Contradictions

This is not my idea on how to start a day, but our delightful guests chose to go to the House of Terror Museum the first thing this morning. Perhaps it is best to confront these issues early, by allowing the balance of the day’s events to cleanse one’s soul yet again.

This lovely Neo-Renaissance mansion that was built in 1880 was the home to two tragic organizations. The Arrow Cross, which was the Hungarian ultra-conservative party, occupied it from 1940, using it as their headquarters and prison. The Soviets continued the horrors here after their invasion and continued to use it for communist political police activities and prison. The basement contained a torture chamber. "The Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society" purchased the building with the intention of creating a museum to remind people of the shocking events in these two eras of Hungarian history. That was in December 2000.

Since this time, there have been various demonstrations protesting the museum and its roof ledge sign, which has House of Terror in cut out letters overhanging the street. Many residents do not believe the events that took place here should be memorialized for the public and tourists to witness. Most of the protestors are family members of victims of those tortured here. Patricia is still questioning how beauty managed to survive and reemerge after all the dreadfulness that has taken place here. Don lamented upon leaving was that this left no hope for the morality of the human race. “People are capable of great barbarity; however, the lawns, parks, and people holding hands are contradictions that are too great to comprehend.”

To renew the feelings of humanness, they went to City Park to find the Saturday flea market, but did not succeed. The green space, the people enjoying each other and their surroundings were enough. From here, they went to meet Ron at Liszt Ferenc ter where he directed them to another of our favorite eateries,
Falafel at Paulay Ede u. 53. This vegetarian salad bar has a fixed price for a small or large bowl where you serve yourself from the salad bar. Don and Patricia bought theirs to go, so when I met up with them, we took our goodies to the green space at Liszt Ferenc ter in a quasi-picnic. When I walked around taking pictures, there was a little boy who insisted I take his picture, so I did. His grandpa said he loved modeling for the camera.

Fortunately for us, there was a district fair today, so on our way to the tram, we side-tracked there. There were booths selling crafts and food, while on stage, there was entertainment. The highlight was the young dancers performing folk dances. Patricia found some whimsical shirts for their children too.

With the tram out of service (until May 19th in one direction), we started in the direction of the tram bus replacement to Nygati train station, but first we stopped for tea at my favorite cafés, Bog’Art. Bog'art Café is at Terez korut 9. What I love about it is it being a combination café with an artists’ collective. One is always charmed by the selections of art as they embrace you while sipping your drink. There are more art pieces both upstairs and down, so be sure to see it all. No food is served, but the atmosphere is delightful. Patricia said this was her favorite of all cafés we had visited.

Making our way to Nygati, we took the 26 bus to the island. In the middle ages, cloisters were built what was then called ‘Rabbits' Island’. The name was later changed in honor of St. Margaret. Margaret was a daughter of King Béla IV. She joined a nunnery on the island of which there are still ruins left in evidence. To reach the island you can take the Árpád Bridge from the north or Margaret Bridge from the south, each connecting Margaret Island with the city. The island is 2.5 km (1.4 miles) long, 500 meters (550 yards) wide, spreading out over 225 acres. In the early 19th century, royal families living in Buda transformed this island into a tremendous garden. Unlike other islands in large cities, this island has never been built over, but remains a great park in the city. Due to its healing springs, it housed a health resort that was built at the beginning of the 20th century.

All four of us were spiritually renewed by the greenery, the flowers, but most of all by the people enjoying their freedom. People all over the park were playing, sunbathing, reading, relaxing, and just being. Patricia, Ron and I chatted while sitting on the grass, while Don wandered taking fascinating photos of the people around us. We continued on for a beer at the hotel restaurant and then started back to the bus to come home. Don could not comprehend how at one time this island was victimized by war with tank tracks, yet now it was lush with harmonious happenings. The contradictions again are difficult to sort out.

As we were walking to the bus, we were approached by six maidens in t-shirts, five of which were marked with the word “Sale” and one with the word “Sold”. The lovely young woman who was claiming herself sold explained that this was her ‘Hen’ party and she had to sell parsley for blessing in her book. Minutes later, Ron realized why we had been singled out. One of her entourage was a former student of his from the university. So the bride-to-be gave us a small handmade book and asked each of us to write a blessing in it for her marriage to Péter, her intended. The delightful little book was cleverly decorated on each page with pictures and cartoons of matrimony and parenting. We each gave her our ‘blessing’ and received a small bouquet of parley as a thank you. The nuptial will take place next Saturday, so we will have to remember her. Dori and Péter, may you have a long and healthy life together.

The addendum to this is the obvious admiration that Ron’s former student had for him. She was so proud to tell him about her post-graduate position with the botany department of the Budapest Zoo. She gave him her professional business card and asked that he call her when visiting. From her demeanor, it was apparent that she held him in high esteem as her instructor, appreciating his warmth and caring.

On our way home, we detoured to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner, Szeraj Turkish Restaurant at the corner of Szent Istvan korut and Honved u. is a buffet style, inexpensive taste treat. We were lucky to snatch an outside table where we could chatter about the day and watch the world go by at the same time. Don made an interesting observation that this city is like a pack of cards that were taken apart and then put back together again just as they were with the city being rebuilt paving stone by paving stone, put back in its place.

Don wanted to experience a garden pub. Ron had hunted down an address for one on Kiraly. Some garden pubs are created by squatters. They find an empty courtyard of an used building and open a pub until they are evicted. The addresses change, but the tradition continues. The one we ventured to was not outdoors, but well off of the street down an alley. There were dozens of young people, drinking, talking, playing ping pong and other table games. The rules of the house are that you can sing or perform with the mike for 15 minutes at a time. We stayed long enough for Don to photograph the surroundings and then when home for our nightly ritual of halva and strawberries.

Patricia signed our guest book a couple of days before leaving us. She drew a little picture and placed it inside as well. Her entry:

Very dear Ron and Ryan,

I love our evening ritual (after the day of exploring Budapest) of eating fresh strawberries with halva and drinking tea.
(There is a picture here of three mugs, one tea cup and a plate with berries and halva.)

How will we return to normal working lives after these glorious days of Spring in Budapest?

Thank you for your warmth and care; for sharing your wonderful home; for taking us to the ballet, opera, holy mass, the island, Falafel feast, promenade, Govinda, Parliament, reading rooms, etc…

Thank you for your excellent friendship, which we treasure.

Best love, Patricia

The question in our minds, Ron and I, is how will we return to our normal lives after such a celebrated week that we have shared with such magnificent people?The lines in the picture are due to my scanner.

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Off We Go

Off We Go…

Don and Patricia flew into Vienna and will fly out of there also. Since Don is doing an article on traveling out of South Africa for 10,000 Rand per person, he was challenged to find the least expensive airline tickets possible. The best deal he could find was with Qatar Airlines from Cape Town to Vienna. They then took the airport bus from Vienna to Budapest and the subway from the bus station to our flat.

With this in mind, they made their first stop of the morning to the travel agency to purchase their bus tickets back to the Vienna Airport. About an hour later, I received a call from the travel agency stating they had forgotten to stamp the tickets with their agency stamp. Rubber stamps here are big business. Nothing is official if it does not have a stamp on it. They would need to return to have the tickets stamped.

Since they did not know this information about the stamps our lovely guests attempted to take the tour for the Parliament. Attempted is the key word, since they tried to get tickets for the 10:00 English tour, but the lines were so long, they could not. Instead, they headed across the street to the Ethnographic Museum.

This museum was started when it officially broke away from the National Museum in 1947. It finally found a permanent home in 1973 in what was the Palace of Justice building. The permanent exhibition "Folk Culture of the Hungarians" displays the everyday life and festivals of peasantry life of Hungarians within thirteen rooms. The collection ranges from objects collected from the end of the 18th century to World War II. http://www.neprajz.hu/english/index2.html

Above all, Don was taken with the angst the bourgeoisie must have endured to climb socially upward from their conditions. He was particularly amused yet sympathetic to a photo on exhibit of a peasant wedding with the bride in her white dress, but yet wearing mud covered boots. Both he and Patricia were quite taken with the history of the country. Taking photos is acceptable and Don said he was not required to buy a photo ticket to do so.

We had arranged to meet for lunch, believing they would be finishing the Parliament tour, but we did find them nonetheless. Since they both are quasi-vegetarians, we took them to Govinda. This vegetarian restaurant is run by the Hare Krishna, who are well respected here. They do much for the homeless, so they are well supported. The food is great and inexpensive. Patricia and Don were overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of the servings so we received accolades for our choice of restaurant. Govinda is located at Belgrad rakpart 18, one stop on tram 2 from the Parliament. www.govinda.hu They accept cash only.


Our happy foursome then wandered over to Szabó Ervin Library. Why would any tourist want to see a library one may ask? If you do not have inside information, this may be a jewel that would easily pass-by without a visit. This is no ordinary library. It was once the Wenckheim Palace, a private residential palace, built by Count Frigyes Wenckheim (1842 – 1912). Arthur Meining, the architect from Saxony, built this 13,000 square meter building and is considered a masterpiece of Hungarian Neo-Baroque architecture. The building was turned into a library in 1931. Aside from the browsing area, there are 15 reading rooms, many with fireplaces and lush cushioned chairs, an Internet room, a playful children’s library with two huge dragons, 160 computers, seating for 1,000 readers, and a café. Various areas of it such as the ballroom are rented out for private functions.

I chose to wait in the sunshine while Ron toured them around. To enter, you must get a free ‘Reader’s Card’ and you need a picture ID to get this. A passport is preferred, but a driver’s license will do most of the time. When Patricia came out our famous authoress was bowled over. She lovingly shared that the library rooms enchanted her with the mixture of glass, mirrors, gilt, drapery, carving, and books. “It was wonderful to see every seat filled with a young person immersed in a book. Reflecting on the fact that library budgets in South Africa have been slashed, I wonder if it will ever reach such a point as this…Poor Africa!"

Patricia wanting to purchase some ethnic music, we wandered around the corner to a shop situated in an udvar (garden) where there is also a lovely restaurant where we could stop for tea. We spent a relaxing hour in engaging conversation and then Ron took Patricia CD shopping while Don and I continued solving the world’s problems.

Ron offered to take their tickets back to the travel agency and I was going to escort them back to the Parliament to try to get the 6:00 pm tour, the last of the day. I love this tour and have done it six times, so I really did not want them to miss it. I prepped them that the first thing on the tour was a matchstick replica of the building that a Hungarian family created and donated.


At the parliament, I left them for home and sent them on their way. When the tour guide asked the group if anyone could guess the materials of the replica, Don piped up with the correct answer squelching the bluster from the guide. Don thought it was a touch of irony that the building was inspired by the British, but it was the British who bombed them. Both Patricia and Don were impressed with King St. Stephan’s crown on display and found the crooked cross on top a bit curious. Don is never without his tripod and ultra deluxe professional camera, so was able to capture some magnificent shots.

The Hungarian Parliament is the largest Parliament in Europe, a testament to the fact that Hungary was an administrative center for the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy, the greatest power in Europe at one time. The architect Imre Steindl designed the building which was initially planned for the celebration of the millennium of 1896, but was not finished until 1902, the year of Steindl’s death. His inspiration was partly from the Palace of Westminster. Its white neo-gothic turrets and arches stretch for over 250 meters along the Danube embankment, making it an impressive sight from both sides of the river. The building has 691 rooms, tremendous halls and over 12.5 miles of corridors. The central dome is 96-meters, the exact height of Szent István Basilica. The saying is that this was intentional so that church and state were of equal proportions. Photograph and video are permitted and the inside is as rich as the exterior. The Parliament was once two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Don observed that the former House of Lords had blue carpeting and the House of Commons was red.

Note that the official times on the Parliament website do not list this tour, but it is on the sign at the Parliament. http://www.parlament.hu/parl_en.htm
Tour times are listed as:
English: 10 a.m., 12 a.m. and 2 p.m.
German: weekday 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.
French: 2 p.m. Russian: weekdays 3 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.
Hebrew: 10.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.
Italian: weekdays 11.30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Sunday 11.30 a.m.
Spanish: weekdays 11.30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Sunday 11.30 a.m.
Japanese and other languages are available, but are not listed on the web site.

Tickets are: Adults 2.070 HUF and Children 1.035 HUF, but it is free for citizens of European Union countries if you have your passport with you.

After their tour, our two explorers walked the Danube. They came across the memorial of shoes along the river bank commemorating the Jews who were lined up on the banks and shot by the Nazis at the end of WWII when it was evident they had no time to continue transporting them to the camps. Sadly, there has been some vandalism and some of the shoes have been removed. Though the artist has vowed to replace them, it has not happened yet, but there are still enough there to impress the horrors of war on our social justice minded guests. Patricia is continually reminded of her Jewish heritage and the grievous events associated with Jewish history.

In later hours of the evening, they found their way to the docks to take a night cruise on the Danube. The hour long cruise was on the Duna Yacht and the cost was 1,700 Huf each. They were enchanted with the lighting in the castle district with Castle Hill romantically displayed on the one side of the river and with Parliament on the other. www.dunayacht.com

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Comment from NiHao

This comment came in today from NiHao.
I am hoping to visit Budapest this year, so I'll have to add the Citadel to my list. Thanks for the great tip and the picture!

Please return to that blog. I found some other pictures I was looking for and will add them now.
Ryan

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Following Don and Patricia

Ron and I both love this city, but as with anywhere you live, you get overwhelmed with life and the tedious tasks that are involved in it so one does not often take time to appreciate the surroundings. Having guests on a regular basis refreshes our love for this city and we cherish being able to see it through others’ eyes too. It is so insightful. With this said, let us see where Don and Patricia ventured to yesterday.

After breakfast, their first stop was the Great Market on Vámház körút 1-3. This market is one of five built in the city at the end of the 19^th

On the second floor of the market are places to buy souvenirs and food. My choice is to pass-by the restaurant, which is a bit overpriced and venture to the food booths along the right side. For an authentic taste of Hungarian food, I highly recommend the langos. This is fried dough with grated hard cheese, ham if you choose, and garlic juice. There are other varieties to entice tourists, like Mexican langos, but this seems like a contradiction to authentic culture to me.

The great synagogue on Dohány was their next stop. With a seating capacity of 2,964 seats (1,492 for men and 1,472 for women in a separate gallery) it is the second largest synagogue in the world. The largest is in New York City. The beautiful structure is a combination of Moorish, Romantic,They close at 2:00 pm, so it is important to arrive early if you want to visit or take the tour. There is a museum on the premises and it is highly recommended. Hungary has a unique Jewish history during WW II. Don was intrigued that their tour guide was simplistic in her explanations, describing her memorized speech as Judaism 101. For those who have no knowledge of the religion, it could be refreshing, but for others stilted. Patricia would have preferred to have had time alone in the sacred space to sit in silence meditation. However, with tours in various languages continually dotting the interior, it is not possible. It occurred to her while there that no member of her family has been to a synagogue service since 1939. She lost family members in the Holocaust. With this in mind, it was pertinent and heartwarming for her that people like Raul Wallenberg stood up to the Nazis and others with malicious intent to aid so many people.

For a virtual Jewish history tour, visit this link.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Budapest.html

After lunch, our wandering South Africans went to the Museum of Applied Arts, one of my favorite buildings in Budapest. Located at Ullői út 33-37, this magnificent building was built for the celebration of the Millennium in 1896 by Lechner and Pártos. The colorful tile entrance is in stark contrast to the interior, which has a Moorish flavor. The style is referred to as Hungarian Secessionist or Hungarian Art nouveau. Don being a photographer had to purchase a ticket for taking pictures. When he started snapping, the woman guard lunged at him to stop until he produced his supplementary ticket. Even this did not satisfy her when he started to place it back in his pocket. Although she had seen it, she wanted him to have it readily exposed hanging out of a pocket for her discernable eye to see at a moment’s notice. He found the porcelain and interior design well worth the price of a photo ticket. http://www.imm.hu/angol/

As strange as it may seem to some, we always recommend the Kerepesi Cemetery to our B and B guests. Many times our guests will smile and nod appreciatively for the information, but secretly, I believe think we are crazy for the idea. Those who follow our advice return to thank us for the information. Don and Patricia are amongst the latter group.

They ventured to this splendid final resting garden of repose located at Fiumei út near Keleti train station. Don was amazed at the park like quality of the place with the great chestnut trees shading the residents. He was curious about the weeping angels on some of the graves wondering why the angels would weep when they had a new friend arriving in their domain. This was an interesting question that had not occurred to me. When you enter, you can get a map of the grounds. Here lie the most famous of the Hungarian elite who have build mausoleums to be remembered by. The art work is spectacular and original in many instances. For more information, visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerepesi_Cemetery

After dinner, the four of us went to the ballet at the State Opera House on Andrássy út 22. The building is considered one of the most important of Hungarian architecture, the architect being Miklós Ybl. It took nine years to complete. It is said that it was build for Empress Maria Teresa, but she ordered that it should be smaller than the one in Vienna. Looks can be deceiving as it looks small, but it seats 1,289 people. There are over fifty operas performed here a year, more than any other opera house in the world.

Ron had purchased tickets in what I consider the ‘nose bleed’ section of the Opera House. It is the top level and the balcony on the side. Tickets were only 800 Huf approximately $4.00. The ballet was Anna Karenina and a splendid performance. http://www.fsz.bme.hu/opera/bud_operahaz.html

Tickets can be ordered online and kept at the box office. For information about this, go to our website www.budabab.com and then Links.

Patricia repeatedly states she needs to return to Budapest for a whole month to see all, absorb all, experience all. Not only are they both in awe of the spectacular beauty of the city, but Patricia is amazed with the safety of walking the streets at any hour of the day or night, the absence of children begging, and the contradictions of the horrors of the history as opposed to the wonderful pieces of art.

Tune in tomorrow for Patricia and Don’s next day in Budapest.

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The South Africans' First Full Day

Well I am following the adventures of the South Africans, via their tales when they return back to our flat. For some of the things, I would like to join them, but these are my last weeks of teachings, so I cannot.

On their first full day here, they went to the Citadel, the high point of Budapest on the Buda side. There you will find a white-stoned fortress from the 19th century. The fortress was built in 1851 by the Austrians to symbolize their dominance over Hungary after the 1848-49 Revolution and War of Independence. It sits on top of Gellért Hill where the 14 meter tall Liberation Monument is placed, a striking statue of a woman holding a palm leaf of victory, can be seen from most points along the Danube. The Russians placed the monument in 1947. The panorama of the entire city is spectacular from this viewing point.

There is a museum and an exhibit hall where they found a photographic exhibit. The theme was Children of War Around the World, not the most cheerful topic, but Patricia in particular was moved to tears with the theme as well as the beauty of the art.

After breathing in the fresh air of the higher altitude, they hiked back down the hill. This would be my preference too as once we did not realize there was a bus going up and hiked up. Half way up I was ready for oxygen, but at the top, I would have welcomed a Respiratory Therapist. The mistakes you make that you can share with guests are immeasurable.

Almost back down to street level, they stopped at the Church in the Cave before hopping on a tram to take the cogwheel for a ride. They had intended to ride the Children’s Railroad, but it was not operating yet.

Returning from there, they followed the Danube to the funicular taking them up to Castle Hill. They found their way into the National Museum where they spent the rest of their day. They were impressed with the number of huge paintings of Hungarian origin by artists, so few in the world have ever heard about. Patricia is hinting she may have to return for more time there.

When they returned there, they found the little co-op grocery store sufficient for their needs to assemble a dinner in our kitchen. We did this side by side and then ate together. We point out the five supermarkets within two blocks of our flat, but they appreciated buying from a co-op as opposed to a supermarket chain.

In the evening, we had an engagement to meet a Fulbright Scholar, a Professor of Nursing and her husband, for coffee. We invited Don and Patricia along to the Central Coffee House, one of the historic coffee houses in the city. The six of us had a lively and lovely conversation until 10:00 pm and then shared a bus part of the way with Beth and Bob before they got off at their stop.
On a personal note, this was the last full week of teaching. Next week is the last. I am so going to miss my sophomore students. They have been exceptional and I have appreciated spending time with them for the last four semesters. All of them have turned into exceptional writers and thinkers. This semester they had embraced the course with gusto, which adds to my being proud of them since I had suggested doing some ‘innovative things’ with them last semester for this semester and they were willing to be my ‘test case’. They not only met my expectations, but far surpassed them, setting the bar at a new level for those that follow.

While I am being the proud teacher, one of my former students who is now in the US on a scholarship, just had an article published in English Teaching Forum magazine, volume 44, number 1 - 2006. She wrote this as an assignment for my class and the secondary part of the assignment was to try to get it published. She and some others succeeded, but hers is the first to appear in print. This magazine is distributed to over 80 countries through the US Embassy.

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The South Africans are coming

The South Africans are coming…

Well actually, I lied. They arrived this morning. Don and Patricia Pinnock arrived today from Cape Town, South Africa. Why are they worth writing about, you may ask, so I will share the info with you.

When we were in Cape Town, we rented their apartment. You can find their information in this blog, but to save you doing a search and ignoring me now, I will enlighten you. Don is the Associate Editor for Get Away magazine, a thick, rich, travel monthly that is distributed to eighty countries. He writes a number of articles as well as doing the photographs. His background was once in Criminal Justice, with a doctorate and specializations in gang behavior. He has some books to his credit in this area. After changing life paths, he has written Blue Ice about Antarctica and African Journeys.

Patricia has a Masters in Creative Writing and has written nine children’s books, a book of poetry, and three adult novels. Her writing name is Patricia Schonstein and Patricia Schonstein Pinnock. One of her books has been sold for movie rights to a company in the UK. Two of her books have won literary awards in France and the UK. Her poetry book is being translated into Spanish and Finnish.

As if this is not enough excitement, Don is here to write an article for the magazine that he dreamed up while we were there. The article concept is going anywhere in the world from South Africa on 10,000 Rand a person. They are here to make this happen. Since they are staying with us as B and B guests, our B and B will be in the article. So far, they are very impressed with the flat and the bed, which they tested for their post-travel nap. I will report back as the week develops.

Stay tuned.

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After Nap Gifts

After Nap Gifts

Don and Patricia brought us copies of their new books. Don Pinnock’s newest addition is Natural Selections: The African Wanderings of a Bemused Naturalist and Patricia’s (Schonstien) book is A Quilt of Dreams. She has a book of poetry being translated into Swedish and Spanish and she has sold the rights to two of her novels to movie companies; one is a US production company and the other British/South African. Her website is www.patriciaschonstein.com 
 

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I received these two comments

I received these two comments in the ‘anonymous’ comments section, but I feel comments are meant to be shared, so here they are.

To the first person, you are welcome x 3, but for what are you thanking me? To the second person, I am so happy Gilbert is getting his art out there. I found three possible sources for him to sell his work here in Budapest, but darn, he does not respond to e-mails. If anyone reads this before seeing him, tell him Ryan needs to reach him.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hi,Just wanted to second the opinion above about Gilbert Khumalo and his wonderful beadwork. We met him last Sunday at the Green Point Arts & Crafts market in Cape Town and bought a beautiful beaded elephant head from him. Awesome stuff!

I love the comments, it feels great being ‘heard’ and the only way I know for sure there is someone reading what I write is when you write a comment.

Thank you, thank you, thank you,

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Rainy Days and Mondays Really Get Me Down

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Assorted notes

The rain was coming down so hard at 4:30 this morning, it woke me. I could not get back to sleep, so here I am at the computer.

It is that time in the semester when I get behind in living. The only thing I have really had time for is grading papers. Just a couple of weeks after I spent dozens of hours with my thesis advisees, the completed thesis for grading were distributed. One of them was ninety-four pages, though the requirement is set a forty minimum. It is not like you can sit and read these like novels; they have to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. I usually sit at the computer while reading them, because I have to make notes of the page numbers where I find mistakes so the student knows where I found it. It generally takes me two whole evenings to get through one thesis, but this time I spent three evenings on one thesis. I had two full pages of corrections to document. It was pure generosity that I let it pass with a 2 (D) grade. It is discouraging when this happens, but she was not my advisee, so there is no responsibility to share.

At the same time, all of my freshmen students had their last papers dues, so there were thirty plus of them to read, my sophomores had their term papers turned in at fifteen pages each and there are sixteen of them in the class. To add to this, the teacher training class also had their term project due, which was twenty pages and there are fifteen of them also. When I have papers to grade, I do not leave the flat other than to go to work. I hate knowing I have work to do that is sitting there waiting for me. My philosophy has always been to give students feedback as soon as possible too. It is not fair to them to hold back on their papers longer than I need to.

Of course there are still little annoying Immigration things that need to be done in the meantime, so this bites a chunk of my time from grading papers and life in general. I still have not been able to reach the eye doctor to get my trial pair of contact lenses. I have called twice, but she has not been in. When I had a student speak to the secretary, she had no clue who I was or what I wanted, though the doctor told me to call the secretary to arrange to pick them up. The secretary was sitting there at the time and smiled at me as the doctor was telling me this. Since it is an eye clinic at the medical university, I cannot just pop in.

Yesterday, I received an invitation to the special meeting of IATEFL-Hungary, the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language- Hungarian Chapter. They need to change the constitution to be in compliance with the International association. Since I am a member, I would have attended, but the language of the meeting is Hungarian, with interpreters as needed. An English teachers association and they are having their meeting in Hungarian…this puzzles me. I have been involved with the group in Macedonia and Bulgaria, but they have all of their meetings in English. It is no wonder the Hungarian chapter is not as fully supported as they could be.

Only two more weeks of school left. May 18th is my last day until September. By July 1st, I will start missing my students again and will be wishing the summer away.

We have only two trips planned this summer. June 3rd we will go to Dresden and Leipzig, then in August to Edinburgh. Ron will be in the States for three weeks, so that takes a chunk from chances of taking time away.

It is 5:44 am. If I push it, I can finish another student’s paper before showering. This weekend will be another hermit weekend finishing up papers.

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You would think

You would think that after 4 1/2 years here, I would have by-passed some ethnocentric thinking regarding the immigration system in regard to North Americans. However, it seems that each time I am faced with immigration problems; it creeps back into my thinking. It is going to give me an ulcer. Shouldn't there be some differences between how we are treated as opposed to those from Nigeria, for example?

Somehow, when Ron and I renewed our annual visas after the first year, each of us had different dates for renewal for the following year. His second visa was renewed for 268 days and mine for 365. This put us into different cycles for renewal and has continued as such ever since. This created an issue when we applied for our 5 year Residency Permit since we had to wait for my 3 full years of residency before we could apply. Waiting, however, cost us dearly.

Even if your application is being processed for the 5 year Residency, you still have to maintain your annual Visa. Ron's Visa was to expire two months before the Residency permit was due to be approved or rejected. Hence, he had to reapply for an annual Visa for the sake of the two months. To make things more complicated, this also entails applying for a new Work Permit first, though Work Permits will not be needed any longer once we have the Residency permit. Confused yet? This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our worker from the agency who charges us arms and legs for their services to 'help' us get our documents calls Ron the Tuesday before Easter to tell him that he has to go to Immigration and reapply for the annual the Tuesday after Easter. She then gives him the list of documents he needs to collect. Bear in mind that Good Friday, most businesses including our accountant and lawyer's offices are closed. Easter Monday is also a legal holiday.Ron went around like a hyperactive child on speed, collecting what he was told he needed from various places, but some would not be available until Tuesday morning. He appointment at Immigration was at 2:00 that afternoon. After all of this running, we were not aware that the tram we would normally take to the Immigration office was out of service, so he had to take three buses to get there, arriving 15 minutes late. We thought he had done a fine job and all was well. But alas…

This last Friday morning we were planning on taking the 10:00 train to Vienna to meet people who were friends of friends and we had only met once before. At 8:30, Ron gets a call from our agency. The worker told him he needs a form from the APEH (Similar to the IRS) office showing he had been paying taxes and that the accountant has filed his tax returns. Of course, on Hungarian time schedules they needed to bring it to Immigration that afternoon. He had to try to track down the accountant, but was told he would not in the office until 9:30. When he found the accountant, he said that the taxes do not need to be filed until May, so they are not done yet. He gave Ron a form to take to APEH.

I called the people we were meeting and told them not to count on us until sometime later, if at all. Ron ran to the accountant and then to APEH to stand in line. In the meanwhile, I get a call from the Immigration attorney from the agency working with us telling me that Immigration wants a letter counter-signed by our attorney stating that the business gives permission for me to live in the flat. On Thursday before Easter, they had called and said they needed this letter for Ron. At that time, I had called our attorney who was on his way out of town for the weekend, but he arranged for another attorney in his office to write the letter, sign it and deliver it here on Easter Monday (to the tune of $$$).
Now this Immigration lawyer said that our worker from IRC was 'misunderstood' and we need the letter for ME, not for Ron. I was so livid, I told him to call our attorney and speak with him directly since their 'misunderstandings' were costing us money. I gave him the number and e-mailed our attorney to expect the call. The business is in both of our names, there is no one else involved in the business, it seems insane that this should be such a hassle.

By 3:30, Ron was not back yet from the tax office, so I called the people we were to meet and left a message that we were not going to make it and to call me back. I called the hotel we were going to stay at and cancelled the reservation without a refund. It was through Priceline.Com so it was 45 Euros, another waste of money due to the agencies inefficiency. I was so angry, I knew I could not be civil and relaxed. Ron got back at 4:00 with a paper from APEH, called the Immigration attorney and ran it over to the agency office. The attorney said he did not know if that would be sufficient. Ron said he lost his temper and demanded to know how Immigration could require a tax return that was not due until next month.At 6:00, I received an e-mail from our personal attorney saying that the Immigration attorney had not called him yet about the form for the flat. I verified that his phone number was correct and he gave me his mobile also, which I e-mailed to the agencies attorney.

The people in Vienna called later Friday night and asked if they could come here for the day on Saturday. I was so upset over the hassles, loss of money and general idiocy over this whole thing, I was feeling totally anti-social but I told them yes anyway. So they showed up Saturday morning. They wanted to go to the thermals and we sent them off on their own; I needed the time to decompose over these turns of events. They were planning
on taking the 8:20 train back to Vienna after taking us to Shalimar, an Indian restaurant for dinner. We lost track of time and they missed their train when they got there. They were back on our doorstep and stayed over night. They are leaving this afternoon.
All during Friday's confusion with phone calls between attorneys, two students who I really care deeply about each had an interview for a scholarship to the US. If accepted, they would go to either Bard or Trinity College for one academic year, have all of their expenses paid, and receive a monthly stipend, a new laptop computer, and a travel allowance at the end of the term. They both thought we were going to be in Vienna, but were calling me for the good news, bad news. One received it and the other did not. I had to work hard at being excited and sad for each of them, not letting my mood interfere with theirs and not sharing with them the mishaps of the weekend.At the same time, the land line phone was ringing, the mailman was at the door with a package and I was ready to tear someone apart. Knowing Balazs would be gone for a year was bittersweet. We have dubbed him our 'nephew' since we have become so close to him. We are going through a joyful mourning which added to the heavy burden of emotions. He is like the kid we never had and is here often. He is Ron's sidekick for anything involving classical music performances.

So things are still not settled as far as we know with Immigration. On Monday we have to contact our worker and see what still needs to be done yet. The race continues. I hate this!!! I keep asking myself if it is all worth the aggravation. The jury is still out.

After the fact, I remembered that my teaching partner's engagement party was Saturday night, but though I told him I would not be able to make it, I also had forgotten to bring their engagement present on Thursday, the last teaching day of the week for us. Ron, the master wrapper had forgotten to wrap it on Wednesday night since I did not remember to remind him. Then I forgot all about it on Thursday, when I saw Aaron, my teaching partner, so I never mentioned anything at all. What a heel I am. With all of the other calls from the agency, before Easter weekend, things became chaotic.I swear I will never refer them to anyone. After this is all over, there will be a major entry discussing the details with their name and fees, plus their trumped up charges.

I am going to curl up into a ball now.

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Again With Visa Problem?

You would think that after 4 1/2 years here, I would have by-passed some ethnocentric thinking regarding the immigration system in regard to North Americans. However, it seems that each time I am faced with immigration problems; it creeps back into my thinking. It is going to give me an ulcer. Shouldn't there be some differences between how we are treated as opposed to those from Columbia for example?

Somehow, when Ron and I renewed our annual visas after the first year, each of us had different dates for renewal for the following year. His second visa was renewed for 268 days and mine for 365. This put us into different cycles for renewal and has continued as such ever since. This created an issue when we applied for our 5 year Residency Permit since we had to wait for my 3 full years of residency before we could apply. Waiting, however, cost us dearly.

Even if your application is being processed for the 5 year Residency, you still have to maintain your annual Visa. Ron's Visa was to expire two months before the Residency permit was due to be approved or rejected. Hence, he had to reapply for an annual Visa for the sake of the two months. To make things more complicated, this also entails applying for a new Work Permit first, though Work Permits will not be needed any longer once we have the Residency permit. Confused yet? This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our worker from the agency who charges us arms and legs for their services to 'help' us get our documents calls Ron the Tuesday before Easter to tell him that he has to go to Immigration and reapply for the annual the Tuesday after Easter. She then gives him the list of documents he needs to collect. Bear in mind that Good Friday, most businesses including our accountant and lawyer's offices are closed. Easter Monday is also a legal holiday.

Ron went around like a hyperactive child on speed, collecting what he was told he needed from various places, but some would not be available until Tuesday morning. He appointment at Immigration was at 2:00 that afternoon. After all of this running, we were not aware that the tram we would normally take to the Immigration office was out of service, so he had to take three buses to get there, arriving 15 minutes late. We thought he had done a fine job and all was well. But alas…

This last Friday morning we were planning on taking the 10:00 train to Vienna to meet people who were friends of friends and we had only met once before. At 8:30, Ron gets a call from our agency. The worker told him he needs a form from the APEH (Similar to the IRS) office showing he had been paying taxes and that the accountant has filed his tax returns. Of course, on Hungarian time schedules they needed to bring it to Immigration that afternoon. He had to try to track down the accountant, but was told he would not in the office until 9:30. When he found the accountant, he said that the taxes do not need to be filed until May, so they are not done yet. He gave Ron a form to take to APEH.

I called the people we were meeting and told them not to count on us until sometime later, if at all. Ron ran to the accountant and then to APEH to stand in line. In the meanwhile, I get a call from the Immigration attorney from the agency working with us telling me that Immigration wants a letter counter-signed by our attorney stating that the business gives permission for me to live in the flat. On Thursday before Easter, they had called and said they needed this letter for Ron. At that time, I had called our attorney who was on his way out of town for the weekend, but he arranged for another attorney in his office to write the letter, sign it and deliver it here on Easter Monday (to the tune of $$$).

Now this Immigration lawyer said that our worker from IRC was 'misunderstood' and we need the letter for ME, not for Ron. I was so livid, I told him to call our attorney and speak with him directly since their 'misunderstandings' were costing us money. I gave him the number and e-mailed our attorney to expect the call. The business is in both of our names, there is no one else involved in the business, it seems insane that this should be
such a hassle.

By 3:30, Ron was not back yet from the tax office, so I called the people we were to meet and left a message that we were not going to make it and to call me back. I called the hotel we were going to stay at and cancelled the reservation without a refund. It was through Priceline.Com so it was 45 Euros, another waste of money due to the agencies inefficiency. I was so angry, I knew I could not be civil and relaxed. Ron got back at 4:00 with a paper from APEH, called the Immigration attorney and ran it over to the agency office. The attorney said he did not know if that would be sufficient. Ron said he lost his temper and demanded to know how Immigration could require a tax return that was not due until next month.

At 6:00, I received an e-mail from our personal attorney saying that the Immigration attorney had not called him yet about the form for the flat. I verified that his phone number was correct and he gave me his mobile also, which I e-mailed to the agencies attorney.

The people in Vienna called later Friday night and asked if they could come here for the day on Saturday. I was so upset over the hassles, loss of money and general idiocy over this whole thing, I was feeling totally anti-social but I told them yes anyway. So they showed up Saturday morning. They wanted to go to the thermals and we sent them off on their own; I needed the time to decompose over these turns of events. They were planning

on taking the 8:20 train back to Vienna after taking us to Shalimar, an Indian restaurant for dinner. We lost track of time and they missed their train when they got there. They were back on our doorstep and stayed over night. They are leaving this afternoon.

All during Friday's confusion with phone calls between attorneys, two students who I really care deeply about each had an interview for a scholarship to the US. If accepted, they would go to either Bard or Trinity College for one academic year, have all of their expenses paid, and receive a monthly stipend, a new laptop computer, and a travel allowance at the end of the term. They both thought we were going to be in Vienna, but were calling me for the good news, bad news. One received it and the other did not. I had to work hard at being excited and sad for each of them, not letting my mood interfere with theirs and not sharing with them the mishaps of the weekend.

At the same time, the land line phone was ringing, the mailman was at the door with a package and I was ready to tear someone apart. Knowing Balazs would be gone for a year was bittersweet. We have dubbed him our 'nephew' since we have become so close to him. We are going through a joyful mourning which added to the heavy burden of emotions. He is like the kid we never had and is here often. He is Ron's sidekick for anything involving classical music performances.

So things are still not settled as far as we know with Immigration. On Monday we have to contact our worker and see what still needs to be done yet. The race continues. I hate this!!! I keep asking myself if it is all worth the aggravation. The jury is still out.

After the fact, I remembered that my teaching partner's engagement party was Saturday night, but though I told him I would not be able to make it, I also had forgotten to bring their engagement present on Thursday, the last teaching day of the week for us. Ron, the master wrapper had forgotten to wrap it on Wednesday night since I did not remember to remind him. Then I forgot all about it on Thursday, when I saw Aaron, my teaching partner, so I never mentioned anything at all. What a heel I am. With all of the other calls from the agency, before Easter weekend, things became chaotic.

I swear I will never refer them to anyone. After this is all over, there will be a major entry discussing the details with their name and fees, plus their trumped up charges.

I am going to curl up into a ball now.

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This morning

This morning, I called our worker to find out why their attorney has not called our attorney regarding the new form that they needed, with which there was a misunderstanding. She said she spoke to him and he told her he found out that we did not need it co-signed by an attorney after all. She said she suggested the attorney since we did not speak Hungarian, so it would be easier for him to write the form for us. I had to control my temper. They now cost us the fees that the attorney will charge us for the form and for a holiday delivery when I could have had a student write it. I am learning that incompetence has new heights, but the lessons are ever so costly.

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A Helping Hand

A Helping Hand

I was walking home today and happened to notice this little old lady who must have been ten years older than God, come out of a convenience store and start to enter the apartment building next door. As I started to pass by, she stopped me. She was dressed appropriately for the weather, but her clothes were worn and stained. She was short enough for me to tower over her, but since she needed some assistance, I could not pass her by.

She immediately started a spiel in Hungarian, but before I could tell her I did not speak Hungarian, she had thrust something into my hand. It was her little one and a half shot of palinka, the Hungarian brandy. Then it dawned on me, she could not open the twist off top. As I unscrewed it for her, she continued with her monologue and showed me her swollen arthritic hand. She thanked me profusely as I walked away. Thank you is in my vocabulary in a number of languages.

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Happy Spring

Happy Spring!

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Dear Debby,

I received this note through the comments of the blog. This person who I do not know took the time to send me this message. I was so pleased with this, I wrote her back to say this made my day. Although I can see how many people access the blog daily and weekly, it is rare that anyone comments. I thought by hitting 'reply to sender' I could thank Debbie for giving me a smile, but the e-mail came back to me. She sent it through the blog, so it could never reach her. Hopefully, she will pass by again and read this. I really appreciated hearing from someone. Ryan

Hi Ryan,
As usual you are entertaining, informative and educational! Many thanks. Have copied and pasted most of your info for my day in Amsterdam in August.
'Debby'

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Hungarian Immigration Nightmares Again

Ron received an e-mail almost in the evening from the agency who charges us dearly for assisting us with our permits. Of course, it arrives on a Friday evening and states that since our 5 yr. permits are not ready, he has to reapply for an annual one. He has this shopping list of things that he needs to gather for his appointment on Tuesday, the 18th. Of course, some of these things need to be collected from agencies that are closed Good Friday and Easter Monday. One of the new requirements has to be counter-signed by our Hungarian attorney who is out of town for the holiday.

I have never seen him get as mad as he was at the rep at the agency, today. I am not quite sure why we pay so much money to them when we do all of the running around getting the forms and things that we need. Now Tuesday morning, he will be running to two agencies to get the last pieces of paper before going to his appointment at 2:00 PM. He told one of my students, "At the moment, I hate Hungary." I am sure the US makes it just as difficult to others too. It is always a chilling eye opener when we have to go through it.

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