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Letter From Hungary

Editor’s Note: OITM contributor Stacey Horn has been in Hungary since September, learning the 
language and making connections. She’s there to teach English and on a church—related mission to ‘g
work with Roma children and families. The Roma, who have been called “Gypsies” (a pejorative

name), are treated as outcasts in many countries.

Draga (dear) Friends
and Family, ,

Jo’ napot! Greetings from
Magyarorszagl I hope you all
are well. I am slowly settling
into my life here in-Miskolc.
Here are someupdates from
the past month:

Nyelv (The Language):
During the first two weeks of
September, I joined volunteers
from all over Europe for two
weeks of language school in
Monoszlo, a szép, kicsifalo’
(beautiful, tiny village) near

' Lake Balaton. I am far from

fluent, but I can more or less
explain myself and my work
here: Horn Stacey vagyok.
Onkéntes vagyok. Egy e’v
Magyarorszagonfogok e’lni. (I
am Stacey Horn. I am a volun-
teer. I will live in Hungary for
one year.)

When I tell Hungarians tan-
ulok Magyarul (I am studying
Hungarian), they usually shake

their heads and say, nehéz (dif— .

ficult). I say, nehe’z de‘e’rdekes
(difficult but interesting).
Unlike English, Hungarian
does not rely on prepositions
and pronouns. Instead, suffixes \
communicate who is doing
what. For example, if I am
going for a walk,I simply say‘
Megyek séta’lni. You know that
I am the one going because I
said megyek, not megy (s/he) or
megyunk (we). I am slowly
learning to trust the language,
but I often point enthusiastical-
ly at myself to emphasize that I
am the one walking because it
seems so unbelievable that a
mere suffix could sufficiently
communicate this point. '
Dolgozni (My Work):

Angolul tancir vagyok. Elek
Le’vay Jozsef Gymnazium. (I am
an English teacher. I live at
Lévay Jo’zsef boarding school.)
Four days a week, I teach
English as a second language
in a Christian secondary school
with about 650 students, 200 of
whom.live at the school. There
is an English department, and I
teach one or two lessons a
week in each English teacher’s
class. For example, on
Tuesdays, I teach Szilvi’s stu-

‘dents, and the rest of the week

she teaches them. This means
that I see many different stu-

  

dents each day. Learning names
is a challenge, but the good
newsis that many families in
Hungary give their children tra-
ditional names, so I actually
need to remember far fewer
names than faces. Boys are
often.Laci, Istvan or Balazs,

» and girls are frequently Zsophi,

Eniko, or Réka. I teach 8th
through 12th graders (in differ-
ent classes), andttheir skills
vary widely. We all face a steep
learning curve.

Teaching at the school is
only part of my work here. On
Wednesdays and some
Saturdays, I will travel with‘
Anita, a local minister to the
nearby village of Sarospatak
where after—school programs
for Roma (gypsy) children are
held. I will have my first
opportunity to work with Anita
this Saturday, so I will write
more about this part of my
work in my next letter.

Varos (The City): Miskolc is
the second largest city in
Hungary, but it is the third
most populous (after Budapest
and Debrecen). My favorite
spot in the city is the old TV
tower atop Avas Hill. From
here, you can see the history of
the city in its architecture. The
skyline is dotted with factory
buildings, which were erected
during communist times. As
any Hungarian school child
will tell you, the soil in
Hungary is very rich.
Sunflower seeds and grapes
(which are used for making
Hungary’s famous wine) flour-
ish here. However, during com-
munism, cities like Miskolc
were industrialized, and the
basis of the economy shifted
from agriculture to industry.
Miskolc is an interesting study

in contrasts: block houses,»rich
green farmland, factories, and

the Bfikk Mountains in the dis-
tance.

Emberek (The People): I ~
have been warmly welcomed

here. On Sundays, I go to Isten
tiszta (worship — literally the

words mean “God clean’’) in

.nearby Avas, and members of ’
the congregation often invite

me to lunch. I have eaten l
many, many different kinds of

leves (soup) and sampled lots

of suternény (baked goods). All - l
finom (delicious).

The other teachers at the

school are very friendly. J ézsef ,

the phys ed. teacher invited me

to join a group of students and
teachers who play tennis on
Mondays and Wednesdays. I

am a terrible tennis player, but
Jozsef is very patient and
encouraging. When I do well,

he excitedly exclaims, az, az!

V (there there!) and after lessons

he always asks J6 volt? (Was it
good?) I say, Nagyon jo’l! (Very
good!)

In addition to tennis, I have
joined a singing group of stu-
dents and teachers that prac-
tices once a week. We sing in
Hungarian, which is great for
my pronunciation, and I can
usually translate at least a few
words of each song. Perhaps by
the end of the year I will be
able to understand what I am
singing.

It has been a pleasure to
hear from many of you via
email and post. Thank you for
your words, thoughts, and
prayers. Take care and keep in
touch.

Aldasbékesség
(Blessing and peace).
Stacey