Monday, September 27, 2010
Correction
So apparently the piles of stuff at the side of the street aren't just evictions. At the beginning of each month people just put all the stuff the don't want anymore on the side of the street and the city sends trucks around to pick it all up. So the piles are a combination of evictions and people just getting rid of some of their stuff.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
But seriously.
Ok, I'm done being a smart-ass for now. I actually do have thoughts/observations that might be worth posting. At the beginning of this week as I was going to class I noticed very large piles of what appeared to be garbage scattered on the sides of the street. Everyone else in my group obviously noticed as well and started theorizing as to where they came from. We came to the conclusion that they are probably results of people being evicted from their homes. It's a situation that occurs all over the world but I have never seen it so obvious or common. The economy here is struggling and many seem to be struggling along with it.
In the days following the appearance of the piles of peoples belongings, others made a habit of going through these piles to find things they could use. People come on the tram with bags full or furniture scraps in their hands. It has made some of us uncomfortable and it is an awkward situation. It kind of seems disrespectful to take the possessions others had to leave behind, but it all will end up in the garbage so isn't it better to have someone else make use of it? What if the people searching through the piles have no other way of gaining possessions?
There are quite of few homeless people here. They sleep in the metro stations on cardboard and most of them are elderly. A lot of us wonder why it is that there are so many elderly people begging. It is harder to pass by them without helping because they seem so helpless. In North America I know that there are programs that are available for the homeless, but I have no idea what is available here. There are also a lot of older women who sell flowers on the street. I wonder what their stories are.
In the days following the appearance of the piles of peoples belongings, others made a habit of going through these piles to find things they could use. People come on the tram with bags full or furniture scraps in their hands. It has made some of us uncomfortable and it is an awkward situation. It kind of seems disrespectful to take the possessions others had to leave behind, but it all will end up in the garbage so isn't it better to have someone else make use of it? What if the people searching through the piles have no other way of gaining possessions?
There are quite of few homeless people here. They sleep in the metro stations on cardboard and most of them are elderly. A lot of us wonder why it is that there are so many elderly people begging. It is harder to pass by them without helping because they seem so helpless. In North America I know that there are programs that are available for the homeless, but I have no idea what is available here. There are also a lot of older women who sell flowers on the street. I wonder what their stories are.
For Nadine
So I was Skyping with my dear friend Nadine last night and she was saying that I should post more often about thoughts that strike me etc. So here it is. Last night at 2am I had a thought. Do cat's wash their tails? Because it seems necessary yet I have never seen it and I feel like it would be kind of an awkward process. Hope that was enlightening!!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Transylvania
So I just got back yesterday from our first class trip which was to Transylvania. It was really awesome!! It's a bit of a drive, around 6 hrs (that quickly turns into 7-8 with all the bathroom breaks and problems with our vans) but we kept ourselves well entertained:) We have three Reformed pastors that organize our class trips and two of them were with us on this trip, David and Robbie. We started by visiting a little village and climbing up to the church. We ended up seeing a lot of churches, many of them fortified because of all the religious war that went on between the Reformed and Catholic churches in this area. Most of the church had started as Catholic churches and then were taken over and turn Reformed. It was really interesting to see in influence each church had on the buildings. When the Reformed Christians took a Catholic church, they would white wash the walls so as to get rid of all the frescoes the Catholics often created. For the sake of history (or something like that) some of the white paint was removed so that we could see the frescoes that lay underneath.
The first night we stayed with host families from a Reformed congregation. I stayed with three other girls from my group, Tanya, Leesha, and Abby. Our host mom fed us dinner and it was soo good!! Amazing potatoes, chicken, and a really flavorful mushroom dish. Our host family had a 1 year old daughter, Vikki, so we spent some time getting to know her. She goes to a music school and wants to be an opera singer. Her school has Romanian and Hungarian students in it which, according to her, is unusual for most schools.
A little history of the area to explain this separation. Before WWI, Transylvania belonged to Hungary. After the end WWI and as a result of the Trianon Treaty, Hungary lost much of it's land, including Transylvania, which went to Romania. So now in the area of Transylvania there are Hungarians and Romanians and this creates a certain tension. The Romanians are focused on getting rid of the Hungarian culture, especially in big cities, but I'll get to that later.
So back to the trip. Staying at a host family was great and then we were off again the next morning. We went to Cluj, a very large city in Romania and the city that Andras Visky (a Hungarian playwrite.professor that was at Calvin last year) lives and works. We toured around the city for a little with David filling us in on some history. It is much easier to see the Romanian influence overpowering the Hungarian culture in this city. The cities main square was changed to an area with an Orthodox church and a statue of a Romanian hero (who, unpleasantly, is famous for killing many Hungarian) and away from the old main square with a Reformed church and other Hungarian aspects. (I should point out that we were getting one sided history since our guides were Hungarian and not representing the Romanian side) So after looking around for a bit, we went to the National Theatre in Cluj, where Andras works and got to see it and visit with Andras for awhile. There's going to be European Theatre Festival there in December and many of us are planning on going back for that, which will be amazing!!
After having lunch in Cluj, we drove to our hotel, which was in a small village and really adorable! Our rooms where wonderful looking right onto the church. We ate another amazing meal and then played some games. I played my first drinking game (I was drinking orange pop, but others had beer) called King's Cup. It's a lot of fun. Throughout the game, people have to pour some of there drink into a cup in the middle and the person who draws the fourth King has to drink everything in the cup. At one point it appeared that I had drawn the fourth King but we discovered that it was only the third by the time I was halfway through the cup...oh well, it was still fun.
The next day we toured the church in the village, which had a lot to look at. For example, there was a house that the would use if a couple wanted to get divorced. If such a request was made, the couple was locked in this house together till they figured out their problems. To make the situation even worse, the house only had one bed, one plate, one spoon, one table, and one chair (no knife or fork). The longest stay was 3 weeks and there was only ever one divorce in that village. Maybe we should bring that back?
That afternoon, we visited another church and then went to see what they Gypsy area's looked like. In this area Gypsies are the lowest on the ethnic hierarchy. The area that we went to had recently gotten funds to fix up the area so they had a gravel road and housed and a gutter beside the road. It used to be a mud road and huts, so it is significantly improved. People were very welcoming, especially the kids. They all wanted their pictures taken.
That night we went to a different hotel which was really cozy. My room even had a fire place! We again had a really big meal. Just to focus on the food for a bit, I have never been so thankful for my large appetite. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in one weekend, it was great!
The next morning, most of us climbed up the mountain that was right by the village. It was pretty tiring but really worth it. Some of the areas where just a bunch of rocks that we had to climb over which was kind of difficult going up but really nice going down! We would just find the areas with the small rocks and just let them slide under our feet and carry us down faster. I would call it rock skiing, it was so much fun!!!!
Close to the foot of the mountain, there was a farm horse grazing in the grass so a bunch of us decided to go see it. We approached him slowly and were petting him and he seemed fine. Apparently though, he was a little spooked and stared to turn away from us. We all started to get away as fast as possible but I wasn't quite fast enough. He kicked his feet up a little bit and got me right in between my hip and butt. He wasn't trying to hurt us or anything so it didn't hurt that much but there is definitely a bruise, which I can't even show off to many people due to it's inappropriate location. But now I will never underestimate a horse again and if I'm ever part of a conversation about horse injuries, I get to start mine by saying "Once when I was climbing down a mountain in Romania," which is a pretty sweet opening line.
Our last stop was a street with many shops all down it. We looked around for awhile and then headed back to the vans for the long trip back home. Overall, it was a really great trip and I'm really looking forward all our other class trips.
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| View from the first church we visited. |
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| Frescoes uncovered in a not Reformed church. |
The first night we stayed with host families from a Reformed congregation. I stayed with three other girls from my group, Tanya, Leesha, and Abby. Our host mom fed us dinner and it was soo good!! Amazing potatoes, chicken, and a really flavorful mushroom dish. Our host family had a 1 year old daughter, Vikki, so we spent some time getting to know her. She goes to a music school and wants to be an opera singer. Her school has Romanian and Hungarian students in it which, according to her, is unusual for most schools.
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| Abby, me, our host mom, Leesha, and Tanya. |
A little history of the area to explain this separation. Before WWI, Transylvania belonged to Hungary. After the end WWI and as a result of the Trianon Treaty, Hungary lost much of it's land, including Transylvania, which went to Romania. So now in the area of Transylvania there are Hungarians and Romanians and this creates a certain tension. The Romanians are focused on getting rid of the Hungarian culture, especially in big cities, but I'll get to that later.
So back to the trip. Staying at a host family was great and then we were off again the next morning. We went to Cluj, a very large city in Romania and the city that Andras Visky (a Hungarian playwrite.professor that was at Calvin last year) lives and works. We toured around the city for a little with David filling us in on some history. It is much easier to see the Romanian influence overpowering the Hungarian culture in this city. The cities main square was changed to an area with an Orthodox church and a statue of a Romanian hero (who, unpleasantly, is famous for killing many Hungarian) and away from the old main square with a Reformed church and other Hungarian aspects. (I should point out that we were getting one sided history since our guides were Hungarian and not representing the Romanian side) So after looking around for a bit, we went to the National Theatre in Cluj, where Andras works and got to see it and visit with Andras for awhile. There's going to be European Theatre Festival there in December and many of us are planning on going back for that, which will be amazing!!
After having lunch in Cluj, we drove to our hotel, which was in a small village and really adorable! Our rooms where wonderful looking right onto the church. We ate another amazing meal and then played some games. I played my first drinking game (I was drinking orange pop, but others had beer) called King's Cup. It's a lot of fun. Throughout the game, people have to pour some of there drink into a cup in the middle and the person who draws the fourth King has to drink everything in the cup. At one point it appeared that I had drawn the fourth King but we discovered that it was only the third by the time I was halfway through the cup...oh well, it was still fun.
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| View from my hotel room. |
The next day we toured the church in the village, which had a lot to look at. For example, there was a house that the would use if a couple wanted to get divorced. If such a request was made, the couple was locked in this house together till they figured out their problems. To make the situation even worse, the house only had one bed, one plate, one spoon, one table, and one chair (no knife or fork). The longest stay was 3 weeks and there was only ever one divorce in that village. Maybe we should bring that back?
That afternoon, we visited another church and then went to see what they Gypsy area's looked like. In this area Gypsies are the lowest on the ethnic hierarchy. The area that we went to had recently gotten funds to fix up the area so they had a gravel road and housed and a gutter beside the road. It used to be a mud road and huts, so it is significantly improved. People were very welcoming, especially the kids. They all wanted their pictures taken.
That night we went to a different hotel which was really cozy. My room even had a fire place! We again had a really big meal. Just to focus on the food for a bit, I have never been so thankful for my large appetite. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in one weekend, it was great!
The next morning, most of us climbed up the mountain that was right by the village. It was pretty tiring but really worth it. Some of the areas where just a bunch of rocks that we had to climb over which was kind of difficult going up but really nice going down! We would just find the areas with the small rocks and just let them slide under our feet and carry us down faster. I would call it rock skiing, it was so much fun!!!!
Close to the foot of the mountain, there was a farm horse grazing in the grass so a bunch of us decided to go see it. We approached him slowly and were petting him and he seemed fine. Apparently though, he was a little spooked and stared to turn away from us. We all started to get away as fast as possible but I wasn't quite fast enough. He kicked his feet up a little bit and got me right in between my hip and butt. He wasn't trying to hurt us or anything so it didn't hurt that much but there is definitely a bruise, which I can't even show off to many people due to it's inappropriate location. But now I will never underestimate a horse again and if I'm ever part of a conversation about horse injuries, I get to start mine by saying "Once when I was climbing down a mountain in Romania," which is a pretty sweet opening line.
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| From the bottom. |
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| From the top. Well...close to the top. |
Our last stop was a street with many shops all down it. We looked around for awhile and then headed back to the vans for the long trip back home. Overall, it was a really great trip and I'm really looking forward all our other class trips.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Awesome Holland
So Holland was really awesome!!! I loved being there! I arrived Wed night and got picked up by my Dad's cousin (Yvonne) and her daughter (Danique, who is around my age) and went to their place for the night. Then on Thurs. Danique took me to Groingen and showed me her school and where she lives. It's like an apartment building but only for students. So the rooms are dorm sized with a kitchenette and they share a bathroom. And then we went out for lunch and climbed the church tower in the middle of the city. It's a tiny stone spiral staircase the whole way up, it was sweet!!
After that I took the train to Leiden, where Ada (my cousin who is also one of my closest friends) is going to school for a semester. Leiden is such a beautiful city! All the roads are cobble stone and there are canals everywhere so you always know you are in a different country. We walked around the city and listened to this English musician playing in the street. It was a really relaxing and wonderful night. It was really great to catch up with Ada. Friday morning Ada and I took the train to Amsterdam for our second cousin's (Irene) wedding. We had a little bit of time in the morning so we went on a canal tour. It was ok, but we didn't see much of Amsterdam, it was a lot of similar buildings. I think it would have been better to walk around but it was a little rainy so it worked out.
The wedding was really nice. It was supposed to be outside but because it was raining they moved in inside. The decorations were beautiful and so was Irene. It was a little overwhelming because we were meeting so many new people and there was a live band so it was sometimes hard to hear people but I'm really glad I went.
Most of my Grandpa Wassink's siblings were there and it was really great to get to know them better. We drove home with them and stopped part of the way for dinner. It was so much fun to just sit with my great aunts and uncles and get to know them a little better. I think that night and my night with Ada were my two best moments. And on the way home, we heard a version of Umbrella that sounded as if Elvis was singing it! Really weird!
One thing I know I don't like about Holland is the traffic. On our way back from Amsterdam we hit like 7 traffic jams!! I have never seen so many in my life! But we eventually made it home, so it's all good.
Friday was Danique's Birthday so she had some friends over that night and I hung out with them for awhile when we got back. It was fun to talk to a bunch of people my own age.
Then on Saturday Grandma and Grandpa showed Ada and I around the area. We started at the a Canadian cemetery from WWII. We also saw where my grandparents grew up, the kind of farms they had, my great-great grandma's house, the church my grandparents got married in, and the cemetery my grandma's parents are buried in. It was really amazing to hear my grandparent's stories and to see where they came from.
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| Farm House |
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| Great-great grandma's house |
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| Arjan (dad's cousin), Ada and I in a tree from Grandpa's old stomping grounds |
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| The cemetery grandma's parents were buried in, and a few other relatives. |
That night Danique had her family over for her birthday so we had some fun conversations with them. Sunday I just packed up and got ready to go. I really like knowing that I can travel on my own now. It was really nerve wracking at first but I figured it out many times. Yay for being more independent!
One thing me and Ada noticed a lot and talked about is the amazing connection that comes with being family. We had so many people we just met that weekend open up to us and take care of us. It's a wonderful thing to know that there are so many people out there that are willing to help me when I need it. It also makes traveling so much better because you have place to belong right away.
And one more thing I like about Holland, the bikes! That was the first thing I noticed! There are soo many bikes there!!
So yea, that was my weekend in Holland. Really great! Now I get to start classes!!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Some Pics
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| Part of Gellert Hill |
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| Central Market |
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| St Istvan (Steven) |
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| Parliament Building from Gellert Hill |
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| Budapest at night from Gellert Hill |
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| The Singing Fountain |
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| Middle of Budapest |
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| Szentendre |
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| Szentendre |
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| Path in Szentendre |
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| Szentendre from above |
Overcoming the Rain
Ok, so I wrote this Sept 4 but apparently forgot to post it. Ops! So here it is now!
Hey all! So I know it's been awhile since I've blogged. That is because it has been cold and rainy this whole week. As a result of this weather, I have not been doing many interesting things. We started our process for getting our residency permits, which went pretty well. Hungarian language class continued and is also going well. Thursday was the first sunny day of the week but, unfortunately, I was a little under the weather for most of the day:( I finally felt better and went with a bunch of friends to climb Gellert Hill, a cliff right by the Danube in Buda, at night. It was really great to get out and see the city at night from a great view.
On Friday some of us went to an orientation lecture on the History of Hungary. It was really interesting to hear all that Hungary has been through, a very long and rough history. Then we got lunch from the University, which was really good! After that my friend Tanya and I just did some shopping around Pest. That night we were going to go to the Labyrinth under the Castle District but we were too tired so we just took our time with dinner and then got cheap chocolate at the grocery store.
Today Arielle, Robert, Tanya, Abby, Kyle, and I went to Szentende, a small town close to Budapest that our Hungarian teacher recommended. It was a little rainy/cold and we lost half of our group due to that but we ended up having a really good time. The town had a lot of really cool architecture and lots of really cute shops. We spent most of the day browsing, sitting in coffee shops and hanging out by the Danube. There was this one area where we could walk up a steep path and get a view of the city from high up. There was a church up there and we spent a few minutes quietly sitting in this beautiful and small church, it was really peaceful. And now I'm back home, relaxing.
Half of the girls are in Vienna this weekend and it's really nice to have the space and peace. Not that I don't love them all dearly, but we've been starting to feel the stresses of living with so many people in such a small space. The kitchen and bathroom get dirty so fast. But we have a really great group and we do the best we can.
Hey all! So I know it's been awhile since I've blogged. That is because it has been cold and rainy this whole week. As a result of this weather, I have not been doing many interesting things. We started our process for getting our residency permits, which went pretty well. Hungarian language class continued and is also going well. Thursday was the first sunny day of the week but, unfortunately, I was a little under the weather for most of the day:( I finally felt better and went with a bunch of friends to climb Gellert Hill, a cliff right by the Danube in Buda, at night. It was really great to get out and see the city at night from a great view.
On Friday some of us went to an orientation lecture on the History of Hungary. It was really interesting to hear all that Hungary has been through, a very long and rough history. Then we got lunch from the University, which was really good! After that my friend Tanya and I just did some shopping around Pest. That night we were going to go to the Labyrinth under the Castle District but we were too tired so we just took our time with dinner and then got cheap chocolate at the grocery store.
Today Arielle, Robert, Tanya, Abby, Kyle, and I went to Szentende, a small town close to Budapest that our Hungarian teacher recommended. It was a little rainy/cold and we lost half of our group due to that but we ended up having a really good time. The town had a lot of really cool architecture and lots of really cute shops. We spent most of the day browsing, sitting in coffee shops and hanging out by the Danube. There was this one area where we could walk up a steep path and get a view of the city from high up. There was a church up there and we spent a few minutes quietly sitting in this beautiful and small church, it was really peaceful. And now I'm back home, relaxing.
Half of the girls are in Vienna this weekend and it's really nice to have the space and peace. Not that I don't love them all dearly, but we've been starting to feel the stresses of living with so many people in such a small space. The kitchen and bathroom get dirty so fast. But we have a really great group and we do the best we can.
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