha! ... I kept them blissfully unaware of my grumpy side :) .......... laughter and smiles ruled most of our evenings together ...... ahh, such a blessing are happy people! Hungarians may be slow to warm up (like the Finns actually ..... we are afterall, historical tribesmen) but when they do, wow .... awesome ...... As a culture, as a people, their rivers run deep. I felt, if we could have had the benefit of just a few more words in each other's languages, we could easily have shifted into some stimulating philosophical discussions at the drop of a hat ..... it was just that kind of group. Csodalatos!!

Faces of my adult class .... more wind up party with teachers at Hotel Fama

A few more pictures from small party we hosted for teachers at Hotel Fama ... the teachers presented us with little gift bags of local handicrafts in appreciation of our help ... the kids had been presenting me with their own various drawings all week .... one child shyly came up to me one morning, handed me a huge chocolate bar and a heart note ..... so sweet :)

Daily breakfast with Milt and Rick at Fama ... will surely miss this cozy corner start to our days :)

The Hungarians are an artistic lot and the myriad of 'statues with flair' scattered about in every small town and city attest to that :)

The Communist Museum (Emlek Pont) is a bit of a strange site in Hodmezovarsarhely ... This view is near the front entrance to the museum ..The bottom half of the soldiers are inside the musem .... as I said, strange art! However, what do I know?! ... this is a fairly new museum and has won awards in Hungary .. innovative and artistic people indeed!

Two cheerful students ... Julia and Aranka! Aranka (on the left) is easily, the happiest person I have ever met!!.... she comes to class literally singing!!! ....... Irish songs!! ..... her daughter and Irish son-in-law live in Ireland where she and her husband travel frequently for visits, hence the Irish singing ... songs such as Molly Malone, Irish Eyes etc. ..... :)

I can't articulate what a joy it has been hearing those songs again .... transports me to my own childhood choir practice! .... I know I picked the lucky straw with this class ..... helping beginner students with English pronunciation should not be this much fun!

A rather stern Marika in front .... sadly, she lasted only one class ...... I did not have much success drawing her out, but Istvan, Nora, Eniko and Sandor stayed for all my classes .... :) (in picture) as did Aranka, Kinga, and Ggyongi (Gi for short ..... just try pronoucing her name! :) .... Gi is Sandor's wife. As is often the case in daily condensed bursts of time together, we bonded and I must say, I rather had a bounce to my step more often than not, no matter how exhausted I may have been, as I walked to evening classes .... as my stay here nears an end, I continue to count my many many blessings ..... I adore the ambiance of small town Hodmezovarsarhely, but it is the people, as anywhere, that make my day ... the connections, the sharing, the authentic communicating ..... Hungarians may take awhile to feel comfortable enough to warm up to strangers, but when they finally make up their mind, they open up and show the delightful personalities that hide behind the reserve ..... they are a highly intelligent, musical, artistic people, and I must say, I felt guilty even calling this "teaching" ..... life continues to hold so many people miracles and learning experiences ..... viszontlatasra

Facebook .....

I knew I had volunteered to help with English here in Hungary but must say, was a bit surprised at the direction that lofty goal veered into one fine morning .... Andrea had left me alone with her grade 7 English class as she had meetings to attend at city hall .... the students were to be working on a power point presentation on aspects of air travel on school laptops. As I walked around the classroom, I had to reprimand more than a few ..... facebook or checking out latest you tube videos seemed a top priority ..... kids will be kids wherever they live! ........ At one point as I made the rounds, the work of a student diligently working on her project amazed me and an "Oh my God, that is awesome" ..... slipped out ..... everyone turned to me and one boy shyly asked "is that what OMG means on facebook?" ..... they had wondered .... LOL followed ..... too much fun and so it was, I, who barely ever texts or uses facebook, hence usually have no clue what the abbreviations are myself, end up introducing them to children in small town Hungary ..... I did spell out the full words, so the class did in actual fact learn six new English words, well, sort of new :)! Aahh, justifications ..... Probably would not get the approval of Global Volunteers or the Liszt Ferenc School Board :) ..... So, by now, undoubtedly, all six and seven grade students in Hodmezovarsarhely know the meaning of OMG and LOL ........ LOL :)

Liszt Ferenc School Scenes and party at Fama with the Teachers

The faces of the children .... oh and a few teachers thrown in for good measure :)

A Sunday afternoon in Martely ......

I could not resist a picture of this fellow ironing ... it is a first for me!!!

The little cottages are all built on stilts as the river floods in early spring ..

Another gorgeous sunny, albeit windy day in Hungary! I hired our private student Livia's dad, Arpad, to drive me to Martely (pronunciation is Martay) for the day .... Arpad has a taxi service in town. Martely is a small, primarily summer cottage town, although there are a handful of people who also make it their full time home, most are weekenders looking to commune in nature .... the Tisza River and beach ... yes, a river beach!! .... are the chief attractions for most. Another beautiful relaxing day, exploring the countryside ... a wonderful break from the hectic pace of the volunteer week .... enjoy the pictures :)