Goodbye Hungary

We got up at 5am to leave. Sophie’s mom packed me some pancakes with Nutella to bring with me and I even got Hungarian chocolate and Nutella! They’re so kind! I hugged them all goodbye and got in the car with my techers and five students.

We met the others at the airport 20 minutes before the luggage drop opened. Our teachers disappeared and had absolutely no information so I was left to tell the others when the drop would open. Me at age 12 would have been a better travel-guide than our teachers. Oh, well. This is where the story's ending guys. And it was wonderful. I've made some friends for life and I've promised to come back. All is well.






-Mari Clémentine

Last Farwell - Hungary

The farwell party took place at a club called Studio 74 not far from Arkad, so we decided to walk. It was a dance studio at the second floor of an old building, at the top of a narrow staircase. We gathered along the walls staring at each other. Everyone was there and everyone had brought food.
   Our dance teacher arrived to teach us Hungarian dances and we all stood, ran and danced in a huge circle. Then, after a lot of sweating, we thought our friends the Norwegian “slå på ring/hit the ring” and had a good laugh.

   After all of this, the mood kind of died. We knew it was our last minutes. For many of us, it was probably the last time we ever got to see each other. Two of the girls left and it was on. We all hugged each other, and lost count of how many had left and who. I hugged a Hungarian guy, but met him again at the bottom of the stairs with the girls. “One more!” we all screamed and hugged again.    
    Before leaving the building John pulled me to the side saying “I have to give you something.” So we went outside to the top of the staircase and he took of his bracelet. “I want you to have this.” And he put it on my arm. “A reminder that I will seriously come looking for you to get it back.” I was touched. So was the others.
    We stood outside hugging and smoking when Sophie's father came to pick us up. I didn’t cry. I know John nearly did. But that night I was thinking of leaving and I got rather sad. I didn’t want to go, I didn’t want to leave this beautiful summer country and all their weird tasting food. Nor the pancakes.

(Derp picture, we only filmed that night...)

-Mari Clémentine

30 degrees, Nutella and cards - Hungary at its best

I woke up and felt fine! After the last 30 hours I really needed that even though it’s our last day. Last breakfast. Last busride to school. Last day at school. It was surreal. I didn’t want it to end yet. Of course I was tired, but if I could have just slept for the weekend, I would’ve been fine!   The school was still huge and old, but I loved it and when having our presentation, knowing that it didn’t set a grade, I had fun. For the break they took us to their class to introduce to some non-englsih-speaking guys. It was weird. 

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We all went to one of the girls after school. They had a huge garden with a tent and fruit trees and benches and so on. It was a hot day. The sun was shining, it was 30 degrees. What was not to love? Oh, the bbq’ing. Haha, Hungarian food is not a favourite and I knew more was waiting at home. When not lying around in the shadow I was playing cards with some Hungariansl. We thought them Norwegian card games such as Idiot and Turn the 8. We ate some cooked meat and potatoes before going off to the mall to get some new shoes.

World’s best mom
I love my host family and with another Norwegian girl in the house things were even better. She was staying in my room and we decided to try on each other’s clothes for tonight’s "Farwell" party. I borrowed her new dress and she borrowed my new skirt from Budapest. Then I asked the family to take a family-picture with me. It turned out really well and I also posed for some with Muffin, the dog.
   We got some summer-grilled-meat for dinner and then, in the memory of me saying “The best thing I know is pancakes with nutella” we got pancakes with nutella! I could barely finish one, but got the other for night-snack later. Oh, I love my life! 


-Mari Clémentine

Hungarian Food - yes or no?

I’m not gonna tell you about the morning. It was time for another school trip to see some caves. I felt so bad, I don’t wanna think about it. We did some sunbathing by a lake and then went to see some mills. Not to interesting, at least not when feeling bad. I went home to my host family to sleep and the others went out to play paintball. Missing out again…

PICTURE

So I can use this to write about something else: The food. In Hungary food is very important and we got to taste a lot of it. Some of it delicious and some of it really horrible. Even worse, they eat a lot and I don’t so it’s been a nail-biting week. “Will-dinner-taste-good?” What’s my tips to you? Try your best! Taste new things and even if you don’t like it, pretend, cause they will be so so happy.

-Mari Clémentine

We found their weed and Palinka - Hungary

Today we started of rather later at the mayor’s office, climbing the city hall’s clock tower and looking down at the city of Pécs. Then we went to school, but working with our project tasks but my group went missing so I spent most of the day sitting in the sun talking to people walking in and out. After school we went to Arkad (the mall) for some quick shopping before we went to the botanical garden to watch some trees.

Our guide at the botanical garden was wearing a tank top, leg-long jeans and a necklace. His hair was halflong and his eyes hidden behind shades. No wonder we all soon figured out what he was smoking. Best comment of the day came from a Hungarian boy:
Guide: “And this is our highest greenhouse.”
Student: “They call it that because that’s where they keep all the weed.”
    It was more hot than interesting and we always found ourselves falling behind causing a bunch of dry, botanical garden jokes from our guide that made people giggle.

Not gonna tell you much about the evening, except the fact that I don't remember to much and it involved Palinka, something most of us will never drink again. I was told it was great fun though. House parties...

-Mari Clémentine

The World is Ahead - Hungary

It’s 3 a.m. in the morning, I put my key in the door… -Eminem. Actually it’s 3.45 and I cannot believe I’m up and going to Hungary, but for some reason I find energy to stand straight and get dressed. I do my makeup and stumble down the stairs with my suitcase in hand. Breakfast is the only thing keeping me from going out the door and after hugging my mom I grab a cupcake and get in the car. The world is ahead.

I'm moving to Italy!

So about my big adventure of 13/14: Still in school and still young the world is full of possibilities and there are lots of things on my “100 things to do before I die” list and I’m not usually sharing to much of my personal life, but this 13/14 I see as one great trip. I’m going on exchange to Italy, my neighbors will be Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, haha… I haven’t gotten a host family, so I don’t know what city, hopefully somewhere near Rome. Or Tuscany. Or the sea...
   . I don’t know anything. I know about 20 Italian words and none of them will get me far on my own in a foreign country, with classes in a language that I don’t know. So it’s time to start an Italian course and a new blog. I will still tell you about the cities and the country here, but if you want to follow the life of an exchange student, visit: www.destinationit.blogspot.com (you can go just by clicking the link in the sidebar!) And check into my new life in beautiful Italy in September. I will launch the site properly later, just thought you all should know about it J

-Mari Clémentine