Mysteries of Hungary...

schedules and money - it's what a lot of the western world revolves around. Here, however, I have encountered so many different ways of thinking involving these two subjects. Today, I witnessed oddities involving both.

Schedules here are something that are rarely, if ever, concrete. For someone so schedule oriented as myself (if you've ever been to a CHAOS event or if you've had the pleasure of being with me for traveling, you know this). I have never kept a real schedule, but at the urging of some friends (*cough*KEVIN*cough*) my free time often needed one. However, I always knew when I had to work and when my time was available to be free and ESPECIALLY conveyed proper times if someone else were depending on my schedule. This is the second time I've gone to the tanoda when my mentor said it would be open, only to find that that information was, in fact, misleading. Nem baj (no problem) - as it allows me to come home and write this to you, but it seems disconcerting to travel there and leave the work I was doing in the ÖDÉ office... only to find that I could have stayed where I was. Luckily, I was told about the next two weeks of closing the tanoda well beforehard, so at least I won't go there each day only to find myself in the same situation. Two weeks away! I will surely miss the kids :(

As far as money, I am completely confused by the organization of the Posta (post office). I went to the Posta near the tanoda and because I wasn't sure I had enough cash on me to mail both of the letters I had, I only mailed one. It cost 260huf ($1.35) - now keep in mind that the letters were the EXACT same thing - same postcards inside the same envelopes. One is going to Florida, the other to Arizona, but actual location inside the USA has never mattered - it's always the same price. After I left the tanoda, I discovered a few more coins in my purse and decided to stop by the Posta near my home and mail the second one. This one cost 330huf ($1.72). WHY?! mystery remains unsolved, but I assure you I will only go to the Posta near the tanoda from now on.

*~*~*

I've had this picture sitting in my 'share' folder for a while now. It was taken in OCTOBER! Anyway, the tradition for our first two months in Budapest was to meet on Saturdays and try a new restaurant. It has long since died, but it was fun while it lasted. Starting today, I will have my Saturday meals provided for free, as well as my weekday meals, so I fear it won't be resurrected. This is a picture of my four companions at the Hummus Bar, which is just down the street from our flat and if any of you come to Budapest, you MUST eat here - fantastic vegetarian food, cheap and free peppermint tea (which is what's in our glasses). And, it's right down Altkotmány Utca in front of the Parliament. Kristy (Canadian, working in Sarszentlörinc), Silvia (Italian, working in Budapest), Silke (German, working in Budapest, and Matt (American, working in Budaörs)


This is a cute church in Buda, which I believe stands from the Turkish empire.


this is my city :)

Dreaming of you in another language ;)

So, this week was crazy. Monday, I went to the tanoda and we proceeded to have a great snowball fight in a nearby park. I came to the tanoda with a bit of a runny nose and stuffiness. On Tuesday, my sinuses and I were in battle. Unable to function between the running nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat and aching body, I stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I felt amazingly better. I've decided I'm allergic to Hungary. I've gotten sick once a month since I've been here and while I can look back on all these months and laugh at that fact, it's rather annoying :(

All the extra sleep means extra dreams. In all my years of Spanish training and speaking, I can't recount a dream in which I actually spoke Spanish. In the last couple weeks, I've had three separate dreams in which I spoke Hungarian. Yes, it was broken Hungarian and at the same level where I find myself when awake... but it was Hungarian nonetheless. so weird! what would probably make for a better story is if I woke up and had no idea what I'd just said.

Please be praying for direction for me. In a few minutes I'm going to begin the process that involves contacting 2 colleges to see what re-enrolling would entail.
Looking forward to starting school again with a sense of direction, just not sure what that direction will entail - Spanish, TESOL, youth ministry, or pre-seminary? such decisions!

*~*~*

Last week, I set off on an adventure to take a small walking tour of the Buda side of the river. It was a nice, quiet walk by myself. I walked up a cobblestone street and found this sight. I'd heard that it existed, but didn't have many directions to guide me. So, when I actually found it, I'm was excited. Also, what information I did find said that there was an entrance fee, but it turns out that there's construction going on and entrance is currently FREE! score!
...
so, what is it?
The tomb of Gül Baba - a Muslim Dervish. This plot of land actually belongs to Turkey and for more information, feel free to refer to wikipedia. Most of the information there holds up to what was on the plaque in the actual memorial, except that word on the street is that there are two possible causes of death. The plaque in the entrance to the tomb states that he died a martyr's death. However, there is a rumor with other visitors that he died from excitement at a massive party. Death by overexcitement? That is a sad way to die... or is it a happy way?

overlooking the city and Danube below...

such a beautiful memorial...

Gül Baba's statue

his tomb, which is in the shape of an octagon...

His body? wow. I didn't expect to actually be able to see this, but I caught the keeper just in time. He saw me snapping pictures and invited me inside. Note the rose on his hat. He was often called "Father of Roses" because it's said that he actually introduced roses to Hungary. Note the carpets also - this is a popular pilgrimage sight for muslims.

updating my blog with an email forward?!

yes, yes I am.
I got this in my email today and love it.
It's my prayer for each of you today...



May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy

May God bless you with foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor



*~*~*

On Friday, I took a beautiful walk through the Buda side of the river (I live in the Pest side). Directly across the river is Batthány Tér, so I headed there to see what I could find. First was the Szent Anna Templom (Saint Anna Church). This beautiful church is older than the United States, as it was finished in 1762. It's weird to imagine something that old...


... but if that was hard for you to imagine, this will be even harder. These next two houses are actually houses used in the Middle Ages. One was said to be the best inn in Buda.



This Turkish-style building is the Király Bathhouse. All throughout Budapest, and really all throughout Hungary, are these natural thermal springs. The building seems to be a bit shabby, but these baths date back to the 1500s, when Turks occupied Hungary. Perhaps one of these days I'll actually try one out. Probably should have brought a swimsuit, eh?


And what would a bunch of pictures be without a random silly one? I found the Hungarian "Thinker"! No, really, this is Taras Shevchenko, a Ukranian poet and artist. I would tell you about him, but it's all stuff that I found on wikipedia, so I'll just let you type his name in for yourself :D

"Peanut Pub"... and pizza without an oven?

There are some REALLY quirky things that I've experienced here and I want to take a few moments to share some with you.

First of all, the "Peanut Pub" adorned with a TON of Che Guevara memorabilia. The owner is not Cuban, he just likes Señor Guevara. With so many Spanish words everywhere, I couldn't help but smile. Plus, there's the fact that you eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor (hence why the volunteers before us deemed it 'the peanut pub').



Also, let's just title this: "Silke bought a frozen pizza"
subtitle: "We have no oven." :)
that's right - we only have an electric stovetop and a microwave. it's rough and the pictures really speak for themselves about Silke and Silvia trying different ways to cook the pizza. and no, it didn't fit in the microwave, they tried that too :)

A Eulogy for a friend

As I stated before, I received word that an old friend had died just after Christmas. Somehow I knew in coming here that there would be deaths. There would be new life. There would be things that happen at 'home' that I would miss.
The first death came in the form of some of my kids' father. I had one memory of that man and it was him coming up to me during my last day at Home Acres and thanking me for my service. It meant a lot at the time and means so much more now.
The second, most recent death came in the form of an old friend. I have a few memories of Ryan, but the one that rings clearest is when we first met and he said "you look like you need a hug" and just proceeded to give it. I didn't have time to respond except to hug back. Ryan and I weren't exactly close and the last I'd heard from him was when he'd graduated and been denied ordination. He came to my mind and prayers often, but it was more of an acquaintance friendship.

Anyway, I was forwarded his eulogy and it's been at the forefront of my mind these last few days. It raises a lot of questions to which I do not have the answers. I never wish to have the answers until I've been told face-to-face by my Father how He feels. Having answers, in my opinion, leads to a judgement... and I really don't want to be the judge in the matter ruling for either side.

And yes, this does seem to be in direct response to a decision made by the RCA, which is my sending organization. Please know that I do represent the RCA and in that role came my decision to accept where the RCA stands on certain policies. Acceptance is different from complete agreement, but as I researched the general beliefs of the RCA as a denomination, I found very little that I disagreed with. That being said, my posting of this eulogy is meant for only reflection and to raise questions within yourself about the issues at hand.


Rest in peace, Ryan. The world misses you.

it's been a while...

since i've posted here. Sorry. There have been many moments over the last few days when I've thought "Hmmm... what could I write about in my blog?" Really, nothing has struck me as something you all should know. Instead, I'm going to give you a very basic rundown of all the things that probably could be dramaticized to become their own blog posts, but I think I lack that skill.

Friday: to Debrecen and Nyirtelek and back again
On Friday morning, at 7:30a, Matt, Zoltán, Józsi and I (along with György and Emese) loaded a mini-bus headed for Debrecen, a city in Eastern Hungary. We were going to a Reformed high school to hopefully recruit volunteers for next year's ÖDÉ volunteers. It was about 3 hours later, after having read a lot and looked out the window a little that we arrived. We talked and sang. Afterwards, the headmaster introduced himself to Jeff and I... and told us that he went to Calvin College for a semester! WOAH! Then we ate lunch at the school, then traveled to Jeff's village to meet with his pastor. After dropping Jeff off, we traveled back to Budapest. It was a long, boring day, but hopefully we got some kids interested and I got some good reading in, so it wasn't worthless.

Saturday: rainy day in Budapest
Saturday morning began at 9a with Kristy and her sister calling - they're back in town and near my flat. They left things here as they traveled and needed to get them. They also wanted to visit Tree Hugger Dan's Bookstore and the Hummus Bar, so we set off on an adventure which ended in us being drenched. Then I sent them off to the Otterness' flat and met Matt and Kristin at Tesco (supermarket) to do shopping - we were cooking for Sunday's lunch at St. Columba's... then after getting all of the supplies we needed, we came back to the flat and made our own tortillas. Sunday's lunch had a Mexican theme, of sorts.

Sunday: The Americans bring Mexican to the Scottish church in Hungary
hehe - the title is more impressive than the act. Basically, we made the blandest Mexican food (per Hungarian taste buds) and got a kick out of watching people of MANY cultures eat. Some spread just sour cream on the tortilla and rolled it. Some ate all the toppings on the tortilla like a pizza. Some just bypassed the tortilla all together. Others knew exactly what they were doing. Never have tacos been so amusing :)

Monday: My first Langos and tour of the city by a Hungarian girl
Before I left, I had a training in Chicago for two weeks. At said training, a girl named Courtney told me that she has a friend in Budapest and that she'd give me her info. Stephanie (the friend) is Hungarian and used to live in the states so she could give me insight on things and be a friend. Finally, after four months of being here, Stephanie and I met. We walked through the city and talked about everything from politics to fashion to God to food to history and back to God and faith. I tried my first Langos (a Hungarian specialty: fried dough topped with garlic, sour cream and cheese... sometimes with other things like ham, ketchup, or salt). It was delicious and an experience all its own. I look forward to meeting her again, as we could become good friends.

And now today: a Hungarian Transportation Strike
despite claims that this could be like the great strike in NYC a couple years ago, it remains to be nothing of the sort. Metros are still running. Trollibuszes are still running. Buses have been subcontracted out so some of them are still running. Villamoses are running (only two are, but the main two at least). My entire world is still completely accessible. All that hype for nothing :P

*~*~*

Christmas arrived on January 4th! Thank you to everyone represented here - three packages and 16 cards! It really made my day to know that I'm so loved. Srsly - thank you!


This is the coolest McDonalds I've ever seen. It's right next to a train station and it looks like it could be a very high class restaurant. Instead, you get the artery clogging goodness that is behind the golden arches.


The next two pictures of some of the other volunteers as we sat in a Cukraszda (Sweet Shop) after checking out an art exhibition one evening. Props to János or Zoltán for taking these pictures :P But in the top picture, you can meet Evelyn (Germany), Benjamin (Germany) and Emese, my country coordinator/ÖDÉ boss.

Snow Ice Cream!

Let me tell you a story about a roommate bond.
a bond so ridiculously strong, only we would do what just happened
and one hour later after it all began, you wouldn't even know...

so, i randomly hand Silke a bowl and measuring cup and tell her to put on her boots, we're going on a snow hunt. of course, she doesn't just obey, but is now asking questions. a what? why? where? do i have a choice?
my only response? "SNOW ICE CREAM"


We bundled up...


then headed to the nearest patch of clean snow. Now, it may not look like it in the picture, but the snow we were taking was untouched. And no, not yellow at all! GROSS!


we collected a whole gallon/16 cups of unpacked snow.


Add in one cup of sugar, 2-ish cups of milk (to desired consistency) and 1 tablespoon of vanilla...


and voila! delicious (and cheap) ice cream goodness! it makes about a half gallon of ice cream :)

Lists and motivations and resolutions... and city views...

So, I started a list of goals (which has only been made know to a select few) on January 4, 2009 - it's a list of 101 things that I want to accomplish in 1001 days. My challenge will end on October 1, 2011.
Yesterday was my year anniversary and as I took a look at my list and started rearranging, I realized that there are 22 things that I crossed off completely.
I'm not going to list them all here, but, here are a select few:

get a second tattoo: my sister and I now have matching tattoos - she'll always claim that she got it first and I copied her - and really that's technically what happened, but I will always refer to it as a sort of 'sister' tattoo. sisters by design, best friends by choice...
successfully fast for 24 days: wow. personally, i know it wasn't 100% successful, but if ever little flaw was counted we wouldn't have a place in Heaven, now would we? but there were no crazy screw ups. I will never look at veggies the same way though. Or juicers
fix things with MikeN and drop MichaelJ: so glad these were both accomplished. one was missed so much, and the other was such a bad influence on me.
get a professional massage: haha. i don't think I could ever forget that experience. thanks to David for forcing the issue.
freecycle 101 items: i had no doubt that I could accomplish this one - simplifying for my move made it easy, but it's hard to believe I had more than 101 things in excess. i thought i'd always lived a fairly simplistic lifestyle
go geocaching: thanks to Kevin for making this happen and for continuing to take me often. it's a great new hobby :) i was telling matt a couple weeks ago how sweet it would be to geocache in Budapest.
finish painting my bathroom: it was finished... and then I moved out 6 months later. ah well, it was pretty while it lasted :)
be in a paintball fight and ENJOY getting shot at: i'm gonna admit, i did NOT enjoy the first time i got hit, but the entire experience is one that will live on in my memory for many, many years to come. It may just need to become an annual trip!

anyway, I still have a year and 10 months left before I finish and there are still 79 things that need to be crossed off.

Everyone always asks about New Years resolutions - I don't make them. This list has been crazy inspiring and I plan to see it through. It keeps me motivated and crossing things off is a great way to look at the year's achievements. Every year we think back and wonder what we did... now I have 22 things guiding me along the memories and accomplishments.

*~*~*

A walk to and through Castle District
As I began my walk, I stumbled upon a group of people hanging out at Parliament - it was the removal of the tree time! Apparently they need a crane to do the job! I guess the alternative is "Timber!" which, while a lot more entertaining, would be a lot more dangerous...


the view from the top. I think i told you this before, but I never get sick of this view! in the first picture, you can see Margit Island and parliament... in the second picture you can see the Chain Bridge and St. Stephen's basilica



this is the only existing old city gate


and this is Fisherman's Bastion - named for the portion of the wall defended by the Guild of Fishermen. however, it's not medievel - it was added in 1905. Sorry, kids... it looks cool, though :)

prayer request

dear friends,
after not REALLY checking my email for the last 4 days I received tragic news when i was able to digest everything this afternoon.

An old acquaintance, Ryan, passed away unexpectedly last Monday. He and I weren't close, but he often came to mind, which makes me now regret not taking those opportunities to be close to him. The last few months of his life were a struggle, for sure, and I haven't received exact word on a cause of death, but it's all tragic and heart-breaking nonetheless.

Please be praying for his family and for all those he touched with his incredible kindness and loving heart. He will be missed.

~Trazy

Happy New Year!

Well, friends, this blog update is a little late coming, I know. Turns out that this last week was really busy. Quite a few people came into town to celebrate Szilveszter (New Year's Eve), and because of this, wasn't warranted much free time to write a proper post.
New Year's Eve here is called "Szilveszter." Not sure why or what it means, but that's the local name for this celebration. People go to the streets with wigs, masks, paper horns, firecrackers, and lots of alcohol. At midnight, there are fireworks throughout Budapest. Also, the President, currently László Sólyom (family name last), gives a speech which is televised around the country. We volunteers celebrated in the girls' flat until 11:30p, at which point we wandered to the riverbank by Parliament to watch the fireworks. Sadly, it was very foggy and went, so they weren't as enjoyed as one might hope... but it made for some interesting memories. :)

Today is "going home" day - everyone who is in town leaves today... Sepp just left (which is why I'm awake - had to take him to the train station), Emilie and Simon leave at 11a, Isabel and her visitors will leave... and Jeff will leave after church.
Tomorrow, things go back to normal and I have one day to decide what my future in Hungary will look like (placement-wise). I'll let you know what I decide.



For now, though, I leave you with a year-in-review via pictures :) enjoy!

New Year's Eve 2009 - New Year's On the Grand in Grand Rapids, MI with Jodi and Ben


some CHAOS Sr. girls and I in February... Home Acres Church - Kentwood, MI


Kevin's 30th birthday party in March... Mojo's - Grand Rapids, MI


sister birthday celebration in April - I turned 26 and Shawn turned 21!... Buffalo Wild Wings - Kentwood, MI


hung out with friends in May... Kevin's house - Wyoming, MI


Hungry for Hungary benefit dinner and concert in June (thanks again Brenden, Karen, Nikki and Mr Flowers!), being presented by Mr. Flowers... Home Acres Church - Kentwood, MI


danced at the free outdoor dance concerts in Chicago while there for our missionary training in July... Millenium Park - Chicago, IL


spent my last night with CHAOS for a year by shooting my kids with paintballs on the 'Reverse Mystery Trip' that my amazing friends/volunteers organized... Resurrection Life Church - Grandville, MI


climbed to the top of the cliff near Lake Balaton with the Hungarian School class... Monoszló, Hungary


traveled home to celebrate Randy and Nikkie's wedding in October... wedding reception - Hastings, MI


Hiked down Gellert Hill in November... Gellert Hegy - Budapest, Hungary


celebrated Christmas/Karácsony with St. Columba's Church... Budapest, Hungary