I know I haven't written in a while, but things in Hungary are going great. I tried to get the pictures from Spain together, but I still haven't gotten the first half of my pictures onto a CD. Maybe it's for the best. I have to have something to share when I get back. Thanksgiving here was a new experience for sure. I was asked by an English teacher to give a presentation for a higher level English class explaining what Thanksgiving is, what traditions there are and some fun facts and pictures. Also, for my regular class, I made brownies which were a huge hit. I had so many people asking for a recipe and I didn't have the heart to tell them it was from a box! That, and it was Hershey's brand which you can't get here, even in the international foods section (which is where I finally found peanut butter). I do have a recipe and hopefully they'll like homemade brownies just as much, if not more than the ones I brought in. I did feel a little lonely later on that night knowing what my family was doing at that time at home and a little sad that the day was just a regular day filled with classes, big band rehearsal and music lessons.
The next day at school the we had to be in early at the request of the teacher for a Christmas play rehearsal whether you were in the play or not. I waited in the usual rehearsal spot of the main lobby and then went through the halls to try to find everyone. I met a classmate along the way who then led me to the classroom. When I went in I saw that everyone was working on something in the front of the room and the tables were all rearranged. I set my bag down and began to take off my gloves when everyone began to sing. Of course, I was extremely confused and surprised. I looked up and saw everyone trying to keep a straight face while facing me and singing a Hungarian holiday song. They all smiled with delight when they had finished and their one-person audience applauded them. Then one of the girls stood forward and told me that they had loved that I had brought in something for the class and shared my holiday with them and that they wanted to give me a Hungarian Thanksgiving. As she said this, a couple other students put out a couple baskets of rolls, muffins and cookies, some tea and they even had lit candles in the middle of the table. It was absolutely adorable and I didn't know what to say. We spent the remainder of the hour sitting together around the giant table made from desks, eating and drinking. It was definitely one of the most memorable Thanksgivings I'm sure I'll ever have.
This weekend was extremely busy as well. On Friday, I went to a music cafe with another exchange student and his host mother to see a gypsy band play. It was certainly interesting. The music was like a combination of Spanish guitars, Indian female vocals, and a techno beat with abrupt and rapid changes. It was a lot of fun to watch and even more fun to watch people try to dance to it.
On Saturday I was invited by a small group of boys to go to a ska concert. I have recently altered my schedule at the school so that I am with different classes throughout the week and they had asked what sort of music I like when I went to their class for the first time on Friday. They saw that we had something in common and invited me to a place called Lovarda which is on part of the University campus. It was a giant hall with two bars at the back, a place to stand on the floor and the lofts upstairs around the walls and seats at tables at the back and benches. It was the perfect thing to have at a university. It seemed to be like a sort of "battle of the bands" at first and not many people were there. As the night continued though, more people arrived and the music improved. The highlight was the band they took me to see, PASO (or Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra), a Hungarian ska band who is very famous in Europe. It was interesting to see such a popular band play at a place where the entrance fee was about five dollars for a night.
On Sunday, I woke up early and travelled three and a half hours to Budapest with the Melódia Big Band where we competed at the 8Th Annual Budapesti Big Band Találkozó Fesztival. The competition was fantastic due to most of the bands being there by invitation and being the best jazz bands in Hungary. - Our director was very nervous on the ride there and made sure to tell us all multiple times that we would be on the radio, would have pictures taken of us and would be recorded for the DVD they would be making of the festival. What a pep talk! We played and then watched the rest of the bands after us as well as the professional bands at the end. At the awards ceremony we received a gold rating and first place for our category of jazz band. They referred to us as a big band, but big is an understatement. There are 12 saxophones, 5 or 6 trombones, 7 or trumpet players, two guitar players, three percussionists, and of course a pianist and a bass player. And that's the just the usual number. I'm not sure how many there are if everyone is present. The main attraction for the festival's last night was the Police Big Band which really was a group of Hungarian police officers (I had my doubts at first). They played in casual uniform and of course played pieces such as Peter Gunn and Jazz Police. It was a fun trip and we didn't arrive back to Debrecen until 3am.
This month I will be going to Vienna with Rotary and partaking in as many Hungarian Christmas customs as I can. Here, St. Nicolas comes on the 6th of December and leaves small toys and candy in children's shoes and "the baby Jesus" comes on Christmas Eve. There's still no snow here unfortunately, although the rest of Europe has been overtaken by storms. I've been told that Debrecen is one of the few places in the country which doesn't normally have snow but I'm still hoping. The weather changes drastically from week to week here as well. For the past couple weeks it had been extremely cold at night and during the day warm enough for a rain which coated the sidewalks with slush. Yesterday as well as today it has been about 55° and sunny (not that I'm complaining).
I'll be sure to post updates and pictures of holiday festivities as well as Vienna when I can. Happy Holidays!
