Playing Catch Up

I have just had time to download pictures that have been on my camera since May. Here are some of my favorites. These are from Tivoli and the Vatican when Earl was here visiting and the three of us went to Rome.

Pin It Now!

Up, Up, and Away

No, this is not really me nor am I off on a beach somewhere, but this is a working summer vacation.

You may or may not have noticed that I have not posted for some time. The last time, I was waiting for my contract from Frommer's. In the meanwhile, our friend Earl was here to visit and after he was here for a week, the three of us took off for Rome. Now, normally, I would have blogged all of that trip with pictures, but fearing an unknown B and B, I did not bring my laptop. My instincts were good; the place was miserable.

When we returned home after five days in rainy, chilly Rome, I had a package waiting for me. It was my contract from Frommer's with a current copy of the Budapest book as well as the Europe by Rail book. From that moment on, I have been researching the information. There have been lots of changes in the city since these were written, so I have do make calls, but more time consuming, I am walking the city checking things out. Calling is almost useless since most places either do not answer their phones or if they do, they do not speak English. We have been eating out almost every night and no, we do not get free meals. So far, I have only received a free admission to the Marzipan Museum in Szentendre.

If you do not see me for some time, it is because I am working hard. Because busy people are given more to do, the Hungarian Fulbright Commission asked me to read and score 4 applications for Hungarians wanting to go to the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship, the National Association for Multicultural Education asked me to read 7 proposals for their next conference, a former student asked me to sit in on her rescheduled Master's thesis defense exam (she was ill the first time), and three students re-appeared from nowhere to remind me that I am their thesis advisor for the fall.... And I have three new courses to prepare for for the fall semester too.

Pin It Now!

Three Times You Are Out

I have been testy these last few days as I have not yet received my contract from Frommer's, which makes me nervous. Time is ticking, 330 pages need to be written, and I do not have an official letter to show that I am legit or actually hired to do this. We are leaving for Rome on Monday with Earl in tow to break up his visit. If a package arrives while we are gone, chances are they will not leave it without anyone here. My physical therapy appointment was at 11:00, so I left Earl in Ron's care. Ron had talked about going to the Holocaust Museum or the House of Terror, both things that Earl said he was interested in seeing. I have been to the latter three times and did not feel a need to return, but left confident that they would entertain themselves. When I returned, they were still here. They changed the plan and were now going to go to Palitinus swimming pool in the afternoon. I wanted to go too. I have never been, though tried one summer on August 20th and the pool was closed for the season already. Both Earl and Ron fell asleep. Ron wanted to go at 3:00, but by 2:30 the sandman was throwing sand at my eyes and I went for a nap too. When I woke, Ron was gone to bring his invoice to the language school. By the time he got home again, it was too late to go to the pool, plus I did not want to go so late. It closes at 6:00 and for the admission, it is not worth the money to go so late. A day wasted. I did not do anything on my "To Do" list, trying not to ignore Earl. It is true that "You can never go home again." What I find when friends come to visit is that our lives have diverged so severely, there not much to talk about after the first day or two. They do not understand our lives here and their lives have either become static or have gone off into a direction that we do not understand. The long distance relationship of e-mails back and forth becomes the main link holding us together at a safe distance.

Pin It Now!

Children's Railway

If Earl had his way, he would sit around the apartment all day. He will not venture out on his own at all. He keeps saying "I just to see you guys." Well, we guys don't want to sit around all day, we have things to do. We have to modify them to include him or to not ignore the fact that he is here, which is a burden. His last visit was two years ago, but Ron was in Iowa while he was here and I was left to entertain alone. Ron suggested we do the Children's Railroad for something to do. It was a good idea for a refresher for me to write about it for the Frommer's guide. Earl was nonplussed. His mantra is "I'll do whatever you guys want to do." We guys want a guest who is independent. After we took him to purchase his transportation pass, we took the subway to the tram, to the Cogwheel, to the Children's Railroad at the end of the line. We had 45 minutes to wait for the next train. Ron had to leave to teach a lesson and I had to get home for a guest coming. The ride was pleasant and for the most part, the train was empty. The lush green trees and the sometime views of the Buda Hills made the trip worthwhile, though Earl was there for the ride. When we stopped and a large group of children boarded, he wished out loud that they would board the other car. They must have heard his thoughts as they started into our car, but changed directions and went to the other one. At the end of the line, Ron took off for his lesson; Earl and I went to get something for dinner and then home. Our guest's plane was late and he did not show until two hours after his scheduled time. I was having problems installing MS Office 2007. The product key would not take. I also received a letter from the district office, making me nervous from the few words I could read. I called my student Balazs and he came to my rescue. The letter was only a notice that the district could not assist us with our gas bill since I did not complete the form. Office 2007 was a greater challenge. After forty minutes of fiddling, trying different methods, griping, swearing, and brainstorming, we had a "DUH" moment. The number we were trying to enter for the program key was not the key. The key was actually on the inside back of the plastic box that housed the software. Neither of us had noticed it and there was no literature to suggest our looking there for it. Once we had it, it loaded fine, but the next glitch was that Office 2003 had to be deleted first. Ugh! We watched a movie after dinner, not a great departure from our evening routine.

Pin It Now!

Earl Arriives

Our friend Earl arrived from California today. There were real mixed emotions about his coming. He was carting a ton of things that I had ordered over the Internet and had sent to his house: three pairs of Crocs, a bathrobe, and MS Office 2007. Then there were things I needed him to buy like real vanilla, chocolate chips, and brown gravy mix. He haunted me repeatedly to meet him at the airport, but I held fast and refused each time. This is his third trip here and I met him both times before. It takes me an hour to get there by public transport and then I have to pay my way back by shuttle. As it was, his plane was 2 hours late, so I would have been sitting there wasting time and seething. Earl is the only one who comes here more than once and now stays for free. There is a long complicated history here and this is the only reason. His partner refuses to travel with him and this is his only opportunity to get out of the country. He is not confident (scared to death) to travel alone. He is also agreeable to do our banking in CA when needed, so there is another trade-off. When he arrived, I must admit, I was most anxious to see his luggage. I attacked it like a young child on Christmas morning. This evening, we went to the Iguana to say good-bye to Nicole and Lynn. They are both Fulbrighters who are returning to the States. Nicole leaves tomorrow morning. Lynn first goes to London for a few days and then returns to leave, but we will be in Rome. We only stayed for an hour, knowing Earl would be tired, but with Chris, Mark, and Nicole's friend Adam there too, the table was large and made it difficult to hear to carry on a discussion.

Pin It Now!