Budapest: A Teaching and Learning Experience

For those of you who keep up with this procrastinating novelist, you’ll know that I recently traveled to Budapest, Hungary a few weeks ago.  For those of you who know me, you won’t be surprised it took me this long to write about it.  It was a wonderful experience, full of beautiful sights, warm and wonderful people, and some amazing students.  I’ve included pictures of the parliament building, the Szechenyi Baths, the Chain Bridge at night, and a group photo of my class (in that order on the page).  

The Baths were so wonderful and relaxing, I never wanted to leave!  And my students were so wonderful, I wish I could have spent more time there (those poor kids got a lot of English vocabulary thrown at them in a 5-day span.)  I’m only sad that I didn’t get a picture of my host family, who were both fun and informative ;)  I stayed with a young couple (Nora and Robert) with two small children—one was just over one (Balint), and the other was three (Andris).  Those were two extremely adorable kids!

Traveling is always an interesting experience in which one packs way more activities into a day than one is really prepared for.  By the time I left (super freaking) early on a Saturday morning—seven days after arriving—I thought my legs were going to fall off.  But I didn’t really mind, because I now have a new experience and a new country under my belt.

In regards to this, I want to focus a large part on my experience teaching English.  I had a lovely time several months ago observing one of my favorite former high school teachers as part of a practical section in a teaching class I took spring semester.  Based on that short experience, I knew teaching could be a tough but rewarding job—though it did make me rethink the age-level I would want to teach.  However, teaching (or in my case, observing) a class full of 14 and 15-year-olds the finer aspects of the English language is vastly different from teaching that same age-group English basically from scratch.

The most terrifying part of this event was that I (and really most of us on the mission trip) went into this with absolutely no training and very little indication of what we could expect.  Admittedly, that was also part of the fun.  I think I learned as much in those five days as my students.  I started out with seven girls in my class, and they all had varying levels of English proficiency.  Yet, I never got a clear indication of who could speak at what level…because these were seven extremely quiet girls.  As someone who finds it hard not to talk during every moment of the day, this created a certain level of difficulty for me.  I said daily prayers of thanks for Boti, that guy looking cool in the group photo below, who volunteered as my translator.  (That poor guy got a lot more English thrown at him than he expected, too)  I didn’t find out until the third day that one of the girls in my class had never learned any English, and I was told by the person translating for me that she felt bad that she couldn’t answer me when I asked her a question.  This, in turn, made me feel awful, so I tried to make her understand that all I wanted was her best effort, and I would never be disappointed with a wrong answer so long as she was learning something.  I’m not sure if that got across the language barrier, but I hope it did.  My real break in the ice came on the fourth day when I discovered a Whovian in my classroom.  That was an amazing revelation—not only because Doctor Who is the absolute best, but because that girl went from quiet to non-stop chatter in seconds flat.  I was most impressed when she quoted an entire monologue from Series 5 in English…which is something I sure can’t do, even though I speak the language.  She even ended up translating for many of the other students who were struggling to keep up with my own non-stop chatter.  It just goes to show that Doctor Who is universal, and really can solve pretty much every problem ;)

There were a few aspects of teaching English in a foreign country that I hadn’t anticipated.  The first was that I noticed a subtle break-down of my own English skills.  Even as someone who likes to focus on grammar (though I’m sure those who are better versed could find hundreds of errors in my writing…not to mention my speech), I bent every rule I could think of to make myself understood.  This was also interesting as someone who constantly uses complicated words.  I went from saying things like “verbose” to “lots of words.”  That was an unexpected quandary for me.  I had to repurpose my vocabulary so I wouldn’t confuse the heck out of both my students and the people of the church.  However, the most unexpected problem I found was that, despite the many other foreign countries I’ve traveled to, once I modified my speech to keep everything as simple as possible, I subconsciously expected everyone to whom I spoke to be able to understand what I was saying.  I never thought that I’d be one of those people who expected everyone to know my language no matter to what country I traveled.  And I’m not entirely convinced that was what was happening.  The closest I can get to explaining the situation is to tell you all about Andris.  He was a normal 3-year-old.  He spoke constantly on topics that he found to be of great interest…except he only knew Hungarian, and by the time I had met him I had only learned how to say “yes” and “I don’t understand” in his language.  Needless to say, we did not have long conversations.  But, the reason I bring Andris up is because there was no concept in his young mind that would let him comprehend the fact that I couldn’t understand him.  He figured out something was wrong, but his solution was to constantly ask me “What is this called?” in Hungarian.  Once his mom translated, I would answer by giving him the English word for whatever he pointed at.  When I did so, he would giggle a little, as if to say: “Silly lady, that’s not what that’s called.”  Now, intellectually, I know that not everyone speaks English—nor do I expect them to.  However, with absolutely no Hungarian skills other than the basics, I was at a loss for how to make myself understood except to keep trying simpler words and phrases, much like Andris.  In the end, I had to rely on my severely limited Hungarian, their slightly more advanced English, and lots of hand gestures.  I’m so grateful that the people of the church and school were willing to put up with me butchering their language and kept an open mind when I just tried the same context with different words and lots of non-ASL approved sign language. 

Overall, I loved my time in Budapest—both the tourist bits and the teaching.  I got a lot of new Facebook friends who post things in Hungarian that makes me think, “I really need to start learning this language.”  And, I’ve got hundreds of pictures to share (some of which are sitting on my computer waiting to be posted).  I hope to go back…a wish I hold for all of the countries I’ve visited.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

There is one part of traveling that I would certainly change if I could.  That would be the excessive wait times between flights.  Then again, the long flight times are also a major pain in the bum.  Really, is it too much to ask for some Star Trek-level technology that would allow for instantaneous transportation?  Then again, there are some amazing chances for people watching.  Right now, my attention is split between a woman with blond dreads and multiple tattoos, and a little girl and her mother.  Frankly, the woman is just a lot of fun to occasionally stare at.  The little girl is more actively entertaining.  Her mother attempted to take a picture in front of the large plane getting ready to board, but the kid decided her time would be better served running back and forth in front of the window instead.  I can’t say that I really blame the kid.  Sure, she doesn’t truly have any idea how long she’s going to be asked to sit still on a flying steel tube, but any time spent moving and walking around beats standing still.  Or at least, that was always my philosophy when I was 3…as well as yesterday. 

Watching this young child reminds me of something that I have encountered many times while flying.  That would be young kids who are 500% done with being on a plane.  Personally, I don’t get too upset over these kids acting out (though let’s face it I may be understanding of acting out, but it doesn’t mean I appreciate the screaming).  While parents try to keep their kids entertained, it’s frankly cruel and unusual punishment to ask a young child to sit still for more than 10 minutes.  There are occasions where kids are willing to stay in one place, but that’s really only under their own volition, not because mom, dad, or anyone else wants them to.  Therefore, I could never quite understand the people who would get unaccountably angry at the parents of small (screaming) children.  Now, I don’t have children, but I’ve done enough babysitting to know that there are occasions where even the best parent has a kid who will act out.  Truly, I think Buzzfeed has the best take on this phenomenon, as seen here.

My parents once flew from Hawaii to Chicago, and there was a family with two small children, one of whom cried almost the whole way.  People glared at the parents, and muttered things under their breath.  It got to the point that not only were the kids crying, but so was the mom.  Obviously those people didn’t know that making the mom upset would only cause the child to feed off her discomfort and cry more.  My parents were actually sitting across the aisle from this family, and they tried to distract the children and reassure their parents that they weren’t upset by the children’s behavior. 

For anyone out there who would react the same as my parents, way to go!  For those who would react with anger: if you have kids, please remember that parenting is the toughest (albeit, I hear, the most rewarding) job there is, and you need to cut the people sharing the job title of 'parent' some slack.  If you don’t have kids, try to remember what it was like when you were quite young and hated sitting still.  Not to mention, I know some adults who are scared by plane rides, so why do we expect all children to be completely chill with the experience? For all involved…try to ignore the situation if you can, or—if you feel comfortable doing so—pull some silly faces or play an impromptu game of peek-a-boo.

Then again, there’s also a third option wherein you use your scientific mind to create the first functioning transporter, thereby making plane rides and being forced to listen to screaming children for hours on end a thing of the past.  Personally, I like that option the best (however, I have the furthest thing from a scientific mind, so I will have to rely on others).  Though it will put a serious dent in my silly-face-pulling time.  I’ll just have to make that up with other random strangers I meet on the street.  Those lucky, lucky strangers :D

Wow, sorry for the tiny rant.  See, this is what happens when I'm given too much time to wait ;)

0 DAYS AWAY!!  Flying out today.  Budapest, here I come!!

What Every Good Traveler Needs

For the last four days, I have been packing—and repacking—for my trip.  There is an interesting phenomenon that occurs when I pack for an extended trip: no matter how many lists I make, I always feel as though I’m forgetting something.  To be fair, I’m not much of a list maker in general, so I don’t really trust my list-making skills when it comes to something like this.  But, in the spirit of enhancing those skills, I have made a short list of things every traveler should do to prepare for a big trip.

1.     Make a list, check it...4-5 times

I know, it seems like a silly thing to point out given my introduction above, but this is a staple for all travelers.  Even if you have a much better memory than myself, having a list of everything you plan to pack is a great help.  For my own piece of mind I even make a list of what I’m going to wear each day.  Sure, I may stray from that depending upon weather and events that may come up during the actual trip, but it helps me to cover pretty much all of my bases.  I also like to make a list of toiletries that I’ll be taking, because there is invariably some item I’ll be using up until the day I leave for the airport.  For those, I don’t actually check them off until they’re in either my checked bag or my carry-on.  As to the number of times you check your list…that’s completely up to you.  I tend to check mine obsessively because—as I said before—I don’t really trust my own lists.

2.     Get a fanny pack

OK, we don’t need to go full 80's on our trips, but you definitely need something that you can keep close to your body that can hold your passport and money.  If you ever need a lesson in how easy it is to get items off of someone, take a look at this clip from Brain Games, or an oldie but goodie from Ripley’s Believe it or Not (Any chance for me to look at Dean Cain, thank you ;P).  Now, obviously these are examples where the people get their stuff back, so I don’t think we should risk it.  Therefore, I always keep my money and passport in a necklace pouch that I wear under my clothes.  I’m sure that a really good pickpocket could still get it if he or she was seriously motivated, but they’d have to get up close and personal…and I’d expect a nice dinner out of the encounter.

3.     Know your limitations

This one can cover both the physical and mental challenges of traveling.  Whether you’re going on a local trip or overseas, you need to make sure you’re prepared for the trip.  Over packing is a cardinal sin of traveling.  So long as you have the essentials (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, spare underwear, socks, or whatever you honestly can’t live without) you can get by in almost any situation or location.  Sure, airlines have a weight and size limit on bags, but you also have a weight and size limit on what you’re willing to carry around for an undetermined amount of time.  I once walked roughly four miles with a giant rolling bag and two carry-on-sized bags because I got mildly lost.  It’s amazing how even the small bags seemed to grow heavier with each step.  That is an experience I never wish to have again, and something I wouldn’t wish on anyone else.  As for the mental limitations, traveling can inundate you with a lot of new and exciting information.  Give yourself a chance to rest on occasion.  I suggest finding a nice café or restaurant that gives you a good view of the local attractions and an opportunity to people-watch.  That way, you’re still enjoying the sites, but in a relaxing manner.  Even a ten minute break from walking and taking pictures can do you a world of good.

4.     Bring a memory card

Speaking of taking pictures…the best thing about cameras today is that you don’t have to worry about the number of film rolls you can fit into your bags.  No matter what the size of your digital camera, there’s always room for a big memory card…or at least a card with a big memory.  You especially want more space if you’re planning to take a lot of video.  That can eat up memory faster than a zombie at a Mensa conference.  If you’re planning to bring your laptop along on your trip, then you really only need enough space on your memory card to last you a day or two.  That is of course assuming you’re planning to download your pictures and video each day, as I plan to.

5.     Get your house in order

For those of you who keep your home neat as a pin 24/7, you may keep lying to me and ignore this section completely.  Personally, I like to keep a small bit of clutter around so I have everything readily available (if you can lie about the 24/7 thing, I can lie about the reason for my clutter).  However, when I’m going on a trip, I like to get everything cleaned up and organized as possible.  Part of that is because I’m entirely morbid and I like to plan for worst cases scenarios wherein my parents may have to clear things out of my apartment, in which case I’d like to have it ready to go.  Mostly though, there’s nothing better than coming home from a long vacation and not having to do a thing with my place.  I can almost guarantee that I will walk through my door, kick off my shoes, throw my bag in the middle of the floor, and promptly fall face down on my bed for a good long nap.  Coming home to an orderly apartment also has the added benefit of knowing exactly where to place my new souvenirs.

6.     Take care of kitty

Now this one only applies to those with animals.  I will be away from my Firefly for a whole two weeks, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to bear it.  Then again, that’s two weeks in which I won’t have to scoop a single litter box.  Those of you with pets know that figuring out what to do with Fido can sometimes be the most stressful and time-consuming aspect of traveling.  Sometimes, it can even be the most expensive depending upon where your pet will be staying while you’re "off gallivanting God knows where" (Firefly’s words, I swear).  My parents are kindly kitty-sitting while I’m gone.  As you can imagine, this is a great weight off my mind.  Then again, I know Firefly will be hopelessly spoiled while I’m away, and there’s an extremely good chance she’ll give me the cold shoulder for the first day I’m back.  But that’s OK, pets forgive much more easily than people, and I have access to her treats.

Well, I think that completes my short list of travel tips.  I may think of more, and it sounds like I have a stop-over of 4.5 hours in London to think of more as needed.  I suppose I can add an addendum to #3 and say that part of my mental limitations that I need to compensate for is my tendency to get bored easily.  To that end, I have four wonderful traveling companions I can chat with.  And, when they get tired of me, I’ll have my laptop and some movies on a thumb drive to keep me occupied.

It’s almost feels like I’m actually going now.  I’m getting super excited, and just as nervous as I always feel before a big trip.  Hopefully, I’ll do my church proud and serve God as He needs.


1 DAY AWAY!!

Budapest: It's the Final Countdown!

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page

-       St. Augustine

Admittedly, I only recently discovered this quote, but it has quickly become my favorite.  As someone who loves to both read and travel, I feel like this might be my new mantra.  In the spirit of this quote, I try to travel as much as possible, whether in or out of the US.  Next week, I’ll be going to Budapest, Hungary as part of a five-person mission team through the First United Methodist Church of Mattoon.  I’ll be going with the two pastors and their wives.  We’ll be teaching English to incoming freshmen of the Forrai Private School—a school that specializes in the arts.  The interesting thing about this school is that the building was donated to the Hungarian Methodist Church and is therefore run by the church.

I’ve got to say there are several aspects of this upcoming trip that absolutely thrill me.  The first is that this will be my second time going to Central Europe.  So far my travels have been in Western Europe, with most centered in the UK.  My only other foray into CE was Germany to visit my roommate from Dublin.  I really enjoyed the architecture and history, so I’m looking forward to more of that from Hungary.  I plan to get a lot of use out of my camera in the week I’m there!  We already know a few of the activities we’ll be enjoying, which includes watching a Hungarian opera, going the parliament, and enjoying the Szechenyi Baths…to name a few.  I’m definitely ready for the baths, and whatever spa delicacies I can enjoy!!

I’m also looking forward to the teaching part.  For the last year or so, I’ve been toying with the notion of going back to school (this would be the third time for those of you keeping score) and getting my Masters so I can teach college-level English.  While teaching Hungarian teenagers is not quite the same, I think any and all practice I can get with lesson plans and projects will serve me well.  Our group will be at the school for a week, working with the students in both one large group and five small groups.  Our pastors will be leading the group lessons, but I’ll get to teach one of the small groups each day. 

The other activities I’m anticipating aren’t technically for the mission team.  The Forrai students are supposed to have a craft each day that correspond to the elements of earth, air, fire, water and man (one element for each day we're there).  Though I’m sure these incoming freshmen can blow me out of the water when it comes to artwork, I really want to get my hands on some materials and create something beautiful.  Then again, I’m not really sure that we’ll be allowed to do so.  If not, no big deal.  I’ll probably already be pushing the baggage limit when I come back without some pieces of self-made artwork to tote back.  At the very least, I’ll get some enjoyment out of watching the students make stuff that I’m sure will blow my mind.  And, as always with me, pictures will be provided.

And, last but not least, I can’t wait to meet the host family that will be putting me up during my weeklong stay.  They’re a younger couple with two small boys.  I’m not sure how old the boys are—or the parents for that matter—but I’m hoping for a fun experience for all!  I’ve been learning some German, which will hopefully help me to communicate with the family.  German is apparently Hungary’s second language, and it is now (almost) my third!  I got the boys two Hot Wheels cars each—since I didn’t know their ages, I’m hoping these are appropriate for them.  I also got Uno for the family.  I figured the rules for that were simple enough to understand without knowing too much English.  I want to get something for the parents, but so far I’m drawing a blank on what to get them.  There are plenty of kitschy things I could find for them, but I don’t know if I want to go that route.  Going handmade is also a viable choice, but I don’t think they’d necessarily want something made by my hand :P  So, if anyone has any suggestions for uniquely American gifts I could bring my host family, I'm all ears!

What’s funny is that even with all these things I’m looking forward to, it still doesn’t seem like it’s happening.  The whole thing is still a little surreal.  I find that no matter where I go, it doesn’t seem real until I’m packed and headed to the airport.  I plan on doing some of the packing in the next few days (mostly because I have a tendency to forget things if I don’t leave myself enough leeway) along with some hefty apartment cleaning…including laundry for my desired traveling clothes.  I plan to keep everyone updated with regular reports and photos (of Hungary...not my cleaning progress ;P)…though with a procrastinating novelist, one can never be sure what one will get :D

7 DAYS AWAY!!

Waiting by the Phone

Everyone knows the old cliche about the woman waiting by the phone, eagerly anticipating a call from that hottie she met the day before.  As the days wear on, she's constantly checking when she feels even the smallest vibration.

I'll be honest, I haven't had a lot of experience with this unpleasant sensation.  At the moment, however I'm acting out a literary version of this same old song and dance.  Over the last couple of months I have been frantically researching literary agents, and how to craft the perfect query letter.  I sent out one letter before I had time to really think it through, and almost immediately got a form rejection.  I shook it off as my own poor planning and forged ahead.  A month ago, I sent out five query letters to agencies of varying stages of growth.  Thus far I have received two more form rejections.  But where are my other three?

You may think it's a little pessimistic to be expecting three more rejections instead of at least one letter of interest...but I figure if JK Rowling received 12 rejections from publishers (the Interwebs give no number of agent rejections), then I can suck up six.  But it's that not knowing that makes it difficult.  Just like a woman waiting for a guy to call, I'm carefully scrutinizing my inbox for a sign of reply.  I even slogged through my spam folder...just in case.

When it comes to the two rejections I have gotten so far, I feel safe in telling myself that it can't be all my fault, because these are two well-established agencies that can choose to be really picky about new clients because they've already got a good base client list already.  I am a little saddened because one of these rejections came from my top choice.  However, I'll take a British approach to it and keep my upper lip stiff and will "Keep calm and carry on" as the poster suggests.

In that spirit, I have borrowed Chuck Sambuchino's 2014 Guide to Literary Agents from my local library.  (Sorry, Chuck...I promise to buy one of your awesome books once I've sold one of my own...I'm a bit strapped for cash at the moment.)  I've read his 2013 guide before, and these things are veritable gold mines of great information.  Not only does it give me an extensive list of agents with their preferences clearly laid out, it also tells me which agencies are relatively new and really wanting to build their client list.  It's like eHarmony for literary agents, but these have been vetted by an outside source so I don't have to worry as much about sketchy situations.  That and all the tips and tricks of the trade in the front have helped me get a clearer idea of how this industry works.

In case any of you were suffering under the impression that I will be raking in huge amounts of cash with this career -- I swear, I had no such illusions........promise -- I am assured that I will indeed have to (tragically) keep my day job.  But, that's OK.  That just means I need to be more than a one-book-wonder.  I've gotten started on the follow-up book and have made plans for the third and final installment.  My brain is also percolating with ideas for a completely new character and universe.  There are even ideas running around in here for extended story lines within my Kingdoms universe.  So, if I can just pin down an agent (and they then pin down a publishing deal), that day job just might become a part-time affair.

But, for now I'll keep obsessively checking my email, checking out informational books from the library, and writing book two...Jamarian Days.  (You know, in case you were wondering) ;)