This year I took part in the faculty dance performance at my school's fundraiser ball. Jon was a good sport and was my dance partner. Here's a clip of our little number:
We are front and center. Jon's wearing a blue shirt, silver tie and a hat. I'm wearing a black and white polka dot dress.
It was a huge success and we had a great time. We actually performed it a second time as an encore!
I think that whenever you move, whether it be across town, across the country or across an ocean, you can't help but occupy your mind with the many things that are different. Needless to say I had a very long list when I first arrived in Hungary. But now I have lived here over two years and don't notice these differences as often.
This was my second year making Christmas cookies with my advanced-level English students. I figured I wouldn't be in for any surprises this afternoon.
We rolled out the dough,
cut out the shapes,
baked the cookies, made the frosting
and frosted them, exactly as I had planned.
But just in case I forgot I was in Hungary...
Three of my boys knocked on the window of the classroom and showed off a wild boar's head.
I made sure they washed their hands before they came back in.
We finally went to Pécs! After a disappointing attempt to see the lovely city a few months ago, Jon and I finally spent a couple afternoons in Pécs. Our friends Peter and Laura drove us down on the new M6 highway from Kecskemét, and we were there in under 2.5 hours.
the streets of Pécs
Pécs has a very Western-European feel, setting it apart from most other cities I've visited in Hungary. The city dates back to ancient Roman and early medieval times and was under Ottoman rule for over one hundred years.
National Theater of Pécs
Locks of Love
One interesting custom I have seen in some of the Hungarian cities I have visited is a gate covered in locks. The one in Pécs is the largest I've seen so far. If you look closely,
you'll see each lock is inscribed with two names and often a date. Couples symbolize the strength of their love and devotion by locking up their personalized locks and throwing away the key.
city hall
In Pécs we met up with the rest of our little tour group. The weekend trip was organized by a Hungarian friend Jon and I met this summer in Vienna. We didn't spend much time in the big city, but enjoyed walking around for a couple hours in the nice sunny weather before piling back in cars and heading to Villány.
Villány
Villány is just short drive from Pécs and is the southernmost wine region in Hungary. We stayed at a charming little B&B-type place owned by a couple who also owned a cellar. Once we dropped off our stuff, we headed to the cellar for a wine tasting followed by a big homemade dinner.
The owner of the cellar guides us through a tasting of his wines.
The next day Jon, Peter, Laura, and I soaked in the still-sunny weather while walking around the little town and its neighbor, Villánykövesd.
Villány's train station
The cellars of Villánykövesd
grapes climbing up a cellar
The weather was perfect. We found a nice path through the hills and did a bit of climbing to take in the view. That evening we had another homemade meal at the cellar and caught up with the rest of the group, who had gone to a nearby thermal bath for the day.
looking back on the hilly path
I waited and waited for this butterfly to finally land so I could snap a picture!
The next day the four of us visited Pécs again on our way back to Kecskemét. Everything was closed for November 1st (All Saints' Day is a national holiday in Hungary), but we walked through some lovely gardens and enjoyed the low-key feel of wandering through the city.
I helped organize my school's very first Halloween party this year. The kids dressed up, bobbed for apples, made toilet paper mummies, and the older kids stayed for a dance party.
The biggest surprise was when Jon and I showed up dressed up as a Jack-o-lantern and a ladybug because no one knew that you could dress up as anything for Halloween. Everyone, including my colleagues, asked us, "Why aren't you scary?!" Everyone else was a witch, ghost, vampire, or dead. It was funny to find out what little details of American culture had caught on and which ones had slipped through the cracks. I guess that's why we are here!
