Visits with Mary

The past few weeks while in Budapest I've had the opportunity to visit with Mary, the woman in this picture. I'll admit that I was reluctant to visit her at first, but luckily my mom was insistent that I do so, and I'm so glad I did. Why was I reluctant? Well, I wasn't sure if she spoke English; I didn't think she'd know who I was; I didn't know what to talk to her about; I didn't know how to get to her house....all excuses.

Let me back up a little and explain the situation with Mary. My mom was in Austria for a semester in 1973. Her roommate's mother had met Mary's family in Budapest back in 1948 when she was a post-war nurse based in Vienna. (That is another story that I'll tell you if you want to know). Mom's roommate wanted to go visit Mary's family in Budapest, and my mom and 3 other friends went with her. Below is a picture of them with Mary (in the center), her older sister, and her mother. According to Mary, they stayed in Budapest 4 days and visited everyday. After that, Mary sent them all Christmas cards and has even maintained correspondence with the girl on the far top right up until now.


The first time I visited, I took the sister missionaries with me. I thought I might need some translation--although she had been corresponding with my mom's friend, writing and speaking a language can be different and I didn't know if she got help with the letters or not. My mom couldn't remember if she spoke English. Well, turns out she speaks perfect English. She was born in New York City in 1925, but moved back to Hungary in 1931 after her father had a hard time finding work during the Great Depression.

In that visit and my subsequent visits, she told me fascinating stories about returning to Hungary in 1931, World War II and the Russian siege in 1945, the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, the fall of Communism in Hungary, her father being trapped in Belgium when the Axis powers invaded and having to get back to Hungary on foot, etc.

Her oldest sister moved to Canada and never returned to Hungary, but Mary and her other sister stayed in Budapest and neither never married. Her sister died 2 years ago and Mary has been very lonely ever since. She never leaves her apartment--there is a woman who does all her shopping, comes and cleans her apartment, gives her a bath, etc. That woman must have special doses of patience! While Mary does have fascinating stories, she has also grown extremely cynical and pretty bitter about life. I would try to start conversations that were pretty positive--that I thought left no room for negative comments--but she would always seem to find something negative about it! For example, I was singing Christmas songs with her yesterday and I suggested starting with Jingle Bells. After we sang it, she asked if I knew who "Fanny Brice" was ("And soon Miss Fanny Brice was seated by my side"). Well, I always thought it was "Fanny Bright," but in either case, I didn't know who she was. That set Mary off ranting for quite a while about how young people these days don't know anything...blah, blah, blah...

As long as you have a thick skin, however, she's fun to visit. She's sharp as a tack--remembers everything (although I have a feeling most stories are embellished!). She still sits and does needlework, and she gave me this traditional Hungarian patterned pillow cover she made. I am thankful that I was able to meet her and hear some of her stories, and I imagine we'll be exchanging Christmas cards :) She is probably one of the few people in the world who has experienced the events that she has and can recall them with such clarity and articulate them perfectly in English. In fairness to her, her bitterness comes from a life shaped for many years by fear and overbearing authority and a lack of hope. Deep down, she is sweet and I will miss not visiting her again. Meeting her has greatly enriched not only my Budapest experience, but my views of the world in general.

Christmas Market

I love the Christmas markets in Europe. They are lively, festive, and full of wonderful crafts and treats. At the Budapest Christmas market, there is a stage with people singing, dancing, etc., throughout the day. I have been several times trying to decide what I want to buy. Here are a few of the pictures I've taken there:

Making Kalacs...one of the best things ever. It is bread cooked over the fire and then rolled in cinnamon or sugar or walnuts, etc.:


Charity with our first kalacs purchase:


Traditional folk dancing and music:


With Marie (Hungarian friend from church) in front of the dress shop:


With Alanna (friend from school):

Visegrad

Last Monday I went to the nearby town of Visegrad with 4 of the missionaries serving here in Buda. None of us really knew what we were going to see or what to expect, but we'd heard good things about it. The day was an adventure from beginning to end--from nearly missing the bus, to being let off in the middle of nowhere, to slipping up and down to muddy trails in the rain. We had a lot of fun. Visegrad is a tiny town --maybe 1500 people-- with the key attraction being a really old deteriorating castle on the hill overlooking the Danube. Unfortunately the castle is only open on weekends during the winter, so we couldn't go inside. Here are some pictures of the day:

The castle on the hill behind all the fog:


Overlooking the Danube from the castle--the fog was so thick that we could hardly see anything:


On the trail:


Posing with Sister Glade--the seats were wet so we were just trying to perch on the edge:


I'm not sure if climbing on castle walls was a mission-approved activity :)


An authentic catapult:

20 Years of Formal Education...

Well, assuming I passed all the finals I took this week, my formal education has now come to a somewhat informal end. It hasn't really hit me yet. Oh, right...maybe that's because I have to frantically study for the next 2 months for the bar exam. Maybe the relief will hit after that (hopefully?).

Really, though, I've had some great experiences in school--from elementary school all the way to law school. I've had wonderful teachers and mentors. If I went back 10 years and had to do college over again, I wouldn't do things exactly the same way--I think that's part of learning...being able to look back and see how you can improve and change. However, I'm satisfied with the way things have turned out. I've been very blessed with opportunities that I never imagined and surely didn't deserve, but I know that the experiences I've had have taught and are teaching me important lessons that I need to learn to be a better person.

Truth be told, I've forgotten most of the things I've read in books or heard in school, and the countless "facts" that I had once committed to memory aren't always at the ready for my use. I can hardly remember a lot of the things I studied for my exams last week! (seriously) But I think that I have finally somewhat learned 'how to learn' and I've also learned that how much a person knows is most certainly not reflective of their worth as a person in society. Of the people I've met throughout my education--teachers, professors, employers, ecclesiastical leaders, students, mentors, roommates--the people that I admired the most were the ones who cared about other people and cared about what they were doing. Those are the examples that I most want to follow.

Frankfurt

This weekend I went to Frankfurt, Germany, to the LDS Temple. Although getting there involved a plane, bus, train, and walking, it was well worth it and I loved it there. The weather was chilly, but altogether tolerable--it only rained while I was in the temple. I was able to attend the temple on Friday and Saturday, as well as take in the downtown area and Christmas market in Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon and evening. Frankfurt was great--very modern; I almost felt like I was in America except everyone was speaking German! My flight was so early this morning that I decided to sleep in the airport last night--and by "sleep," I mean lay there on a bench with my coat over my head until 4 a.m. when I couldn't stand it anymore :) That's the second night in an airport recently....it's a toss-up between spending the night at an airport and on a bus or train!




At the temple with two new German friends, Janina and Patricia:


Christmas market in Frankfurt:


Frankfurt:

From the Citadel

Last Sunday afternoon I hiked up Gellert Hill in Budapest where there is a citadel on the top. Apparently the citadel was built in the 1940s by the Soviets to quell any revolutions (or something like that). The cannons in it were actually pointing into the city.

It was kind of a rainy day, but the view of the city from the top of hill was still spectacular. Here are some shots:

Looking back at Castle Hill:


Danube in the middle, Buda on the left, Pest on the right:


Looking down on Castle Hill and Buda:


The freedom lady holding the palm branch on top of the hill:

Thanksgiving Party Picture

Here's the people I spent Thanksgiving with last week. I, unfortunately, was taking the picture, so I'm not in it, but I love this picture because it shows the personality of the people in it pretty well. The elders are kneeling in front and I have no idea why they are not in suits and name tags, but I decided that it wasn't my place to ask or worry about it. The elder in the black coat is my roommate's cousin. My roommate is in the plaid skirt, and the couple in the middle with the dog are her friends Jutka and Imre. The couple on the left is their son, David, and his wife, Jenia.