Reconnected at Last

This is Sunday afternoon in Pecs and boy is it ever quiet. We quickly learned that “zarva” means “closed” and almost every shop in town is zarva. But I’m jumping ahead. Let me take you back to last Tuesday evening when we arrived. The flights from SLO to San Francisco to Frankfurt to Budapest were all on time and quite comfortable. We were sure happy that we cashed in all of our United miles and upgraded to Business class on the 11 hour SF to Frankfurt leg. That made all the difference in the world and made it really easy to sleep for Carol when she wasn’t working on her paper. I woke up the morning we left with a nasty cold and had trouble sleeping without coughing. At least I was very comfortable and entertained while I was not sleeping. I had arranged for a taxi to meet us in Budapest and take us to the train station. We were apprehensive that we would not make it to the station in time for the 3:45 train to Pecs but we had plenty of time. I am sure that Budapest has lots of beautiful buildings and great things to see – but the area from the airport to the train station was dismal – lots of rubble and half demolished buildings. We will have an opportunity to see the sights when we return to Budapest on Feb 2 for Fulbright orientation.

I left Carol in the main terminal with our 6 large pieces of luggage and went to buy our tickets. Maria Kurdi, Department Chair here, had emailed us the phrase that indicated we wanted two tickets to Pecs and it worked fine. When I returned to proceed to our platform, I was relieved to see that Carol had secured the help of the only porter (or maintenance worker with a cart) at the train station who helped us get our luggage onto the proper train. We got quite a few stares and we wanted to explain –“Gee, folks, we’re going to be here for six months” –instead we just smiled and nodded. Once on the train, it was another trick to stow our luggage on a train without any space for large suitcases. I ended up moving a few pieces into empty rows and then relocating them when others got on the train in subsequent stops. It was a bit comical, but the passengers were generally good natured and all worked out fine for the three hour ride.

We arrived in Pecs as scheduled and were met by Maria Kurdi and Bill Issel, a Fulbright historian from San Francisco State who has been here since September. They were a bit taken aback by the volume of luggage we had but we each rolled a piece or two and made our way to the taxi stand. After loading the luggage, there was not room for all 4 of us so we said goodbye to Bill who walked home and we proceeded to our apartment for the next six months.

The landlords, who speak no English, met us and gave us a tour of the apartment and a few lessons as the how to lock the door and when to put the trash out. Maria was with us to translate and help us get settled in. The apartment is really a small free standing house – rather new with central heat, lots of hot water, and a courtyard where a car could park – but not a lot of furniture, pictures, comfortable chairs or closets. No linens or towels were provided and there was one bottle of water and a carton of juice that the landlords brought so we could have a drink together before they left us. [I, Carol, have to admit to being slightly disappointed because they had not set up internet access not cable channels with CNN or BBC. We have been renting the apartment since Jan. 1^st. Everything takes a long time so we were told later that we would have connections some time in Feb. My disappointment came from hoping to catch some of the Inauguration; instead we got nothing. Then the idea of no coffee the next morning or bedding and sheets got me a bit more down.] Knowing that we would want coffee in the morning we dashed to the local market and got coffee, bread, cheese and water. [I was uplifted knowing we had coffee and bread for the next morning.] Maria left us and we prepared for our first night in Pecs – without sheets or towels. Luckily, Mary Kay dropped off a couple of fitted twin sheets for us that she had as extra and we used those on the mattresses, our coats as blankets and rolled up clothes as pillows. It wasn’t perfect but it was plenty good and we both slept quite well. The next morning, we showered and used my shirt for a towel and made some coffee in the espresso maker that was provided. The first cup was fine but naturally we wanted more. The first cup used the last of the water left by the landlords so I opened the bottle we bought at the market and proceeded to brew our next cup. We got a few drops of coffee and lots of steam but not enough to drink. I then discovered that water with the blue top like we bought was fizzy water and fizzy water in an espresso maker is not going to work. The coffee didn’t know what to do with fizzy water. I found a café, bought some coffee (in those really thin plastic cups) and hurried back, so Carol and I could get our caffeine fix before Maria showed up to take us to the University and to Carol’s office.

The University is a very short walk (maybe ten-fifteen minutes) from our apartment so we headed out to see where Carol will spend a lot of her time while we are in Pecs. The building is old but very well kept and the office is quite large. [Hi, this is Carol. I am adding to Tom’s account in square brackets. I share an office with two other women and have my own desk. It is a desk vacated by a female professor who is on maternity leave. I met her and asked her when her baby was due. I was mortified when she told me her baby was 18 months old. You won’t believe this, but they get 3 years of maternity leave in Hungary at 70% of their salary! This is her 3^rd baby and she has been off more than she has worked in the last 10 years. Amazing!] The furniture, however, is very old, cheap and uncomfortable. There was a computer and we were anxious to check email and see the inauguration news, but we could not find anyone who knew the password so we cooled our heels while Maria attended a few meetings and then she took us to lunch in the school cafeteria. That afternoon, Maria took us to the Arkad, the local mall, where we got sheets (thin and scratchy), towels (also thin and scratchy), pillows (small but serviceable) and bedspreads. We were now set with the bare necessities.

We went out to dinner with Bill Issel and his wife, Mary Claire, to a wonderful restaurant in the center of the city. Much to Carol’s delight, Bill ordered a local cabernet that was superb. The food was great, service very attentive, the beer was cold and we had a delightful evening. [I was blown away by the quality of the food. Venison, lamb, deer confit, some special kind of pork, and trout. Hungarians love their meat. I love seafood but am so far hesitant to try it in this landlocked country. Bill and Mary Clare confirm my hesitation. Let me take a minute to RAVE about the Hungarian red wine. Bill ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that was amazing! You have to understand this was my first taste of Hungarian wine. I have not been disappointed since.]

Most everything is within walking distance or accessible by bus. We have been escorted on the bus a couple of times, but as yet have not figured the routes out by ourselves. The town is quite picturesque, including some pedestrian only streets, friendly cafes, lots of restaurants, an abundance of shops and very tolerable weather. It has been cold, but not frigid and damp nor hard downpours of rain. [ I find Pecs very lovely, beautiful, old architecture, quaint streets, uncrowded, quiet, just our pace and style. I am so glad we picked here rather than Budapest. Pecs is the right size for us and the people here are friendly, especially the people at the university. In terms of the weather, although it is in the 30’s outside, it is not frigid. I think I even overpacked warm clothes. Once you get inside, the rooms are rather warm. No long underwear required. But I will be indebted to Cindy forever for the use of her down coat.]

After the first few days – we feel like we hit the jackpot in terms of a great place to be for the next half a year. Great location, tasty food, cold beer, really good wine, a cozy apartment within walking distance of work and shopping, and lots to explore – there is not much to complain about.

Thursday is the first day of the conference where Carol will give her paper. The department secretary was working on getting our cable TV hookup and internet access activated in the apartment. We asked her how things were going and she mostly shook her head, apologized and explained that things took a long time in Hungary. We asked where we could buy cell phones and maybe sign up for the mobile internet access (the T-Mobile “web’n’walk stick). Again, lots of muttering, head shaking and apologizing. We decided to pursue this later and set out to find the room where Carol was to present her paper. The room numbering system is somewhat convoluted but one of Carol’s new colleagues escorted us to the room. Carol did a great job with her paper and we met several conference attendees who we really enjoyed and who we would end up having lots more conversations with. That evening, there was some musical entertainment, conference awards, and a really tasty dinner with more local red wine.

Friday was another day at the conference for Carol, but I set out to investigate our cell phone and internet options. I found the T-mobile store and after standing around wondering how to get some service discovered a kiosk near the front door where you took a number. Armed with my number, I waited until a digital sign informed me that I was to go to station #2. My introduction of “English?” was met with a blank stare and several questions in Hungarian. Again I said “English?” and she left me to find another person. After some conferring she motioned me to wait and we did. Ten minutes passed and nothing happened so she took out her cell phone, made a call and handed it to me. The person on the other end spoke some English but I had no idea what kind of plan they had, how much it was, or what to do next. I thanked them and left, figuring that this would work better if I could find a student to go with me and translate for me. No big deal - I was sure it could be worked out.

I proceeded to pick Carol up and went to the conference. Maria and the people in the department knew that I was anxious to get internet connection but now they tell me that I need a residence permit to get a cell phone or “walk n web” stick. Maria volunteered to go with me to the T-mobile store on Saturday morning and put the contract in her name for now. That didn’t ring true to me but great, if Maria would go with me, I was sure that we could sort it out. So, we listened to a talk by Bill Issel and then set out to walk around a bit, find a wine store, and locate the venue for the conference dinner on Friday night. Again, we were charmed. The people are friendly, bakeries abound, and the city center is cute and quaint. Dinner was really good with lots of beer and wine.

I met Maria on Saturday morning at the T-mobile store and I very quickly realized that there were two communication barriers. Maria spoke English and Hungarian, but had no idea about technology and wireless communication devices. After 30 minutes, we determined that I could get everything I wanted in my name and they had someone who spoke English to help me with the rest of my purchase. Maria left to attend the conference and I stayed another hour getting what I came for. So, 90 minutes and 5 credit card transactions later, I now have two cell phones and a cute little device to plug into my computer that connects me with the T-mobile network throughout Hungary. Technology sure is wonderful. Last night after the closing session of the conference, we went to a local winery for a tasting. They had 6 wines for us to taste, two whites, a rose, and three reds. This turned out to be a “wine drinking” not a “wine tasting.” They poured very generous servings and we left just as part of the group was breaking into song. We strolled back to our place, slightly tipsy, and again feeling like we ended up in a great location. We found a nice place to eat, two blocks from home, ate some Hungarian soup and a salad, and returned home to test out our internet connection with the MagicJack phone device. We tried to reach Greg and Susanne who had left us a VM, but they didn’t answer. Likewise, Chris along with John and Cindy were not available. However, Al and Lynne picked up the phone and the connection was great. We all marveled at the technology and had a wonderful conversation. Then, we found Katherine Rummell on her cell phone and again marveled at how we all sounded so clear.

So, readers, that brings us to Sunday, today. It was a quiet day of unpacking, trying to find out why our internet connection went down, and trying to find a store that was open so we could buy a corkscrew. We finally unpacked (well, Carol finally finished – I’ve been unpacked for a few days now), got our cell phones to display in English, found out that the internet went down all over the area and I needed to restart to get reconnected, and never did find a corkscrew. We had dinner with Bill (who brought over a corkscrew at our request) and we are now checking email and writing this blog.

I promise shorter and more frequent posts – thanks for reading and feel free to give us a call - 805-552-7536.