Duck Duck.......Coco Snail!

August 28, 2010

It’s the beginning of our second whole day in Hungary! We (all the YAGMS….about 44 of us, going to different countries around the world) spent the past week in Chicago for ELCA – Young Adults in Global Mission orientation. On Wednesday (the 25th), I left with the four other girls going to Slovakia and Hungary, and we flew into Budapest.

We arrived and were greeted at the Budapest airport by Jozsi, our guide, translator, and all-around helper for the next few days. We then took a minibus out to Lake Balaton, where we’ll be staying at a Roma camp for a little over a week, until our language training starts on September 5th. Everyone we’ve met and spoken with is so kind and helpful, even when we can hardly understand each other due to the language barrier. It has been so much fun learning Hungarian with Jozsi, and trying out that Hungarian in the etterem (restauraunt), where we eat all of our meals…to the point where all the waiters and cooks recognize us as the sweet American girls who need a lot of help with their Hungarian. Gyuri, the man who, if I understand correctly, runs the camp, invited us to another Roma camp in the area, where he and his son, Eureka, were playing and singing traditional gypsy music. The music was absolutely beautiful (google/youtube “Romano Glaszo” if you want a taste of it!). After we returned to the camp where we’re staying, some of the teenage girls graciously and patiently taught us ladies how to do a traditional Gypsy dance, with footwork we Americans have never seen before :). Don’t worry yourselves too much though, I’ll continue practicing so I can teach you all when I return!

Essential Hungarian Phrase of the Day:

“Vizet Szencsav Mentes” aka… “v-zet sin-sh-aaaah-v ment-esh”
In English: “Water without bubbles/gas”

Comical moments of the week:
Singing “Better Shape Up” from the movie “Grease”, with 10 year old Eureka, in the back of the minibus, during the bumpy ride to the other Roma camp.
And….eating what literally translates to “coco snails” for breakfast! Haha, don’t worry they’re just cinnamon rolls with cocoa powder instead of cinnamon :)

Szia! (hello or goodbye...prounounced like we would say see-ya!)

Is There a Suitcase Big Enough for This?!

My bags are packed!...albeit they will probably be unpacked and repacked at least three times between now and when my flight leaves in two days :). I’m getting more and more excited as the days pass…not to say I’m not also getting more and more nervous. Early on Wednesday morning, I’ll be headed to Chicago for a week of orientation, after which, all of us YAGMs (Young Adults in Global Missions) will head off to our respective countries for the year. I’m scared of leaving what I know – sad to leave my friends and family, and my home, knowing that I’ll be missing events and times in their lives this coming year, but I’m excited to see what God has in store for me – excited to see my new home and meet new friends and ‘family’, and excited to still stay in touch and share experiences and stories (even if it is from a distance) with those back home.

I’m beginning to believe that I’ll never feel completely prepared to go to Hungary. No matter how many times I try packing (and unpacking, and repacking…and unpacking, and repacking, etc.), my mind manages to be so remarkably reassured of the fact that I’ve forgotten to include something that I’ll need over the coming year. But maybe that’s the beauty of it all. I’m reminded again and again, that no matter how much luggage I take, no matter how well I can speak Hungarian, and no matter how many coats I carry to keep me warm in the winter, none of it will ever be enough for me to achieve the purpose I’ve set out to achieve...save I pack the strength and power of God. I rest assured in the fact that I’ll get to Chicago on Wednesday, and realize I’ve forgotten something monumental (just hope it's not my passport! lol), and then about a week later, I’ll get to Hungary, and amidst my unpacking, realize that I’ve left something else, seemingly essential, sitting on my bed at home. No matter how many things I forget, and no matter how many words I wish I could say, but for the life of me can’t seem to pronounce correctly, I know that I am with a God that will provide for me, that will listen and speak to me with understanding, and that will strengthen me and use me despite how incredibly weak and imperfect I may be…and thanks be to God, I don’t need a suitcase big enough to take Him along with me :)

But He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinithians 12:19

Essential Hungarian Phrase of the Day:

“Csak egy kicsit tudok magyarul”

Pronounced (more or less…lol): “Chalk edge key-cheat too-dough-k my-are-oool”

aka: “I only know a little Hungarian” :)