This weekend was pretty nice. My family took Peter and me to the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia - they were very beautiful! The peak of the mountain we went up was covered in a cloud, which was nifty.
Also this week, we started building a garage for the new car the family bought. We started on Sat. and worked on it on Mon. as well. We had to cut each of the beams to the right length (none of them were even), but luckily we had a cement foundation to start on. Further, none of the ends were square, so it was a hassle getting them to stand straight, especially because we didn't use any kind of measuring device at all - just eyed it up.
Finally, there was a new girl in 11.B - Kati. She transferred here from 'Paták. It was funny to me to see her nervous on the first day... nice to not feel alone, to have already gone through what someone else is feeling. Though she had no idea how easy it was for her - after all, she can talk to anybody she wants!
Mon. 11/13
What a weekend! Friday was a kind of "backwards day" - students taught all of the classes, and a student was elected to be Principal for a day. There was lots of "stuff" going on in the gym during the extra-long breaks... competitions, dancing, etc.
Then the Kossuth Ball was on Sunday - it was pretty cool. The only thing was the live "rock 'n roll" band that played for 45 minutes or so in the middle. It must have hurt them to see four-fifths of the people leave until they finished. At the end, they played slow-dance music. I was about to make my escape (me not liking slow dances and not wanting to slowdance with anyone there), but a girl I didn't know leaped out at me. Not wanting to appear rude, I danced with her for a bit. Then some 9th grade girls came up to me and said their friend wanted to talk to me. Again not wanting to cast Americans as snobs, I consented. Said friend was hiding in a barely-visible corner of the room food and drinks were being served, so I walked past her looking for her the first time. The whole thing was pretty awkward - I sat there feeling like a dork, asking questions and getting really short answers in reply (to be fair - she was just learning English - wasn't really her fault). Her friends made it pretty obvious that I was supposed to dance with her too, so we ended up catching the last half of the last song. The whole durn thing was pretty weird... I'm still confused! I'm probably too obliging, but, oh well. No harm done.
Thurs. 11/16
Today I recieved an interesting proposition. There is a competition for English students to read a pre-selected poem. The 9th and 10th grades are reading "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas, while the 11th and 12th grades get the easier "The Road Not Taken" by Walt Whitman. It is solely on a volunteer basis. I am going to help the 7 or so students who want to read (3 from the upper level, the rest in 9th and 10th grade), and then will help the English teachers judge them. The top reader from the upper level will go to the regional competition, and the top 3 from the lower level will go. I'm also going to judge at the Jokai primary school next Thursday. It sounds pretty cool! I think it is the closest I'll get to Forensics this year.
Sat. 11/19
Well, I went to Budapest on Friday with school, and it was the best trip yet by far! The train left a 5 after 5 AM, so the morning was tough... but it was worth it pulling out of the station with the really early morning mist still low on the ground, and watching the sun come up.
We went to see the Hero's Square - Hõsök ter - first. It was really beautiful - there was a castle nearby, and some really nice museums. We had two and a half hours to do that, and then we saw the Parliament! That was absolutely incredible!! Hungarians get in free, while foreigners don't, so I kept my trap shut until I was safely inside! The crown was absolutely gorgeous - I wish I could have taken pictures. The whole building was very ornate. Finally, we visited the Opera House. It was also very beautiful!
We caught the four o'clock train home. I had originally planned to stay overnight, but my would-be host cancelled at the last second. But it was OK, because I kind of wanted to sleep in my own bed, anyway.
Thurs. 11/23
Today, of course, was Thanksgiving, but I wouldn't have realised it except I knew that my extended family would be calling. After school, Nadia and I hung out for a while, and then I talked to the fam. back home. It was really nice to hear from all of them! They all seemed happy and well, and were about to sit down to eat. Other than that, though, it was just a normal day. I wonder what that says - Halloween makes me homesick, but Thanksgiving gets pretty much ignored?