Random Thoughts from This Week

1. I found a shorter path to work! I stumbled on a map of my district in the kindergarten office (hooray, since none of my maps have the district on it at all!) and, of course, attempted to memorize it. Instead of turning right outside my hostel and taking an electric bus, a tram, and a trolley bus, I realized I could simply turn left outside my hostel, walk for seven or eight minutes, and take the trolley bus, two stops farther.  It's wonderful. So much faster, although the tram was kind of fun.

2. I gave a man directions! Naturally it was lucky he asked me in English, about one of the two roads I'm familiar with, but still - I gave a man directions! I also had to stifle the desire to ask him if we could talk and be English friends because he seemed to be in a great hurry. It's okay, buddy. I hope you found your address.

3. A Hungarian band played in our basement! No one tells me anything, so today I walked downstairs to find three old men with a double bass, a viola, and a violin playing live Hungarian music. The singer was leading the kids in the cutest folk dances. It was so great! What a classy establishment. Apparently the group comes every two weeks (but this was the last time for the year) and the kids love it. It was awesome.

4. Hungarian cuisine: bread and paprika. So in Russia I loved the mushrooms. In Hungary, they have delicious bread, of which I am eating way too much. Also today for lunch we had chicken paprika soup... so much paprika... so good! Two sides to every coin, though. Yesterday for lunch we had a green soup that made me feel like I was drinking pesto. But man, that bread...

5. Update on Hungarian language progress: I swear the vowels sound different every time I hear them, even with some of the kids' names (poor kids).  Hungarian speakers apparently are much better at hearing crazy vowels than non-native speakers, specifically me. I have been working diligently on saying my room number correctly and on "I don't speak Hungarian", which is unfortunately and perhaps ironically very difficult to say. I can say yes, no, okay, key, thank you, and I can (almost) count to five. And finally, courtesy of working at a kindergarten, I can sing a song about a ball. Haha.

Goodnight, America!
Emily