Poland!!

On April 13 the Rotary exchange students got together and we had a trip to Poland. The night before on Thursday I slept over at my best friend Fanni's house and it was so much fun :) She came on the trip with us, which was great and it is crazy cause she came with us on the Venice trip and that is how I got to know her. We spent all of Friday driving to Poland but it was so beautiful! We had to drive through Slovenia and it was beautiful. Where we drove through, used to be Hungary. Late at night we arrived to Krakow and we had about an hour or two to see the city. It was so beautiful and full of

parks, open space, and people who are having a great time! It was such a beautiful city and there were huge churches everywhere. There is also a river flowing through the city and there is a castle! The castle is huge and was very beautiful. Of course I did not get to see everything cause we just had a few hours. We woke up early on Saturday and started traveling to Auswits. We arrived actually went to the camp that is next to Auswits, Birkenau. This is the place where all the trains came and where most of the people died. Lots of it was just ruins because they destroyed everything, but there was still some things remaining. It was really amazing to be there and I do not thing amazing is the right word

but it gave me a real feeling of what it was like. You know that I read lost of books back home about the Holocaust but this was something completely different. It was so big you could not even see all of it and there were so many gas chambers and crematories it was insane. We had a guide who took us on a tour and we got to see the remains of the old buildings that were destroyed and the ones the remained we could go into. There was a very strange silence there, and everyone was very quite, it was very interesting. Then we went to Auswits and that was a complexity different story. This was a lot smaller place and was not really a working camp where

you need lots of space. It was more just a place where there were lots of buildings that were used for different things. Inside of all these buildings they have remodeled them and made it into a museum. To me this was horrible and I really did not like it. I do not know why they did not just build a new building next to this place if they really needed a museum. It did not feel real and like it was a long time ago, but from the out side it still looked similar. There was still a gas chamber that was there and we got to go inside. I cannot explain the feel that where I was, was here in every minute of years people were dyeing constantly. Also there was a courtyard where they

Tortured the people. On the wall, like in this picture, you can see that there is still a remaining blood splatter. After this we went to Wieliczka which was a salt mine. Once they finished mining all the salt from it, they made it into a museum or a place where people can go! Everywhere there are sculptures made of salt and there are beautiful designs and picture carved into the walls. It was so big and very interesting! We arrived again to Krakow in the night and had time to go around the city. It was so beautiful and I spent time with the other exchange students. For the first time I really felt a connection with them and loved speaking with the American students. We talked about all the little things that I had forgotten about at home like pop-tarts or just how we speak! It was super and for the first time I really enjoyed speaking english! On this trip it was really awesome because I got to meet with two kids from Hungary that are coming to Colorado next year! We had two districts in Colorado and Pal is coming to our district and to the Denver district is going the Hungarian girl. We took a

Colorado is awesome picture. The girl on the right with the blond hair is the other girl from Colorado who is in Hungary right now! The trip was really good and I would love to go back to Poland some time!

Easter!!

On Wednesday the 4th, after school I moved back to Hajduszoboszlo. It is nice to be back with my family, but now I am realizing how much I love the Zatik family! They are so amazing, kind, funny and like a real family to me! On Thursday we did not have school because we had a break from Thursday to monday because of Easter. I stayed home with the family and we had a great time catching up!! Then on Friday I went to a concert at my school where one of my classmates sang and he was very good! On Saturday was the start of the Easter Festival. In the morning I went and learned how to paint hungarian eggs. For an hour you need to boil the peel of red onions and then boil the eggs in that. When they have taken a red-brown color you need to fill a bowl with viniger and then with the tip of a tooth pick dip it in the viniger. Then you can draw on the egg cause it will take the color off of the egg. Saturday after noon I went to Debrecen back to the Zatik family :) We also painted eggs and it was lots of fun. I was also just really happy to be back with my family! We got up early on Sunday and went to

Church. My grand father is the pope and they are Greek Catholic. They have a special tradition around Easter that they fill a basket with foods like stuffed meat, boiled eggs, bread, wine or palinka and ham. They bring it to the church where then the pope blesses it with water and then again with steam. The church was very beautiful and so were his cloths!! After that we went to the grand parents house to have breakfast. We ate from the basket and it was very good. Then after that we had lots of sweets, cake and ice-cream. I spent the day with them and we enjoyed each-others company and it was fun to be with the grand parents. Then later I came back home to Hajduszoboszlo. Sunday night

We cooked and baked a lot, to prepare for Monday. On Monday woke up to find that the easter bunny had been here and left lots of candy and chocolate! It also left me a big bunny stuffed animal. We set the table and laid out all of the foods that we cooked and waited the water boys! In Hungary it is tradition that the men and boys come to the girls and water them with perfume! So through out the day my dad came and grandpa and watered me. They memorized a poem and then asked if they could water me and then sprayed me. To thank them I gave them an egg that I painted and then chocolate. They then ate the food that we made for them. So Easter here is a 2 day holiday and is a very important day that everyone celebrates. Kellemes husveti unnepeket kivanok!!

new things come with spring

Wow!! Here it is warm warm warm! 82! Almost to warm! ha ha but things are good. Last weekend on March 31 I went with the collage here to Slovenia hiking! Yahoo a new country for me! It was really pretty and was similar to the climate at home and that was a nice surprise! But it was wetter than in Colorado. Where we were was a very interesting place because we got to hike on the high top of the valley and then on the way back, in the valley next to the river! Next to the river we crossed lots of bridges and there were steps made into the rocks everywhere and it was very interesting and made it a lot more exciting! I had a really good time, and when I got home my family was waiting for me :) On Sunday the first we celebrated my grandpa's birthday and host sisters. Plus we kind of had last big meal/get together with me. It was really good to be with my family and wow I have really grown to love them :) My grandparents have even grown to love me and told me they were very sad that I am going and to always come back! Then on Tuesday one of my friends invited me to go to another pig killing! I was so happy 

And excited! So remember when I went to Hajduhathaz, and met all of the cute old ladies, that then invited me to Tokaj to drink the wine, well one of them invited me to go to her pig killing. I got there in the morning around 9 and that is when the work started! I could not go to the killing because it was on the farm where the pig lived :( but then they brought the pig to the house and together we started working! We cut the pig just like in Romania but there was just five of us and that went that I got to do a lot of work! My favorite part was when we had to scrape all of the poop and stuff out the intestines and to make sure we did not rip them we had to blow them up like a balloon!

But also we did not have a machine that would stuff them with the meat and with the mixture of heart, liver, and these things we had to stuff it will our hands! This was amazing because I go to feel what everything felt like! There were also some differences because this was a family tradition to do right before Ester so they have good food. So after they killed the pig, they collected the blood you know, and before they started cutting the pig they made breakfast which was onion blood! It was really good :) ha ha and then for lunch we had fresh meat and fat cooked! It was so good. I am sure that I have never had better meat cause it was so fresh, just hour before this it was living!! wow :)

Plus when we made the blood horka, we did not cook it as much before we added the fat, and so it was more liquidly than before. It was really good. Then we cooked them and had them for dinner! It was very good! Plus it was a more traditional place because they used tradition pots, pans, and tools. Oh and we were in a very traditional little village. Everyone that walked my said good work! Good work! It was a really good feeling and I had a lot of fun! But then the next day, on Wednesday after school everyone moved. I really love my family and it was hard to say good by to them. But now I truly believe that I will go back and see them lots because they live really close to the school! When 

I said good my host parents told me how proud they are of me and how much I have done this year! And my host brother would not let me go when I gave him a hug and told me I have to come back. We drove together to Hajduszoboszlo and wow it was so great to see my parents here too! They were so excited to see me and right away called me their baby and we talked talked talked. Now I have been here for two days and I feel so at home. I know it sounds funny but I know I am at home cause my host mom invited me to go shopping! And it was great cause I loving going grocery shopping with my mom back home! :) Things are going good here!