There are big things happening in Europe right now.
1) Flooding. It has rained a LOT in the last two months. The Danube has flooded out roads, entire islands, villamos (electric trams/above-ground subways) and even the metros. People have started sand bagging in NE Hungary. I saw yesterday the results of flooding and traintracks... and how the water just wiped away the built up part under the track, leaving a funny picture... picture the ground and then three feet above, picture the iron tracks and wood planks suspended until they can rest on the built up rocks again in a place the water DIDN'T wash it away. I had pictures... but they're on my computer and it's currently inaccessible. Not gone forever, just temporarily inaccessible.
2) VB - világbajnokság... aka the World Cup. I know that many of you Americans have no idea that this is even happening, so allow me to enlighten you for a few minutes. This is the biggest sports related event in the world (NOT the Superbowl or World Series or Indy 500 as we've come to believe in Smalltown, USA). It's even bigger than the Olympics (check out the viewer ratings 4 years ago!) The World Cup takes place every 4 years and this year, it's in South Africa. Here's what's funny: If you're a place of business with a television in Hungary, then you are playing every single game of the World Cup. There's even a giant screen set up in a park not far from my apartment!
Sadly, Hungary wasn't in the final 32 teams that are chosen to play, but you'd never know it by the number of people at each of these games. So far, I've had three memorable games.
--- #1 - USA vs. England - I watched this in a bedroom at camp with Gyuri, a "crazy gypsy man" as he calls himself. Watching it in Hungarian, in the dark, with a guy that kept jumping up to fix the antennae that were working just fine... only to constantly adjust to a terrible spot and then readjust to the exact place they were in the first time.
--- #2 - Germany vs. Australia - Memorable as I watched it with Simon, my German friend in a restaurant in Hungary.
--- #3 - USA vs. Slovenia - As I went back to Budapest for a few days, I got a phone call from Matt about meeting up. Apparently some major showdown was happening at 3p and I should be there. We decided to meet at our favorite American food joint: Burger King. Over a cheeseburger and iced coffee, we watched a silent tv play the game. I think about how sad Matt is at this moment (he's such a soccer fan, he has an official US jersey!) because he actually had the option of going to South Africa for his year... and the volunteers in South Africa have gone to/are going to at least one game. However, I know he thinks that watching it with his favorite person from Saranac, MI in his favorite Burger King in Hungary has got to be a close second, right?
Anyway - keep watching, kids!
Two of the following teams can advance and of course, the two with most points.
Right now it's:
Slovenia - 4
England - 2
USA - 2
Algeria - 1
USA will play Algeria on Wed., June 23. Don't miss it because I'm HOPING that USA will come back from today's sad performance and pull ahead of England.
For that to happen, the USA has to win. If they win, they're in no matter what. If they tie, as long as Englad ties or loses, they're fine. If they lose... well, we won't talk about that. k?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Házamegyek Budapestre (I'm going home to Budapest)
After working hard, long days at the camp... and having some long, hot days of relaxation... I'm going back to Budapest, probably tonight.
I have a crap ton of laundry to do and I woke up to a bedroom filled with water after the night's storms.
Tomorrow, I have another adventure to Gönc, but that's a discussion for another day.
The camp is officially open with currently 11 kids here. On Sunday, 70 more will come (which is a roundabout figure, since we were told there'd be 30 in this group :P) There's still a lot of work that could/should be done, but no one seems really worried about it. Emilie, Livia and Simon are here now and I know that even if they're not excited about being here, they are hard workers.
And I'm looking forward to going back to Budapest for now.
*~*~*
Just a couple pictures for you today.
These are some signs around the Jewish Quarter. This first one says (allow me to translate) that this was the former gate to the ghetto, until the Soviets freed them on January 18, 1945.
"Whoever saves a life is considered as to have saved the entire world." - Talmud
This plaque is placed near a memorial for Carl Lutz, a Swiss man who saved thousands of Jews by getting them fake Swiss passports and paperwork.
I have a crap ton of laundry to do and I woke up to a bedroom filled with water after the night's storms.
Tomorrow, I have another adventure to Gönc, but that's a discussion for another day.
The camp is officially open with currently 11 kids here. On Sunday, 70 more will come (which is a roundabout figure, since we were told there'd be 30 in this group :P) There's still a lot of work that could/should be done, but no one seems really worried about it. Emilie, Livia and Simon are here now and I know that even if they're not excited about being here, they are hard workers.
And I'm looking forward to going back to Budapest for now.
*~*~*
Just a couple pictures for you today.
These are some signs around the Jewish Quarter. This first one says (allow me to translate) that this was the former gate to the ghetto, until the Soviets freed them on January 18, 1945.
"Whoever saves a life is considered as to have saved the entire world." - Talmud
This plaque is placed near a memorial for Carl Lutz, a Swiss man who saved thousands of Jews by getting them fake Swiss passports and paperwork.
Monday, June 14, 2010
A Community...
I've been doing a lot of thinking about what makes a community, where and how do we find community, how we maintain community, what happens when we're taken from our community and how communities respond to struggle.
It's a lot to handle, but especially here at the camp, I tend to work on things alone - not exactly community-driven, but sanity driven.
What makes a community? Sometimes a community is a geographical base. Balatonlelle, and all the people that don't want the camp here, is a community. Sometimes a community is likeminded people, brought together by a similar cause/goal/hobby/interest/etc. All of the volunteers with ÖDÉ have formed a community - a piece of my heart jumped today when I saw Simon walking down the path toward me because I hadn't seen him since March and we're part of the same community. A community can also be formed by circumstances. I hate to say this, but even in my short jail time, I witnessed community. I found myself bargaining with my bunkmate for some coffee if I promised to put a couple dollars in her account when I left. As crazy as it sounds, I bonded with a few people in there and was a little sad to leave, wondering what would be next for them.
Where and how do we find community? This isn't always as easy as it sounds. I may be a part of the Saranac community, but I never really feel like I fit in there. I may have several communities here in Hungary, but haven't exactly found many that I'll be sad to leave in a couple months. This takes planning. What do I like to do? How do I find a group with those same interests? Are there other volunteers here doing this for the same reason I'm doing this? That's probably why I've bonded with the other Americans so well - not only do we have the common language, but we also all seem to have a semi-common purpose, which is very different from those of the "fresh outta high school Europeans."
How do we maintain community? Sometimes you can leave your best friend and not speak for a few weeks... and pick up exactly where you left off. This is a manifestation of the incredible bond you've developed because you've WORKED for it. Community doesn't just happen - you need to get involved in other peoples' lives - because you're willing to make that step, others will also be willing to make that step. If someone asks me where I'm from, I have two choices "Amerika" or "Michigan, egy állam Amerikai" - if I go with my first option, it's easier, but unless they ask "Where in America?" I could be from Florida or Alaska and they wouldn't know the difference (or God forbid, Kentucky :P jk!) If I go with the second, it opens me up to a little more - first that I speak a little Hungarian, second that I'm aware that if I say "Michigan" they might not know where it is, much like if they said "Pécs" or "Debrecen", most of you get blank looks until they say "a city in Hungary."
Anyway, long story short, you have to make a choice to maintain community. You need to be more proactive than you expect others to be in order to show your openness.
What happens when we're taken from our community? I feel like this is the question most people can relate to - in the fact that we don't even realize the great communities we have until we're removed from them for some reason. Many of you may have even witnessed this in my year. If we don't build a community where we are, we know that we never have to worry about this... but for those of us who long for that sense of community, this is simply not possible. We need to mourn, but we also need to move on and seek to build new communities in each new path God puts us on.
How do communities respond to struggle? This one, as I've witnessed, varies by community and struggle. True communities come together and work through it as a team, knowing that in the end, everyone will benefit. Many communities, when faced with a particular struggle, will disband or divide themselves. I've never seen an instance where this has benefited everyone involved. If someone in your community is facing a rough season, you help them. Community in the best sense is like karma - give when others need and when you need, you'll get.
*~*~*
Memorial Garden at the Dohány St. Synagogue
Behind the largest synagogue in Europe is a memorial garden set aside for those who perished during the Holocaust. It is said that Hungarian Jews account 1 out of every 6 people murdered in Auschwitz and 1 out of 10 people to die during the Holocaust (about 600,000 Hungarian Jews were lost during this time).
This is a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg and other "Righteous Among the Nations," including Carl Lutz, Giorgio Perlasca, Angelo Rotto and others who used fake passports and paperwork to save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II. They are memorialized by a fake grave. Wallenberg was arrested in 1945 and detained in the Soviet Union, where he later died, but details regarding his death (dates and cause) are still disputed today.
It is a Jewish tradition to place a stone on the grave of one who passed. Unfortunately, these are graves that will never be dug because they are bodies that were never recovered. Instead, stones are placed in these boxes to remember and carry on the tradition.
This is also a memorial and a beautiful colorful one. The snake you can see in the picture represents the Nazis and the consuming fire represents the Holocaust.
This is the entrance to the former Jewish Ghetto of World War 2. Conditions were terrible in the ghetto and many died. However, because no one was allowed in or out, they needed a place to bury those that passed. Here are 27 mass graves and it is estimated that a total of 3000 people are buried here, all of whom died in the ghetto within the 18 months of confinement. Those whose names were remembered had a gravestone placed and the death year is always the same: 1945.
This is the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs. Made by Imre Varga, it resembles a weeping willow whose leaves bear inscriptions with the names of victims.
"In memory of our mother and grandmother who perished in Auschwitz."
"So our children will never forget."
It's a lot to handle, but especially here at the camp, I tend to work on things alone - not exactly community-driven, but sanity driven.
What makes a community? Sometimes a community is a geographical base. Balatonlelle, and all the people that don't want the camp here, is a community. Sometimes a community is likeminded people, brought together by a similar cause/goal/hobby/interest/etc. All of the volunteers with ÖDÉ have formed a community - a piece of my heart jumped today when I saw Simon walking down the path toward me because I hadn't seen him since March and we're part of the same community. A community can also be formed by circumstances. I hate to say this, but even in my short jail time, I witnessed community. I found myself bargaining with my bunkmate for some coffee if I promised to put a couple dollars in her account when I left. As crazy as it sounds, I bonded with a few people in there and was a little sad to leave, wondering what would be next for them.
Where and how do we find community? This isn't always as easy as it sounds. I may be a part of the Saranac community, but I never really feel like I fit in there. I may have several communities here in Hungary, but haven't exactly found many that I'll be sad to leave in a couple months. This takes planning. What do I like to do? How do I find a group with those same interests? Are there other volunteers here doing this for the same reason I'm doing this? That's probably why I've bonded with the other Americans so well - not only do we have the common language, but we also all seem to have a semi-common purpose, which is very different from those of the "fresh outta high school Europeans."
How do we maintain community? Sometimes you can leave your best friend and not speak for a few weeks... and pick up exactly where you left off. This is a manifestation of the incredible bond you've developed because you've WORKED for it. Community doesn't just happen - you need to get involved in other peoples' lives - because you're willing to make that step, others will also be willing to make that step. If someone asks me where I'm from, I have two choices "Amerika" or "Michigan, egy állam Amerikai" - if I go with my first option, it's easier, but unless they ask "Where in America?" I could be from Florida or Alaska and they wouldn't know the difference (or God forbid, Kentucky :P jk!) If I go with the second, it opens me up to a little more - first that I speak a little Hungarian, second that I'm aware that if I say "Michigan" they might not know where it is, much like if they said "Pécs" or "Debrecen", most of you get blank looks until they say "a city in Hungary."
Anyway, long story short, you have to make a choice to maintain community. You need to be more proactive than you expect others to be in order to show your openness.
What happens when we're taken from our community? I feel like this is the question most people can relate to - in the fact that we don't even realize the great communities we have until we're removed from them for some reason. Many of you may have even witnessed this in my year. If we don't build a community where we are, we know that we never have to worry about this... but for those of us who long for that sense of community, this is simply not possible. We need to mourn, but we also need to move on and seek to build new communities in each new path God puts us on.
How do communities respond to struggle? This one, as I've witnessed, varies by community and struggle. True communities come together and work through it as a team, knowing that in the end, everyone will benefit. Many communities, when faced with a particular struggle, will disband or divide themselves. I've never seen an instance where this has benefited everyone involved. If someone in your community is facing a rough season, you help them. Community in the best sense is like karma - give when others need and when you need, you'll get.
*~*~*
Memorial Garden at the Dohány St. Synagogue
Behind the largest synagogue in Europe is a memorial garden set aside for those who perished during the Holocaust. It is said that Hungarian Jews account 1 out of every 6 people murdered in Auschwitz and 1 out of 10 people to die during the Holocaust (about 600,000 Hungarian Jews were lost during this time).
This is a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg and other "Righteous Among the Nations," including Carl Lutz, Giorgio Perlasca, Angelo Rotto and others who used fake passports and paperwork to save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II. They are memorialized by a fake grave. Wallenberg was arrested in 1945 and detained in the Soviet Union, where he later died, but details regarding his death (dates and cause) are still disputed today.
It is a Jewish tradition to place a stone on the grave of one who passed. Unfortunately, these are graves that will never be dug because they are bodies that were never recovered. Instead, stones are placed in these boxes to remember and carry on the tradition.
This is also a memorial and a beautiful colorful one. The snake you can see in the picture represents the Nazis and the consuming fire represents the Holocaust.
This is the entrance to the former Jewish Ghetto of World War 2. Conditions were terrible in the ghetto and many died. However, because no one was allowed in or out, they needed a place to bury those that passed. Here are 27 mass graves and it is estimated that a total of 3000 people are buried here, all of whom died in the ghetto within the 18 months of confinement. Those whose names were remembered had a gravestone placed and the death year is always the same: 1945.
This is the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs. Made by Imre Varga, it resembles a weeping willow whose leaves bear inscriptions with the names of victims.
"In memory of our mother and grandmother who perished in Auschwitz."
"So our children will never forget."
Friday, June 11, 2010
counting down the days
One month from today, I will start my re-entry preparation posts. NO this doesn't mean I'm coming home in a month - it just means I'm going to start preparing you (and me) for my re-entry. You shouldn't be too surprised to hear that these have already been written and scheduled. I'm still me, eh? :P
I want to encourage you to do 2 things:
a) subscribe to my blog so that you get daily updates during that time period. this is VERY important for my friends, family and supporting churches. They may be some of the most informative and thought-provoking posts I've made. Each time *I* read them, i have to sit and meditate. It's for my preparation as well as yours. I promise that receiving me back home won't be as easy as everyone wants.
b) tell others that may not be reading this to subscribe. it's really easy - there's a box on the side where you put in your email address and it will automatically send you updates.
In other news, slightly related - I am loving this 2-3 hour "siesta time" after lunch! :)
Oh, AND the mandatory soccer breaks every day - yesterday it was for South Africa and Mexico... today we're going to watch USA vs. UK - weee!
*~*~*
A visit to The Dohány St. Synagogue - the world's second largest synagogue and the largest one in Europe. (the biggest one is in NYC and is only bigger in size, not capacity) aka - one of the biggest tourist traps in Budapest.
The outside. The cost: 2000ft (or $10) - includes the synagogue, memorial garden and museum. everything except the museum can be viewed (some sneakily) from the outside... oh well. it was something I wanted to do, so I grabbed a few couchsurfers and we headed out. We paid a few hundred more forint (400) for a tour, which was worth it because there's not much written in Hebrew, Hungarian OR English about the history of the synagogue. So, it's worth it in two ways - I learned... and now you will learn :) Aren't you lucky?!
The synagogue was built (a long time ago - can't remember the years) by Christians, so it doesn't look like most synagogues, but it was built with the original temple (the one Paul wrote about that was destroyed in 70AD) in mind. See the numbered pews? People could actually purchase a pew seat for themselves, or as gifts, or for their heirs.
The Torah scrolls are back there. They survived the war (when Nazis destroyed most other Torahs) because Catholic priests took them and buried them in a Catholic cemetary. After the war, they were returned when the restoring process began. This, of course, was all done anonymously and the synagogue remains forever grateful to those priests.
Also note the organ: because there is an organ, you can automatically assume it's not an Orthodox synagogue because they are strongly against anyone (Jewish or not) working on Sundays (including organ tuners and players). Even this branch of Judaism believes that Jews shouldn't work on Sundays, and so a gentile plays the organ for them every Sunday.
This prayer rug was in the museum and I found it really interesting. I don't think I'd like to pray on a rug with animals dying all around me.
in the next couple posts, I'll show you the memorial garden and some other sights around the Jewish Quarter...
I want to encourage you to do 2 things:
a) subscribe to my blog so that you get daily updates during that time period. this is VERY important for my friends, family and supporting churches. They may be some of the most informative and thought-provoking posts I've made. Each time *I* read them, i have to sit and meditate. It's for my preparation as well as yours. I promise that receiving me back home won't be as easy as everyone wants.
b) tell others that may not be reading this to subscribe. it's really easy - there's a box on the side where you put in your email address and it will automatically send you updates.
In other news, slightly related - I am loving this 2-3 hour "siesta time" after lunch! :)
Oh, AND the mandatory soccer breaks every day - yesterday it was for South Africa and Mexico... today we're going to watch USA vs. UK - weee!
*~*~*
A visit to The Dohány St. Synagogue - the world's second largest synagogue and the largest one in Europe. (the biggest one is in NYC and is only bigger in size, not capacity) aka - one of the biggest tourist traps in Budapest.
The outside. The cost: 2000ft (or $10) - includes the synagogue, memorial garden and museum. everything except the museum can be viewed (some sneakily) from the outside... oh well. it was something I wanted to do, so I grabbed a few couchsurfers and we headed out. We paid a few hundred more forint (400) for a tour, which was worth it because there's not much written in Hebrew, Hungarian OR English about the history of the synagogue. So, it's worth it in two ways - I learned... and now you will learn :) Aren't you lucky?!
The synagogue was built (a long time ago - can't remember the years) by Christians, so it doesn't look like most synagogues, but it was built with the original temple (the one Paul wrote about that was destroyed in 70AD) in mind. See the numbered pews? People could actually purchase a pew seat for themselves, or as gifts, or for their heirs.
The Torah scrolls are back there. They survived the war (when Nazis destroyed most other Torahs) because Catholic priests took them and buried them in a Catholic cemetary. After the war, they were returned when the restoring process began. This, of course, was all done anonymously and the synagogue remains forever grateful to those priests.
Also note the organ: because there is an organ, you can automatically assume it's not an Orthodox synagogue because they are strongly against anyone (Jewish or not) working on Sundays (including organ tuners and players). Even this branch of Judaism believes that Jews shouldn't work on Sundays, and so a gentile plays the organ for them every Sunday.
This prayer rug was in the museum and I found it really interesting. I don't think I'd like to pray on a rug with animals dying all around me.
in the next couple posts, I'll show you the memorial garden and some other sights around the Jewish Quarter...
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sometimes we question our world... and get answers the next day
So, you know how I wrote about the feeling of not working?
Well, actually before I even posted it I got the answer. I just couldn't bring myself to delete the whole post.
Reason people didn't want to work? They weren't seeing any signs of getting paid.
In fact, as I sit here tonight, there are only 5 of us at the camp now. Me, Ricsi (volunteers)... Tibi (paid staff who HAS gotten his paycheck)... Mama, Gyürika (the 'grandma' and '8 year old grandson' team who are making sure they wish us a good night about 10 times. :P
the young people I was hoping to learn more from and hang out with? gone.
the 3 and 5 year old girls who didn't care whether I spoke Hungarian or gibberish, as long as I gave them hugs and let them sit by me at dinner, i was cool? gone.
apparently word got around that the Roma Self-Government wasn't going to pay them and they didn't want to work for free. So, the Roma Camp, in turn, told them that they couldn't just stay here for free... and so they left.
There are many things which transpired over the course of a couple hours that caused me to think:
a) why?! the camp needs to be fixed up and it cannot be done by Tibi completely. If Ricsi and I weren't here, what would happen? What is the Roma self-goverment thinking? If they really want a camp, this is NOT a good way to start.
b) I saw them pack up their stuff and one has to wonder what's next for them. You see, I brought three bags of stuff (plus a purse) for three weeks. I'm not sure how long they planned on staying, but the family packed up winter coats. Is this the only place they had for the time? Do they have no home, no job, NOTHING to go to? I was watching them pack up EVERYTHING they own and couldn't help but be sad that this was a really frustrating moment in their lives...
c) there's no way we're going to get all the work done now. Awesome. Oh well... Frustration, annoyance and apathy hit at about the same time, which was a very strange sensation.
*~*~*
Random pictures...
excuse me, sir. what IS this instrument? and is the face necessary to make it play?
just a random house in the Jewish Quarter that I think is cute
Hello, Budapest :)
technological injuries
I told you about my camera yesterday.
Today, I want to introduce you to my sad looking computer.
Let's start at the top. Yes, that's tape holding in the power cord. It's not duct tape, but if I were in the US, it would be. Not sure what happened except that one day I noticed it was plugged in and not registering a charge. hmmm...
I'm missing a control key. Also not sure what happened there. One day, while talking to my mom actually, I wanted to copy something and hit control and it came with my finger. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the phone call distracted and trying to put it back on. Sorry, mom!
then you see the bottom corner... My computer tried to commit suicide by jumping off the desk. Srsly. Maybe i pushed it, maybe not. The world will never know. :P
Well, actually before I even posted it I got the answer. I just couldn't bring myself to delete the whole post.
Reason people didn't want to work? They weren't seeing any signs of getting paid.
In fact, as I sit here tonight, there are only 5 of us at the camp now. Me, Ricsi (volunteers)... Tibi (paid staff who HAS gotten his paycheck)... Mama, Gyürika (the 'grandma' and '8 year old grandson' team who are making sure they wish us a good night about 10 times. :P
the young people I was hoping to learn more from and hang out with? gone.
the 3 and 5 year old girls who didn't care whether I spoke Hungarian or gibberish, as long as I gave them hugs and let them sit by me at dinner, i was cool? gone.
apparently word got around that the Roma Self-Government wasn't going to pay them and they didn't want to work for free. So, the Roma Camp, in turn, told them that they couldn't just stay here for free... and so they left.
There are many things which transpired over the course of a couple hours that caused me to think:
a) why?! the camp needs to be fixed up and it cannot be done by Tibi completely. If Ricsi and I weren't here, what would happen? What is the Roma self-goverment thinking? If they really want a camp, this is NOT a good way to start.
b) I saw them pack up their stuff and one has to wonder what's next for them. You see, I brought three bags of stuff (plus a purse) for three weeks. I'm not sure how long they planned on staying, but the family packed up winter coats. Is this the only place they had for the time? Do they have no home, no job, NOTHING to go to? I was watching them pack up EVERYTHING they own and couldn't help but be sad that this was a really frustrating moment in their lives...
c) there's no way we're going to get all the work done now. Awesome. Oh well... Frustration, annoyance and apathy hit at about the same time, which was a very strange sensation.
*~*~*
Random pictures...
excuse me, sir. what IS this instrument? and is the face necessary to make it play?
just a random house in the Jewish Quarter that I think is cute
Hello, Budapest :)
technological injuries
I told you about my camera yesterday.
Today, I want to introduce you to my sad looking computer.
Let's start at the top. Yes, that's tape holding in the power cord. It's not duct tape, but if I were in the US, it would be. Not sure what happened except that one day I noticed it was plugged in and not registering a charge. hmmm...
I'm missing a control key. Also not sure what happened there. One day, while talking to my mom actually, I wanted to copy something and hit control and it came with my finger. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the phone call distracted and trying to put it back on. Sorry, mom!
then you see the bottom corner... My computer tried to commit suicide by jumping off the desk. Srsly. Maybe i pushed it, maybe not. The world will never know. :P
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Balatonlellen vagyok.
So... i've found internet to steal from my cabin. Awesome! Not sure how reliable it is, but it's good for now. I have been here for two days now and while I see some progress, it's been interesting for me to be a part of this.
First of all, it's a family affair. I'm here with Emese's husband's ex-wife's mother (haha!), her other daughter and boyfriend and two little girls, a friend of Gyuri's and two ex-volunteer and one of their girlfriends. One guy lived in Canada for a few years, and his Canadian and my American are similar, so we're able to communicate :) (i joke, i joke!)
Anyway, this could be taken as a very racial thing, but I assure you that I mean nothing racial: i cannot get these guys to work. First, we took a break yesterday because the guys needed beer. Then after lunch, Gyuri called to tell us it was too hot to work (it's about 85* here). Then in the evening, it was still too hot to work and they're a little upset about a money situation.
Everyone else here is Roma. So, one of the things I'm faced with is the fact that Gadje (non-Roma) expect them to not want to work. So, if I am trying to get them to work, it MAY appear to them that I think less of them for not working (it may also appear to them that I'm just crazy and they'd be more correct... but not being able to completely communicate means my actions DO speak louder than my words). Last night a few of them stayed up a little late and it's now noon and I haven't seen three of them yet. Hmmm...
However, they also have the knowledge of the time frame we have - we have a week. With this many people, it's completely possible to have gotten everything done in 3 days (if anyone were in 'slave driver' mode). However, in this heat (which is really NOT that bad), they feel it necessary to take it easy for a few days. Oh well, the work WILL get done, because when we did work yesterday, we worked hard.
This has already been a great cultural experience. There are young people my age here, which is great - haven't met many Roma that are at the same "place" in their lives. They keep commenting on how great my Hungarian is after only 10 months (just wait until they meet Simon on Friday or Saturday - they'll be blown away!). They also asked the questions that I love being asked: "What do you think of gypsies?" and "Why are you working with Roma?"
Answering in Hungarian is a bit hard, but once I find some words I can use, it's easy to convey my thoughts and feelings to them. Sun up to late night, I am using only Hungarian and it's easy to see how those in a completely Hungarian environment have come so far this year. I don't regret living in Budapest as it's been a great time, but I am sad that I haven't learned to really speak in Hungarian (although I truly do understand about 90-95% of what people say).
Anyway, it's almost lunch time and I would like to go back out into the sunshine. Have a great day!
*~*~*
Horses took over Budapest at the Nemzeti Vagta (National Gallop!) It's kinda like the Kentucky Derby... only better costumes for the riders, less costumes for the audience. Oh! and if you want to watch, it's free to stand.
sorry about the terrible photo quality... I haven't written about this, but one of my technological injuries has been to my camera. Riding the trollibusz home from the homeless shelter earlier this year, I was greeted by a big, drunk, angry man who proceeded to push a few lucky people while trying to get on the bus. I had my camera (in it's protective case, even!) in my pocket and I was pushed so that my thigh hit a bar HARD. My leg hurt a lot, so I was worried to take my camera out and look. Well, it still works (obviously), but I can't really see the screen. The best part is that it doesn't have a manual viewfinder so my camera has literally become a "point and click" and hope. When I put my card in the computer, things either look amazing or like crap. This even, unfortunately, it was the latter. Oh well.
First of all, it's a family affair. I'm here with Emese's husband's ex-wife's mother (haha!), her other daughter and boyfriend and two little girls, a friend of Gyuri's and two ex-volunteer and one of their girlfriends. One guy lived in Canada for a few years, and his Canadian and my American are similar, so we're able to communicate :) (i joke, i joke!)
Anyway, this could be taken as a very racial thing, but I assure you that I mean nothing racial: i cannot get these guys to work. First, we took a break yesterday because the guys needed beer. Then after lunch, Gyuri called to tell us it was too hot to work (it's about 85* here). Then in the evening, it was still too hot to work and they're a little upset about a money situation.
Everyone else here is Roma. So, one of the things I'm faced with is the fact that Gadje (non-Roma) expect them to not want to work. So, if I am trying to get them to work, it MAY appear to them that I think less of them for not working (it may also appear to them that I'm just crazy and they'd be more correct... but not being able to completely communicate means my actions DO speak louder than my words). Last night a few of them stayed up a little late and it's now noon and I haven't seen three of them yet. Hmmm...
However, they also have the knowledge of the time frame we have - we have a week. With this many people, it's completely possible to have gotten everything done in 3 days (if anyone were in 'slave driver' mode). However, in this heat (which is really NOT that bad), they feel it necessary to take it easy for a few days. Oh well, the work WILL get done, because when we did work yesterday, we worked hard.
This has already been a great cultural experience. There are young people my age here, which is great - haven't met many Roma that are at the same "place" in their lives. They keep commenting on how great my Hungarian is after only 10 months (just wait until they meet Simon on Friday or Saturday - they'll be blown away!). They also asked the questions that I love being asked: "What do you think of gypsies?" and "Why are you working with Roma?"
Answering in Hungarian is a bit hard, but once I find some words I can use, it's easy to convey my thoughts and feelings to them. Sun up to late night, I am using only Hungarian and it's easy to see how those in a completely Hungarian environment have come so far this year. I don't regret living in Budapest as it's been a great time, but I am sad that I haven't learned to really speak in Hungarian (although I truly do understand about 90-95% of what people say).
Anyway, it's almost lunch time and I would like to go back out into the sunshine. Have a great day!
*~*~*
Horses took over Budapest at the Nemzeti Vagta (National Gallop!) It's kinda like the Kentucky Derby... only better costumes for the riders, less costumes for the audience. Oh! and if you want to watch, it's free to stand.
sorry about the terrible photo quality... I haven't written about this, but one of my technological injuries has been to my camera. Riding the trollibusz home from the homeless shelter earlier this year, I was greeted by a big, drunk, angry man who proceeded to push a few lucky people while trying to get on the bus. I had my camera (in it's protective case, even!) in my pocket and I was pushed so that my thigh hit a bar HARD. My leg hurt a lot, so I was worried to take my camera out and look. Well, it still works (obviously), but I can't really see the screen. The best part is that it doesn't have a manual viewfinder so my camera has literally become a "point and click" and hope. When I put my card in the computer, things either look amazing or like crap. This even, unfortunately, it was the latter. Oh well.
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