Life without Tom or a Very Busy Week

Okay, let me be clear, the worse thing about having Tom gone is that I have to not only make the coffee, but also go downstairs and get it in the morning. Not the same. This week the rent was also due. The landlord Sandor came and collected it in cash. Tom, as everyone knows, handles the finances. I have been to the ATM once and he tends to pay for things. I know the currency, of course, but am not quick on the draw. I get my Fulbright money in cash in an envelope when the Fulbrighters get together every month. It’s not the brown paper bag I had envisioned. The night before Sandor came to collect the rent plus utilities, I sat on the couch and counted money for at least twenty minutes. I realized I didn’t have enough, so I went to the ATM machine a few blocks away. I came back and counted and realized I was confused by the number of zeroes. I didn’t have enough. I made a second trip to the ATM machine and got what I was sure was too much. I counted again. I woke up this morning and counted again. It’s funny how foreign currency seems like Monopoly money. Sandor came at 8:30am. He speaks no English. Cute, nice man. I sat at the table and counted the money for him. I put it in an envelope and he went off. Finances handled.

My other accomplishments for the week were cleaning house. Nothing too dramatic, mainly sweeping. Most Hungarians take off their shoes before entering a house. They leave slippers at the door for you to wear. I needed to sweep because of the wonderfully seedy Hungarian bread I eat every morning. Crunchies are underfoot because of the necessary sawing of bread in the morning. In addition, I bought train tickets, another task that Tom does. Again the woman at the university who sells the tickets speaks no English. Tom writes out exactly what we want. I was a little less successful, but she and I were able to work it out. On Saturday Tom and I take the train to Budapest to catch a plane for Berlin and then we fly back and take the train back to Pecs. Let’s hope I got the tickets right.