Easter Eggs 2011

My story begins with this egg:

In the weeks before Easter, as before any holiday, the kindergarten classroom began to transform. Art projects featuring eggs, hens and bunnies began to populate every bare surface along with vases of forsythia and pussy willows adorned with dyed eggs hanging from ribbons.

One of my colleagues handed me this lovely egg told me it was a gift.

"Oh, it's so lovely!" I told her.

"I made it myself. It's easy. I can show you how to do it." Kati replied.

The following week, I was given this little tool along with a stack of traditional Hungarian patterns. I realized that she was not actually going to show me how to do it, but help equip me with the tools and information I would need.

íroka (sounds like: "ear-oh-kah"): the tool used to apply the wax onto the surface of the egg

Next on the supply list: beeswax. The search for beeswax was a project in itself, but after many failed attempts, I finally bought a half pound of beeswax from the only source in Kecskemét: "The Honey Shop" - a tiny room tucked inside a small strip mall that is only open two days a week according to their sign, and less than that according to whatever handwritten post-it note is on the door at the moment.

Approximately 0.5 pounds of beeswax (MUCH more than I needed)

Jon and I had been blowing out and saving eggs for Easter for a couple weeks. One lesson we learned from the 2009 project: If you plan ahead, there is no need to blow out 15 eggs in a single afternoon and spend the following two days eating nothing but scrambled eggs. I had come across a few other tips since then I also wanted to try. First of all, if you soak the leaves in water, they stick better to the egg, and secondly, if you leave the eggs in the dye bath overnight, there's no need to hang them dry. With all this new information, I wanted to try a batch of the leaf patterns to see how they would turn out.

Easter Eggs 2011: Batch no. 1

Now it was time to try the new technique: hímes tojás (sounds like "hee-mesh toy-ah-sh). It is essentially the Hungarian take on the well-known Ukranian wax-resist egg, pysanka. The premise is simple: Apply wax to the surface of the egg in your desired pattern, soak eggs in a dye-bath, and wipe off the wax leaving the pattern which had been under the wax a lighter color than the dyed egg.

I am both proud and embarrassed that my egg turned out to be exactly the opposite of what I was shooting for.

Kati's egg (left), Franny's egg (right)

How could this happen? Let me explain.

After I had gathered all my supplies, I sat down to work on the designs. It was a rough start.

first attempt: "blobs"

I was doing it all wrong. I tried dipping the íroka in a can of melted wax (I swear that's what I thought Kati told me to do!), but by the time I got it to the egg, the wax would solidify making anything other than blobs an impossibility. Thankfully, Jon took one look at my blob egg and started doing research on the internet. Turns out you should heat the íroka over a candle flame and melt the wax into it.

Now I understand!

Franny's learning curve

Both Jon and I tried our hand at copying the patterns Kati had given me, and before long we had eight eggs ready for dyeing. I still had the dye leftover from the first batch of leaf-patterned eggs, but I wanted a brighter dye. They just didn't look as dark as Kati's egg. We didn't have any more onion skins, so Jon suggested adding a little vinegar. "Why not?" we both thought. Let's give it a try.

By now I'm sure many of you have figured out why my egg turned out a little funny. For those of you as rusty in science as I apparently was: If you leave an egg in a vinegar solution OVERNIGHT, the eggshell will dissolve.

This is called an acid-base reaction. This calcium carbonate crystals in the egg shell react with the acid in the vinegar creating carbon dioxide. Notice the little bubbles?

What have I done?!!

Thankfully there was not enough vinegar in the mixture to completely dissolve the eggshells, but two were too soft to salvage. The rest turned out pretty cool. The vinegar washed away the brown color and the wax preserved the original brown color.

Easter Eggs 2011: Batch no. 2
"acid wash" hímes tojás

Oops!

Busójárás in Mohács

Every winter the little town of Mohács hosts a week-long festival called Busójárás (sounds like "Boo-show- yar-ah-sh," literally: the walking of the Busó). Busó are typically men dressed in animal pelts adorned with cowbells, wearing carved wooden masks and usually carrying wooden noisemakers, pitchforks, and/or whips.

This is a Busó

Busójárás is typically celebrated in February, but is tied to the Roman Catholic calendar, always ending on the seventh Sunday before Easter. So, this year it wasn't until early March. We caught the last day of the festival which begins with a parade and ends with a huge bonfire.

Boats full of Busó paddle their way across the Danube to kick off the walk into the city center.

There are variations on the origin of this tradition, but it has most frequently been explained to me by Hungarians that it is to "scare away winter."

One origin story of the festival, dating to the Turkish occupation of Hungary, tells that displaced Hungarians and Croatians dressed in Busó costumes to scare the Turks out of Mohács. While none of my Hungarian friends endorse this story (often pointing out that they actually lost that battle), it is not uncommon to see references to this legend in the decorations and costumes.

A Busó carrying the head of a "Turk"

The "walk" features groups of Busó from Mohács as well as other cities and villages from Hungary and the nearby countries of Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Street musicians in costume

It is similar to a parade, but most spectators walk alongside the Busó, snapping pictures and getting teased. It is very common for the Busó to be silly, sometimes spraying water out of their masks or just chasing lovely young ladies. There is not a parade route in the sense that we would think of one in the US, rather there are many streets filled with Busó wandering throughout the city until the main event later that evening.

Winter's coffin


Busó sculpture


me and a little Busó

In the main square, a stage in front of the town hall features singers and dancers. Throughout the square there are plenty of Busó to admire.

my friend Peter poses with a Busó






two Busó carrying a large horn


every few minutes we could hear this canon being fired


these Busó were being pulled along on a spinning platform

The main event of the final day is the huge bonfire in the main square. "Winter" is ceremoniously burned in effigy.

Goodbye winter!

Fundraiser Ball 2011: Dancing Debut!

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!

Rosemary Christmas Tree

This year instead of buying a Christmas tree we decorated our rosemary plant.

Mátyás Király Christmas Program

Baking Christmas Cookies in Hungary

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.

Kalocsa