Halloween!

Wednesday was a really long day for me, but a truly fantastic. I had quite a few students from my 11th grade class come over to help me bake some cookies and other goodies for the Halloween party that I was in charge of that was taking place on Thursday. We baked for about 3 hours and then ordered pizza for dinner and had a blast with it. It was a great chance for me to get to bond with my students and really let them get to know me outside of the classroom.


Thursday was our awesome Halloween party. I don't think anyone knew what to expect since they've never experienced an American Halloween before. We had bobbing for apples, pin the tail on the black cat, pumpkin seed spitting contest (which they loved) amongst other things. The treats that my 11th graders baked were gone in about 30 seconds and enjoyed by all. I hope that Matt and I get the chance to do something like this for other American holidays too.

International Friends

I've really been thinking lately just how lucky I am to be in Europe and making friends from so many different places around the world. I've been going to an English Conversation Club every Thursday and I've made quite a few friends from there. The three main friends that I've made are 2 girls from the Netherlands and a guy from Germany. Liza and Eszter are some amazing girls that I hang out with on a pretty consistent basis. Schekeb is a really funny guy that I enjoy spending time with as well. They all have a great sense of humor and can bring a lot of laughter to the night.



I'm really sad, though, because I just found out recently that they are only going to be here for a semester instead of a whole year like I originally thought. So, I've been pretty bummed about that recently because then I'm going to have to start all over making new friends in January. But right now I'm trying to enjoy the time that I do have with them. But then again, it's great because next semester I can go visit them when I have time and have some awesome people to stay with!

Birthday

Today is my mom's birthday! I'm sad that I'm not going to be there for the first time for her birthday ever, but I'm hoping that she gets the present I sent her in time and loves it. I mean, she's had a birthday when I've been at college, but I always went home for the weekend closest to her birthday to celebrate. This year, I'm stuck with a phone call.

It's also SUPER weird to realize that October is more than half way over. Seriously, it just started and I swear that yesterday was October 1st. It's ubber surreal. Our Halloween party at school is next week and I feel like the time is literally just flying by. My students have asked me to throw a Halloween party for them outside of school because they've never experienced a real, American Halloween before, but I'm not sure I'm willing to take on such a large responsibility. We'll see I suppose.

Residency

I'm an official resident of Hungary now! My school has been so great in helping me get all of my paperwork done and everything. Yesterday, Thursday, I missed school and went to go pick up my permit. The ride over to the office literally took me over an hour and a half and I then I was in and out of the office in less than ten minutes.... then another hour and a half home. But I'm so glad that it's finally over.

I now have medical insurance because of it and I will soon be getting paid by my school! Woot! So it's been a very exciting week. I am so happy it's the weekend though. I had to sub today at school so instead of getting my 9th grade students (who are nothing but pure energy) for the usual 3 class periods straight, I had them for four. That means thirty 14 year olds for FOUR hours. I'm so tired. But it's been a good week and I'm looking forward to a great weekend too.

Oops

So it's been over a week since my last post. There hasn't been a lot going on- I've just been sick for the past week and now it's to the point where it's just annoying because it won't go away. I mean, it's always annoying to be sick, but trying to teach when you've completely lost your voice gives you some new challenges to face... and some new movies to watch with your class.

Today was an especially rough day at school, but it got better as soon as that last bell rang and I was home free. I taught five classes today (3 of which I administered exams) and they were all little devils. No matter what I did, no matter how loud I yelled, no matter how much homework I gave.. it didn't phase them. In one class I just held my breath and started counting down from ten in my mind to calm myself before I went off on the students. One student saw me and was like "uh oh, i think she might be ready to blow up on us."

Then after teaching for five classes, I had a few hours of staff meetings to look forward to, all of which are in Hungarian and I wouldn't understand anything. (Keep in mind I hadn't eaten anything at all during the day, so I was extra grumpy). So after my class and before my meeting, I ran out with a colleague and got something to eat which improved my day. Well, when I went back to school for the meeting, a teacher ran up to me and said she had talked the administration into letting me leave since I wouldn't understand anything. HALLELUJAH! So I ran home and may have accidentally took a 2 hour nap. Then I've been eating my share of chocolate and Skyping with friends.

So the day has gotten better, but I regret the nap since I'll never be able to sleep, especially with all the sugar loaded in me. Now if I could just get rid of this dang cough and get my voice to stop squeaking... :)