Survey Says.....
Hey all!
Most of us have been back on our home turf for a number of weeks (some of us have already run off to some new destination besides!), so I'm curious:
1. What did you miss most about home that you didn't realize you missed until you had it back?
2. What REALLY annoys you about being back in your home culture?
3. Were there any surprises waiting for you (good, bad, or indifferent)?
4. What do you miss most about Hungary in general?
5. What do you miss most about the KI?
6. What's the biggest change in you personally from the time you left until now?
and (be honest, now)
7. Do you get teary-eyed when you see pictures from this past year?
OK, bloggers, let's hear your answers! I'll post my own in the comments section later on.
posted by JiminyCricket81 @ 8:09 PM
4 Comments:
OK, here are my own answers....confession is good for the soul, they say....
1. Quilted toilet paper! The person I'm house-sitting for right now is QUITE extravagant about such things, it seems, and I think I've died and gone to heaven. I also made some guacamole with fresh cilantro (coriander) the other night, and nearly passed out with the sheer joy of it all.
2. Overhearing people's conversations and knowing exactly what they're saying. Oh, and grocery stores.
3. I found out I'd been called for jury duty and my mom got me excused....not exciting, but it was a surprise. Oh, and nearly all my friends have stopped drinking here, so my palinka stash is lasting much longer than expected. :)
4. The feel of the Kecskemet town square and speaking Hungarian.
5. Seeing all of you as you went about your lives....I just didn't know how lucky I was.
6. I just can't bring myself to be afraid of talking to anybody anymore....I figure, if it's in English, piece-a-cake! That should help me with my love life, right? ;)
7. I would've said no, but then I saw Hailing's video of our recital reception, and almost cried like a baby.
Next!!!
1.) The Cleveland Plain Dealer. The writing is 10x better than internet news only not as prompt.
2.) All the violence I hear about. I purposely don't read articles in the paper under this topic. Maybe it doesn't reach my ears in Hungary. It's a terrible thing and makes me sad.
3.) That I drink more socialy on a regular basis than most Americans that I know. They make me feel like an alcoholic.
4.) The slow pace of life and what I identified with when I was there.
5.) The community/environment/atomosphere. The great amount of social interaction.
6.) I'm less social.
7.) Not teary-eyed but melancholy. Good times always come and go and you never realize how great they were (are) until you look back.
1. I didn't realize how much I missed my car. It's old (and falling apart in some places) but I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed driving it. I also missed book stores. I went in to Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago...I was like a kid in a candy store.
2. People talk so loudly in public! I guess I just didn't notice before.
3. I found out that I needed to take summer classes so that I could have 3 credit hours to renew my teaching license. Oh, and that there's now a Wal-mart in my little town(good and bad for different reasons). I also have a job interview Monday in Connecticut!
4. I miss the more layed back feeling of the country.
5. All the amazing people I met and got to know, and the feeling of community.
6. I feel more confident out on my own. At the same time, I feel that the social part of myself that I'd discovered in Hungary isn't being fed as it should be.
7. Yes...I feel a strong attachment to those that I got to know really well. (although I also tear up over sentimental stories/tv commercials:)
OK, so it's been many moons since I was on Hungarian soil, but I figure I should join in on the sharing...
1. My family. Not that I didn't miss them at all when I was gone, but I was SO happy to be home with my family when I returned.
2. The cost of living, specifically alcohol. I couldn't even be all that happy to turn 21 because I was spoiled by inexpensive alcohol. Getting a drink is SO expensive - compared to Hungary.
3. I had such a smooth transition coming to Hungary - I didn't even have a hint of jet lag! Not so coming home. The flight home was the longest ever, I got sick when I got home and missed Christmas mass with my family, and I had terrible jet lag. Such is life.
4. The whole way of life I had there - walking everywhere, going to the teahaz/Jako/wherever on a whim and being able to afford it, conversing in gesticulated Hungarian.
5. Being social liason!!!! Other than music, my greatest joy was brining us all together. I miss the camaraderie, the music-making, translating Spanish to English (and English to English, as Filo would say).
6. I was surprised to see how much I had grown as a musician (I knew I had grown as a person). I still have an extremely long way to go, but being in choir and voice lessons, and yes, lesson with Roland was all invaluable to me and really showed once I got back home. I also loved having my own room and not seeing anyone after 4 months on non-stop contact...but after a semester of solitude I am ready to be uber social again. :-)
7. Not teary-eyed, but definitely a feeling of nostalgia and a kind of reverse home-sickness comes over me. Over time the good times seem better and the bad times don't look so bad anymore - when I'm looking back on them.
Post a Comment
<< Home