Győr and Thanksgiving

So I thought I should update you all on Thanksgiving.

But first a tiny bit on my trip to Győr!

Győr is a city on the other side of the country but it only takes about 2 hours by car to get there. My friend Orse was an exchange student in Michigan (Owosso) last year and she lives in Győr. I wanted to see her so we decided we would spend the weekend together. She picked me up on a Friday and then we drove to Győr. We talked the whole way just about how things were going and stuff. Then we got to Győr and I met her parents. They are the sweetest people and I felt very happy there. Her mom made dinner which was really good and then we watched Bride Wars. We chilled and then Orse called the other exchange students and we agreed to hang out. So we hung out with them Friday night. On Saturday morning we had to get up early to catch a train and go to Budapest for a Rotary sport day thing put on my ex- exchange students. We didn’t play a lot of sports mostly the current exchange students just talked. It was me, Arthur (Brasil), Taylor (NY) –both in Gyor- Nicole (CA), and Jill (FL). Like I said we pretty much just chatted but it was a lot of fun. Then we went to TGI Fridays with a few other exchange students and just chilled some more. Then Arthur, Taylor, Orse and a few other ex- exchange students took the train back to Gyor. That night we all hung out with a few future exchange students Parscha and Bence and Orse’s friend Aggie. We went to a karaoke bar and then a dance club. We danced for a few hours and it was a great time. Then we went home. Then next day Orse, and I watched The Devil Wears Prada while Aggie slept. Then they took me home. It was an excellent weekend.

Obviously I didn’t go into detail but I don’t want to make this too long.

Okay, onto Thanksgiving. Nicole (CA) met a woman on her flight on the way here who is American. She, her husband, and four children lived in Estonia for 14 years before moving to a city outside Budapest. They invited the American exchange students to have Thanksgiving with them. I was very happy about this because I obviously wanted to celebrate it. I originally planned to go with my friend Annika who lives in Budapest after spending the night before with her and then we were going to go together. We spent Wednesday night together but unfortunately she got something like the stomach flu on Thursday morning so she couldn’t go with me. L However, she is an angel and wrote me excellent directions because I had never used public transportation besides busses and I was a little worried because I had to use bus, metro and train. Luckily I survived and met Nicole, Jill and Teri (PA) for the train ride. So we went to the family’s home and it was so nice. We all agreed like we felt like we were in the USA. The food was excellent we had turkey, chicken, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, rolls, casserole, and various types of pies. We also had buckeyes. Everything was sooooo good! Then we played Apples To Apples with the kids- (I won ;] ) and we hung out. Then we had to go, which was sad because it felt so much like home. I got home safely and skyped with my parents (who were at my Grandparents house with the rest of my family) and said hello to everyone before going to bed. I’m really grateful that the family invited us over because I think if I didn’t celebrate it, it would have been a rough day. 

Italy!

So last Thursday I was preparing to go to ITALY! Of course I was thrilled because Italy I’ve heard is simply amazing, and I love Italian food (or the American version of it haha). So I was supposed to be at the Westend City Center (Largest mall in Hungary- located in Budapest) at 11:30 and after a lot of discussion it was decided I would go to Budapest via bus and my second host mom would pick me up and take me to the mall (my second family lives in Budapest). So I boarded the bus with a duffle bag, purse, and backpack full of food. I arrived and my host mom drove me to the mall. I was supposed to meet one of my friends, Terry, but I found another and it all worked out because we eventually met up with a bunch of exchange students in the McDonalds. When Terry arrived at McDonalds we left to exchange Forints to Euros and that was all good. We had to get money out of the ATM and we also had to find the exchange store. After we found the place (we had to ask several people where the exchange store was) it turned out the ATM was right there and then we changed money with a very sassy exchange worker. Hahaha. Then we went to get Starbucks. The workers didn’t like us much because Terry kept changing her order. We took some pictures and then we went back to McDonalds. My best friend, who I’m going to the Rihanna concert with, Annika, was there so we went to exchange her money and then we left the mall and started to board the bus. Annika and I sat in the back and we began what would turn out to be 19 hours on and off in a bus.

Annika and I it seemed like discussed everything under the sun. From people at my school at home, to our daily lives here, to shows we like to watch. I was telling her about how many shows I watch online and we got on the topic of Modern Family. I happened to notice this Mexican kid, Juan Carlos (Now called Halloween), was listening but he seemed hesitant to join in. Finally he did and the three of us discussed various episodes and had long conversations. Then I started talking about Criminal Minds and I got Annika very interested. She told me she can’t watch it alone so I have to visit her in Budapest so we can watch it. Our conversation eventually turned to Halloween’s life in Mexico. He mentioned he has a ski home in Colorado and a vacation home in Cancun. So we were asking what is parents do. Lots of Cartel jokes followed. I asked him about Cartels and his opinion and he said they aren’t close to him so he isn’t really affected. We discussed scary movies and he said something about Halloween and the way he pronounced it was very “throaty” (that’s the best way I can describe it). So he was dubbed Halloween. Eventually we arrived at Lake Balaton area. We walked up and saw over the lake. Then we got back on the bus and an hour later it seemed stopped at a gas station. (We had been promised we would see a castle- the only castle I saw was the castle across the road on a mountain across from said gas station- hahaha). Then we drove to a nice building to eat dinner. It was one girl’s birthday, so we sang her happy birthday. Then as she is cutting the cake the President calls the only other girl from Michigan and announces she is going home. Then he tells her to talk. I’m not going to lie- Annika and I shed a tear at this. It was just so out of the blue and unexpected. We had no idea she was so unhappy. Then of course the girl can’t talk and is getting emotional. She sat down and we went over to her and asked her a bunch of questions and she just said she missed home and didn’t click with this culture and simply was miserable and had been since she had arrived.  This was sad. I felt like when I get sad I always think about the other exchange students and if they can do it I can, and that is part of what keeps me going. It felt like a loss because she couldn’t do it. But I completely understand and I won’t judge her because it is what is good for her.

Anyways after hours on the bus at 3am we crossed into Italy. Of course I checked to see if there were any attractive Italians and guess what? There were. The police officer at the border was really good looking. While we are watching him I casually said “Welcome to Italy, Ladies. Welcome to Italy.” It was a nice entrance.  At around 9am we arrived in Venice. We got off the bus and then took the fairy to the part of Venice we were going to. On the fairy we took lots of pictures. My camera battery died but luckily my friend Nicole gave me some replacement batteries. We got to Venice and then started exploring.  The first thing I noticed besides the venders were the pigeons. They are not afraid of anything and they won’t fly away unless you are literally about to step on them. Also, all the Venders sell the same things for the same prices. I went with Nicole, Annika, Maggie, Maddy, and Jill. From California, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida.  We started exploring the alleys and sometime during this we lost Maggie and Maddy. So the rest of us went to find a place to eat lunch after some exploring. We asked a bunch of people including a Gondola driver which pizza place was best.  (We didn’t go on a Gondola- they cost about 100 Euros for 5 people. 100 Euros= $173!). We got lots of different answers so we just chose one. It was a cute little place hidden away in some alley. We each got a 3 cheese pizza and then we got tiramisu. As expected, authentic Italian is amazing. On the restaurant loud speakers were Eminem, Justin Bieber, Bon Jovi and other popular singers. After we left and explored then went back to the town center to check in and saw some nice looking boys. For the record, I didn’t think they were super cute but Annika  was into them. She claims she was taking a picture of a building but literally pointed her camera lens right at them. They noticed and of course got all smiley. Then Annika started to defend herself that she wasn’t taking a picture of them. So Nicole and I ask a joke took out our cameras pointed them right at the boys and took pictures and the boys were smiling this whole time. After an awkward 5 minutes of pacing Nicole paid me 2 Euros to go talk to them. I casually asked them to have Gelato. They were from Denmark and they said they had to get a fairy. Too bad. Then we walked away and they got on their fairy. We went back to exploring. In the morning I had bought batteries and postcards. After the check in I bought a Venice hat and was able to bargain the price down from a very pushy salesman. We went to a deeper section and we bought sweatshirts. They are very soft J. Before dinner we bought Gelato. Mine was half Nutella flavored half mint chocolate chip. Delicious! For Dinner and we had some nice spaghetti.  On our way back we got pastries. We also saw various guys on every corner trying to sell these rubber toys. Basically they look like small balloon shaped animals and when you throw them on the ground they turn to goo and then they slowly become their shape again. After the first guy the second who was selling them looked at us and said “Yes?!” I causally said “No…” By the fifth guy trying to sell them Nicole said something like “Still not cool…” Hahaha. We went back to the town center after awhile because we had to leave at 6:30. We sat around with some other exchange students and talked while watching the people in town. There was a really  cute little boy in a kangaroo outfit and there were guys walking around giving out roses and then after you took one they demanded money. Nicole was the only one that bought one and I think Maggie was given one and he forgot to ask her to pay. We saw a man like him being chased by police later. We had randomly seen a girl in heels and a dress earlier getting photographers to take her picture and we saw another girl in what looked like a wedding dress doing the same thing. There was a crowd but when the photo shoot ended she walked by our table. Halloween gave her Maggie’s rose and got his picture taken with her. She was very pretty and looked no older than 17.  Eventually we saw her again and she was still carrying around Halloween’s rose. (I think he was happy to see that.)  We took lots of pictures and went back to the fairy and then got back on the bus. It was sad to leave such a beautiful place. We drove throughout the night. This night was different from the previous because I stayed up super late the first night but the second I slept the whole way. We had been told we would get to Budapest at around 9am. We got in at 5am. None of us had planned this so we went to a super classy Mcdonalds, got some wifi and I was able to call my host mom to come pick me up. (By the way- every Mcdonalds in this country seems to have wifi- I will miss that.) I got home around 9ish and was very tired. I loved Italy but if I was going back I would go to a different city then Venice simply because I’ve already been there.

Sorry this was sooooooo long. 

For your information

So, I know this is overdue- but blogging tends to be a hassle. I just have to remind myself I will want to remember everything that happens and therefore need to keep this going.

First I’ll start with saying that even though I have bad days sometimes and miss home a lot I still am SO SO SO glad to be here. I can’t even imagine being in Midland this year. I’ve met amazing people and I will just say if you are on the fence about doing exchange do it! I think it will be very hard to go home simply because I will realize what I’m missing. I find myself just wanting to mix two lives. I want to bring my family and friends here and want the USA to be in the middle of Europe. On the other hand I think about how much I’ve come to appreciate home. I feel like no matter how far or where I go home will always be home and nothing will ever take its place. I don’t think I realized how much different cultures are. Once you change cultures you realize how adapted you are to your culture. So I will list some subtle differences in our two Cultures.

·         I don’t know if I mentioned this in an earlier blog but the girls tend to not wear shorts. They wear skirts or jeans- sometimes they wear shorts but it isn’t as common (in my experience).

·         Censorship is almost nonexistent here.  They don’t bleep out swear words on the radio whatsoever- that could be because they don’t think people will understand. Also, on magazine/newspaper advertisements you will see topless women- I’m talking full frontal.

·         The door hinges are on the other side (in some cases). When I first tried to shut Barbi’s bedroom door I didn’t think it had one because there was a door but it looked like it was coming from another room. The door hinges were on the right part of the door frame and the handle on the left.

·         Hungarian bread is fantastic. American bread- I may not ever eat it again.

·         Hungarian prices are cheaper in almost every aspect. For example a 1.5L of water will cost me about 53 cents. New shoes are about $12-15. A new coat is about $30. A sub that is longer than a foot will cost me about $1.25 at the school store. Take that subway!

·         Village life is much more common. When I say village I mean village. It takes at least a 10 minute ride to get into town and all you see are homes and fields.

·         Pets are less common- somewhat common but not like in the USA. In the village usually pets live outside if the family does have them, in the flats people tend to have small animals; cats or small dogs.

·         Teenagers stay home a lot more, or that is my impression. At home most students go to the football games every Friday and then see each other on Saturday or Sunday. Usually we see our friends at least once a weekend. But Hungarians usually don’t see each other as much. They go out occasionally but it is much different than at home. (Maybe it is just where I live, but that seems to be the case).

Okay this blog is long enough. I will be posting a follow up blog about my trip to Italy shortly. 

End of September

I don’t really have much to report this time. I think I’ve finally started to sink into my routine. I go to school and depending on the day go to tutoring, to workout, or home. Then I just chill. My dear friend Pauline told me about this website called sidreel where you can watch new episodes of all tv shows- its been a godsend because I haven’t been able to watch criminal minds or the office. Without criminal minds there is no Shemar. (Shemar is my favorite actor, and he is beautiful, and I love him).

http://www.danielatamayo.com/img/shemar-moore-1.jpg

I was going through Shemar withdrawal- but luckily I can now watch all my shows J I have been planning a bit and thinking about the future. (I’ve got ample time on my hands). Usually I find new songs, or just browse the endless set of files that are Wikipedia. I also started looking at colleges. Not really looking, more browsing. I know I want to go to college in a big city. So I’ve been doing lots and lots of Googling.

I’ve actually decided my favorite class in school is German because I have my friends, we don’t do anything (or at least in my opinion) and I usually just past notes with the kid next to me. The worst are the classes that the teachers don’t write anything down in (history, biology, geography, literature, grammar) and the rest are okay. Usually in class I draw stars, come up with vocab I want to learn, or doodle aimlessly. When I have to do schoolwork next year it will be a rough adjustment.

Lastly, I will be going to Italy in two weeks J J.The rotary is just going to Venice for the weekend- but I’m so excited!!! Also, I’m going to a Rihanna concert in December with my second host family sisters, and brother-in-law and my friend Annika, who is an exchange student from Colorado. As you can see my life as mellowed out. I’m definitely in the adjustment stage!  Finally a quote my friend Emma posted on Facebook- 

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." -Alan Alda 

First Night out.

So I felt I should write about my first night hanging out with friends. The night was kinda like a homecoming thing except the only similarity was the fact there was a dance. In Midland for homecoming everybody dresses up, meets up with friends, takes pictures, eats and then goes to the dance which is usually pretty blah. In Hungary this night begins with the Freshman Induction Ceremony. This isn’t like a regular induction to a school. All the freshmen sit on the floor and everyone else stands around them. (In Hungary each grade has 3 classes- A,B,N) In the freshman induction ceremony the students lead it and they call up 1 or 2 people to do a silly task from each class. For example, the upperclassman put shaving cream on a balloon and the freshman have to shave it off without popping the balloon. Whoever out of the freshman does it best, their class gets a point. The last event the upperclassman brought out a coat hanger and they called up a guy from each glass to like grind on It and all the other students through money at them while they did it. After that ended there was a dance (by the way everyone is in street clothes) and that went to about 10. Then me and my friends decided to go to a “bigger” party. As we were walking I was thinking it would be like the Midland High after parties. The party didn’t start until 12 so we did a lot of waiting I didn’t see many high schoolers . Then at like 12:30 we all decided not to go in. At this point it was like all gypsy-middle aged men and their girlfriends. So we called my host mom to come get us. While we were waiting we were in the corner of the place and it was really uncomfortable. There was a guy dressed like Jack Sparrow and another one who looked like he tried to grow and afro, and then gave up and shaved the sides of his head but not the middle. Freaky! So when they arrived we ran to the car and got out of the gypsy invested hot mess! Then we came home.

On another note; I thought making friends would make missing home soooo much easier. I’m really glad I did make friends. But coming home after I just felt very incomplete. Then I realized, even though I did make friends, they aren’t my friends at home so it won’t be the same. This made me sad so I quickly went to bed. I think this feeling will become less over time when I start learning the language more and become closer with my new friends. Then I will be able to love both! But I am still glad to have friends here J

Does this require a title?

I didn’t go to school all last week because Barbi was sick and I didn’t want to go alone. Plus I had Visa stuff to do. I went to Budapest for a Rotary Presentation on Tuesday night. The presentation went well, and Budapest is gorgeous. I now know why Katy Perry chose it for her firework video. So beautiful, and no picture could do it justice. Anyways, I did my visa thing in Eger (nearby city) and the people said they couldn’t give me my visa because I don’t speak Hungarian- and then my host mom had me give them the speech I gave in Budapest the previous night (in Hungarian) and apparently that didn’t do it for them (I secretly think they were impressed though) and so they gave me a residence permit. Don’t know if this is okay- let’s hope!! The rest of the week was pretty- blah. The only thing of importance I did was join a gym- so I don’t go a lardy dough ball. I went to my host dads on Friday and that was fun. I explained baseball to him, because he didn’t understand the point. So of course I had to make him understand the American Past time! It was a little weird for me because at home everyone knows and most have played baseball. This reminds me of when my foreign exchange student, Priscila, (from Brazil) came home and told us her class played baseball in gym class but she didn’t know how to play so she hit the ball and just stood there and then her teammates all were yelling for her to run… hahahaha. It just seems strange but I guess it isn’t as common in other countries. So on Sunday we went to Budapest and saw Colombiana (in English!) which I would definitely recommend. Today at school I talked Noella, (mentioned in early posts) and we made official plans to hangout (before they were like sketches of plans) and she told me her Grandpa lived in the USA for 20 years and would like to talk to me, so that’s exciting. Lastly I just want to give some advice (if you want to call it that) or things I have learned.

1.       1.  When someone is visibly upset, don’t ask them why. If they are like me they are probably trying to forget about why they are upset. So asking will make them remember. Also, they probably don’t want people to notice and by commenting you obviously noticed.

2.     2.    I finally learned what “to miss” means. It’s not “oh I haven’t seen you in a week because you were up north and I’ll see you when we hangout tomorrow but I miss you”. No. To miss someone is like a physical thing. It’s like you would pay money to talk face to face or hug that person.

3.       3. Be nice to the exchange students. Invite them to hangout. What I didn’t expect  coming  here is the longing for people to hang out with. I expected the missing everyone, missing English, and missing food. I didn’t think it would be hard making friends. I didn’t think about the fact that the students already have close friends and that it would be hard because you have to “infiltrate” the group.

4.       Also, for future exchange students reading this. The best piece(s)  of advice I can give you is

A.      Enjoy your time at home!!!! I cannot stress this enough.

B.      My good friend Marisa told me this and I think about it whenever I’m homesick. Whenever you are homesick remember every day you survive you are one day closer to see everybody again.

And finally a quote I read on facebook.

“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.”
— Marcel Pagnol

Ps. The end of this might have been slightly depressing. I assure you my host family is great and I’m having a good time. J

Ps #2. I have enabled comments so you can comment if you wish. 

Budapest :) 

Budapest at night 

Early September.

So this blog might be long, because a lot has happened over the past week(s?). So last Friday I went to the Matra Mountains with my host family, which was a lot of fun. We drove up and then walked up this path and took some pictures because we were at the very highest point in Hungary. Then we walked along a forest path and my host mom told me about how there are a lot of little squirrels in this forest and you have to call them to see them. She said the person that lives in this huge old mental institution looking building lives there because he needs clean air to breathe, and every morning he gets up and feeds the squirrels. My host mom got some acorns and was hitting them together saying “mow-kush, mow-kush” which is what the Hungarian word for squirrel sounds like. Eventually the squirrels came, and it was a good time. When we left we went to this other place overlooking the city and rode a mini roller coaster. Then we got traditional Hungarian food. I don’t remember the name but it was like pancakes (acorn and chocolate filling flavor) and a fried potato dish that had cheese. Both were very good!

On Saturday we went to my Host Grandparents house. Both sets were very sweet and we ate lunch with them. I met my host mom’s brother and his family, and then went to see my host dad’s house. We just looked from the outside because he wasn’t home. At this point was didn’t feel good, and was exhausted. I slept on the way home and then crashed when we got home. I slept for about 6 hours so I didn’t go to the festival they had on that day. On Sunday we chilled at home and I had a really good day. As the week went on it started to sink in that this is my new life and I won’t be going home. That was really difficult and I was sad. It was especially hard because I hadn’t made many friends and felt very alone. After two days of self pity I decided I needed to make a move and ask someone to hang out. I did that, and now I have plans to go out with people. It was nice because I finally felt like I was making progress. So as the week progressed I learned I 1) Have to do a Rotary Presentation on Tuesday evening, partly in Hungarian 2) Will be moving to Budapest in January and 3) Had a orientation meeting for Rotary on the weekend.

So on Friday I had ice cream with a Turkish exchange student who isn’t with Rotary, and that was fun. Then I headed of to Debrecen for a Rotary conference. (Debrecen is like 1.5 hours south of my town). We met a school and met all the other exchange students. Then we went to a set of cabins outside of town in the woods. They were very dirty but it was okay. We didn’t do much and when we woke up we had breakfast and were bussed back to the school. We then sat through orientation for 4 hours. It was boring except for the fact that we were told all the trips we have a choice to take throughout the year; including Italy, Austria, Poland, trips in Hungary and of course the Europe tour at the end of the exchange. Then we got to go into Debrecen and were told to meet up around 5. The Debrecen mall is where everybody pretty much went and it was so cheap! The shirts were on average from $8-12. I saw an advertisement for $13 jeans, but I didn’t buy anything anyways. Then we went back to the camp and had dinner and then had a disco. I was debating on whether to go and I’m so glad I did. I met so many of the other exchange students (there are 43 total so it’s hard to talk to everybody) and I had a blast. We danced until like Midnight when it was just me a Brazilian and a Mexican left. It was a good time. Then I thought I was going to go to bed but me and this girl Annika (Colorado) went into one of the Brazilians rooms where we stayed until like 3:30 am. All the Brazilians were in there and it was like walking into Brazil. Brazilian music, food, and flags everywhere. (Brazilians are very patriotic) and everybody speaking Portuguese. But we ended up playing Truth or Dare which was a good time. The next day we got breakfast and went back to Debrecen to be picked up or take a train. My host dad and sister picked me up and we stopped at a store and then went to his house. I met his partner, Orse, and her son Bence- all very nice. They also have to dogs and a cat. It kinda made me miss my pets but it was a good type of miss. I didn’t go to school today because my sister is sick. I think I should post some pictures now.

Cinnamon Bread and Apricot jelly- yummmm. 

Not the school (referred to in blog) but I different school.

Americans! Included- New York (2), Michigan (2), California (2),
 Pennslyvania, Colorado, Alaska, Ohio, Washington, Florida

First Days

Sorry I have not been writing! I feel like it is never a good time…. But I know I always stalk other exchange students’ blogs, and when they don’t post it is annoying.  After leaving my family in Detroit, I boarded the flight to Chicago. I sat next to a nice ginger businessman. He was talking about Europe, but I was sad and didn’t really want to hear it- although to his credit he did try to make me feel better. After landing in Chicago I followed the signs and monitor boards on a long walk to another gate. On the way I noticed another teenager who seem to have a blue blazer on and did one of those walk- past- and- do- a- quick- glance- back type walks and she noticed and told me she was an exchange student headed to Brazil from Mexico. It was nice to see someone in my position. It turned out we were walking to the same gate except her flight was the one leaving at that gate after mine. After getting in line I waited and waited to get on the plane and finally did. I got Erik (pillow pet) out during the walk so all the little kids stared. Did I mention at the airport I felt like a was a zoo animal? Not in a bad way, just that when every other passenger walked past, they stared at my pin filled Rotary jacket. They wouldn’t ask me, just would stare at my jacket. Anyways, my plane to Frankfurt had to decks, three rows of seats. 340 passengers. The man behind me to the right was quite attractive. He had his son with him who looked to be about two.  The little boy was really cute- but he cried a lot. So on that long flight I got about 2 hours of sleep. Landing in Frankfort we were picked up by shuttle. I’m going to be honest, I’m not a big fan of that airport. I didn’t know what was going on and the English speakers I talked to didn’t either. We were taken right to a monitor board and I didn’t see my plane. So I asked this man and he told me the new gate. Then I tried to go through to get to my gate (past this visa stamp thing) and the man and woman were like “Did you read the sign?!?” Of course I said no. Then the woman snipped “Next time read the sign!!!” I still didn’t have any idea what she was referring to but I just handed over my passport and the guy says “Are you a European Union citizen?!?” And again said no. And he told me in a not so nice way that HIS little gate thing was for only European citizens, but that he would sign it anyway, and to next time “read the sign!!” So then I went through security and then began the longest walk to find my gate which was the 2 to last gate at the other side of the airport. I sat there and tried to call my parents with my mom’s phone (she got it in Italy) and tried to call but it kept telling me the number was wrong. (Or something like that because it was in a different language) and then I had no wifi. So for about an hour and a half I sat, with nothing to do because I finished my “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book on the last plane. Finally I was boarding and they told me my carry-on was too big, they would store it. In the back of my mind I could hear my dad “keep your carry-on!” but there was not much I could do, and I had all the important papers in my purse. Boarding this plane marks a low point. I felt alone. No English speakers. It was just me now. To keep from being sad I slept. When I woke up we were about to land and my nerves kicked in.  As I walked off I felt more nervous than I did for my mini IOP in English class. My knees were wobbling and my stomach was in knots. I got my luggage and walked around the corner. I saw my host mom jumping up and down and smiling and waving. My nerves disappeared. I was showered with gifts and the boys took my suitcases. We again tried to call my mom and it finally worked. We got in the car and drove home. My sister and I immediately started talking, and we get along well. I’m glad she can relate because last year she was in Argentina and knows how it feels. When we got home I gave them their gifts, which they thanked me for. I did a bit of unpacking and then got on the computer. My mom, sister and I were all checking facebook and emailing. Then my sister took me on a walk around the city and we talked about school. We went to the store, and then came home and ate. We then chilled and went to bed. This morning I woke up around 5:45 my time (11:45pm  Midland Time). We got up at like 6:30 and got ready then walked to school. For celebrations  they always wear a traditional outfit. It’s not the cutest- but that’s okay because all the girls were wearing the same thing, and the boys had on suits. At the beginning of the first day of school they stand out in the courtyard and some students perform. This marks another low point. I again felt alone and missed my friends at home. When that ended we went to class. First we just had the beginning hour, I don’t think it has a name. Then I went to German 1 and Barbi went to a higher level of German. The teacher didn’t speak any English, I don’t think many of classmates did either. She tried to talk to me which was an epic fail. Then she said something that sounds like “nem, too dumb” which to me meant “no, she’s too dumb” and then the class laughed.  I wanted to say “I’m not that dumb, I haven’t even been here 24 hours! But I didn’t when I asked Barbi she said it means “I don’t understand” which makes much more sense. I went to history, art, chemistry, literature, and English. I liked my lit class because the teacher had me introduce myself to the class, and they were suppose to ask questions. Barbi wasn’t in this class, but luckily I met a girl named Martina who speaks English well and she was my translator. One boy (he looks like Amanda Bynes love interest in “What a girl wants”!) gave me a piece of bread that was like a cinnamon roll. Then I went to English and we listened to Madonna and some other 80’s band and we were suppose to fill in the blanks for the lyrics. It was kind of hard! The teacher really likes British English so she sounds British. She kept asking me the meanings of the songs. Anyways, school ended and we went to get ice cream. Then I went to get money from the bank and ate lunch when I came home (3:30ish) and then I just chilled. The good news is I’m learning lots of Hungarian terms. J Sorry that was so long. I’ll post more sometime next week. 

Some news!

So I found out I will be going to Gyöngyös , Hungary. (pronounced junn- jush).Gyöngyös has about 34,000 people. It is about an hour away from Budapest, to the northeast.

So far I have learned some about my town. They have a zoo, they have a lake. The have mountains nearby. The town was founded in the 1600's and has a few churches that were built in that era. From what I can tell, I'm going to a grammar school. (It was also built in the 1600's). My host sister messaged me on facebook. From what she has told me and my facebook searches I discovered I will be living with her, her mother and brother. Barbara is 17 and living in Argentina as an exchange student now. Benjamin is 15. Their mother, Judit, seems very chic and fashionable. :) Barbara is like me, she likes Harry Potter, and she likes to hang out with friends, read, and ski. I think we will get along very well.

Welcome.

I will be living in Hungary for the 2011-2012 school year. :]

Answering common questions-
Would do you want to leave everything behind to be in a new world with all new things?
This is once in a lifetime. I'm willing to give up one year in Midland for such an experience. I don't know the food. I don't know the people. I don't know the language. But I think that makes it so much more exciting.
Do the people you will be living with speak english? 
I don't know, but even if they do I will try not to use it. I want to learn Hungarian!
When did you decide to do this? 
Well, i think it was like 2005. Around the time I got a Foreign exchange student (<3). But I didn't start actually thinking about it until 8th grade. At the end of 9th I started the process.
Aren't you scared?
Not really, more excited. I will probably get scared closer to when I leave.

Life currently ⇓⇓⇓