Adjusting to the U.S. again

We have been home for 5 weeks now.  I have been trying to be observant of my responses, reactions and adjustments because this is the first time I have ever experienced being away from my home land.


On the flight home I had a 3 hour layover in Seattle.  Jack and I flew separately so I was really able to go inward and reflect on the process.  As I sat in the terminal and watched the travelers walk by me my first reaction was how diverse they were.  I saw people of Asian, African, Hispanic, East Indian decent.  That was a huge difference from the 11 months prior.  The other thing that I noticed immediately was how people would smile at me (for no reason).  The Hungarian people tend to be quite somber and I certainly did not have people smile at me on the street.  I came to respect this and just did not make eye contact or smile as I would at home.  Once people recognized us like the merchants or the old lady who sold veggies and flowers from her garden to us, they were very friendly (even though we could not converse), but strangers just don't acknowledge each other like they do here.


My taxi driver did not speak english well, so I went into slow speak mode as I gave him the directions to find my house.  Our street intersects with a blind corner so there is a mirror on the telephone pole to give you a view of the oncoming traffic.  I always tell people about the mirror when they leave our house, so I stood in the driveway and gave him directions before he pulled out.  I dug out my key and messed with it because I couldn't remember which direction (notches up or down) in went it.  As I opened the door, much to my amazement, both of the cats were sitting there to greet me!  How did they know it was me?  I had expected them to hide under the bed in fear when I came in!  The more I thought about it, the more I decided that they must have recognized my voice as I was talking to the driver!  And people say that cats are not smart!


I have found that now I think about every trip in the car that I take and am more cognizant of the distances that I drive.  We were able to use public transit for an entire year in Hungary.  When I used to see someone waiting for a bus, I used to feel sorry for them.  Now I think, "Aren't they smart, they don't have the expense of a car."


After having to be creative with my wardrobe because I had so few clothes, I have lost the desire to shop for more and really feel that I have an abundance of clothes (and really who really cares anyway?)


Life is definitely easier when everyone speaks your language.  Still I find myself yearning for the challenges that we dealt with and know that someday we will return to live in Budapest.

Final Ceremony

The last few days in Budapest were a blur.  First we attended the "leaving" ceremony for Jack's 8th graders.  It was held in the evening and just like the opening ceremony in August, the school was an oven.  The classes gathered in their form class which is like a homeroom.  They all wore the formal uniform and many of the girls had had their hair done up.  Most of them (including the boys) had been given multiple bouquets of flowers.  The 5th-7th grade classes were also in their homeroom classes.  Family and friends collected on both sides of the stage, and all along the balcony.  

At the starting hour, the two 8th grade classes formed a single file line behind their form teacher.  These teachers stay with the kids from 5th grade through the 8th, so everyone knows each other very well.  The graduates snaked from classroom to classroom carrying their flowers and serenaded the other classes, weaving their way through the school and then downstairs where they were seated by form class. The principal's husband was standing next to me and he translated for me during the short ceremony commemorating their accomplishments.  After that they were given balloons in the school colors of blue and yellow.  Then in groups with the spectators following, they went outside where they released the balloons with much fanfare.  They have had this big environmental program in tandem with a school in Ireland for a couple of years, so the balloon launch in my mind, did not mesh with that.  It was a sweet salute to the years spent at the school and it seemed to mean a lot to the kids that we had come.