keep your mouth closed when bike riding.
learned the hard way.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
small town life
OK, so I've never lived in a small town before...The kind of town where you really can't walk anywhere without bumping into someone you know. So, I've gotten used to it...Bumping into students, colleagues and friends on the streets or bus unexpectedly. Riding past them on my bike, seeing them in the baths, shopping in the same store at the mall....It happens all the time, practically every time I leave the house.
But bumping into a student at a family birthday party is too weird for me. Going to the bar and seeing my 10th and 11th grade students there is too weird. Having one of my oldest students serve me a beer because she's the bartender is so weird that it's awesome.
Good thing I like most "weird things" in this world, oy!
But bumping into a student at a family birthday party is too weird for me. Going to the bar and seeing my 10th and 11th grade students there is too weird. Having one of my oldest students serve me a beer because she's the bartender is so weird that it's awesome.
Good thing I like most "weird things" in this world, oy!
Friday, March 25, 2011
sometimes...
i just feel really happy and lucky to be a teacher and have a teaching job.
not hating your job is a wonderful thing, and i've never had a job that I really really hated I'm happy to say. I've always had to scrounge and not go shopping and eat beans for dinner because I've always been po' broke, but I don't know, I've grown to like beans.
And I'm content with not feeling like I waste my time at my job...I actually do stuff. Teaching isn't very glamorous, but at least you have a group of students to entertain you at any hour of the day at your job. I mean, if nothing else, kids are freaking funny.
It is certainly nice to be on the other side of the grading process...Over the years I have written rediculous amounts of papers. I'm not gonna lie, marking the crap out of papers with my RED PEN feels terrific. Especially because I'm not mean, I compliment word choice and make smily faces next to thought provoking commentary :) And since I'm not a Grammar teacher, I tell them they are being graded on content, not grammar; however, their grammar will be corrected partially because I can't help it, but mostly to benefit them during their post-mark read-through.
And it's kind of cool to recreate some of my favorite lessons from over the years, but have my own spin on them! Not sure what this post is really about, I guess I just had a good week and felt the need to appreciate actually liking my job and my career choice of working with kids.
Happy Friday!
not hating your job is a wonderful thing, and i've never had a job that I really really hated I'm happy to say. I've always had to scrounge and not go shopping and eat beans for dinner because I've always been po' broke, but I don't know, I've grown to like beans.
And I'm content with not feeling like I waste my time at my job...I actually do stuff. Teaching isn't very glamorous, but at least you have a group of students to entertain you at any hour of the day at your job. I mean, if nothing else, kids are freaking funny.
It is certainly nice to be on the other side of the grading process...Over the years I have written rediculous amounts of papers. I'm not gonna lie, marking the crap out of papers with my RED PEN feels terrific. Especially because I'm not mean, I compliment word choice and make smily faces next to thought provoking commentary :) And since I'm not a Grammar teacher, I tell them they are being graded on content, not grammar; however, their grammar will be corrected partially because I can't help it, but mostly to benefit them during their post-mark read-through.
And it's kind of cool to recreate some of my favorite lessons from over the years, but have my own spin on them! Not sure what this post is really about, I guess I just had a good week and felt the need to appreciate actually liking my job and my career choice of working with kids.
Happy Friday!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
budapest...and things
So, we went to Budapest a few weekends ago (my birthday weekend), and I never posted about it! I've been meaning to post, but other things have been getting in the way...like:
a) the immigration office. grr. they can't speak english and give us the runaround like whoa. just grr.
b) the fact that I had school on Saturday....Since we had a 4 day weekend last weekend (Because Tuesday was March 15, a national memorial day here), but Monday was not a holiday, we had to make it up on Saturday! What kind of crap is that? It really wasn't so bad, I just watched movies and played Scattergories (oh yeah, they LOVE it) with my students. Also it rained, so we couldn't be outside anyway.
Here are pictures of the March 15 parade of people coming out of the castle dressed in folklore!
c) generally enjoying life when it's not raining....biking, walking, reading etc. It's nice not having homework and a part-time job to do after school...I actually have time to do things I like! It's pretty weird...I've never had that before, and I better not get too used to it, because Grad School's a-coming.
d) and when I'm not lesson planning, learning hungarian! which is actually pretty fun :)
So Budapest. We went to the Buda side to see the castle and crazy church that always interested me from across the Duna! Both were awesome to see up close, and the weather was great, so we had a nice day walking everywhereeee. I felt like I was back in my backpacking days when we we
re too poor to take the 1 euro bus, so we would walk everywhere...like 5 miles sometimes all around the cities we visited sightseeing! Eger isn't THAT big, so we never have to walk all that much, 15-20 minutes at the most....But we did a lot of walking in Budapest, which is pretty awesome on a nice day!
re too poor to take the 1 euro bus, so we would walk everywhere...like 5 miles sometimes all around the cities we visited sightseeing! Eger isn't THAT big, so we never have to walk all that much, 15-20 minutes at the most....But we did a lot of walking in Budapest, which is pretty awesome on a nice day!
We were staying with Ben's aunt and uncle, so the next day we went to SzentEndre (a nearby city right on the river) which was adorable. Just one of those cute little cobble stone cities with nice churches and a nice vibe. What made this little town different was the really narrow alley ways connecting streets randomly. It was fun to run down the alleys (only big enough to fit like 2 people width-wise) and see what street you end up on on the other side! We also got treated to an awesome lunch...I got gypsy roast, gotta love that stuff! Oddly enough, gypsies played music while we ate, one on a violin and one on a special Hungarian instrument called a Cimbalom. They played songs that had to do with wanting money, because they wanted tips! THEN, the played "If I was a rich man..." which I recognized! But it was still about wanting money, which is pretty obnoxious, but not for me really since I couldn't understand the lyrics!
We also visited the Visegrád Castle, which is outside of Budpest, on top of a mountain! Here is the panorama I took from the top, when we were up there, as well as a view of the castle from down below!
This castle has a lot of awesome history as well, but we didn't go inside because it was closed by the time we got there!
This castle has a lot of awesome history as well, but we didn't go inside because it was closed by the time we got there!
We need to go back to Budapest though because there is a lot of things we still didn't see!
Monday, March 14, 2011
you say slovekia, i say slovakia
This weekend we trucked it up to Raznava, Slovakia, an Adorable little post-communist village, and the drive through the country side and mountains was amazingly beautiful.
Raznava is in the part of Slovekia which used to be Hungarian, so most of the people still speak Hungarian. I did learn, however, that if you get caught by the police, you could get a big fine. Hungary used to be much bigger, and after they drew the new borders after WWI, Hungary shrank, but Slovekia got bigger...with Hungary's land. We saw the Krásna Horka Castle which used to house the Hungarian King, and has all this Hungarian History. Slovekians, apparently, changed the Hungarian History (names, etc) to make themseleves look better! They are still pretty bitter about their whole history, and they want to make Slovekia seem strong, so they don't want people speaking Hungarian there! Rediculous, isn't it?? The gypsy problem is still pretty bad in Slovekia as well.
The Krásna Horka Castle was one of the coolest castles I've ever seen. It's high on a mountain overlooking the small villages below. It's got tons of cannons surrounding it, and we got to go on a tour of the interior. We saw where they played music, drank tea, s
lept, ate, prayed, read, etc. We even saw some of the clothes royalty wore! As you could guess, the view from the castle was breathtaking! There was even a mummified Princess. She died in 1703 and was naturally mummified by the room she was kept in....they didn't find her until 1811, and she's still there today behind a glass case! Another interesting thing was that the chairs in the dining room were all different levels...to meet the height needs of each individual person at the table! It was proper for everyone's heads to be at exactly the right height...but imagine the effort that took---the epitome of fancy. We also got to see full suits of armor, and really old weapons that were actually used during the Turk invasion. 
lept, ate, prayed, read, etc. We even saw some of the clothes royalty wore! As you could guess, the view from the castle was breathtaking! There was even a mummified Princess. She died in 1703 and was naturally mummified by the room she was kept in....they didn't find her until 1811, and she's still there today behind a glass case! Another interesting thing was that the chairs in the dining room were all different levels...to meet the height needs of each individual person at the table! It was proper for everyone's heads to be at exactly the right height...but imagine the effort that took---the epitome of fancy. We also got to see full suits of armor, and really old weapons that were actually used during the Turk invasion. 
We stayed in this cute little Pension, which is kind of like a m
otel/hostel. For 10 Euros a person, we had a (very clean) room with a double bed and a nice private bathroom (with great water pressure! -- For my traveling friends ;) ) Pensions are very common around Eastern Europe, they are like family owned little motels, and the family lives right on the property. There is also a common kitchen you can share with other guests. Honestly, this was great from my opinion....if we paid 10 Euros a night, you were sharing a room with 10 other people you didn't know for a bunk and common bathroom facilities!! I thought we were so lucky to find it, but I think they are more common than I think around this part of Europe.
otel/hostel. For 10 Euros a person, we had a (very clean) room with a double bed and a nice private bathroom (with great water pressure! -- For my traveling friends ;) ) Pensions are very common around Eastern Europe, they are like family owned little motels, and the family lives right on the property. There is also a common kitchen you can share with other guests. Honestly, this was great from my opinion....if we paid 10 Euros a night, you were sharing a room with 10 other people you didn't know for a bunk and common bathroom facilities!! I thought we were so lucky to find it, but I think they are more common than I think around this part of Europe.Down the street from our pension, there was an adorable little pub...with 50 Eurocent Beers on tap! The had Legit Budweiser (From Czech Republic) there....and it was delicious and much needed after a long day of exploring! (Budweiser Budvar is Czech....Anheuser Busch is American...read up on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser)
Communist Side View of Roznava
Cute Little Old Town View of RoznavaIn Roznava, there is a watchtower that we got to climb (the tourist office literally gave us the key to open the door ourselves to climb it--we had to laugh at that). The tower is in t
he center of the square and offers an amazing view of the small village. A guard used to sit at the top and keep an eye out for invasions during more difficult times. The view is gorgeous...of the old town. From the other side of the tower, (shown above) you can see all the yucky communist architechture that got built up during the Russian's reign over this village....Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of this in Eastern Europe. You climb something tall, one side is a great view of all the amazing architecture and interesting colors, and on the other side is grey, square, tall buildings!Anyway, it was a great weekend! We were supposed to go hiking today in Slovekia, but the weather wasn't cooperating! I was really excited to go explore the forest and natural wonders in a different country, but it was raining, so our plans fell through....Next time!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
appreciation
sometimes, you just need to appreciate the little things.
like pistachios. each nut tastes a little different. the amount of time it takes to finish chewing one nut is exactly the amount of time it takes to open a new one. variety and deliciousness.
or the beginning of spring. that first really really nice day in March which just tells you spring is coming. birds are chirping. the sun is shining, the weather is sweet (okay, this part may be a song...) but you don't need to wear a winter coat and you can actually enjoy being outside.
for that matter, bicycle riding in spring-like weather is pretty fantastic too.
and also, the fact that slovekia is about as far as a drive from here as jersey is to ny....so we're headed there tomorrow, yanno, just to see what we can see. a little sleepover in a "pension," and a little adventure.
ahh yes, spring is in the air, and good vibes are all around :)
PS--
like pistachios. each nut tastes a little different. the amount of time it takes to finish chewing one nut is exactly the amount of time it takes to open a new one. variety and deliciousness.
or the beginning of spring. that first really really nice day in March which just tells you spring is coming. birds are chirping. the sun is shining, the weather is sweet (okay, this part may be a song...) but you don't need to wear a winter coat and you can actually enjoy being outside.
for that matter, bicycle riding in spring-like weather is pretty fantastic too.
and also, the fact that slovekia is about as far as a drive from here as jersey is to ny....so we're headed there tomorrow, yanno, just to see what we can see. a little sleepover in a "pension," and a little adventure.
ahh yes, spring is in the air, and good vibes are all around :)
PS--
Friday, March 4, 2011
25.
Normally, I don't like to celebrate my birthday. Ever since I was a kid, I've had these weird birthday memories and just can't wait for the day to be over! I don't know if it's getting another year older, or birthday plans never really working out how I wanted them to in my head, or just the fact that I just want to go about my business....but it's always like that.
This year is different. Last year, when I started freaking out about becoming 24, I asked myself why. It had a lot to do with societies' stigmas and expectations placed on any given age. Deny it if you want, but each age comes along with something we "should" be doing according to societies' standards. I didn't realize this for a long time, but obviously, when I did realize this, I thought it was rediculous. And (as usual) all I needed to do was turn around my thinking.
I said to hell with society and what I should or should not be doing. To hell with going to a school I'm not happy about. To hell with living a life I'm not excited to be the protagonist of. I never listened to society before, there's no reason for it now. Normal is boring, isn't it? That's what I always tell my students anyway!
I asked the question: How old would you be if you didn't know your age?
My answer last year (and still this year), was 22! Even though my body was 24, my insides only felt 22. And I think that's what matters. Young, healthy, spontaneous, still a student, still acquiring life experience....22.
So, what's really cool is that since I am actually an adult, but only feel 22, I get to "turn 22" again every year (in a sense) on my birthday!
Yes, I'm still growing as a person, and I expect to do so until the day I die...But I know exactly who I am...And that person has the attitude of a 22 year old! That probably won't change for quite a while, if ever. Every year I become more myself. Every year I acquire new friends, and new life-changing experiences, but I've been done changing as a person for a while.
So, what do I say? Let 25 equal the number of years it has taken me to meet some of the most amazing people in the whole world (literally)! 25 is the amount of years it took for me to become the person I am on this very day. It's the number of years I've gotten to laugh, act rediculous, create, spend with people I love, go on adventures, and explore places and ideas I used to dream about!
25 years to become a well-adjusted (wink wink), mid-twenty year old, full blown adult. With a desk at work. Molding the young minds of young students. (Hear that mom?! An adult! Aren't you excited?) I have a big-girl job and a big-girl Teacher's Planning Book. And sometimes, after a lesson, I have chalk-hands.
Anyway, today is a happy day--And to my friends and family--you are a big part of the reasons for my happiness.
This weekend? I get to go exploring in a real castle!
.....In a lot of ways, I am still very much a little kid on the inside.
This year is different. Last year, when I started freaking out about becoming 24, I asked myself why. It had a lot to do with societies' stigmas and expectations placed on any given age. Deny it if you want, but each age comes along with something we "should" be doing according to societies' standards. I didn't realize this for a long time, but obviously, when I did realize this, I thought it was rediculous. And (as usual) all I needed to do was turn around my thinking.
I said to hell with society and what I should or should not be doing. To hell with going to a school I'm not happy about. To hell with living a life I'm not excited to be the protagonist of. I never listened to society before, there's no reason for it now. Normal is boring, isn't it? That's what I always tell my students anyway!
I asked the question: How old would you be if you didn't know your age?
My answer last year (and still this year), was 22! Even though my body was 24, my insides only felt 22. And I think that's what matters. Young, healthy, spontaneous, still a student, still acquiring life experience....22.
So, what's really cool is that since I am actually an adult, but only feel 22, I get to "turn 22" again every year (in a sense) on my birthday!
Yes, I'm still growing as a person, and I expect to do so until the day I die...But I know exactly who I am...And that person has the attitude of a 22 year old! That probably won't change for quite a while, if ever. Every year I become more myself. Every year I acquire new friends, and new life-changing experiences, but I've been done changing as a person for a while.
So, what do I say? Let 25 equal the number of years it has taken me to meet some of the most amazing people in the whole world (literally)! 25 is the amount of years it took for me to become the person I am on this very day. It's the number of years I've gotten to laugh, act rediculous, create, spend with people I love, go on adventures, and explore places and ideas I used to dream about!
25 years to become a well-adjusted (wink wink), mid-twenty year old, full blown adult. With a desk at work. Molding the young minds of young students. (Hear that mom?! An adult! Aren't you excited?) I have a big-girl job and a big-girl Teacher's Planning Book. And sometimes, after a lesson, I have chalk-hands.
Anyway, today is a happy day--And to my friends and family--you are a big part of the reasons for my happiness.
This weekend? I get to go exploring in a real castle!
.....In a lot of ways, I am still very much a little kid on the inside.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
thrifting should be a sport
So, I've been a little low on money. Well, very low on money. I have been waiting for my paperwork to go through, and can't get paid until that happens. Okay, so they scoot me a little cash when funds are getting low, but I mean, come on, I have to buy food! And maybe a little wine. Everything is wrapping up, thank goodness, but until then, I have been window shopping and racking up lists of things to buy. Except when I go thrifting.
So, after school today, I went for a little wander in the square, mainly because the 2000 Forint I had just recieved for a private lesson was burning a hole in my pocket. Private lessons produce cash. Cash that I can spend on something I want. The only problem is that 2000 Forint is about 10 bucks. And I still had to do food shopping for the week.
I wandered into a thrift store, just to look around of course. I immediately spot my competition: A girl in her mid-twenties about my size and shape with a similar style. You see, when you are thrifting, you must size up any competition and get to the good clothes before she does. It's like a race.
So, I casually brushed past her to the pile-of-crap clothes just out of her reach. I'm digging, searching through these piles of unwanted clothes....for....a nice color? Maybe a sweater? A nice blouse? A cute vintage-y dress? Who knows?
The girl caught on though and looking at me quickly, she moved on past me. I looked around the shop, the only other people were a mom and child and 2 older women...much bigger than me. Mom was looking through the kid bin, and the older ladies were admiring the Bill Cosby sweater I tossed aside earlier. Amateurs. I should also mention the little old man watching the madness with his mouth agape. Not searching, or shopping...just watching. If I was going to find something, it had to be fast! The opponent was digging furiously to find the good stuff!
Luckily, in the pile I was searching through, I scored a pair of capri pants. I didn't know my European pants size, but they looked like they'd fit. I certainly wasn't putting them back on the table until I decided....The competition would have snatched them for sure. As I moved past the girl at the table, I noticed she discarded a white blouse after looking at it twice. I grabbed it to check it out...nice embroidery, clean, right size. Mine.
That's the second rule, if your rival throws something aside after looking at it for a bit, it's worth looking at. Thrifting is about taking worn, ugly, and misguided lonesome clothes and offering them a new canvas to shine. Give them a little revamp. Sew up that seam. Say, "Hey, I can remove that little stain." It's about being poor and still being able to buy new clothes. And not looking like a dirtbag--this is key.
All in all, I was happy. The pants (size 10 apparently?) fit like a glove. The blouse is different and lovely. I also scored a semi-ugly dress that I'm pretty sure I can rock after I remove a small stain. And I spent 500 Forint on all 3. This little poor girl has a new outfit and a half for under 3 dollars.
Sometimes a girl just needs to go shopping. I'm not athletic, but I'm pretty sure if thrifting were a sport, I'd be a damn good competitor.
So, after school today, I went for a little wander in the square, mainly because the 2000 Forint I had just recieved for a private lesson was burning a hole in my pocket. Private lessons produce cash. Cash that I can spend on something I want. The only problem is that 2000 Forint is about 10 bucks. And I still had to do food shopping for the week.
I wandered into a thrift store, just to look around of course. I immediately spot my competition: A girl in her mid-twenties about my size and shape with a similar style. You see, when you are thrifting, you must size up any competition and get to the good clothes before she does. It's like a race.
So, I casually brushed past her to the pile-of-crap clothes just out of her reach. I'm digging, searching through these piles of unwanted clothes....for....a nice color? Maybe a sweater? A nice blouse? A cute vintage-y dress? Who knows?
The girl caught on though and looking at me quickly, she moved on past me. I looked around the shop, the only other people were a mom and child and 2 older women...much bigger than me. Mom was looking through the kid bin, and the older ladies were admiring the Bill Cosby sweater I tossed aside earlier. Amateurs. I should also mention the little old man watching the madness with his mouth agape. Not searching, or shopping...just watching. If I was going to find something, it had to be fast! The opponent was digging furiously to find the good stuff!
Luckily, in the pile I was searching through, I scored a pair of capri pants. I didn't know my European pants size, but they looked like they'd fit. I certainly wasn't putting them back on the table until I decided....The competition would have snatched them for sure. As I moved past the girl at the table, I noticed she discarded a white blouse after looking at it twice. I grabbed it to check it out...nice embroidery, clean, right size. Mine.
That's the second rule, if your rival throws something aside after looking at it for a bit, it's worth looking at. Thrifting is about taking worn, ugly, and misguided lonesome clothes and offering them a new canvas to shine. Give them a little revamp. Sew up that seam. Say, "Hey, I can remove that little stain." It's about being poor and still being able to buy new clothes. And not looking like a dirtbag--this is key.
All in all, I was happy. The pants (size 10 apparently?) fit like a glove. The blouse is different and lovely. I also scored a semi-ugly dress that I'm pretty sure I can rock after I remove a small stain. And I spent 500 Forint on all 3. This little poor girl has a new outfit and a half for under 3 dollars.
Sometimes a girl just needs to go shopping. I'm not athletic, but I'm pretty sure if thrifting were a sport, I'd be a damn good competitor.
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