Boldog új évet

Boldog új évet! Happy New Years!

Yahoo! December 31 my family and I just hung out around the house! Then around five we went into town where everyone filled the main street. There were people in Hungarian traditional costumes who were wiping these traditional Hungarian whips. There were also people who were dancing with fire. Then the town lit off fire works! When all the excited was over we went to my grand parents house were we had some amazing food and some sweets. I spent the night with my family hanging out, watching movies, and of course eating special Hungarian new year foods! When the clock struck 12, we turned the TV to the 

new station where we sang along to the Hungarian 

nation anthony.Then we drank a glass each drank a glass of Champaign and celebrated! In Hungary the new year is a big thing and they have really interesting traditions and beliefs. For example on New Years Eve they eat a soup called "hang over soup" and they also have a special drink/food where they cut up oranges, pineapples, cherries, and peaches and put beer and alcohol in it. Both were very good :) ha ha Then on the first day of January they do not eat fish or any bird, because the fish will swim away with your luck and the birds will fly away with your luck. Instead they eat this food called "lencse" which I cannot figure out what it is in english. They are really small, and you can look it up on google, but if you eat lots of them, then you will get rich, similar to if they were money! ( they are like lots of little luck) Another thing is that what ever you do on the first of the month, is what you will do on the rest of the year! That means lots of relaxing and having fun for me! :) 

Hiking in Romania!

Yahoo! I went to Romania on Friday December 30th! I got up really early around 3 and met about 40 other people in Debrecen around 4 and we started the journey to Romania. We got to the boarder in an hour or so and at the boarder the police stamped my passport! Yahoo :) We started driving in the mountains about an hour and a half later, and there was snow every where! We were on a huge bus and I, from living in the Vail Vail I knew we were not going to make it up the road. I was rite, cause half way up we got stuck! It was so crazy and took an hour to get unstuck! When the road we were on ended all there was, was a hotel and a few houses you could rend and stay in. It

was really sweet cause families just came up here to be in the mountains and to sled! Soon we started on the hike. In about two hours of hiking in the snow we arrived at the top of a mountain. We pasted the tree line about ten minutes before we got to the top. When we got to the top we were about even or above the clouds and I felt like I could see for ever! The air was so fresh and clean and the view was amazing! Everyone got in a big circle and started singing the Hungarian national anthony. Then we call pulled out plastic cups and drank Champaign! Even I did :) After having a good time and celebrating the coming of a new year, we went back down the way we came and some people even sledded down the mountain. It was a very interesting experience for me because I wore teni-shoes, not knowing that there would be snow! Luckily a guy brought extra of these waterproof sock things that went over the bottom of my pants! I stayed pretty warm but was happy when on the way back to Hungary we stopped at a hot springs and went swimming! I had a really great time and made lots of new friends again!! :)

Christmas!

Boldog karácsonyt!! Merry Christmas!

My Christmas started on the 24th, Christmas Eve. I woke up and everyone wished me a merry christmas, and here Christmas Eve is just as big celebration as christmas! On the 24th everyone puts up the tree, and so did we. We decorated the tree, similar to how we decorate the christmas tree at home. But instead of putting the lights on the tree before the ornaments we them on after!! The tree was gorgeous, but unfortunately they do not leave them up for very long! Then we started to cook a lot and get ready for all of the family that was going to come for dinner. Emi's parents and Emi's broth her family came around four. We ate the BIGGEST and BEST meal ever, and then all gave 

each-other presents, although just with the other family members, not with in the close family.Everyone sang and was just so happy to be with one another on this day. Then around eight everyone left and the family and I opened our presents! My family was super sweet and gave me amazing gifts! I got two new shirts, a Hungary calendar, a Hungarian book and many more wonderful things! We stayed up talking and laughing and enjoying being together! Christmas Day we went to all the families houses, and were barley at home at all. When we got home around 8, I skyped with my parents until early in the morning! My christmas holiday was great and I loved that we celebrated two days! It was also so different for me because here, it means something really special to just be with the family, and it is important that everyone gets together. So they were as happy as can be, and the presents did not mean anything to them compared to just the gift of being together! I too, was thrilled to be a part of this wonderful new family of mine! :)

Skiing in Italy!

UNBELIEVABLE! Sunday December 11 at midnight 43 other students, 6 teachers and I left from Debrecen heading to Italy! My school put on a ski trip to Bellamonte Italy. After 16 hours of driving through the beautiful mountains of Austria, Sloveina, and Italy we arrived to our little hotel San Celso. We stayed in a little village that was in a valley with two other villages. These were the bases of a group of ski resorts.  Through out the week we went the the largest of the three resorts three days and the second biggest twice. We skiied from about 9:30 to 3:30 for five days. It was a 100 % different kind of skiing for me! Starting with the ski lifts! We had a ticket that we could keep in our jacket and before every lift there would be a reader

that would scan our passes, not people. Then before the lifts they had a gate that would open right before the chair came, and then you would ski on to this magic-carpet type thing that would take you forward until the chair came around and you would sit down. They had mostly four person chairs, alot of chairs with bubbles, a 6 person chair, and several gonolas! Here it is like a stricked rule that you must put the bar down and I did not see one person not put the bar down! The next thing that was different was the runs! The easiest was blue, then green and then black. Every single run was groomed and was similar to a green or blue at home. They did not have any black runs open because there was not enough snow. The interesting thing about the runs, was that they were all made by snow cats. The first thing I asked was if there were any good tree runs. I got a blank look like   I was talking in another language or something, and found out that I pretty much was!

They told me that in Europe no one skiis in Europe and it is not allowed. The only places they ski is on the runs that the snowcats make! I was so confused and did not understand this! I soon figured out also that since they only ski on groomers their way of skiing is different than the way I ski. They were really good at carving and to me it looked like everyone around me were racers! They all went as fast as the could making huge GS turns or small and fast quick turns! Also the crazy thing was that skiers stopped everywhere in the middle of the runs! Since so many kids came on this ski trip we broke into four groups based on how well you could see. I was in the best group with 11 other kids. Every day we had a new teacher from our

school who skiied with us and would teach us how to be better skiiers. It was funny cause we got assignments like ski on one ski, or make quick fast turns or some weird things. Everyone in my group and all the people that were skiing here looked like the turists that I make fun of back home! Everyone had small googles, gaper gaps, used skiny racing skis and did that racer style tuck where their poles go strait up in the air! :) I wish I could say that I looked as stylish as I do back home but I to was using racing skis, unmaching blue pants that had suspenders- which of course I wore! The whole time I was there I only saw very few snowboarders, and only a few "freestyle" looking people. They looked just like the skiiers at home with twin tip skis, small poles, Electric, DC, and other american brands. I do not know what they were doing cause there was no park here.

It snowed on the drive there, and then again on Friday but not enough to notice that it was snowing. The weather was similar to at home but defintaly not as pretty as the Colorado blue skys! During the nights we played pingpong, cards, and fosball! They have fun different pingpong game, a different fosbal table, and they also play BS and mophyia! I shaired a room with two girls and made lots of new friends, again! I had a new and great experience this week and got back Sunday night at midnight and did not have to go to school today!! This week I also realized how lucky I am go to skiing every weekend, in the trees, in powered, in truly the best ski resort in the world! 

My Soul City

In the morning Friday December 9th, I rode the train into BudaPest. Here all the exchange students met up and we all went to Győr, a city about two hours away. The Győr Rotary club hosted us all and then on Saturday took us on a trip to Vienna! We traveled by bus for a long time but arrived to Vienna around noon. I spend the day admiring the beautiful buildings. They had a similar architecture to the other buildings I have seen in Europe but they were well taken care of and very clean. They had very nice, beautiful, and fancy stores with glass windows so you could see in. People were speaking every language imagionalble, walking in and out of stores and smiling just as big as I was.

The energy flowing through the streets swarmed through me and I have never felt more at home or like I belonged in a place like did here! After walking through the city, it became dark and a Christmas market took place! It was similar to the one in Debrecen but filled with beautiful gift, delisious food, and cheerful people! The area was lit up with lights and festive decorations and the sound of happyness filled the air. Unfortuantly 5:00 came soon and we had to leave and head back to Győr. I did not get to see all of the city, just around the center where we were, but I found out the city has a big castle and lots of great musicums! I am postive that I am going to go back! I had the most amazing weekend here :)

Christmas time already??

Yup :) here in Hungary it is already Karácsony-kor! The streets of Debrecen are all light up with lights and all day long they play Christmas music. Every night they have a huge shopping even where there are little wooden houses, or booths set up where people are seeing things! Here in Hungary they celebrate the time around Christmas a little different. First they celebrate Advent. This is where there is a wreath with four candles. Starting four weeks before Christmas on a Sunday they light on candle and then the next week two and so on until they are all lit! This past Sunday was the second time we lit the wreath. Also tomorrow is Mikulás Napja. This is the day were someone like Santa comes and brings the kids chocolates and candy!

He comes tonight, and they celebrate and find the gifts tomorrow morning. The tradition is to put out a clean boot under your window, so tonight I did that! :) Mikulás came a little early I got my surprises! He brought a beautiful warm sweat for the cold days here, lots of chocolate, a little Mikulás, a moose candle, and some hair ties! Today I went with Rotary to  a kindergarden to give early presents! There was one group of kids that was disabled and they sang songs for us and even baked up Hungarian Christmas cookies!

-It has been a great start to my holiday season! :)

:) Loving Life

I do not think I have every been happier! Right now I am living here in Hungary and enjoying each and every moment! Unfortuantly they pass very fast...... repülnek a napok. This means the days fly by, and just like in they US they say that here! My weeks are starting to get busier  and busier now that I added a Hungarian tutor to my schedual! I am really excited because we are going to meet twice a week, just she and I! I hope that I will begin to learn the language and its crazy difficult grammar better! On this past Friday I went to the movies! It was great because it felt like I was a normal teenage girl here in Hungary, and guess what... now I am! We saw Breaking dawn and it was in English with Hungarian subtitles. The movie theter was interesting because you baught your ticket out front, but you baught a specific seat! I went with three Hungarian girls we all of course got really excited when Jacob came on the screen!

Today my family and I celebrated my host moms Name Day. There is a day for persons name and on Thursday Emi had her names day. Lajos's mom and Emi's mom and dad came and we had a big lunch feast! It was kind of like a make up thanks giving, but I think with better food!! ha ha. Afterwards we started decorating for Christmas!! Yahoo!! :) We plan to continue putting up more and more things around the house as the holiday comes closer and closer! Happy Thanks Giving to everyone, hope it was a great one!! Lots of love <3 Maggs

Mountains?

     *For the first time, I had to think to myself- "is this really a mountain or is this just a little hill?-

Bükk hegység!

 On November 19, at 6 in the morning, I left Debrecen with a group of people all ages. We drove for two hours to the only Mountains in Hungary. I slept on the way there, woke up once, and looked out the window. To my suprize i saw snow on the ground! When we got to the 'mountains' there was no snow on the groud but lots and lots of ice/dust layer of something like snow everywhere! The first day we walked on a pavement trail for while and then went off on to a path. We ate lunch at what used to be a castle but I could not even tell! I guess all the trees and plans grew over it, and I was actually standing on top of it eating my lunch! We walked on some more and soon came to a cute little hotel/hostel place where we would spend the night. I shared a room with three girls that go to my school, but I was just meeting them for the first time. The next day was very strange weather for me! It was very cold and foggy and we could barily see. The ground, trees, and everything was covered in white ice/snow and was very pretty! It was a great trip, even though it was nothing like hiking in the US. I had lots of fun speaking just Hungarian and everyone was super kind :)

Best őszi-szünet EVER!

After my exciting halloween, I thought that I could not have anymore fun this break, but I was wrong! The next day, Wednesday I went to my friend Panni's house. She lives in Debrecen and we had tons of fun together! Her mom made us what they consider mexican food! It was a flour tortilla with chicken, corn, and whole beans in it. I have to say it was really good! Her mom also made us tomato soup from Italy and then the best dessert ever! I got chocolate muffins as a 'birthday cake' and then Tiramisu!! Then after lunch Panni and I played on the computer, just looking a pictures and then played Sims! Ha ha it is funny cause I used to play Sims back home! As a present she drew the most real looking picture of the two of us! She is so great at drawing. Then before I left we had grapes from Italy and they are so good, not to mention huge! I really had a great time with her and her family.

The next day was my birthday!! Yahoo and it was an amazing day! :) I woke up, not to early but early enough so I could fit a whole bunch of exciting things into my day! 

For breakfast I had lecho and eggs, which is my new favorite! Lecho is paprika (which are similar to bell peppers), onion, and tomatoes sautéed together for like 3 hours, just absorbing each-others flavors! Then you can do anything thing you want with it, and so I put it in my eggs! After that I opened my birthday cards and ever since one of them was amazing and made me so happy! Thanks for all of your birthday wishes! I spend my day hanging out with Emi and Lajos which was great! We cooked, watered flowers (I know crazy right! Watering flowers in November) and just enjoyed each-others company! Then they took me out to dinner! Before we left they gave me a bag! 

Inside was the sweetest gifts, that I knew they picked out just for me. I got a new journal and some pens (they think it is crazy how much I write), a beautiful scarf, a cute phone case,  some nail polish, and my favorite-a matching dress/shirt to the one Emi always wears! Hers is gray and mine is beautiful orange! We then went to this restaurant in town where there was a table waiting for use with flowers on it! They said Boldog Születésnapot Maggie! Then when the waiter came they pulled out the alcohol menu and asked me what I wanted! Ha ha, but then they told me to choose a drink I wanted and order it 'virgin'. We all got tropical, colorful drinks! Soon we ordered our food which turned out to be one of the best meals I have ever had! It is a tradition on birthdays in Hungary to have this huge firework type canals on birthday cakes and right when we finished our plates out arrived my birthday cake with fireworks coming out of it! It was the most beautiful cake I have ever seen with the American and Hungarian flag mixed between it! It was hillarias because the cook messed up and put 17 on the cake! 

Lajos and Emi freeked out, but I loved it because hey who does not want to be 17! Lajos and Emi remembered that I love vanilla cake and nuts so I got a vanilla, nuts, and cream layer birthday cake! By the time we went home we had eaten enough to make us full for a year, laughed so hard we cried, and I had, had the best birthday ever. But it was not over because right when I got home I called my parents on Skype! It was great getting to talk to them, and it felt like they were right here with me celebrating! After talking to them for over 4 hours it was 12:30 and I was pooped!

On Friday I had a party at my house. I invited 9 girls over. So before the party Emi and I made sandwiches, baked some treats, and got the house ready! All the girls arrived around 2! We ate and talked and then we started the project! I had us make paper mache balloons! It was very funny because they had never done anything like it and it got everywhere! While they were drying we ate delicious cake that Emi made and opened presents! I never thought I could get some many wonderful gifts, but did did! I think I got enough chocolate to last me FOREVER,which is OK because it is the best chocolate I have ever had. I also got some really unique things like a picture frame with a picture of my friend Fanni and I, hand made necklace and matching bracelet, a Hungarian history book, a Hungarian cook book, and New Moon in Hungarian! 

The best gift though was just being with them, laughing and having a great time! Unfortunately the time past fast and soon they all had to go home.
On Saturday I finally got to do some relaxing! I slept in late and then around 5 rode the bus into Debrecen. My friend, Elvira, was dancing before a music show and bought me a ticket to the show for my birthday! It was great because I got to watch her dance, and then listen to many different musicians and bands! Today I spend time with Lajos and Emi and just relaxed! Boy what a great week and an amazing birthday! The best present was not something that I can show you, or that you can see. It was that I feel like apart of the Máté and like Lajos and Emi really care about me! Nothing could ever top this! Or could it...... :)

My Hungarian Halloween!

One of my classmates, the girl on the far left Dori, invited me to her house to celebrate Halloween. She and her mom told all the neighbors to decorate their houses, buy candy, and have their kids go tricker-treating on Halloween. We Saturday afternoon two of my other class mates, Panni (the girl next to Dori) and another Dori (the girl next to me) rode the train to Nyíregyháza, a town about 40 minutes from Debrecen, where Dori lives. Dori and her family picked us up from the train station and then took us to have some fun! First we went to a go-cart track that was in a garage! It was tuns of fun and I LOVED going fast! Plus it was fun to drive again :) Then we went bowling. This was hilarious

because i do not think that any of the them had
Bowled before! They usually threw gutter-balls that went strait into the gutter with a thunk! It was interesting because the bowling alley was something similar to ours at home but only with five or six lanes. It was even the same brand as at the Back Bowl. The next day was... halloween!! Yahoo :) In the  morning Dori showed us around town. I think that it is a rather new town. They had lots of American things and a lot of the neighbor hoods and buildings were very modern. Then we went back to her house were we had lunch. We had a Romanian food which was meat in a spicy sauce mixed in with french fries and it was very good! After lunch Dori's little sister came home and she was SO cute! She was so curious about me and kept trying to talk to me. I could not understand her very well and she could not understand me at all, ha ha.

But we still had a lot of fun together. We all drew and then decorated Doris house with Halloween decorations. Once it got dark we started changing and getting ready for the night! I decided to be a farmer and Dori let me use some overalls that she had. The three of them wanted to be witches ha ha. It was a good choice because I think every girl in the US has been a witch for one halloween or another.
When it became dark all the neighbors showed up at our house. There were kids from the age of 3 to 20 and who were dressed as zombies, ghosts, and things that I do not even know what! We all walked around together from house to house! When we got to the first house where no one answered the door every one started chanting VC PAPIR!! Or in english TOLIT PAPER! I was so surprised, because that only happens in moves,
And I had never TPed a house before! But they thought that was part of the holiday so by the end of the night we used put 4 or 5 rolls of paper. We got lots and lots of yummy candy, but it is Hungarian candy and really different! There are no snickers, twirlers, or pixy sticks, but lots of yummy chocolates and lots of hard fruit candies. The neighbors did a great job decorating their houses, and a lot of them even carved pumpkins! I did not get to, but there is always next year! We stayed up really late laughing and talking and of course eating all the candy! The next day we were super tired and so just hung out around Doris house.
We watched TV with her sister who insisted we watch Sweet Life on Deck, and Phineas and Ferb! Then we watched the Ugly Truth in Hungarian :) HA HA. Even though it was not an american Halloween at all, it was still an amazing one and one I will defiantly never forget. Then before we left they had a little birthday suprise for me! We cake and then they gave me a present! It is a very beautiful blue shirt! They told me it is from them, and two other girls in my class! :)

Start to myőszi-szünet

:) Yahoo!! Starting after school of Friday was the beginning to a week long break!! It is called the őszi-szünet which means autumn break. To start it off I went to my home room teachers house on Saturday! It sounds we weird that I went to my teachers house, I know! She took me to a local pastry business and we had yummy sweets!! We spent the day mostly just talking and then cook and ate dinner! After dinner I got a big surprise! She made a Hungarian apple cake for my birthday! She lit a candle that said 16 and I then I blew it out and made a wish! She also gave me this really cute pillow case.
Then on Saturday I went with Dori, Emi, and Lajos to Lajos's moms house. She lives in a small town about 40 minutes away called Püspökladány. When we got to her house she gave us lots of baked treats and my favorite pogacsas! Then we all went to the Cemetery and visited their dead family. In Hungarian there is a holiday on November 1 called Halottak Napja which is a day to remember the dead. So for the few days before everyone goes to the cemetery and puts flowers lights candles. It was very pretty to me and I found it very interesting. It was similar to in the US but they had flat, tall, boxy graves instead of grave stones. When we finish we went back her house to have lunch. It was the biggest lunch I have ever had! First we had soup, next we had something similar to sautéed chicken on top of potatoes, then stuffed cabbage, then sausage and pasta, and then a dessert thing!! I do not know all of the names or how to describe it but it was a lot of food! A good start to the break so far and lots more exciting things to come!

KOSÁRLABDA

Yahoo :) On Wednesday the 26th I got to play in my schools first basketball game of the 'season'. I do not really know if they have seasons here and I did not even know that my school was going to have basketball games! I think that we will play the other schools in Debrecen. The game of basketball is a lot different here. It is way less aggressive and played at a noticeably slower pace. The sides of the 3 second box are also not strait they are kind of diagonal!! Plus after the second free-through you can enter the box once the ball leaves her hands!! So the game was held at our school and we hosted a school called Reformatus. We had ten girls and they had ten girls. We played 4 ten minute courters and for the first half of the game we played in a man on man and second half we played zone. We destroyed them, and the final score was 75 to 23 us!! Ha ha. When the game was over we shook hands the same way we do in the US. It was really fun and ha ha a different experience to play with girls that just get out to have fun instead of working hard to become good. In hungary it is more about just getting out and being active, which for me is a new way to look at sports!! :)

VENICE

              

   

 AHHHHH!!!!!!! :) Ok so Friday I went to Budapest meet up with everyone going to Venice for the weekend. I got there about an hour early so I got to see some of the City again. It is so beautiful and I love it! When I was waiting in the lobby of the mall in Budapest, some girls came up to me. They were Hungarian and recognized me because they go to my school. We talked and they were also going to Venice. We found everyone else and loaded the bus. I sat next to one of the girls that I just met and we spoke Hungarian together for a while, although I do not know how much I understood! At about 4 or 5 we arrived to Lake Balaton on the western side of Hungary. The lake was very beautiful and I hope I visit it during the summer when it is not so cold! Then we went to a restaurant and had dinner before loading the bus and heading to Italy!  I stepped into the ground of the third country I have every been in at about 8 in the morning! We took a motor boat into the city and it was awesome! They used this boat like a 'bus' transportation system and so people were going to and from work on it! Once we arrived in the Saint Mark’s Square we were told we could do what ever we wanted and to meet back here at 6:30! So with my new 6 or 7 Hungarian friends and an exchange student from Germany walked the city! I am in love the with architecture and the old buildings! The statues and sea was so beautiful too! When you are in Venice you walk in-between the buildings which are not very far part. You often walk on bridges because the water is flowing in canals through the city! There are bakeries, clothing stores, souvenir shops, mask shops, art shops, restaurants, and tons more kinds of stores! Every inch of the food shops where filled with sweets, chocolates and fresh baked goods! The most common thing I saw was beautiful masks, that they were for the Carnival that is in February! For lunch we stopped at a restaurant where I had my first 'real' Italian pizza! It had a very thin crust but was very good! Also they put olive-oil on the top and it makes it taste delicious! Then we went to a part of the city call Rialto and this was my favorite part of the trip! I got to bee surrounded by the old, beautiful buildings, while being a part of the culture here! There was an open air market where fresh vegetables, fruit and fish were being sold! I loved seeing how the same food changes from place to place, because the grapes here were very big!! The fish was beautiful, and kind of scary at the same time! A lot of the fish were still alive and moving around!! Then we went to a bakery and got some sweets! I do not know how to describe it other than absolutely AMAZING! Before we left I also got some gelato and man it was good! My day was absolutely amazing and Venice was beautiful! I do not think that I stopped smiling the whole day! We had a long bus ride home but safely arrived back into Debrecen around 9 Sunday morning.  

Exciting Weekend!!

On Saturday, October first, I went with Rotary to Hortobágy. This is the large plane, that is not far from Hajdúszoboszló. Only a few members went on the trip, and the other four exchange students went as well! This time I got to see the other side of the plane, which is actually a swampy area. We went to lots of animal parks where they are preserving the animals and their habitats. It is not like a zoo because they do not interact with the animals. The animals actually migrate to Africa during the winters! I got to see a Hungarian Eagle, lots of special birds, some Hungarian wolfs, Hungarian cats, and learn about lions and other animals that are no long alive.

 
That was fun but nothing compared to my Sunday! So earlier this week my Friend Anita the runner was telling me about a run that was going to happen in BudaPest. It was a marathon. You could run a 1/2 or a full, by yourself or with a team. And then right before the weekend, I she called and told me that one of the members of her team dropped out, and so she invited me! So our team, The Pink Panthers, was made of up four women in collage and me!!

  
We left Debrecen at 6 in the morning and the race began at 10. It started in Pest and the first girl ran 12.5k. Then I ran across the Arpad Bridge on to Buda. Then I ran along the Danube River for a total of 10k. Then Anita ran 6.1 k, the next girl ran 4.6 and the last girl ran 9k. We came in .001 seconds behind the team in 4th place, making us fifth! We did really well and I had a lot of fun :) I did not get to see much of the city, just when we were walking to and from the starting points, but even after seeing that much I REALLY want to go back because it was beautiful! I also made friends with lots of people this trip and have already grown to LOVE HUNGARY!

Check out the website of this race at http://www.futas.net/futoverseny/marathon/budapest-maraton.php

Time is flying by!

Time is going by and I am busy busy! Every weekend I feel like I have had something big and exciting going on which is amazing :)
*So on Friday the 23 I met with the of the girl that won the race as in Hajdúszoboszló. Her name is Anita and she is very nice! She took me to meet her friends and then I got to run with them! They invited me to run with them every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have only gone to one but I plan to go to more!
*The next day on Saturday my school had a celebration called a Szalagtűző. This is a pre graduation ceremony for the 12th graders. Every student was presented with a pin and then every class danced. They all had different dances that they have been practicing since the beginning of school (earlier when I went with my friend to her school dance class, this is what they were practicing for). Every class danced dances from different places so their was a pirate dance,waltz, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian and so on. It was very interesting and fun!

*Then on Sunday I ran in a short run at the huge mall in Debrecen. It was a little less than a mile and I got third place!
*Between all of this I have been having a great time in school! My friends are amazing and so kind! Some girls get together after school and play basketball and I have made lots of friends that way as well! I am doing pretty well learning Hungarian and love speaking it!! All is well and life is good :)

Hortobágy

Today I went with Dori, Lajos, Emi, and Emi's parents to Hortobágy! Hortobágy is a town that is on a National Preserve. It is preserving one of the largest plans in Europe. On the plan are people and animals that are from Hungary along time ago. All of the buildings on the plan are from over fifty years ago and are being used by Hungarians keeping their cultural alive. Some of the animals here are Hungarian breads and can only be found on this Preserve!There were crazy looking sheep like animals with super curly horns, dogs with dreadlocks, buffalo that could run faster than horses and even pigs with long hair! While we were there we got to see a Hungarian horseback rider who stood on the horse while they were running! And I even got to ride one of the horses!