The Road to Sarkad

UPDATE: 

CARDINALS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!

GAME 6 WAS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

This is how we watched all the games!  Thank you Mac

True Cards' fans wake up at 2 AM to watch the game(s)!
(or buy the MLB Package to watch it recorded a day later since there is no one around to tell us what happened)

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We woke up on the last day of Orientation and it was a strange feeling once again for us. We had, in a way, become pretty comfortable in Budapest...and now it was time to leave.  All we really knew was that some lady named Szilvia (Sylvia) was picking us up and taking us to our new home in Sarkad...and we started school the next day.

We were excited to get this thing started though...maybe that's why the orientation is so intense -- that way everybody is happy about getting out of there.  We had packed the night before and took all our luggage to the lobby and piled it with all our fellow CETPer's crap and then waited. 

We had some time to kill and walked down the big hill from our hostel one last time to have a coffee and to buy postcards (which took 3 weeks to arrive in the States).  Plus, Meliss (and this seems silly now) was a bit on the stressed (read: freaking out) side because we hadn't heard ANYTHING from her school at this point (classes started the next day and we didn't even know where her school was besides a town name...or how to get there...or what time it started...ok, maybe it wasn't silly).  We actually contemplated how long we could make it if we arrived in Sarkad and she had no job.  

We had our coffee (which did wonders to calm Melissa's nerves -- oof) and made sure to stop and say goodbye to Bernardo (who, by the way, just picked us up at the train station in Budapest last week to help us get on the right subway in order to get to our bus stop in time to make it to Vienna) -- then headed back to the hostel.  Along the way, we saw a van parked on the side of the road with a guy sleeping across the front seat -- bare feet hanging out the open door.  It was, after all, a hot day.  We were going to take a picture but didn't want to wake him.

Back at the hostel, we took our seats by the other orphans and waited to be collected.  Eventually, Hajni (the director of the program) introduced us to our contact teacher, Szilvia. She was soft-spoken and seemed very nice - we didn't know then (obviously, we had just met) but Szilvia and her husband Lajos (LA-yosh) ARE very nice and have been a tremendous help to us. Melissa has since had to apologize to Szilvia for hugging her all the time because we weren't sure if that was acceptable after all we heard about Hungarians during orientation. Szilivia doesn't care...she just laughs.

The program paid for lunch and so we grabbed some sandwiches and water (we grabbed A LOT of sandwiches and water) and headed for our ride.  As we walked the first load of luggage down the hill we realized that the barefoot guy was now awake and eager to help us load our crap in the back of the van.  At least he was well-rested.  

That was that -- said goodbye to a few folks, grabbed the rest of our stuff, and headed for the van. Szilvia introduced us to Sandor (Shandor) who spoke no English whatsoever -- so we gave him a sandwich and off we went.

It was similar to the feeling one might get as a rollercoaster begins -- we just looked at each other and laughed because we had no...and I mean NO...idea what to expect from where we were heading. We picked Szilvia's brain about life in Sarkad and Gyula, our respective schools, and specifically answers about Melissa's next day. She had some, but not all the answers and we were still kind of in the dark as far as how/where/when Melissa had to do what the next day -- but it all felt a bit better as we rode out of Budapest. However, she did say that we should just come to Sarkad's school the next day at 10 AM and we'd work it out from there.  So, done and done.

Speaking of, the only highways in Hungary are around Budapest. It would be similar to, let's say, 270 around the St. Louis Metro area.  Outside of that, we're talking about 267 or 109 to Jerseyville type of roads -- everywhere else.  

One of the better roads -- at least we felt safe to lean forward and take a picture

It took about a half an hour to clear the highway and then it was madness. We thought Sandor was insane -- riding bumpers, passing people when there was no room to pass, buses careening towards us, etc. (as Meliss and I slowly put our seat belts on). As it turns out, everyone in Hungary drives that way. Even mild-mannered Szilvia zips past people when we ride with her (granted she is passing horse carts, but still).

At about this point, Sandor turned on the AC and rolled up the windows (in an effort to appease the Americans, I think).  It got extremely warm for awhile and then he and Szilvia exchanged a few words and asked us if it was ok to roll the windows down. It was -- but the damage had been done and Meliss and I soon fell asleep.  

We woke up a bit later and could not believe what middle to southern/eastern (just knew we weren't north or west) Hungary looked like.  

We're not in Kansas anymore - wait, yes we are

Or Illiniois

Or Indiana

What the @#$@#! 

We came all this way for Illinois? Did Sandor magic us back to I-55 to Bloomington? As far as we could see on either side -- corn and wheat...and apple orchards.  Shoot -- we could've just gone to Eckerts!

As we closed in on Gyula and Sarkad, Szilvia explained that Budapest really runs the country and the rest are all just following along in a lot of ways -- we explained that Chicago and the rest of Illinois are pretty similar.  Well, this is just great.

Szilvia also offered to drive us through Gyula and by Melissa's school -- but first coffee. We stopped at a roadside gas station, went in for coffee and they gave us -- get this -- four cups (real glass cups) and four saucers. We went out and sat at a picnic table and had our cappuccinos (I spelled that wrong three times before getting it right) and espressos.  Sandor invited us to his wine cellar in Sarkad (ok, we think that's what he said because while we are getting better at it -- it's damned difficult having a conversation thru a 3rd party interpreter).

Sandor had one more stop to make.  He pulled off to the side of the road at a li'l market to buy some peaches and apricots. He bought one each for Meliss and I and we stood by the side of the road and ate fruit. 

Again, new country -- new continent -- but just like buying Calhoun peaches on my way home from school...seriously strange. However, it was super nice and pretty much the opposite of what we had been told about Hungarians. Sandor was always smiling and happy -- talking to us (thru Szilvia) the whole trip -- a lot of fun. 

To be honest, orientation scared the bejeezus out of us regarding Hungarians. Not OF Hungarians necessarily -- but maybe about how we'd be received. Two idiot Americans in a small farm town on the border of Romania? Sandor and Szilvia could not have been nicer to us -- but we were still reticent about life in a small, close knit community.

Back in the van and on to Gyula.  

Bucharest (Romanian capital) is a long way away...but Arad, Romania is not too far
 (in kilometers, so maybe...who knows)

Getting close!

We were wide awake now and taking in everything -- at one point near Békescsaba (the biggest town close to us) we saw a sign for Gokarts.  We joked about how funny it would be if that sign actually meant for real Go Karts...it did.  We really did think that was just a Hungarian word that happened to look the same.  Again, we are not terribly smart.  

Anyway, we made it to Gyula. We had seen pictures (most of you have seen them too) but seeing this place for the first time was incredible. It really is a beautiful little city (not to jinx it -- but we are probably moving there by January).

And then we hit Sarkad. Well, it is not Budapest...it's not Gyula...but it's been home for about 3 months and we have really enjoyed our time here.  As we rolled into the apartment complex, two teachers and two students from my school were waiting to greet us there. They had a welcome card for us and helped us get into the apartment...ahem flat. 

Melissa tearing up

Yep, Welcome IN Sarkad -- Melissa blubbering

And full on tears....we made it!

As I grabbed the bags and loaded myself like a pack mule, Sandor grabbed a bag and went to take Melissa's roller luggage (thanks EAWR!).  I said, "Nem, (that's no -- and one of the few words that doesn't involve strange squiggles, or dots over the letters, or rolled r's) she can get that!" (Szilvia translated) and he just laughed and asked (thru Szilvia) how long we'd been married.  

We got to the 3rd floor of the complex -- I climbed 8 sets of stairs, I don't know how that equates to 3 floors, but whatever -- and they all showed us around. The flat was amazing...not amazing in the sense of "Oh, this was so much more than we expected," but amazing in that it was better than the apt. we lived in when we first got married (Pics coming in next blog).

From left to right...Mogdi, Udit, Orsolya, Doty, Szilvia

SANDOR!!!! (on the left)

Afterwards, Szilvia's husband Lajos picked us up and the four of us toured Sarkad.  It was a short tour, but two things were readily apparent to us. 1 -- Our apartment complex is the second biggest thing in town (a church is first -- it's also the loudest -- it's also really close -- did I mention it's loud?) and 2 -- according to everyone we've spoken to, we are not to mess with the Gypsies (much more on this later as well). 

They took us back to the flat and we said our goodbyes (them: viszonlatasra -- us: goodbye).  Then, they left. And Meliss and I stood in the parking lot and realized that we were the only two English speakers in the whole town (a definite "wow" moment).  So, we went and bought two bottles of wine and watched CNN World which was (the only station) in English. 

Coming up: Our flat, life in Hungary -- Sarkadian style, and our trips to Eger, Romania, Bekescsaba, and Vienna!