Lost and Found

Firstly, I apologize for being overdramatic when it came to losing my cat.  I panicked that I would never see her again, so I frantically did the only thing I could do: a Facebook outbreak.  I shared pictures of my Mali girl with anyone in the area and I even made a post on Craigslist titled "Missing Cat."  But, it was ineffective.

Fortunately, I have wonderful friends who posted "Lost Cat" posters in the neighborhood to look for Mali.  Within three hours of hanging up the signs, my friends received a call from a college student down the road who had been feeding my porky cat for three days.

The snapchat Emily sent me, Mali in arms.

Secondly, I would like to share some insights from my travels, mostly about my own life.  While being in Hungary, I have learned four important things, which were all tied together by quotes in an article that my friend, Javier, shared:

"Learn the language but don’t get upset with yourself if it’s difficult and takes time to master. Enjoy the period where you can sit in coffee shops and restaurants and not have to block out inane chatter. It’s effortless when it’s all gibberish."

1)  I came into the country with a preconception that Hungarian was one of the hardest languages to learn.  After I stopped worrying about the difficulty, I could actually focus on what the people around me said; now, I know so much!  In the end, I learned that preconceptions and definitions only hold you back.  So, I really like this quote:   

“Give up defining yourself - to yourself or to others. You won't die. You will come to life. And don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don't be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.” ― Eckhart Tolle.     

The key is to not worry about it and to just be present.  This really helped me with understanding and speaking the language.  Sure, I still have difficulty with pronunciation, but people can now understand me when I speak these Hungarian words and phrases (Warning: Alcohol heavy): Beer, Wine, We don't have that in America, We have that, Can I try?, I don't know, Do you need something?, Can I help?, Calm down, Stop, Don't do that! (comes in handy when the children pick their noses), Wait for me, Water, Enjoy your meal, Hello, Goodbye, Yes, No, A little bit, Please, Thank you, Pálinka, You're welcome, I'm sorry, Excuse me, Favorite, Wine, Pálinka, Cheers, Beer, English, Say, Look, Listen, Soap, Sweet, Sour, Sun, Moon, Socks, Shoes, Day, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Hat, Pálinka, Entrance, Exit, Reduced price, Sale, Goat, Rooster, Rabbit, Dog, Kitten, Cat, House, Car, Bus, Bicycle, Delicious, Pálinka, Beer, Good, Beer, Pálinka, Again, Play!, School, Pálinka, Church, Ball, Shark, Friend, Friendship, Fast, Slow, Colour, Red, Pálinka, Green, Flag, New, Old, Mother, Father, Hot, Woman, Secret, Wine, Ladybug, Butterfly, Smile, Pálinka, Corn, Pepper, Potato, Bread, Fish, Tomato, Peach, Apricot, Cherry, Wine, Blueberry, Pálinka, Strawberry, Sugar, Salt, Chicken,  Fireworks, Beer, ...you get the point.  

"Homemade Pálinka.  Quenching thirst for centuries."

Chug-a-lug, my friends.

"The frustrations are what teach you the most. But if you’re too strong or proud or stubborn for that, then try and remember that every day you live in a foreign country you get better at it.  Every day you live abroad you learn something — about yourself, about the country you live in, and about how there is always more than one way to look at something."

2) Living abroad brings frustration.  It's unavoidable.  Language barriers, Cultural differences, Unhappy children, Loneliness; it's all a part of the experience.  All of these topics have taught me something.   

• Language barriers: my conversations here have become so meaningful.  I pay close attention to what people say to me so I won't misunderstand and I feel closer to them before.  There are times when I have laughed so hard because a Hungarian speaker and I have communicated only through our actions and the gibberish of each other's languages.
• Cultural differences: there are customs that I like better in Hungary, but there are also customs that I like better in America.  Some things can just be strange.  But, this has caused me to appreciate the differences between the two cultures more.  Neither is bad nor good, it is what it is.  Acceptance and understanding is what I have gained.
• Unhappy children: hey, it's going to happen when you work in a kindergarten and live with two children.  Some days can be really rough, especially when I cannot understand what they want nor how to fix the problem.  But, there are other days when the children come up to me, smile, and say an English word or phrase that I said only once the prior week; then, all previous stress disappears.
• Loneliness: coming to a completely new country without knowing people will bring loneliness.  But, I learned that it only makes me stronger.  Back in America, I was rarely alone, so I never had time to take a breath and reflect on my life.  Here, I go for nightly walks, where I can listen to music and think about my experiences that brought me to where I am today.  And in a world filled with so much beauty, you can't be lonely for long.

"Give up on where you're from but don't give up on the people.  Your friends back home won't forget about you.   They will move on with their lives without you, and they might resent you, but they will still listen to your stories if your stories are good."

3) This experience has given me an opportunity to grow closer to my friends.  I am not the best at communicating when I'm around my best friends back home; I tend to be the "sit and stare at the TV" friend.  Now, I can stay on Skype with my best friends for hours and always keep a conversation going.  I want to be the friend who is spontaneous; I want to plan trips, short and long, with my friends.  Otherwise, I'm wasting my life away just by sitting and watching Netflix.  (Don't get me wrong, Netflix is one of my closest friends, and we will not cut ties.)

I'll be back for you, Lucille.

"On those days when a really simple thing could be easily handled if you were back home, and you get frustrated, and you start really wishing you could go back home — maybe you should do it. Maybe you should go back home and stay there. Maybe you don’t belong overseas..."

4) As soon as disaster strikes, I normally hit the ground running.  When I lost my cat, I was ready to pack my bags, give up on Hungary, and go back home.  Even though losing a pet can be seen as traumatic, I have let problems affect me way more than they should in my life.  In Hungary, for example, my host family took me to the Tisza river bank to swim and then we cruised down the river in a boat; while we were on the boat, I got sand behind the glass of my new camera's screen.  I was so frustrated that I just stared at the screen, scraping at its corners and ultimately fixing nothing.  Because I did this, I completely missed seeing a happy Golden Retriever in a kayak with its owner.  By the time I looked up, I was already too late to capture the moment.  It taught me that if I stay focused on the bad in the past and present, I won't see any good in the future.
But, the good thing is that I am on the path to freedom from worries; I can already shrug off many problems that I would not be able to put aside in the past.

"Get used to the problems of the country not really being your problems. You don’t have a say in them, so it’s easier if you just accept them as they are — out of your control. Don’t worry, it’s an easy feeling to get used to; it actually becomes comforting."

4 continued) So, I like to think of this excerpt in a different way.  I am still learning that problems happening in your home country cannot be helped while you are abroad, so there is no need to stress.  There have been times when I have faced problems back home, and it really is comforting knowing that I can put it aside and enjoy my time here rather than worrying.  Don't worry, be happy.  Which leads me to my final quote...I swear.

"Try to keep your head. Another country might make you forget who you are and where you came from, and maybe that’s what some of you want. That’s a big part of it. But no one ever fully escapes where they came from, or who they are, and once you come to terms with that you’ll be able to really enjoy yourself. It’s a good, interesting life if you can handle it."

Some things can be difficult, and I will never forget about who I was in the past as I become who I will be in the future.  But, I do know that the positivity in my life is clearly outshining everything else.  I'm not so sure if I would have had such a concrete realization had I not come here.

If you are interested in reading the article, "How to Survive Living in a Foreign Country," here it is: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/how-to-survive-living-in-a-foreign-country/

My family makes me laugh...a lot.

So, my 6 year old host brother, Dominik ("Dodo") is too shy to speak English in the kindergarten, right?  He gets super frustrated at times and says "Nem! Nem!" (No! No!) whenever I try to speak with him.  But, when he wants to play, he's so up for speaking English.

Like today, he just strolls into my room butt-naked (after swimming) and shows me a box of paints.  He then starts spouting off in Hungarian because he wants me to either A) paint on his body, B) paint on paper downstairs, or C) eat the paint.

At the time, I really had no idea what he wanted.  So, I tell him (in English) that I need to change out of my pajamas.  Of course, when Dodo actually wants to learn English, he just repeats everything I say.

Me: I need to change.
Dodo: I need change.
Me: No, Dodo.  I need to change.
Dodo: I need to change.

At this point, he looks pretty confused, so I walk over to my dresser and pull out jeans to show him what I mean.  Then, I shoo him out of my room so I can put clothes on.  Thirty seconds later, he charges back into the room, this time equipped with cartoon underwear. At least he has style.

Then, I decide that maybe changing clothes in the bathroom is a better idea with Dodo McPeeper around.  Soooo I do, but once I emerge from the bathroom, he becomes Dodo McCreeper because there is a random toy I have never seen before placed methodically in the door frame to my bedroom.  But, no sign of Dodo.......what the what.

A-like so...

Later, Jenni and I went for a walk while taking Beni in a stroller.  (The stroller was equipped with two beers).  This is a bit of what we saw:

Area where the boats are stored in the winter.

People grilling out and fishing.

A fence-climbing goat.

We also saw many cats and dogs; those pictures will come later.  After a couple hours of walking, Jenni and I decided to flea from the mosquitoes and walk a little bite further to Mámá's house.

Mámá's house from the street.

Now, I wasn't kidding about Mámá's reputation as a party animal.  She has a healthy, college-student dose of Pálinka every night before bed.  

Pálinka is considered a Hungarian specialty–fruit brandy.  It can contain anywhere from 37.5% to 86% alcohol.  The typical recipe has 60% alcohol.  So yes, it is very strong.  

Lots of Pálinka in a restaurant called Gringo's from the other night–went there with four other interns, including AIESEC US's very own, Kiandra Brady.

When I first tried Pálinka, I hated it.  I am a beer girl.  You don't really see me with liquor.  But tonight was a different night.  As soon as we entered the house, Mámá offered me a beer, but I declined.  Then, she offered homemade blackberry Pálinka.  It would have been rude of me to reject a second offer, so I caved in and said "itsy bitsy!"  

This Pálinka did not burn as much as the first two ones I tried.  Jenni explained that homemade Pálinka was like that.  I did not understand how I did not know this information before.  It has been a terror to see the looks on everyone's faces, young to old, when I tell them I hate their national drink.  Now, I can honestly say that I like it.

There it is in its homemade glory.

Mámá then gave me a tour and talked about her family's history.

The stairs lead up to Mónika's childhood room.

A really neat tree in Mámá's back yard.

The tour ended on the upstairs patio when we tried to find her dog, Bitsy.  As we walked up the spiral stairs to the patio, Jenni told me that Bitsy likes to climb on the roof.  In my head, I thought it was impossible.  Boy, was I wrong...

There she is, right at the top.

Yeah, the dog climbs roofs.  Actually, if you refer back to the first picture of the house, you will see Bitsy's silhouette on the top right portion of the roof.  She is a daredevil.  I can only imagine her sitting on the roof right now and howling at the moon.  

The events in my life right now...  I can't wrap my head around it.

Homesick

I know that I was going to tell you about the Kindergarten next, but something has me distracted...

I would like to think that there is always one point when you get really homesick while being abroad.  For me, that moment is occurring right now.

First things first, I am an animal lover.  Every time I see a dog or cat here, I try to talk to it and then take a picture.  It's just what I do– I inherit that trait from my mom.  So you can imagine my devastation when this this happened...

Yesterday, I was talking to my Appalachian friends, Emily and Tatianna.  (They are living in my house and taking care of my cats, Mali and Taz, while I am gone.)  Next thing I know, Emily says that Mali is missing and has been missing for three days.  This is too unusual for Mali; she doesn't stay away for that long.

I feel so helpless that I cannot be there to find Mali.  My biggest fear when I left the United States was to not see my cats again.  I want to blame myself for her disappearance because I couldn't communicate to her that I was coming back for her.  Overall, I am feeling a little trapped.

My first thought is to get a ticket home just so I can look for my cat, but I know that she will be in good hands.  Emily and Tati are desperately searching for her, putting signs up in the neighborhood. 

My one main regret was that I did not say a proper goodbye to my cats.  Honestly, I couldn't say goodbye or else I would not have left Boone.  But, if Mali doesn't turn up, then I guess that's just a part of life.  I know that I need to appreciate the times I had with her and to not stress about the time I do not have, because I would not have been able to see her in Hungary anyway.  

Who knows?– maybe she's with a better family.  

Maybe she is being fed copious amounts wherever she is.  

Maybe she's on an adventure of a lifetime just like me.  

Maybe she will return to us, much wiser and much fatter.

I know that she doesn't have to be my cat to thrive.

And I know in my heart that she is thriving.  

Disclaimer:  I just like the quote, source unknown to me.

Meet the Family

Sziasztok!

It has been a little under 4 weeks since my arrival in Szeged. I figure since I haven’t blogged about anything, it’s time I should do so.  There were times when I sat down to write my blog and then all the excuses came: the internet was down, I didn't have enough time.  But, enough with the excuses...  I really don’t know where to start, and writing isn’t my strength; still, here it goes. Taking the plunge.

First, I would like to introduce you to my welcome party–the people who kindly invited me to speed into their lives!!

Andor:  my AIESEC receptionist! J  He picked me up from the airport and was so patient during my sleep-deprived slurring when we were on the train to Szeged from Budapest.  He is studying in the medical school at University of Szeged, so he is focusing on finals right now.  He doesn’t have much time to hang out because of that, but our second meeting was when I bumped into him during one of my nightly walks!  I was worried about how safe the area was, so he walked with me for the rest of my little exploration.  Funny thing–we crossed the bridge from Szeged into New Szeged, and I swear there is a building there that came right out of a Silent Hill video game.  It looks like an abandoned club, sketchy and scary.  Glad I wasn’t walking alone. :P

 

My "Running Into Andor" face.

Creepy abandoned disco–went back for a photo during the day.

Lajos (“Lali”):  current VP ICX of AIESEC Szeged.  He goes to school in Szeged, but his parents live in Kecskemet.  He spent a majority of his time in his hometown before this week.  I took a trip out to Kecskemet for a “house party” as Lali called it– it was six of Lali’s good friends that he met in high school (…I think), all hanging out, sharing music, and dominating at foosball.   I had one too many a beer because my foosball skills suuuucked.  Lali and I were so close to winning the second match we played and then I completely bombed. (Seth Hooper, Will Stephenson, and Riley Stephenson: hear my plea and help me!!!)  When the sun came up, Lali and I walked around to see the town.  I don’t know how he put up with me because I would run after every neighborhood dog, saying “Kutya, kutya!!! Let me pet you!”   Most of the dogs were cool with it.  But my best friend for the trip was Lali’s “cica” (kitty).  This night was probably one of my favorites in Hungary so far; everyone (including the animals!!) were so friendly and inviting. 

So photogenic, I know.

Zsike:  my trainee buddy.  We met once for dinner and her roommate tagged along.  Zsike has a bunny and her favorite TV show is How I Met Your Mother.  She recently had ankle surgery so it stops her from coming into Szeged.  She lives in Kiskunhalas with her parents, which is about an hour away from Szeged. 

(Photo to come soon)

Mónika: my host mom.  She doesn’t speak English, so it was really difficult for us to communicate in the beginning.   I have definitely picked up a lot of Hungarian just by speaking with her, because almost everyone else tries to speak English with me.  Mónika always talks to me in Hungarian and I respond to her in English.  We can understand each other well now (or maybe I’m just delusional).  All I know is that I have cried from laughing so hard during one-on-one chats with her.

Oh, and her hair is also boss –

Lazlo: my host father.  He smiles often and always makes me feel so welcome.   Also a non-English speaker.  I haven’t gotten to know him well because he was in Uzbekistan for a business trip when I arrived.  He brought back Uzbek wine and told me to try some.  It was delicious. 

Jenni: my 23 year old host sister.   During my first week, she went with me to pubs, clubs, and the Szeged-famous wine festival.  She has a 2 ½ year old son named Bennet and lives in the same house as us with her boyfriend.   She is the person I am closest to in the house.  She is almost always willing to go for walks with me; and she’s my beer buddy. :D

Szurász: Jenni’s boyfriend.  When Szurász and Jenni are together, they become a hilarious tag-team.  When Jenni does not understand a word I am saying or if she does not know how to say a word in English, she turns to Szurász and he helps her (and vice versa).  I really like him because he’s very friendly.  He always jumps up to offer me a ride–most times I tell him I will walk.  He is taking care of Bennet quite often, especially when Jenni and I walk around town or when we go grab a beer.  

Danka: my 21 year old host sister.  She attends an Economics university in Budapest.  She just adopted a new puppy named Molly–SO CUTE.  Danka’s English is very good.  I stayed with her for one night after I arrived back in Hungary from Italy. 

Benji:  my 17 year old host brother.  Benji is MIA quite often.  He is in high school and currently has a girlfriend named Kriszti, so he is always at her house.  His English is good, but he can be very shy.  He is also quite a hooligan.  Benji can make everybody laugh, because he has a goofy sense of humor.

Kriszti: Benji's girlfriend; also in high school.  Her English is good as well, but she is not around as much as the others.  She went with Benji, Dominik, and I to the Szeged zoo.  The Szalóky's treat her as part of the family; she fits right in.

Dominik "Dodo": my 6 year old host brother.  He is one of my students in the Ovóda (kindergarten).  In the kindergarten, he pays more attention to his friends than to me.  But, when we get home, he takes me by the hand and says, “Come, Sarah!” … leads me up to his room and then we build Lego castles or play card games.  Sometimes, I feel like I am his dog and that the English just translates as "woof woof" to him.  Dodo is too shy to speak English in the kindergarten, but when he gets home, he is pretty vocal! 

Bennet:  my 2.5 year old host….nephew??  He is Jenni’s son.  Sweet little face.  He loves Mickey Mouse and getting into trouble.

Mama: Mónika's mother.  She is over at the house almost every day.  She helps by making meals or cleaning the house.  She always tries to speak with me.  Every day, we understand each other a little bit more.  Mama is delightful–she makes me feel loved like I am her granddaughter, too.  She also drinks beer like a champ– who woulda thunk it.

Mama making Palancsinta (pancake).

This is the core group and as you can see, it is mostly host family.  Yes, my family is HUGE and I LOVE it.  I have had the most laughs with the individuals pictured above.  

And this is where we live...

Across from this massive, beautiful church...

I'm very lucky to be where I am... bust mostly, I am very lucky to be with who I am with.

Stay tuned for the next update on my internship at Kipp Kopp Ovóda, otherwise known as "kindergarten."

Egészségedre!

Can I be there already?

Okay, so I haven't left North Carolina quite yet for Szeged, Hungary (my flight is at 12:45pm). Honestly, I think my head will still be in the United States after I leave–at least for a little while.  I booked my flight 10 days before my departure.  I can tell you that May 20th crept up on me quickly!  I can't help but think that I forgot to pack something.  I didn't even make a packing list;  I was too busy cramming in as much Netflix as I could because I know I won't have time for it.  I also spent a good portion of time looking up countries of Eastern Europe so I know where to go during downtime, YOLO (or YORO, whatevs).  I didn't really get any closer to figuring out travel plans... every country looks incredible, so it's hard to shorten the list.  This is what I have so far:

Montenegro–Budva

Austria–Vienna

Bosnia and Herzegovina–Sarajevo

Croatia–Zagreb, Zadar, Dubrovnik

Slovenia–Julian Alps, Ljutomer

Czech Republic–Prague

Germany–Dortmund, Heidelberg, Munich

Finland–Lapland

Denmark–Copenhagen

Belarus–Minsk

Ukraine–Kiev

Romania–Sighișoara, Sibiu, Bucegi Mountains

Bulgaria–Pernik, Sofia

Turkey–Istanbul

 If you have any suggestions, please feel free to point me in the right direction!

Till next time,

ReadyToGo