"tweener days"

Sun22jul07
“Round 2” of GV teams commences today, following last week’s “break”… one arrives early this afternoon for a twelve day stay, the next immediately following for a nine day stay, and still another 5 days later for a nine day stay. At that point there is a significant break, from the very end of August through mid September, so I’m plotting my first excursion possibility to see more of Hungary and beyond, in part to reset my visa, and in part to begin to explore the area thtat is eastern Europe. High on my list (to start) are the countries of Greece, Croatia and Italy, and the cities of Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, with plans to expand as I go Vienna and Bratislava can be reached by hydrofoil or “cruise ship” on the Danube, an enticing possibility.Time for sightseeing versus site-seeing with more to come as plans unfold

Today’s arrival is an ”open” GV team from Canada, their team leader a woman returning here for her third year, leading teams both here in Szarvas, and in Csurgo, Hungary. I look forward to meeting both she and her current group; each that has arrived thus far has its own unique personality and dynamic, adding that additional element to the business of building together. In this way it continues to be a very different experience than volunteering in Kitsap County where so many are “regulars”. Both methods “get ‘er done”, both have possibilities that can be explored to expand the volunteer base and experience (busy brain contemplating the opportunities ).

Sat21ju07
Another close, hot day with intermittent very warm air breeze. Spent the morning loading two weeks worth of blog and pictures info and checking things financial, with a break at 0900 for a local parade… small but delightful, with various civic groups represented, accompanied by a marching brass band, baton twirlers, an equestrian group, several open horse drawn carriages, and an abundance of multicolored helium balloons. The band played on the center square in front of the town’s Ceres monument/artesian well, and the whole procession reversed course and came back through town to end the affair. Very nice.

Bike riding was the ticket in the late afternoon to stir up some air and run errands. The whole of the town felt closed and quiet over all, with very few folks out and about, even at local pubs and eateries… simply too warm, I suspect, though I imagine the pool and the river saw plenty of action

Szarvas is often quiet on weekends; local shops close just after noon time, and I like to imagine that time is being spent together with family and friends playing and enjoying one another versus bustling about as we so often do… perhaps more “stopping to smell the roses”… nice thought. There is much to be said for small “sleepy” town living, and Szarvas reminds me a bit of growing years as a wee one in Minnesota, and again when I worked in the southern part of that state as a pharmacist in a town of just 1500 people, where simple pleasures top the list… lemonade on the front porch, a beer at the legion post, climbing trees, splashing in the lake, hometown parades that all can participate in and family time top the list. Very cool.


Fri20jul07
Another very warm day, came home at noon, took a shower, drank a liter plus of water, and went to sleep for the better part of 3 hours. Got up and kept drinking... kind of a prolonged system "reset"!

Off this weekend until Sunday afternoon when our next GV team arrives. Surprisingly little communication about prepping for this one… a sign, methinks, that we’re getting closer to being on the same wavelength as a working staff. Nice feeling.

A lot of time spent on site this week understanding the process but not really involved in its execution as Levi trained a new project manager for another location in country; the dynamic is significantly different on site in the absence of a GV team and with most of what needs to be done communicated primarily in Hungarian to the trainee and family members working with us this week. Despite the intensity that accompanies hosting a team, I look forward to Sunday and meeting the next GV group, with more English spoken and a better distribution of time and talent. It's an ongoing process to be sure, but admit that of my time here thus far, this week has been challenging both in weather conditions and communication. That said, am generally a quick study and recognize the value of hanging in and learning in whatever forms present themselves On a do over, would step in more… in the moment, felt it most important that the one in training get as much hands on time as possible…

The national director for HFH Hungary was here yesterday, and hosted a staff lunch for all of us... the majority of the communication again in Hungarian, a pleasant yet fairly long and somewhat isolated 90 minutes compounded by my propensity for taking in what’s given versus asking for more of what I may benefit from as well.

Among the gifts in these experiences… an ever-increasing awareness of what one can take for granted culturally and otherwise in situations familiar to many but not all, and ways to creatively interact in future situations where more than one language is spoken to effect a good balance and ensure all are engaged. All good, and so important. Balance is the key is so much of what we do, yes?

Though I’ve an abundance of goals here identified both by HFH Hungary and myself, none include learning the language. Of late Levi has really pushed at this, and while I agree it is important, even he comments on how complicated it is in syntax, word order and more. The one-time “wanna be” English teacher in me is thoroughly intrigued by its structure, yet from a practical point of view, a long way from conversation, as the words themselves change relative to their place and use in sentence structure, with added sounds and syllables as part of the process. Challenging to even explain as a beginner in the process, and a struggle to pick out even words in passing conversation!

Kaylie, a young man teaching English in the Lutheran Church's local school for the next year, has been encouraging about what I've picked up in a month (he has been here 6 months, and still works with rudimentary Hungarian and consults his dictionary and phrase books often). A nice confidence booster to be sure, and my plan re language is simply to take it in and continue to learn words and phrases here and there as I go; it will be interesting to see how “conversational” I can be by the end of my six months here