Take me homeeee

Hello:)

So I am alive and well living in Hungary. My feelings about going home are still very strong but it's a day to day thing. It doesn't really matter if i had nothing going on or if I'm busy with my family. Just once I have had enough of sucking it up and trying to be happy all the time I break down and cry for a while talk to friends from home. And the night ends with a smile on my face.

Some people told me having a boyfriend while on exchange would be harder but for me it has only helped. Yes I miss him so much but he supports me being here. And when I am crying to come home somehow he convinces me staying is a better idea. It's been a positive thing for my exchange.

I'm making lots of good friends at school and loving every minute of the school day. It's a good thing I got my year supply off ADD medicine because drawing 4 hours a day I need it!!!! The people at my school are amazing and helpful in every way:)

I would love to say it's been a month and I have perfect Hungarian..... But that is not the case. It is improving for example to day I rode the bus to school with papa and he was asking me lots of questions and I really understood them. And I mix Hungarian and English and just use the vocabulary I know in the middle of an English sentence and slowly the English words will fade out.

So... In short. Life is good here...but that does not mean I wouldn't jump on a plane to go home if I got the chance.

I am determined to try and make this a wonderful experience.

Ps uncle Todd I got your card first and will send a picture of a carp caught in a lake by my town:):):)

Love and miss everyone soooooo much!

Maggie:)

Fish friends and hiking

Today....I have been here two weeks and they have been the worst and the best two weeks of my life. I have never misses home, my friends, my family, my boyfriend so much. The fact that I am not returning anytime soon is not an enjoyable feeling. Yes I have a wonderful mom who is going to come visit and a equally as wonderful boyfriend who is making the journey as well:) the experience here is wonderful and indescribable. The only thing missing Is all the people at home I care about and my captn crunch:):)

Saturday I woke up at 7am to ride with a wonderful couple from the rotary club here to a fish soup festival 3hours away. I was excited and annoyed I was attending this.  I HATE fish and waking up early but though I don't liken large crowds of people I do like festivals and I liked the idea this festival had a river running g through the middle of it. I MISS THE LAKE!!!  Every day I realize more and more how lucky was to live on the water. Anyways... All the exchange students from pecs were going I assumed it would be a good time. About 10am we arrived and it was a very usual festival though the air really stunk of fish:)  there were tons of people making fish soup  in which carp is the fish of choice. Some body correct me if I'm wrong but I though in the states we didn't eat carp??? But whatever. We could choose which pot of soup we wanted to eat from and so Of course the one I chose waS the fishiest tasting of them all  and the first bowl that we scooped had the HEAD of the fish in it!!! I took a bite and I think if I liked fish it would have been good. Unfortunately that is a food I have never liked. We met up with exchange students from a few other cities in Hungary. It was very nice to meet them and here their first week stories and share mine. We toured around the city and just chatted while we walked it was a wonderful day in Hungary .

Just while typing the word hungary I kind of got weirded out I still don't think it has hit me I am in HUNGARY? Weird weird weird. 

My family just keeps getting better and better. My sister is wonderful and mom and dad are just as great. The food here is going to make me plump very very quickly.  It's wonderful food and I seem to not be able to help myself:)

Sunday morning I woke up around 930 and went to the grocery store and while my host mom was buying some pork or something normal I glanced over and BRAIN caught my eye. Yes in hungary you can buy brain to eat.. Eww gross gross gross:) don't worry also within a few inches of the brains were kidneys livers and any other body part you may want of an animal. 

We went home had a nice lunch and just spent the day at home after we watched a movie called beware America I think which was verryyyy funny. Dad sis and I went on a hike to the top of a very large mountain/hill by our house.  It was about an hour up and an hour down...it got dark while we were up at the top and let me tell you the hungarian forest isn't any less scary than the ones in America:):):):):) we made it there...we made it home life was good and I had a wonderful time.

Right now most kids are in school here but unless there was an error in translation I don't have school on mondays so currently I am sitting at a cafe in the main square enjoying the nice weather and people walking by.

Well I am now in the 200s for days until I come home 
:)

Maggie

friends?

MONDAY

Well on monday all of the rotary exchange students, host parents, and councelors got together at one of the families house so we could all meet and just talk about rules and our next host families and so on...it was great and made me feel so happy to finally meet friends my own age who are doing the same thing I am. All of the kids are very nice and i am feeling much more comfortable saying this will be a good year.

TUESDAY

At 1130 i had a meeting at my new school ( instead of the reformatus i will be attending an art school) me and Saulo a boy from brasil will both be going to the art school as 5th year students so we have all art classes. sounds good to me!!!!!
I had a meeting at the imigration office to turn in mz visa application  and from what i know it went very well!

At night I attended my first hungarian rotary meeting and it was much different than mine in grand haven but it went well.

maggie

Things get better

Yesterday we went to the shopping mall and I was more interested in people watching and didn't really care to look at any clothes. I was trying to see how people my age dress and it seems to be very much like the US where kids wear such a wide range of clothing. So I guess I will have to wait for school to start to see what most kids in my school wear:)

Since I have been here I have eaten 3 square meals everyday made by mom or grandma. I do not remember the last time that for a week straight my family has had every meal together so that is something i enjoy saying. I still haven't met any kids my age:) life is good here and most days my host sister and I spend a good amount of time practicing Hungarian.

This morning I woke up to Skype -Michael and that was a great start to my day. Directly following my Skype session zora(mom) sister and I practiced taking the bus to my school. I have to be good at it because if I were to get lost I don't know how to speak to ask for help:) my school is beautiful and I heard I will get a student to bring me around the first day who speaks English well!

Did I mention it is 100+ degrees here?!?!?

Today was a 100% increase in my happiness here in Hungary. I understand simple questions (some of the time) and my family just seems to get better and better. My host mothers parents live in the house and speak about 4 words of English. It is usually silent between them and I just because we can't speak to one another and my host mom and dad are constantly translating their questions for me and TODAY grandpa (papa) asked me how old I was in Hungarian and I knew how to reply which doesn't seem to exciting but it was the first step in the right direction.

Well my ADD has kicked in and I'm done for the day:)

Maggie

First day....

My first steps off the plane iwas greeted by my happy family and we all had grins ear to ear. We toured around Budapest all day and I saw a lot. We had a great little breakfast at a cafe on the street which Was for me perfect. After breakfast we did things all tourists do (see facebook for photos) after our full day of sightseeing we came home I unpacked everything put out some pictures that brought a few tears just because it was the reality I will not see my best friends, family member fora whole year. We went out for a very nice dinner where I tried the first food iwas a little scared to try. Goose liver fat it ended up tasting good but the word goose liver was a little scary:) my first day was wonderful. My family is amazing and I'm surei will have an amazing year!! Yesterday was amazing until about 10pm when I just broke down crying. I left a lot behind at home and I will not lie and say it is easy to leave everything. I had a rough hour but talked to my mom, michaeland hailey and finally was at peace and fell asleep. I woke up this morning and it's a beautiful sunny day and I can't wait to get out and enjoy it so..that's all for now

Maggie:)