This last week in Ztown has been similar to the rest, where I've spent days in surrounding towns. This week's trips included visiting a 12th century church; another city the size of Grand Rapids, where we went to the cathedral and I was blessed with the sounds of the loudest pipes I had ever heard before walking on ancient Roman ruins that were built shortly after the death of Christ.
I also spent an afternoon swimming at a local water park and was invited to a Garden Party, which is basically their version of the all-American BBQ. This included more Palinka and beer complemented by the pastime favorite -- grilled paprika chicken. We also played the game 33, which is similar to 21 but you have teams and there isn't any contact. (Needless to say, the father of the house (Istvan) and I took the crown.
Yesterday, I also spent time at an old fortress that abutted the Hungarian Highlands just below the Austrian Alps. And today we went back to Lake Balaton where I was happy-go-lucky to see my first host parents (Rita and Chaba) they surprised me, which pretty much made my day. We walked around and took pictures near the lake and by a winery and laughter and a bit of sadness was included. I've missed them but have also enjoyed my second stop.
(Lake Balaton with first two host families)
My second host family has a beautiful home in the hills outside of downtown Ztown. The view from their balcony looks down at a valley that my host father says is "perfect for cross country skiing." It also invites the Deep Space adventurer as just about any star that is available to see. (The other day we were pretty sure we had an eye level view of Mars and that MIR passed us by.)
I have been lucky with not only having a great first family that displayed the same kindness of my own, but another that is willing to teach me as much as I can ask. (And you all know that I can ask a lot of questions.) This family suprised me in class today with a massive cake that spelled out 25 and my host brothers, Peter and Willy, and host sister, Vicky, sang "When I'm 25." (Like the Beatles "When I'm 64)
(A Very Happy 25th!)
And finally, the class has been more rewarding than I could have imagined. My advanced students have been able to teach me the Hungarian way of life and what it means to live in different generations. (The one that was under total Soviet control and another that hasn't.) Some say the former live was better in some ways, like knowing you would make ends meet; overall most say the ability to choose what you want has been worth the risk. (Of course this is much more complicated than I can write.)
This week's class lessons consumed of playing games like hang man and pictionary, learning how to order food in restaurant and playing "Pop Pong," while practicing English. In my intermediate class, which was filled with adults, I answered the ever common-question of, "What is Obama like, what kind of president is he, and what will he do," with a lesson on reading "I have a Dream" by MLK and another on reading Obama's inaugaration speech. While this was difficult for them, they understand most of it and were surprised that a president of the USA would apologize for our past mistakes. And while they weren't surprised, they admitted they don't have optimistic leaders like the U.S. They say we don't have someone saying, "While we have made mistakes and while we are in this crisis; we can do better and we will do better. We will do this together and it is our responsibility not the leader's responsibility to make us all better."
(Last Day of Class)
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