Welcome to Sarkad

I left Columbus, OH on February 2nd, flew to Chicago, and then flew to Dusseldorf, Germany. My flight to Germany was AWESOME! There were only around 70 people on the flight, so I had two seats to myself. I actually was able to sleep! 

Once I arrived in Dusseldorf, I took advantage of my 9 hour layover to see a bit of Germany. I found a place to rent a locker so I could leave my bag at the airport, and then went to find a train ticket into the city.  The man at the desk told me to buy a ticket at the machine by the train tracks, so I followed his instructions to realize that it was all in German.  I asked a businessman if he could help me, and he turned out to be an Australian who lives and works in London! He was in Germany for business, so after he helped me get a ticket, we talked about London and he gave me a few pointers on what to do in Dusseldorf.  I would have had a much more difficult day without him! Dusseldorf itself was a bit unimpressive. I went to a church, walked by a few stores, and stopped at a coffee shop and tried some sort of pastry I had never seen before. It was delicious, needless to say, and it was much better than sitting in the airport! 

I made it back to the train, and the airport, without getting lost (considering how jet lagged I was, that was quite an achievement!), found my luggage, and re-entered the airport.  I had to go through security again, and they found an extra thing of contact solution in my bag. I got to stand around for a while as they decided whether they should throw it away or not, and then the security guard found a keychain in my bag that is used for self-defense (my Uncle Collis got one for my sisters and I, and they basically look like devil skull things where you can put your fingers through holes and punch someone with the horns if they won't leave you alone).  I hadn't realized it was in my bookbag, so I was really surprised when she pulled it out of my bag! The security guards spent a lot of time punching each  other with the keychain and laughing at me before letting me go into the airport. They decided to let me keep all my stuff, so that was nice of them! 

So, I finally made it to Budapest! I was picked up in the airport by my program, and dropped off at a really nice hostel. After 21 hours of travelling, I was thrilled to shower and go to bed.  The next morning I was driven to Sarkad, which was about a 3 hour trip.

On February 4th I arrived in Sarkad, Hungary. Sarkad is a small town of about 10,000 people. I am teaching English at a small high school with around 400 students.  So far everyone has been kind and welcoming, and I am really excited to be here! I survived my first week (it was a struggle), and I am feeling fairly settled.  Although I miss things like peanut butter and American coffee (the coffee here is much stronger), I think I can be really happy here! 

I was thrown in immediately and started teaching my second day there. I was still really jet lagged and didn't have anything planned (I thought I would have a week to observe classes), so that was interesting to say the least! My students are fun, energetic, and asked me a lot of questions! I have been brainstorming various activities for them to do to practice speaking English, and I think it's going to be great. Plus, to make things even better, my apartment is amazing! It is so nice, much larger than I expected, and was fully furnished! The school was so amazing helping me with this, and I am so lucky. 

Since Sarkad is a small town, there aren't many people here who speak English, so I'm so lucky that CETP provided a contact person! Szylvia has been amazing, and I would be lost without her! She took me grocery shopping (I can't read the signs or labels on food or talk to the checkout person), helped me use the ATM, and has really helped me adjust to my schedule in the school.  I hope I can learn Hungarian, because right now it is really weird not being able to read signs or understand what people are saying around me. It's a bit lonely, but also kind of relaxing; it's a lot less stressful when there is background noise that you don't have to pay attention to. I'll need to start listening so I can learn the language, but right now I am working on settling in and feeling comfortable, which has been largely successful.

Today has been pretty relaxed. I have been unpacking my remaining clothes, FaceTiming my family and giving them virtual tours of my apartment, attempting to learn Hungarian (trust me, it's an uphill battle), trying to figure out the washing machine (which is in German), and trying to catch up on sleep. I'm so happy to be in Hungary, and I hope there are many amusing and interesting anecdotes to share the longer I am here!