Learning More and More

It is so representative of me that I have been in Hungary less than five days and I’m upset that my Hungarian hasn’t improved. My host family speaks just enough English and I speak just enough Hungarian for me to understand what’s going on. Mostly. We use google translate, too.

Yesterday, my host mom and brother had to go shopping because he outgrew all his clothes and needed new clothes and shoes for school. If there’s one thing that I am an expert at, it’s following mom around while she shops. I’ve only been doing it all my life. The rhythm of a mother shopping is the same in every country.

I’ve been at the house for three days now and for the first two afternoons, around 4pm, I’ve taken a nap until dinner time (around 6pm). I guess two naps and a good night’s sleep takes care of any jet lag I had.

Today my host parents and I met with the president of my Rotary club and she gave us some papers that I need for my visa.

I love the food so much. It’s the kind of food where you eat two bites and you’re full, but it tastes so good and you want to eat more. One observation: every dish has onions. I’m okay with onion, but I’ve had more onion in four days here than I ever had at home.

Here’s one of my favorites so far. Good ol’ meat and potatos with pickles on the side.

I’ve been trying to make a map of the Szekszárd in my head, so I’m grateful I’m only getting a little at a time, but the town seems to be made completely of round-abouts and I get turned around. We went to Zéti’s school to pick up his books and we went to this school supplies store which was super exciting for me.

If I understand correctly (every sentence seem to start with those words), today is the neighbor kid’s birthday and we are going to his party.

I’ll sign off with a poster that I saw in the giant grocery store.

-Alina

The Road So Far

What a journey! I’m currently in Szekszárd, Hungary, but it took over 12 hours. Let’s just say that I hate the airport in LA and love the one in Zurich. The flight from Switzerland to Budapest was gorgeous. By the time I got to the Budapest airport I was so tired and just done, but so excited to meet my host family. It was raining when I first got here, which surprised me because Zurich was sunny and very warm. My first night in Hungary was not conventional by any means. For one, we didn’t even go back to their house. We stayed at a motel because we had to send off Erik, my host brother who is going on exchange to Taiwan. Unfortunately, Erik is the only one in my family that speaks English well, but that’s okay.

  

My Host Brothers and Me

The first thing we did when I arrived was go get food. I got a Hungarian pasta with cottage cheese and bacon on top. It was so good! Then, something amazing happened – my host brother asked for ketchup. I thought that I would be saying goodbye to ketchup for a year, but lo and behold! The red stuff that pumps through my veins is here!

We eventually turned in for the night and like four hours later, we were up again. Erik’s flight was at 6 am and we were had to be there early. Only after that did we get to go home. I got to watch the sunrise as we drove home. In the past 24 hours, I’ve had less than 6 hours of sleep and discovered I have a hidden alternate fuel source.

The guest house is so beautiful and green. Coming from a drought to this is so shocking. My family has 2 dogs and a new litter of kittens. So cute! I get my own apartment upstairs with a balcony, a kitchenette, my own bathroom, and everything.

Zétény, my 10-year-old host brother, and I played video games for most of today with a little bit of foosball and mini billiards mixed in. My sand dollar gifts went over very well and my host mom showed me some shells she got from the coast of Croatia. 

It has been so great so far and I can't wait to learn and see more.

-Alina

Sziasztok! Hello Everyone!

I want to start out this blog by thanking everyone who has helped me get this far.

*Fade in: I stand on the stage, clutching the academy award.*

 I want to thank everyone who helped me with this enormous project. I want to thank my family who supported this decision from the very start. I want to thank Melissa Mears, the current Rotary District Chair for answering all of my questions and I want to thank the Salinas Rotary for sponsoring me and really letting this dream become a reality. I also want to-

*Music starts playing, cutting me off. Ushers help me off the stage*

Now that I’ve said my thanks, I think it’s time to answer a few questions.

Q: Where are you from?

A: I am from the California Central Coast Rotary district 5230.

Q: Where are you going?

A: I am going to Szekszárd, Hungary – district 1911. Szekszárd is about an hour and a half drive south-west of the capital, Budapest.

Q: When do you leave?

A: I leave for Hungary on August 21st.

Q: How long will you be gone?

A: Probably 10 months. Whenever school gets out.

Q: Will you be going to school?

A: Yep. I’ve graduated from high school in America so I’m taking a gap year before college and going to high school in Hungary.

Q: Who will you be living with?

A: I will be living with host families in my city. There will probably be three different families.

Q: How did you learn about Rotary Youth Exchange?

A: My dad is in Rotary and he always told us about the exchange students that came to his club. Then I met some exchange students and I knew I had to be a part of it.

Q: What is your background? It’s so pretty.

A: It is, isn’t it? That’s the Hungarian Parliament building in the capital, Budapest.

Thanks to everyone who read this first post. Comments are encouraged!

-Alina