This past Sunday, February 16th, my day started with a lot of tears and irritation. The cause of all this emotional turmoil was a book! Kati, one of my English teachers, lent me a book by Toni Parsons, titled Man and Boy. It was a great book, but really emotional! However, once I finished I was feeling really depressed about life, so I decided to message one of my students, Zora, to accept her offer to accompany her to Békéscsaba.
While Zora was getting ready to go, she sent her mom to pick me up at my apartment since the train station is pretty far away. I was waiting for her to show up when I saw a car that matched the description Zora had given me. I started walking towards it when I realized there were two people in the vehicle, neither of which looked like they were correct age to be her mother, and then the two women exited the car while giving me the hairy eyeball. Needless to say I backed away feeling foolish. A few minutes later, Zora's mom showed up, I got in the car, and she took Zora and me to the train station.
Once we arrived in Békéscsaba, we started off by eating a pastry (which was delicious, but gave me a stomach ache since I'm lactose intolerant). Then we visited the Csaba Center, which is the mall in Békéscsaba, and wandered around. The mall was nice and I had fun window shopping. We ended the excursion by attending a high school concert where students of different skill levels played guitar.
On the ride home, I made a comment to Zora about how cemeteries are different in Europe as compared to the US. She promptly replied that people in the States rudely stand right on top of their loved one's, while in Hungary they can kneel next to the concrete slab that covers the grave. I immediately started to laugh and couldn't stop for at least five minutes. It's always funny to hear how others perceive cultural differences!
On Wednesday I went with Szylvia to the immigration office to submit all paperwork so I can receive my visa. To our surprise, the immigration office was closed! So, I went with Szylvia to her house, which is lovely, and we drank coffee and talked about school, books, differences between university in the States and Hungary, as well as other things. It was very nice, and I had a lovely time. She also let me borrow a few books! I'm looking forward to reading Sherlock Holmes during my free time.
The immigration office was open on Thursday, so Szyvlia and I returned. I had my finger prints taken for the first time, which was cool!The encounter went smoothly, but we need a few more forms. I'm excited to have most of that completed! Paperwork and `sitting in offices is a bit stressful, so I am happy I won't have to go back for a while! In all honesty, I have no room to complain. Szylvia and other people at the school did all the work and were so unbelievably helpful. I'm so glad I have met so many kind and lovely individuals in Sarkad!
I'm hoping that I can visit Gyula this weekend for a day. It sounds like a really cool place, so I think it will be great! My 9C students taught me how to purchase a bus ticket, so hopefully I can say it correctly!
Well, that's all for now. So long!
I have read 4 of the Sherlock Holmes stories. They are really good. I was surprised I thought they would be very dry. I was wrong and very happily so.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, sounds like you are settling in and getting comfortable in Hungary, which is great to hear. I'm sure you'll continue to have adventures/misadventures to keep things interesting.....
ReplyDeleteYeah, the lactose intolerancy which you forgot to mention.
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