Welcome to Hungary!

Due to the incredible slowness of this computer in downloading images, I am going to give you a whirwind tour of events, people, places, and the most lifechanging 2 and a half weeks of my life. To begin:
Welcome to Budapest! I have spent my time learning the ins and the outs of this beautiful city. Castle Hill, Hero Square (above), cathedrals and outdoor cafés await you. There is so much to see, I'm glad I have a year to explore every street corner and monument and shop.

Also in Budapest are many of the other wonderful ESI teachers in Hungary. I have been spending time in cafés, restaurants, and in front of the Game Cube getting to know all of them, and I have enjoyed these two weekends to get to know my team better. This coming weekend we will have a retreat and I will post pictures of our whole team. Until then:
Meet Brady and Jon. Scary, huh? There you go Brady, I updated my blog.

Aside from my time in Budapest, I spent a weekend in Bratislava. Acquiring my passport before I left was a wild ride through public transportation. I consider that the moment I knew I could handle anything Hungary threw at me. Once there, we spent time with the teachers in Slovakia and toured the city, which is also beautiful. If only I didn't have to teach! Bratislava cityscape

As for that lovely subject of teaching, school has begun with a vengeance. On Monday I started my first day of classes, without being told ahead of time when, who, or what I was teaching. I showed up early and was gestured to in Hungarian how to read the schedule. Finally, an English teacher explained it to me, took me to my first class, and said, ˝OK, now they are yours.˝ I had four lessons that day, and I learned more than the kids about how the Hungarian school system works. Every day I learn something new, and each day I just do the same lessons with each class: introductions and rules, then an assessment. How can I give you an idea of what this was like? Close your eyes and try to imagine you are me:

You walk into a classroom where obnoxious teenagers not only laugh and talk and are disruptive, but they jabber in a language you don't understand. When you tell them to be quiet, they look at you funny and pretend they don't understand, then say something else and the whole class laughs, probably at you. You walk into another classroom only to have another teacher walk in and usher you out. There isn't enough classroom space. She gestures and jabbers, and you assume you have to take your class somewhere, but you can't understand where. You end up having classes in hallways, outside, and the cafeteria until the school figures out its room schedule. You try to group the classes by levels so you can teach new lessons, but every day they change the schedule, and you end up teaching a class you weren't expecting to. At lunch, you sit with other teachers who all can't talk to you. The English teachers won't even speak English at lunch. You are the only native English speaker, so you end up eating lunch alone.

Before you feel sorry for me, it is now Friday and I have finally gotten a grasp on this thing. The schedule is much more stable, as are the rooms, and these quirky and obnoxious kids are somehow already endearing. Teenagers are the same all over the world, and I love them. I have made a tentative long-term schedule, and another teacher gave me a sample English language test that they must pass to enter university. The topics on the test are the topics I should teach, so I finally know what I'm striving for with these kids, and can plan accordingly. It's amazing how in America I would have to go through so much more training to teach, in a system and culture I would already be familiar with. Here I am less trained and put to work in a public high school where I have no idea what is going on and it is hard to find someone who can explain things to me. These challenges are already drawing me ever closer to my God, who I know has put me here for a reason. He knows what I'm doing here, and everything is for Him.

I will try not to let so much time pass before my next entry, but until next time:

Sziasztok! Hallo!

Jo