(My name is on blue paper toward the bottom)
After less than a week of crash courses in Hungarian culture & language and English teaching tips, the day came for our group of American teachers to split up and move on to different cities across Hungary. Thursday morning we all sat, with our luggage in piles behind us, waiting for a contact from our school to claim us. The CETP directors refer to it as the "orphan pick up." We had been given approximate times, but as each van pulled into the parking lot, we wondered whose "parent" was arriving.I was the last to leave. Peter, the P.E. teacher from my school, had been lost for hours in construction traffic. As soon as I was in the car, he handed me the map and informed me that he was not sure how to get out of Budapest. Thankfully I am familiar enough with Hungarian pronunciation that I could identify the streets he called out as we drove south toward Kalocsa.
Once we were out of the city it was a pleasant drive through sunflower and corn fields. Peter speaks decent English, so thankfully we did not have to rely too much on my Hungarian for conversing. The most surprising part of the drive was passing DeKalb corn signs!!! (I promise to take a picture when I have the chance.) Apparently they grow Illinois corn in Hungary. Who knew?!
Two hours later we arrived at my apartment in Kalocsa. After lugging my bags inside, Peter and I met two school administrators for dinner at a local restaurant. It had been a long day of waiting and traveling so I was quick off to bed once back at my new home.
