Snowy Break

 I started teaching English in a high school this month one day a week. The students are sweet and well-behaved. I still have a few wrinkles concerning technology to iron out, but overall, it is going well. I enjoy working with the other English teachers.

The university classes are still on break.  December and January are the exam period.  Last Tuesday, I administered an oral English exam with one of the other teachers. On Thursday, I got together with three of the English teachers to mark the Academic English writing exam. Afterwards, we went to a new cafe that has just opened in our building. I shared some fudge that I made. I couldn't find ingredients like evaporated milk, chocolate chips, and marshmallow creme, so I improvised with cooking cream that was on sale and chocolate bars. My American and Irish colleagues gave it a good review. Hungarian friends liked it well enough, but thought the texture was strange. 

The weather continues to be cold and icy. With only one day of classes to teach, I can stay huddled up under warm blankets in my cozy apartment and go out only for church, school, or marketing when the refrigerator is empty. The snowman sitting on the bench was created from the first snow of the year at the park near my church. These other photos were taken on my walk to church the day after that snow.


I'm not sure about how I will continue my study of the Hungarian language. Although I am immersed in it at church, I haven't had any focused lessons since my final exam in November. Yesterday in church, I had a conversation with the English teacher and one of the other ladies in the church who only speaks Hungarian. Through our English teacher interpreter, she told me that she wished she could speak English. I told her that I wished I could speak more Hungarian. She said that her daughter is a Hungarian teacher for French and Italians. As I was wondering about how much she would charge for tutoring, she told me her daughter lives in Budapest. This did not stop me from musing about how I might involve my church friend from helping me study Hungarian. This morning, I'm still formulating a plan for tandem language learning. 




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